The sixth episode of HBO’s I Love LA shows what happens when the characters’ high-energy chaos hits a personal wall. Titled “Game Night,” the episode pushes Maia into a messy downward spiral that ruins her boyfriend’s evening and strains their relationship. Meanwhile, Tallulah deals with a corporate makeover she never asked for, and Charlie confronts old heartache at a wildly overcrowded funeral. The episode blends cringe comedy with sudden moments of real darkness, shifting the show’s tone.
Maia’s Downward Spiral Begins With a Note
Maia’s difficult week starts with professional success but quickly falls apart. She helps her boss, Alyssa, during a Forbes magazine photoshoot and smoothly handles tough questions from a reporter. She also secures a profitable ad deal for her best friend and client, Tallulah, with Ritz crackers. However, her confidence shatters when she receives a handwritten note from her former New York boss, addressed to her with the nickname “Lewinsky”.
This note leads to a tense lunch meeting. Maia meets her ex-boss, Ben, played by Colin Woodell, at a dim restaurant. Their conversation is filled with uncomfortable flirting, power games, and lots of wine. Ben praises Maia for being ambitious and “not like” other people, putting down others who complain about harassment. The encounter leaves Maia visibly shaken, drunk, and trapped in the unhealthy dynamic she thought she left behind in New York.
A Game Night Turns Into a Catastrophe
Maia arrives home intoxicated and emotionally raw to find her boyfriend, Dylan, hosting a game night with his fellow teachers. One of the guests, a young teacher named Clare, immediately triggers Maia’s insecurity. Instead of joining the games, Maia begins to sabotage the evening.
Her behavior becomes increasingly inappropriate and aggressive. She interrupts conversations, makes everyone uncomfortable, and directly asks Clare which person in the room she would choose to sleep with. Dylan, embarrassed and frustrated, is finally forced to end the party early and ask his friends to leave.
The conflict does not end there. Maia continues to provoke Dylan, accusing him of being attracted to Clare. His angry reaction seems to excite her. “You’re hot when you’re angry,” she tells him. This tension leads to a intense physical encounter, but it is far from loving. During it, Maia briefly imagines Ben’s face instead of Dylan’s. Afterward, Dylan is left feeling used and confused, while Maia casually texts Tallulah as if nothing is wrong. Actor Josh Hutcherson explained Dylan’s perspective, saying, “At this point in the series, Dylan’s had enoughโฆ He’s starting to feel that Maia doesn’t care about his world or his people or what his interests are”.
Tallulah’s Big Break Comes With a Corporate Twist
While Maia spirals, her client Tallulah faces a different kind of crisis. The Ritz cracker ad campaign Maia secured takes an unexpected turn. During the shoot, an executive overhears that Tallulah is dating a woman and becomes overly excited. The executive declares, “Don’t worry, we love that she’s a lesbian”, and decides to center the entire campaign around Tallulah’s sexuality.
The result is a large, awkward mural declaring Ritz’s support for “LGBTQ+ storytellers,” with Tallulah’s face prominently featured. Tallulah is horrified when she sees it. Her issue is not with being outed but with the hollow, corporate way her identity is being used to sell crackers. Her girlfriend, Tessa, helps her feel better by sharing her own embarrassing moment: a video of herself rapping modified Hamilton lyrics for a morning show cooking segment. Tessa’s point is that everyone does cringe-worthy things for money sometimes. Later, Tallulah and Tessa sneak out and throw white paint over the mural in an act of rebellion.
Charlie Confronts Grief and Regret at a Funeral
The third major storyline follows Charlie, who attends the funeral of his friend Lukas with Alani and Tallulah. The funeral is less a somber event and more a chaotic, overcrowded Los Angeles spectacle, complete with a bouncer and two overflow areas for fans.
There, Charlie runs into an old flame named Andrew, who is now dating another man. This uncomfortable meeting stirs up old feelings and highlights Charlie’s loneliness. Preoccupied with his own mortality after Lukas’s death, Charlie becomes obsessed with finding an old sex tape he made with Andrew to destroy it. He and Alani take the tape to a specialty electronics store to confirm its contents. Watching it, Charlie is overcome not by arousal but by genuine grief for his lost friend Lukas. In a quiet, sad moment, he tries to send a text to Lukas’s old number, knowing he will never get a reply.
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