I Love LA’s Good Guy Just Got Better

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Spoilers follow for “I Love NY,” the season-one finale of I Love LA.

The season finale of I Love LA, titled “I Love NY,” throws everything into chaos. Maia and Tallulah return to New York City, the place they both previously ran away from. Meanwhile, Alani unknowingly starts a friendship with the woman who’s been secretly following her family. Even Charlie, usually focused on himself, is surprisingly helpful. Everyone seems to be acting like a distorted version of themselves, but the biggest change is in Dylan. Once the perfect, supportive boyfriend, he now makes a shocking choice: he sleeps with a coworker and then lies to Maia about it. The Dylan who was kind, considerate, and always there for Maia is gone, and this shift actually makes I Love LA a more compelling show.

At the start of “I Love NY,” Dylan and Maia are separated after a series of issues – Maia ruined Dylan’s game night with his colleagues, wrongly suggested he was attracted to Claire, and then neglected to call him after a foot injury and a missed dinner with his parents. They have very different approaches to life and work, and Maia relies heavily on her friends. When Dylan suggested they take a week apart to gain some perspective, it seemed like they might discover they weren’t a good match. So, it’s not shocking when Maia decides to sleep with her former boss, Ben – someone she’d even fantasized about during sex with Dylan. It’s also unsurprising that Ben is cruel and takes advantage of her obvious attraction, demanding she perform for him and then dismissing her with a condescending remark about her lack of control. Acting impulsively and without considering the consequences is central to Maia’s character in I Love LA.

It’s surprising to see Dylan, who was previously portrayed as the most stable and reliable character, suddenly act out. We see him cheating with Claire, the coworker his friend Maia suspected he was involved with, and then lying about it. He goes along with Claire’s requests, like going to a movie and taking a walk, which is a stark contrast to his dependable nature. Josh Hutcherson plays Dylan well, building on his previous roles to create a genuinely nice guy – someone you’d trust with everyday tasks. However, this eagerness to please has made Dylan somewhat bland. His cheating is a significant turn, but it’s also a choice that finally makes him interesting. While it’s a common trope – like Ross’s ‘We were on a break!’ on Friends – Dylan’s impulsive behavior is a turning point for the show. It moves him away from being the only normal character and puts him in line with the others, who are all flawed and self-destructive. This shift opens up exciting possibilities for his storyline and the series as a whole.

So far in the series, Dylan has largely been a passive observer, reacting to the choices of others. Maia invites Tallulah to stay with them, and Dylan goes along with it. He joins Maia when she hangs out with friends, and even participates in a disastrous double date she sets up with her boss, Alyssa. Maia even misrepresents his interests to impress Alyssa, and Dylan doesn’t object. We see Dylan only through his connection with Maia, unlike the other characters, and he rarely seems to make his own decisions. The story is mostly driven by Maia’s choices, which are ultimately about what she wants. However, the show consistently presents Dylan as the voice of reason amidst Maia’s chaotic life. His reactions and questions offer a subtle critique of the fast-paced, work-obsessed culture surrounding Maia and her friends. This makes Dylan the most relatable character – especially for viewers outside of Gen Z – and surprisingly funny, as his down-to-earth concerns, like questioning a Tuesday cocaine session or a bathroom encounter at work, hilariously undercut Maia’s wild schemes.

As a film enthusiast, I’ve been really struck by how I Love LA constantly circles back to Dylan as a kind of grounding force. He’s always the one reacting to Tallulah and Maia’s wild behavior – whether it’s his dry reaction to Maia getting a little too much attention from a stripper, his shocked ‘Okay’ when he walks in on Tallulah, or even just the look on his face after things get intense with Maia. He’s essentially the show’s voice of reason, subtly reminding us – and the characters – that things are, well, pretty crazy. That distance is key, because it lets the show both love and critique Tallulah and Maia. It’s like we’re judging them with Dylan, and his judgment feels earned because he seems genuinely good and refuses to play their games. What’s really interesting is when Dylan shows his own vulnerability. When he tells Maia he feels diminished by her ambition, or confides in Charlie that he can’t truly open up to her because of her career focus, it’s surprisingly raw for a show that often thrives on artifice and over-the-top moments.

It’s hard to see how a genuinely nice person could thrive in this situation for long. The relationship between Maia and Dylan was starting to feel illogical, yet somehow it made sense, mirroring how many people in their late twenties and early thirties get stuck in stagnant relationships. However, this was also damaging Dylan’s character. Giving him flaws adds depth and allows the show to explore the complex dynamic between him and Maia – are they exes, friends, or a relationship on the verge of collapse? In “They Can’t All Be Jeremys,” Dylan expressed wanting a life with the Maia from before Tallulah arrived. But is that version of Maia still around? And is the Dylan who was committed to Maia, before his affair with Claire, still the same person?

The first season of “I Love NY” concludes with Maia and Dylan both keeping secrets from each other – neither admits to having been with other people and feeling disappointed with those encounters. Maia realizes she doesn’t want to work for Ben, and Dylan seems hesitant about Claire’s expectations. Despite not being fully happy, they’re surprisingly on the same page. As “I Love LA” begins its second season, both will have to decide what they want from their relationship. It’s a welcome surprise that Dylan is finally in a position to make his own choices, and it’s a positive turn for the show.

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2025-12-22 07:55