I Love LA: Season 1 Episode 7 – Recap and Review
Maia’s ambition may have led to her putting her foot in her mouth.
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Episode 7 “Divas Down” Recap and Details
- Director(s): Lorene Scafaria
- Writer(s): Emma Barrie
- Public Release Date (HBO Max): December 14, 2025
- Check out our page for this series, featuring more recaps, reviews, and articles.
VH1 Aesthetic: Mimi, Charlie, Alani
After going with Alani for a hair transplant, she reveals Mimi fell on stage. This lightens Charlie’s day and helps with the pain, but then Mimi shows up in his apartment and wants to take him back. It’s a shock, considering she fired him. However, with him getting that Mimi is supposed to be an alien who gained her aesthetic from VH1 network beams, who else but Charlie could get her back in gear and away from the mermaid look her now former stylist was pushing her?
In fact, it seems she wants to get back to basics, and part of that plan requires Charlie. So, after a moment to think about it, he seems to agree to return.
The Formé: Antoine, Tessa, Tallulah, Maia, Alyssa
Maia is the type who, either you guide her to where she wants to go or you get out of her way. Alyssa seems not to understand that, and when she tries to sabotage Maia from getting Tallulah to meet Antoine, a famous man in fashion, who hosts a renowned party, the Formé, it doesn’t go well. But, let it be clear, Tallulah wasn’t helping.
After the Ritz cracker thing and a seemingly romantic weekend with Tessa, it seems Tallulah wants to pause and reflect before moving on to the next thing. That doesn’t work for Maia. She is getting deals that make $100,000 from using Tallulah’s rising star, and she wants to go full speed ahead.
Case in point, she accidentally drops a knife on her foot, and as soon as she can get sewn up, she is trying to make a move. Heck, even when Alyssa says Antoine cancelled the meeting, Maia figures out a way to get her meeting back to make sure Antoine and Tallulah meet.
Collateral Damage: Dylan, Maia, Alyssa, Antoine, Tallulah
But, in making sure Tallulah meets Antoine and successfully getting both Tallulah and herself an invite to his lavish New York City party, Maia burns some bridges. The first one being with Alyssa, who was trying to reward a tenured influencer with this great opportunity. However, Maia burst in, bloody foot and Tallulah close behind, acting outrageously, snatched the opportunity, and Maia was completely unapologetic about it. In fact, she made it clear she’d do it again, so Alyssa fires her.
But, it isn’t just a bridge with Alyssa that Maia is able and willing to burn – she is ready to burn one with Dylan, too. You see, she was supposed to have dinner with Dylan and his parents the same day she had dropped a knife on her foot, and she skipped being with him to dine with Antoine. As you can imagine, Dylan didn’t appreciate not only her skipping dinner but also her calling everyone but him about dropping a knife on her foot.
That reveal for him, alongside Alyssa firing her and how absorbed he is in her life with her showing no interest and minimal investment in his, leads to Dylan deciding they need to go on a break. Making it so, the possibility of Maia doing something reckless in New York City has now risen exponentially.
New Characters in Episode 7
Antoine (Tim Baltz)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Infamous for some of the outlandish things that come out of his mouth, at one time, Antoine was considered cancelled. However, he has refined his voice, chosen better friends, and has made a grand comeback that has made the same conversations he used to publicly have now a hot ticket private dinner that celebrities and influencers crave an invite for.
Other Noteworthy Information
- Considering Alyssa’s history, her courting the favor of a man like Antoine seems a bit odd. It does seem, alongside him being uncouth in what he says, he also may have a reputation for being handsy.
Review and Commentary
Highlights
Tessa and Tallulah’s Relationship [83/100]
Tessa, who is far more calm, cool, and collected than everyone else in Tallulah’s life, remains someone who is oddly balanced. In some ways, she feels underutilized, but at the same time, you have to appreciate that she doesn’t have a shtick to stand out in some zany way. She doesn’t say anything out of the ordinary, trigger wild adventures, or do weird things. She is just a good and supportive girlfriend, the calm in the madness of Tallulah’s life, and I would love, if they survive into season 2, to just have an episode to experience what they’re like when Tallulah doesn’t have Maia collecting the sweat off the back of her neck.
What Maia Reveals As She Goes Toe To Toe With Alyssa [85/100]
Maia opens the episode by talking about pain being weakness leaving the body and having your mentor become your rival, foreshadowing all that will happen to her this episode. But, I think we also have to add that, once Maia realized that Alyssa isn’t one half of a power couple, that she isn’t the badass she thought she was, she lost respect for her.
In some ways, you can see that, like with Dylan, once Maia felt like she was an equal, even surpassing someone she, at one time, wanted to be close to, the relationship dynamic shifted. Now, with Dylan, she is fighting for things to be equal again because she really likes him, or is used to him, but with Alyssa, I’d submit that Maia more so liked the opportunities Alyssa could give her than Alyssa herself.
I’d even go as far as to say that part of the reason we see Maia and Alyssa go toe to toe is so we can get a true sense of who Maia is, just as much as we’ve gotten to see, little by little, who everyone else is. Alani, as much as she may have dumb blonde moments, is smart; she is just privileged enough to see the good in people to the point she doesn’t feel the need to use her intelligence as a sword and shield. She doesn’t have to be on all the time.
This is as opposed to Charlie, who has a sharp tongue, and because he doesn’t have the privilege to be vulnerable, naïve, and as sweet as we saw him capable of when Lukas was alive, his armor is always on and sword up. Then, with Tallulah, I’m starting to think she is a product of Maia’s dream more than someone who is truly committed to being an influencer. If anything, I think she would want the life of a model, who does their job and then gets to disappear offline, rather than live in constant anxiety, worried if she has the upper hand in a situation.
On The Fence
Realizing We Don’t Know The Rest Of Alyssa180’s Roster [77/100]
I feel like Maia getting fired in the first season makes her trajectory feel rushed. But, at the same time, it is worth noting that we haven’t seen any of Alyssa180’s other clients, which is strange. Take note, before Tallulah showed up, Maia presented the idea that she was one of Alyssa’s best employees, but we didn’t get a reason to believe her until Tallulah showed up.
In my mind, from CamiliaTK and the others we saw on the wall, Maia should have known them, have worked with them, and we should have seen them show up. At least one should have asked Maia how she is, why she stopped working with them, something to boost her position. For right now, it seems like Maia has a lot of hustle, but also has had a string of luck.
Overall
Our Overall Rating [81/100]
While there is a part of me that does feel like Maia’s storyline is picking up speed without the proper propellant, maybe her getting too big for her britches, crashing, and burning is what the show may need. She is making deals more than what most people make in a year and doesn’t seem notably affected. So, maybe rock bottom might be what she needs so her ambition can be matched with a “started from the bottom, and now we’re here” type of story?
What To Check Out Next
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