I Love LA Recap: Makes Me Just Wanna Drive

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Despite the silly humor and quick-witted dialogue in I Love LA, a sense of unease has been building. Previously, serious issues like Maia’s harshness, Charlie’s self-doubt, and Alani’s difficult upbringing were often presented as jokes. However, the episode “Game Night” forces these darker themes to the forefront.

If you want an honest look at succeeding in Los Angeles – especially in the entertainment world – you have to admit it often requires difficult compromises. Almost everyone trying to make it ends up making choices they’d prefer to avoid dwelling on, whether intentionally or not. The show I Love LA initially seemed like it would stay lighthearted, but everything shifts when Maia receives a note from her old boss in New York. Her expression, the story itself, and even the way the show is filmed all change. You don’t even need to read the message to understand it’s from someone who both intimidates and intrigues Maia, and the fact that it’s addressed to “Lewinsky” explains exactly why.

During lunch with Colin Woodell at a dark restaurant, they reconnect and playfully flirt, though she drinks significantly more than he does, encouraged by him. Throughout the meal, she’s clearly on edge, fidgeting with her hands and nervously laughing. She keeps drinking, trying to calm her nerves. As he watches her with a knowing smile, she begins to feel increasingly self-conscious and finds it hard to focus on the conversation.

When Maia does engage with his views, he typically complains about how easily offended people are now and how frustrating it is to have to be careful with what you say at work. She cautiously tries to challenge him when he suggests Alyssa overreacted to being sexually harassed, but he largely ignores her attempt. He dismisses her, saying, “She’s just different. She’s overly concerned with protecting people’s feelings—it’s like she thinks, ‘Oh no, I fell down the stairs because my boss assaulted me!’ She needs to toughen up.”

If that were to happen, it would be terrible. But following a common pattern of male bosses who target younger women, he mainly wants to make Maia feel special – and she’s unfortunately caught up enough in his influence to see it as a positive thing.

The phrase “fake it till you make it” is so overused it’s lost its impact, but in the entertainment world, it often means pretending to be okay with unpleasant things to appear adaptable. Maia has always seemed willing to do what it takes to help Tallulah succeed, but her acceptance of this arrogant man’s disturbing views feels different this time. Even if they never crossed a physical line during her internship, the awkward closeness and clear sexual tension between them reveals everything. Rachel Sennott delivers a fantastic performance in this episode, especially in this scene, where she expertly portrays Maia’s inner turmoil while visibly struggling to get through each line. Despite the unsettling situation, director Lorene Scafaria masterfully captures every nuance of the tension.

Honestly, as rough as that lunch scene was, the real hard part of this episode for me was watching Dylan’s game night. It’s where Maia ends up after, well, having a little too much to drink on Temptation Island. I don’t think Maia would have fit in with Dylan’s friends even if she was sober, but drunk and flirty? She didn’t stand a chance! It didn’t help that one of the teachers was really attractive, and Maia, through her drunken haze, realized she was around the same age. Then she started trying to find anything – even a tiny hint – that this teacher was interested in Dylan, just to justify her own feelings, and it made everyone so uncomfortable that Dylan finally just ended the night and asked everyone to leave.

He finally exploded, yelling, “What the hell was that?!” Honestly, after everything, it wasn’t surprising. But something about his anger actually excited me. I blurted out, “You’re so hot when you’re angry.” He was clearly taken aback, and then he just… came after me. It was intense, almost desperate. For me, it was a release, a way to finally deal with the feelings that had been building since I saw him at lunch. For a crazy second, I even pictured someone else entirely, and I think Dylan caught on. It left him feeling strangely empty, because he realized whatever sparked that reaction wasn’t about him at all.

Even though those scenes are powerful, they aren’t the only reasons I loved this episode. Directed by Scafaria and written by Emma Barrie and Max Silvestri, “Game Night” is exceptionally well-rounded, and genuinely funny. While Maia and Dylan are caught in a somewhat awkward situation, the rest of the characters provide most of the humor while also showing surprising depth. For instance, Charlie goes from unexpectedly running into his ex at Lukas’s funeral (actually, the second location for the funeral) to bringing their sex tape to a store to be erased. It’s funny to imagine Charlie crying while watching it – obviously. But seeing it actually happen is surprisingly heartbreaking, too.

This episode gives Tallulah a touch of sadness, but it’s good that it’s brief, as her storyline provides much-needed humor. Maia secures a valuable partnership for her with Ritz crackers and casually mentions to a company executive that Tallulah is dating a woman. The executive enthusiastically responds, expressing support for Tallulah being a lesbian and predicting a positive reaction from the company. As a result, Tallulah’s advertisement features her as the face of a Ritz campaign celebrating and sharing LGBTQ+ stories. Charlie questions the emphasis on the word ‘spread’ in the campaign slogan, but understands the use of ‘proud’.

Tallulah was mortified, not because her relationship was revealed, but because of how it was revealed – it felt incredibly cheesy. She was especially embarrassed about her girlfriend seeing it. Tessa, however, didn’t seem to care. Being a somewhat famous chef meant she was used to awkward situations, like having to appear on TV to share brunch recipes inspired by the musical Hamilton. When Tessa started rapping lines like, “How does a sausage, biscuit, side of some ham in a pancake—,” both Tallulah and I burst out laughing. It was ridiculous and hilarious. Tessa pointed out that Tallulah wasn’t the only one to earn a surprising amount of money – she herself had made $5,000 from Hamilton and an astonishing $100,000 from Ritz, all by doing something a little embarrassing. It was cringeworthy, but as Tessa said, “People who criticize you just want what you have. You do what you need to do to get by and move on.”

Feeling empowered by their open communication and desire for adventure, Tessa and Tallulah excitedly approach the Ritz mural with a bucket of paint. While it might technically be a crime for two queer women to vandalize an advertisement that claims to support “LGBTQ+ voices,” it’s debatable. But for these two and this episode of I Love LA, it’s a wildly enjoyable act of rebellion.

Just Circling Back …

I never had a crush on Josh Hutcherson – I was definitely on Team Gale! – and I apologize for saying so. But if you did have a crush on him, I hope you enjoyed that intimate scene.

I really love Alani – she’s quickly become my favorite character on the show. I hope the writers give her a compelling storyline that showcases True Whitaker’s amazing acting skills soon.

Honestly, I’m loving the music on I Love LA! It’s bringing back so many memories from the 2010s, and I’m not mad about it. Whether the show is intentionally tapping into my millennial nostalgia with songs like The Knife’s “Heartbeats,” or if that era’s music is just having a moment, it definitely caught my attention – in the best way possible!

• Someone get me Tallulah’s funeral fit immediately, please and thank you.

“Am I coming across as gay?” he asked. She replied, “You’re wearing a lot of buckles, and they make noise when you walk. You seem almost… spectral, like a character in a theatrical production.”

• “….what’s Hamilton?”

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2025-12-08 07:55