I Love LA season 1 episode 4 ending explained: What happened between Elijah Wood, Maia and Alani in his room?

HBO's I Love LA  season 1 dives into the shallow end of Los Angeles influencer culture, where old college friends chase viral fame and fleeting connections. Created and starring Rachel Sennott as the hustling Maia, the eight-episode comedy premiered on November 2, 2025, with new episodes dropping Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Episode 4 titled “Upstairses”, delivers a cringe peak when Alani and Maia crash Elijah Wood's upstairs bedroom, expecting a celebrity hookup that turns into a raw chat about isolation. 

The interaction is awkward, with Alani trying to connect with him based on her past (fictionalised) interaction and Wood just seeming slightly desperate for real, non-transactional human conversation. Nothing physical happens, just a failed reach for real talk that leaves them embarrassed. 

Sennott, known from Shiva Baby and Bottoms, directs the satire involving a group of 20-somethings reuniting after years apart. They navigate hookups, feuds, and networking in a city that rewards the ruthless. 

The main cast includes Odessa A'zion as chaotic influencer Tallulah, True Whitaker as bold Alani, Jordan Firstman as scheming Charlie, and Josh Hutcherson as easygoing Dylan. Cameos from Elijah Wood and Quenlin Blackwell add layers to the LA grind.

Episode 3, "Girl's Girl," builds on early tensions. Tallulah's Balenciaga bag gets stolen at a club, sparking a viral feud with nepo-baby Paulena, who boasts prison ties. Maia turns the drama into a PR win, landing Tallulah a replacement bag from the brand.

The episode ends with fractures showing: Maia's schemes grate on Tallulah's spontaneity, and Alani's chaos masks vulnerabilities. It leads to a group invite to a Hollywood Hills party, teasing bigger risks ahead.

I Love LA season 1 episode 4 ending explained: A celebrity party turned into chaos

Episode 4, "Upstairses," unfolds almost entirely at a daytime bash in Elijah Wood's Hollywood Hills house, hosted by TikTok star Quenlin Blackwell playing an amped-up herself.

The friends arrive hyped from Tallulah's bag drama resolution, but Maia sees it as a networking goldmine for her client. 

She pushes Tallulah to mingle with the 80 per cent influencers and 20 per cent randos, as Charlie puts it. Quenlin pulls Tallulah aside for a collab video right away.

She probes Tallulah's goals bluntly - what kind of content creator does she want to be, Fashion or Beauty?. Tallulah stumbles, admitting she lacks direction beyond chasing likes.

The shoot goes south fast. Quenlin reveals her operation's dark side: a back room full of phones running click farms to fake engagement numbers. It hits Tallulah like a gut punch, the whole influencer world is rigged, and pausing means vanishing. Quenlin cuts her loose mid-video, calling her unprepared. 

Tallulah wanders off dazed, questioning her entire path. Meanwhile, Charlie spots a guy in tight jeans and makes a move, only to learn it's Catholic Christian singer Lucas Landry, who's straight but polite.

Landry's massive TikTok following inspires Charlie, who tags along for ice and starts plotting comedy collabs, maybe even a Vegas opener slot.

Dylan hangs back, observing the awkwardness with dry one-liners, suggesting a threesome if vibes align but mostly just smoking. Alani fixates on house lore, insisting celebrities have the best private spaces.

The party captures LA's fake energy, guests angle for selfies or deals, turning casual hangs into transactions. 

Tallulah's breakdown downstairs sets up the upstairs chaos, as Alani drags Maia away from the crowd for a peek, ignoring the unspoken rule that no one goes up to Elijah’s room.

Upstairs, Alani and Maia creep into Elijah Wood's bedroom, finding him alone in pyjamas, high and looping The Simpsons clips on YouTube. It's a stark contrast to his Frodo fame; he's a self-described hypochondriac with tricks to remember faces, like a mental palace. 

He dimly places Alani from a college event she exaggerates into a near-miss hookup years back. Relieved for any company amid the downstairs noise, he avoids hosting.

Elijah offers robes from his bathroom and suggests they join him in bed to watch TV. It's innocent on his end, a break from feeling like a prop.

Maia and Alani take it wrong, stripping down under the robes and sliding into bed, ready for what they assume is a spontaneous threesome. The room fills with tension as a faint Shrek song plays in the background. Elijah's confusion turns to hurt when he realizes their angle. 

He opens up about his reality: people always expect sex or favors from him, never friendship. Hosting the party was a favor he regrets, leaving him trapped upstairs to escape the expectations. It's a quiet breakdown on fame's toll, endless assumptions that block simple human contact.

The women snap out of it and bolt laughing in panic, racing downstairs half-dressed to find Tallulah and later Charlie. The group piles into a hug and decides to leave the party.

The episode closes on them driving off, buzzing from the near-miss but bonded tighter, underscoring that real ties outlast viral highs.

Watch I Love LA  season 1 on Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, or stream on Max anytime.

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