Date of release: June 23, 2017 (Netflix)
And thus endeth an episode with an abortion story somewhat front and center (it wasn’t at the beginning, but it developed and became the main focus during the closing episodes), which means GLOW, the comedy-drama, ended an episode without the comedy and with lots of drama. I faintly remember how a first-season episode of GIRLS portrayed an abortion (maybe I should get back to the show and watch beyond the first couple of season-two episodes I don’t remember any longer), but considering GLOW is part of a zeitgeist presenting mid-1980s thoughts and minds, the procedure was more dangerous, less safe, more stigmatized, less “business as usual,” and therefore more of a serious topic for the people involved in an abortion, less alone it being a premise in a television show. This is why I found it a bit surprising that Ruth made the decision to abort the pregnancy this easily and quickly, and that Sam tried his best to be a supportive figure for her. Weird how normal things were in the 1980s, the decade after Roe v. Wade, compared to how terrifying it will be for women now.
However, I loved the entire final scene of Sam trying to be the husband-type person to Ruth, albeit in a jokey fashion, asking her the important question, and trying to make her feel as safe as possible, even if all of this didn’t feel like it was a scene about an abortion set in the 1980s. It was almost like a scene written far into the twenty-first century, in which we all got to learn about pro-choice progressivism, but then again, what do I know about the abortion procedure in the United States of the 1980s? In hindsight, the abortion gave Ruth a nice little storyline, although maybe a bit of a filler story – I’m not expecting the abortion to keep her busy emotionally, and I’m not expecting for it to be an issue for Ruth, as soon as the wrestling show is actually beginning production. If Ruth is following her new career, who will care about the fetus she aborted before her career started?
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| Does the British lady like American sausages? |
This episode showed that the writers weren’t interested in showing a five/six-hour movie here. For once, there is a Netflix show in which its episodes are clearly episodic and it doesn’t feel like you are just watching an act of a ten-act movie and have to wait for however long you want to wait to watch the next act. Sheila’s birthday and Ruth’s abortion were stand-alone storylines, having begun at the beginning of the episode, having ended by the end of the episode (okay, maybe not the abortion, because some of the drama could still be a topic in the next half hour). You don’t see that very often on Netflix shows, because they would like to be known as the network that creates hours-long movies instead of actual TV shows. The landscape currently might be rewritten, but every once in a while there is a TV show on Netflix that is simply just a TV show. And I liked that a whole lot about GLOW and I would love to see it more from Netflix shows. Especially dramas.
Sheila’s story was also pretty nice. She was scared to be recognized by everyone for being the birthday girl, but she reconciled with herself and had something that can be described as fun on the skating rink, finally having been included in a clique where she is seen as Sheila and not as a freak. I loved seeing her like that, and I loved seeing her smile and open up to other people, becoming more social and maybe a little less wolf-y. Maybe the wrestling show is helping Sheila to become more human, maybe start a relationship (even if it’s just a friendly one with one of the other women), or maybe she realizes that she can be both a wolf and a person at the same time – it’s quite a nice premise for a character arc and one that could spell a happy end for Sheila, as she is doing some growing up while being a cast member of a women’s wrestling show.
And then there were Sam and Rhonda, whose sexy relationship is now
history, right after we have just gotten used to it as part of Sam and
Rhonda’s moments of life. This episode also recognized Sam as somewhat
of a feminist, which is kind of funny when you think about his character. But he didn’t mind that Ruth had an abortion and he didn’t even
mind that he had period sex with Rhonda. Especially the latter can be an
issue for some men (probably most of them), but Sam didn’t even shrug
his shoulders, he just had a funny comment to offer about the crime
scene around his penis. He just accepted all of it, like the supporting man he is.
Also, I found it amusing (albeit predictable) that Rhonda broke up with him first. That made her an easy character as well, because she wasn’t just hunting down a man and putting the pressure off of Sam, who was probably not ready to deal with the emotional fallout of something and somewhat he was involved in/with. In a way, she just wanted some fun in bed and he needed the distraction every once in a while, maybe the confirmation that he can still be loved by another woman, despite his drugged-out and alcoholic hobo looks. The writers were working on the show with feminism written on the board, showing the hateful male audience who might have discovered the show that women are allowed to have fun and make decisions on their own as well.
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| You have a lot of time to think about stuff while having a medical abortion. |
Finally, Mark is trying to get back with Debbie, which I think is an okay-ish storyline, but I didn’t care much. The hug might have been a touching moment in general, but Mark was omnipresent in this episode, being the male guest star in Debbie’s storyline and being the backstory in Ruth’s. And I don’t even like the character a lot and wouldn’t mind if Debbie goes through with the divorce, is focused on wrestling, and makes peace with Ruth. In a way, Mark has separated Debbie from the group of women, as she was starting to get used to hanging out with them and working hard to get a show in the ring and on the air. Men... they always have to ruin things for women.
