I Love LA: Season 1 Episode 5 – Recap and Review

Lives are forever changed either via subtle realizations or people being forced to see their value.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on Hours Updated on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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Episode 5 “They Can’t All Be Jeremys” Recap and Details

  • Director(s): Kevin Bray
  • Writer(s): Sidney Butler, Austin S. Harris
  • Public Release Date (HBO Max): November 30, 2025
  • Check out our page for this series, featuring more recaps, reviews, and articles.

Don’t Properly Meet Your Heroes: Dylan, Maia, Jeremy, Alyssa

With landing deals that amount to $30,000, Maia is officially on Alyssa’s radar. In fact, she finds herself bonding with Maia and inviting her and Dylan over for dinner. Mind you, less in a mentor/mentee type of way and more in Alyssa wanting or needing a friend. Which, for Maia, is fine since, with Alyssa soon to be featured in Forbes, who better to hitch your wagon to?

Thing is, things aren’t exactly as they appear or were marketed, sometimes in ways Maia wasn’t expecting. The first example is Alyssa’s husband, Jeremy. He was presented as one half of them being a power couple, but with his music career on ice, and him seemingly preferring to masturbate over spending time with Alyssa or anyone she brings around, Maia feels bad for Alyssa.

But the long-term issue might be Dylan. While talking about the evening, he pushes the idea that he may not match Maia’s ambition and desire for material things in the long run. Which, for now, isn’t an issue, but in terms of marriage and potential family planning, it does create the possibility that Dylan isn’t Mr. Right but more so Mr. Right Now.

I’ve Been Changed For Good: Tallulah, Alani, Charlie, Lukas

Alani is adorably naïve and finds herself struggling with catching feelings for a boy who might be using her. Now, to what extent? That’s hard to say. Her body, as of now, yes. Perhaps trying to use her to get to her dad, her network, or wealth? Maybe.

Either way, upon Tallulah getting the deal Maia made for Kia, and having to learn to drive, Alani offers lessons, but it ends up being Tallulah who teaches Alani a thing or two. Granted, she teaches Alani toxic ways to get and keep a guy’s attention, never mind get him to chase you, but in Tallulah’s defense, Alani may not be desperate, but she seems to desire companionship enough to run towards red flags like a bull towards a matador.

Switching to Charlie, being within Lukas’ circle initially was difficult. They are religious, to the point of being straight edge and abstaining from sex, including masturbation, and that is very different from Charlie’s lifestyle. However, how loving and supportive Lukas’ friends are helps Charlie see these guys in a different light.

Accountability Group Chat – I Love LA Season 1 Episode 5 – HBO Max

Their group chat isn’t about gossiping about others and poking fun at each other, but supporting one another. They exercise together, make decisions together, it’s all very foreign to Charlie, and when he shows up hungover, lacking sleep, and vomits, he is surprised how they don’t rag on him. It’s so different that it is like a new drug for Charlie, and he is addicted. He even speaks kindly to Alani later in the episode, and the shift is surprising but appreciated by her.

Which makes Lukas dying by the end of the episode unfortunate, for who knows if Charlie may drop this since he is no longer trying to assimilate into Lukas’ world for a job.

New Characters in Episode 5

Jeremy (Ben Feldman)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Jeremy is Alyssa’s partner who was in the music industry, but after an accident that led to him hitting a tree, it is presented that he now gets vicious migraines due to certain smells and sounds. However, it does appear this might be a ruse so Alyssa can be the money maker while Jeremy stays at home.

Review and Commentary

Highlights

Appreciating Alani’s Innocence and Naivety [84/100]

Alani is the type of character who feels out of place on a show like I Love LA. At first, we assumed it was her privilege compared to the rest of the group, who don’t necessarily come from poor or working-class families, but do have a hustle mentality that Alani doesn’t. On top of that, being that eccentric Black girls like Alani aren’t the norm, be it on HBO, OWN, or most programs with a predominantly Black cast, it made her unique in ways that made it hard to understand her. Should she be seen as something akin to what we would get in Atlanta? Is this the type of Algelino we don’t get exposed to much? Maybe Alani is supposed to be an ode to the Zoe Kravitz types out there who don’t often see themselves?

It’s all hard to say, but between what Alani went through in this episode and Lukas, I feel like our mindset switched from seeing Alani as a token or odd comedic character to someone with misunderstood layers. Take note, most episodes deal with Alani speaking about someone taking advantage of her in some way. Whether it is an adult having an inappropriate relationship with her or simply a man taking advantage of her youth, her vulnerability, and her naivety.

The combination doesn’t make Alani into a dope, but seemingly someone who wants to see the best in everyone and believes they only have the best intentions when it comes to her. So, whether it is Tallulah trying to guide her or being joyous when Charlie was being nice, in many ways, Alani finally came into her own this episode. Through Lukas’ example, it became clear she is someone without an agenda, no desire to exploit or hustle anyone, but simply be so pure that she comes off almost alien.

Lukas’ Affect On Charlie [83/100]

Whether it is impostor syndrome or some twisted belief that you must be callous and cutting to succeed, never mind survive, in Los Angeles, it was something to watch Lukas begin to unravel Charlie – dare I say heal him. Mind you, I think Charlie still found the accountability group texting about being tempted to jerk off comical, but the imperfections of that group, compared to the ones he has been in where he has been made fun of and humbled to the point of feeling low, it was like night and day.

In fact, showing he not only appreciated what it did to him, but in seeing him bring that to his friend group by supporting Alani, even with that ridiculous hat, you can see Lukas rubbing off on him. It pushes the idea that Lukas was truly something good in Charlie’s life, and I wouldn’t blame him for being utterly devastated, beyond losing a potentially lucrative job.

Maia Coming To Realize That Dylan Is Good For Now, But Not Her Forever Person [82/100]

The best part of any comedy is when things get real, and you see what all the jokes and laughter is trying to hide. For Maia, it is the fact that, while she loves Dylan, he likely isn’t her forever person. Which you can see is worrisome at best, terrifying at worst, because he is such a good guy. The problem is, with her wanting to be the next Alyssa, maybe go further than her, can/will Dylan adapt?

Heck, could he become like Jeremy, and mooch off of her? What about him resent her for being so successful, making far more than he does, and meanwhile, he is dealing with suburban parents and kids who think nothing of his experience and education? The wheels seem to be turning on Maia’s future, and it should be interesting to see what happens. Especially considering Dylan isn’t only integrated in her life, but someone Charlie feels close enough to to have platonic intimacy, and Tallulah is getting to know.

So, will she drop him soon, or wait until it becomes clear he may not envision himself in the type of future she wants?

Overall

Our Overall Rating [83/100]

With gaining its stride, I Love LA seems like it has shaken off the freshman jitters and is earning its place amongst HBO’s lineup.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.