Date of release: June 23, 2017 (Netflix)
For some, this show might be too slow when it comes to storytelling –
when a show takes six episodes for the main attraction to have its
first appearance, you can certainly argue that the show is slow-paced,
but in the case of GLOW, the wrestling comedy has an entirely different
story to tell and for once I am glad to say that RECTIFY doesn’t have to
be the only show in television history to be extremely slow in
storytelling, but be fascinating as a TV show, because as it turns out,
not everything is just about the central premise or having to move the plot forward.
After six episodes of GLOW, the characters still fascinate me, although some of them don’t get nearly enough to do. After six episodes, GLOW has executed some fine character development and has arrived at a place in the story where some of the characters can make the step forward and be involved in that central premise, to take a pause in their character arcs and focus on why they are in the show. That may take one or two episodes and then said characters are back in their individual arcs, but that only proves the show’s versatility. It took GLOW six episodes for me to want much more from them, to see how the women grow as a team and maybe even as best friends. I almost don’t want any of them to leave in-between seasons, or quit because they are angry about the way they have been treated in the ring and outside of it, or get dropped by producers and the network for whatever random reason imaginable. I want all of them to go through the adventure together, because I am starting to like them all, no matter how deep their wrestling characters swim in stereotypes. Besides that, I want to see more of Kate Nash, so her character better not be written off the show.
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| Ruth's story of Yentl is a revelation to these Russian folks. |
This was a pretty good episode. Separating Ruth from the group in this episode was a very neat idea because it helped to showcase the character in her profession as an actress. Most average people don’t even know how real-life actors prepare for the roles they were hired to play, and for this episode, the writers decided to give this real-life-job-learning a shot for the cameras: Even actors have to work on figuring out the character they are playing. They don’t just walk in front of the camera and speak their learned lines, they need to get a feel for the person they are portraying. Although Ruth was a little weak in that, since she was mostly getting drunk on vodka and singing songs from YENTL (this scene could have been elaborated on – just let Alison Brie put on an impromptu musical number amongst the Russians, or even her group of wrestlers), it happened to be a great throwaway story for an episode, continuing the notion of GLOW being something of a procedural, too, in which every episode has its own little stand-alone story for the sake of understanding the pool of characters more.
Also, I sort of liked seeing Ravil Isyanov in the show – no one knew the guy’s name, but SEVEN DAYS and ALIAS happen to be some of my all-time favorite TV shows during my youth and Isyanov played villains in both, so he was always present during my teenage years. I especially liked Gregory’s “I have wife sometimes” running joke, and not just because he stereotyped the Russian character he is playing, even though Ruth wanted the real experience.
Meanwhile, Debbie needed an entire episode to learn what GLOW will be all about with her as the star in the ring. I didn’t mind the search for her heel and I didn’t mind that it was pretty obvious that Ruth would eventually be the heel and that the characters needed so damn long to come to that realization, but it turned out to be a great development in Debbie’s story. And it was even better because it took only the episode’s running time of fewer than 30 minutes for Debbie to get there. Slow storytelling and all, but I don’t think letting the audience continue to wait for that first encounter between the all-American princess and her Russian antagonist would have been a good idea. But there is still something of a problem at this stage: Some of the other women are not being given a chance to shine in the ring, and their show-within-a-show personas still aren’t fleshed out, despite the stereotypes they portray. Then again, the first draft of an exhibition fight between Ruth and Debbie was nice to look at. Finally, the wrestling moves and the soap opera storylines are moving along in the show and it’s almost like watching how a television show comes to be and takes its first steps. We are already past auditions and preparations and training. Now it’s time for the first and second and third and fourth drafts of the script. In a way, GLOW is meta television and I am loving it.
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| Buttplay is always part of the show. |
And finally, the writers didn’t stop continuing storytelling for some of the other ongoing storylines, as tiny as they may be. I might not have known why it was so important for Justine to be surprised or mad by the fact that Rhonda is having sex with Sam (it’s not like Sam is screwing the star of the show), and I might have been confused about why Justine would steal the camera at the end, but I did appreciate that the pizza delivery guy wasn’t lost in-between episodes and that Justine already hated his guts for talking crap on Sam and his body of exploitation flicks.
Okay, I might have just realized why she was so mad at Rhonda – her madness might be caused by jealousy. Now I’m hoping that Sam won’t get around to fiddle with all of the women throughout the next few episodes. Rhonda is enough already, especially since he already has a backstory of threesome sex with Cherry as well. But yeah, Justine’s story shows that not every pretty boy you randomly meet and want to have sex with right away is capable of being a supportive boyfriend.
