I Love LA Season-Finale Recap: Girl, So Confusing

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I’m completely captivated by I Love LA, but it feels like watching a train wreck. Seeing Maia relentlessly pursue her ambitions while ignoring everything else – and then there’s Tallulah, a successful influencer who casually turns down huge amounts of money – is unsettling, to say the least. And when things go wrong, as they do in “I Love NY”? It’s just painful to watch. Honestly, Maia Tracy is giving off serious Jordan vibes, and this whole situation is based on the novel Stone Cold Bummer by Manipulate.

The season ends with a surprising move to New York, the city where Maia first met Tallulah, Alani, and, unfortunately, her untrustworthy former boss, Ben. Maia is riding high from getting Tallulah invited to the prestigious Formé dinner, but she’s also just been fired and is taking a break from Dylan, leaving her feeling pretty overwhelmed. Tallulah tries to brush it off, saying Maia is simply focused, but her attempt feels unconvincing, especially as Maia rushes off for another cigarette. Alani, voicing exactly what I was thinking, simply sighs and says, “She’s really not doing well.”

I’m telling you, Alani and I are right about this whole situation. Maia is really struggling, even though she’s trying to pretend this trip to New York is all about work and ‘finding herself.’ Honestly, it feels like everything is about to fall apart for her. If Tallulah messes up at this dinner, she’s in serious trouble. Without Ben’s job offer, she’ll be completely broke. And she needs to figure out what she wants with Dylan – if they even have a future, and how that would even work – or she’s going to get hurt badly. It’s like her whole life is one wrong move away from disaster. The only bright side? Ben conveniently ‘forgot’ his credit card at the bar – a totally obvious ploy to see Maia again tomorrow, but that’s a problem for another day. Predictably, she’s trying to numb the pain with a lot of alcohol.

Dylan is back in Los Angeles and struggling with his relationship anxieties. He’s trying to distract himself by obsessively cleaning the pantry, blasting music to drown out everything else – including Charlie, who Maia asked to check on him. Dylan claims he’s okay, but his frantic cleaning spree says otherwise. Luckily, Charlie is also feeling bored and lonely, so he stays to help. They pass the time in amusing ways – Charlie suggests roleplaying serious conversations with silly wigs, while Dylan prefers watching Ken Burns’ Vietnam War documentary. The actors Jordan Firstman and Josh Hutcherson share a natural connection that makes these scenes believable, even though it’s obvious both characters are mostly just avoiding being alone.

The main takeaway is that Charlie is really longing for his former boyfriend, Andrew. Meanwhile, Dylan is struggling with how much longer he can carefully navigate Maia’s unpredictable moods. Dylan quickly advises Charlie to contact Andrew, but Charlie isn’t sure what to say in return. Ultimately, despite their feelings for each other, Dylan and Maia have grown apart to the point where he can’t picture a future together – and he’s definitely tired of always accommodating her and letting her take the lead.

Maia keeps forgetting her boyfriend has a life outside of waiting for her. She doesn’t consider he might be upset or slipping away, and instead focuses on having a wild time – think a glamorous, fast-paced night out, like the movie Babe if it were a Charli XCX music video. We don’t see everything that happens, but the aftermath is chaotic enough to suggest a pretty crazy night.

It’s frustrating that Alani’s commitments pull her away from the central group, especially since I want her to be more involved. The episode does give us some insight into her family life, though, as we see her wake up at her dad’s apartment. There, she unexpectedly finds another woman showering, and is heartbroken to realize her father, played by Keith David, might be having an affair – a pattern that began with his first wife. Alani idealized her parents’ relationship, believing they were meant to be together. Thankfully, it turns out this woman, Denise (Whitney Rice), isn’t a girlfriend, but a dangerous stalker who attacks her father and flees. The timing of this episode, airing after a real-life stabbing of a Hollywood figure in their home, was particularly unsettling, though the show’s writers couldn’t have predicted it.

Maia and Tallulah wake up feeling rough after a night out and discover they’ve gotten matching, and rather unfortunate, tattoos – “THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE BUSINESS.” It was the funniest moment of the episode! Tallulah tries to play it cool, claiming she likes it, but it’s clearly not what she wanted. The tattoo is right on her back, which creates a problem since she’s also decided to wear a tiny backless dress instead of the elegant gown Antoine chose for her. This rebellious move doesn’t surprise Maia, and honestly, Maia thinks Antoine would be shocked to find out his “bag thief” is now a dress thief too. Maia manages to convince Tallulah to change, while simultaneously dealing with a frantic FaceTime call from Charlie. He’s trying to convince Dylan that Maia has feelings for him, and Maia’s call is a genuine work crisis – the first one she’s actually faced.

It’s worth remembering that I Love LA focuses on the strange and often superficial lives of people trying to make it in a wild and sometimes unpleasant business. While it’s a satire, the show treats its characters with respect, and I admire its effort to add depth to even the most exaggerated personalities. However, if you’re hoping for a show that judges its characters harshly for being self-centered, this isn’t it. I Love LA is about a woman who wants it all – wealth, power, a great relationship, and a popular social circle – and is willing to go to great lengths to achieve her goals.

So, no use avoiding it anymore: It’s time to talk about Maia and Ben.

Seeing his note to ‘Lewinsky’ might lead you to believe something happened between them, but I didn’t interpret it that way. Ben, as played by Colin Woodell, exudes a confidence that feels rooted in a need for control – he clearly enjoys demonstrating his power over others. It’s not that he wouldn’t be interested in Maia, but he gets a different kind of satisfaction from subtly harassing her, making her feel special while also asserting his dominance. This married man is turned on by the idea of sleeping with his attractive intern; he understands that actually going through with it would mean losing a certain amount of control. So, he gives Maia just enough attention to keep her wanting more, slowly tightening his hold on her.

This brings us back to Maia’s hotel room. A couple of hours before the Formé dinner, Ben arrives, claiming he’s there to get his credit card. Maia suspects this is a signal for sex, and she tells herself she’s allowed to have it since she and Dylan are currently on a break – a bit like the Ross and Rachel debate. Ben does kiss her passionately, but to Maia’s dismay, he stops before things go further. Instead of undressing, he simply takes her hand and spits into it.

He tells her to touch herself, and she does. His unsettling smile – the kind you’d see on a serial killer from a show like Criminal Minds – doesn’t immediately deter her. It’s only when Ben explicitly states they won’t be having sex (“not today”) that she’s truly surprised. He waits until after she’s reached orgasm and is visibly shaken before offering her a job – a deliberate power play. The offer itself is life-altering, a $380,000 starting salary, but the entire situation is deeply humiliating. The scene was difficult to watch, and I felt relieved when the credits revealed Rachel Sennott wrote and directed it. While I missed Lorene Scafaria’s style, Sennott’s firm control over this particular scene felt necessary.

“Just wait until you’re working for me, you’ll see what I’ll have you do,” Ben, the villain, finished with a chilling tone. It finally clicked for Maia: this man didn’t care about her as a person, didn’t even see her. He’d only ever wanted to manipulate and torment her.

Now what happens? Maia tells Charlie, who arrives in New York City thanks to a convenient private jet arranged by Mimi Rush, that she absolutely won’t work with Ben anymore. Charlie convinces her not to fully explain why to Tallulah. While it’s questionable if Tallulah would even be upset by that decision, the real reason for keeping quiet is to prevent Tallulah from potentially retaliating against Ben. For now, this secret is safe, but it’s likely to come back and cause problems for Maia in the next season.

Things are really heating up! Tallulah is heading to the Formé dinner in a brand new look, Maia is barely holding it together, and Dylan… is sleeping with Claire, Maia’s biggest enemy?! It’s hard to believe, especially since we were all hoping Dylan and Maia would work out. But honestly, the show has a lot to prove if it wants me to believe Dylan wouldn’t be better off with a simple, peaceful life with Claire. Of course, maybe Dylan secretly enjoys the excitement and drama that comes with being with someone like Maia, even with all the problems. There are so many different paths their lives could take; the big question now is, what do they actually want?

Just Circling Back…

Tallulah really dislikes Ben, feeling he’s out of his depth, and Maia believes they deserve someone better. Despite my own issues with Ben and Antoine, they might be right. Tallulah and Maia can’t keep succeeding by breaking the rules indefinitely. Wishing them all the best next season!

The scene of Tallulah and Maia running through the subway in their formal clothes, set to The Cranberries’ “Dreams,” is really enjoyable. It strongly resembles moments from the show Broad City, and this isn’t the first time this season the show has felt inspired by it.

Seeing Dylan clean the pantry while wearing a Celebrity Skin t-shirt reminded me of Ben Wyatt from Parks and Recreation making claymation videos in his Letters to Cleo shirt. It makes you wonder if Ben would ever end up with someone ambitious and driven like Jen Barkley, perhaps someone like Maia… Food for thought!

Charlie predicted how Jordan Firstman would react, saying he’s skilled at understanding what makes people angry, and then escalating their frustration even further.

• Alani: “Wait, he’s wearing a wedding ring! That’s a good sign.” Me, out loud: “Alani, please…!”

• “One of our managers went on paternity leave, so he’s fired.”

• “Sorry, sorry, I’m here. Mimi’s jet had a female pilot.”

• “I think you ladies look beautiful. But my rat thinks you look like sluts.”

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2025-12-22 07:58