Date of release: June 23, 2017 (Netflix)
If this episode wasn’t establishing GLOW as one of the best television shows in recent TV history (which you would have to split into broadcast TV and streaming TV, because both things are completely different entities these days), then I don’t know what is going on in this business. These 35 minutes gave me an equal amount of joy and entertainment as the first TRANSFORMERS movie has given me as a 20-year-old in 2007. I couldn’t stop laughing during the tag-team fight of the black ladies against the white supremacists, and I was happy that Ruth and Debbie were completely into their performance from beginning to end, almost forgetting everything about their personal conflict of distrust and hate they have towards another. Instead, they just loved doing their jobs, and for the first time in a long time, they might have enjoyed each other’s company, even if it was for the sake of entertainment for strangers. They figured out how to accept each other’s surroundings on a business level, and judging by how they wished each other luck right before their match-up, their friendship was also on a path of redemption, which means there is a chance for a friendlier reunion shortly ad for them to hang out and have a chat over a glass of Merlot.
That is why Mark needed to get into the story so suddenly and deliver his reaction of absolute humiliation, seeing Debbie in this wrestler environment, because not only was he not letting go of the image of an all-American family life with a wife in the kitchen and a baby destined to be cared for by both parents, but he could also not accept that Debbie has removed herself from that kind of life and that he had to start fending for himself from now on. The writers brought Mark back to screw everything up for Debbie story-wise (and, to an extent, Ruth), essentially becoming the villain in this story and stopping the progress Debbie and Ruth have made throughout this episode. Debbie should have smashed Mark out of the washroom like she smashed Ruth at the end of the pilot episode, but I guess she was too flabbergasted and maybe actually humiliated about what just happened, possibly even panicked about an even scarier reaction coming from Mark. Her two separate lives just clashed together as the USA and Russia did in the wrestling ring, and the fallout damaged Miss American Pie.
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| Thumbs up for a painless move well done. |
And the sudden drama worked well. It was painful to witness the change from an enjoyable and entertaining wrestling show to a character drama within seconds, and I did not want Debbie to end up that emotionally damaged by the end of the half hour when she was having the fun of her life just minutes ago. It makes you feel for her enormously, and it resets who the actual antagonist of the show is at the moment. GLOW still needs a villain among the characters, and because the show-within-a-show managed to get on the air, the network has removed itself from that equation, so a new villain had to enter the fray. And since the main dramatic arc of the series belongs to Ruth and Debbie, it was only logical that one of their backstories would make for a damaging return into their lives. Sam should start fearing for the loss of his wrestling superstar(s), simply because Mark brought with him all the domestic problems that will screw with Debbie’s mind. Mark’s appearance did so many things at the end of the episode, and all of them worked to perfection on a storytelling level. It’s interesting how one character could change the dynamic of the show so much in an instant. And here I was, really wanting to see the crowd losing their collective minds witnessing Lady Liberty smashing her body on a Soviet piece of crap. By the way, Ruth really sold that character to perfection. Her entrance gave me joy, and it looked like the same joy was given to the fictional audience of the first-ever live show of GLOW.
The two-on-two match-up also gave me joy, because I wasn’t expecting that at all. It’s nice to see that Cherry and Tamme were also able to change their characters and fight choreography a little bit, just to pop things up a bit more, to make things more interesting and funny for a possibly drunk and drugged-out live audience. If Sam’s mind lights didn’t go on during that performance, then I don’t know what the heck Sam was even doing directing this show. During the performance, I did love that the appearance of the white supremacists turned everyone down for a second – I bet even Sam was thinking ‘WTF’ for a few too many seconds, expecting to throw himself into the ring, stop the show, and fire everyone involved, but it turns out it worked. The audience was into it. The show is crazy enough to survive such an absurd and controversial stunt. The white supremacists were booed off the ring and out of the gym, and the audience was wild about all of it. Although I would have loved to know if something like this was able to fly on cable access back in the day – there had to be something like Standards & Practices active, even for local channels.
In the meantime, the writers didn’t hold back to create some storytelling. Carmen’s stage fright came out of nowhere and defined her character a bit, and I loved that Bash was seriously worried about her. There might still be a love story hidden here, which I would be happy to see, although I still think that Bash is a closeted gay failure of a Hollywood producer, fearing his true self, so he is hiding behind this public persona. It also helped Carmen’s character arc that her brothers assisted Ruth and Debbie in coming up with a choreography. It was not such a bad idea to connect one story with another and sell the feeling of a connected world. It’s a necessary thing to do for a half-hour series, since there normally isn’t enough time to go into world-building with characters in detail.
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| Miss Liberty Belle's signature move is born. |
And finally, the little tidbits making for an entertaining episode: As expected, Justine has a huge crush on Sam, essentially risking her position with the gorgeous ladies of wrestling. The story not only gave depth to the more delightful and charming Rhonda, who told Sam about Justine like it’s one of the most normal things that could happen to a girl, but it also helped Justine whom I want to see more of (as well as Sheila, but unfortunately, she hasn’t gotten a lot of screentime since the reveal of her spiritual wolf backstory). I would just hope that Sam makes good on his threat to fire whoever stole his video camera, otherwise, he couldn’t be taken seriously as a director and as the boss of the whole thing if he chickens out of that. Judging by what happened in the ring, showing a stern attitude may be necessary to keep the women in line.
Then there was the impromptu “rap” number at the end... If I had been more emotionally connected to the show, I probably would have cried a tear or two, but I wasn’t, so I didn’t. Still, it was a cute moment, although the score that was running through that scene reminded me of the end of a battle scene in an anti-war movie in the vein of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Maybe not the most perfect choice for a musical needle drop during a scene, but the message was still delivered. The women had fun doing their draft live show, and Sam and Bash and the producer saw that there is potential in the wrestling show, if Sam and the women are being allowed to continuously work on their characters and performances and maybe even go overboard a little.
