Date of release: June 29, 2018 (Netflix)
written by: Nick Jones
directed by: Mark A. Burley
Why is Chris Lowell not part of the main cast and instead just credited among the “guest starring” individuals during the end credits? The guy has more screentime than Kate Nash as Britannica, and while I adore Kate and am happy that she had a starring role on an American television show, allowing me to see more of her when I pause listening to her albums on repeat, Rhonda does not even have a character arc at the moment, while Bash has a couple of them on the back burner that could easily turn into something major for him and the show itself, if the writers were interested in putting them into the spotlight. Maybe there are budgetary reasons – Kate Nash, as a woman who has not had TV starring experiences, is cheaper for the production than Chris Lowell who already has television experience and can demand higher wages, which means production can afford her in the main cast and not him. That would kind of get into the meta storytelling of what is happening on GLOW right now, as Debbie is trying to work her way up the food chain and be an actual producer, instead of just carrying the title of one. But I do not think the writers would even think about criticizing their producers with this story. Although this is Netflix, and maybe the streaming network allows jabs here and there, similar to how HBO allows John Oliver to roast the corporate leadership on his show on a weekly basis.
The episode was good. I realized again that women are more fun to watch on scripted television. Looking at Yolanda and Ruth putting on a dance number in the ring gave me all the joy I needed after looking at my Twitter timeline for an hour or two, and remembering that the show could have easily been just about Sam and his asshole efforts to put on a women’s wrestling show, making things less interesting, as guys are usually boring when only doing the same thing. This episode was partly about beating the repetition in one’s life, hence Debbie and Bash convincing Sam to put Zoya and Junkchain on the show so they can have their dance in the ring (although maybe it is not such a wrong idea if they do one or two wrestling moves, as part of the dance choreography – they stopped short of doing a few during the audition), and here I am, watching a show that beats the repetition of me watching male-centric stuff which is always the same (and yet I am still watching it).
 |
| Are you ready for Yolanda's dance moves? |
You can put all of Jason Bateman’s films into the same category, and after a while, those movies will simply become boring (GAME NIGHT might have been a better feature without him, although he was still fun in it). You can give all of Dwayne Johnson’s movies the same title, and you will not notice they are all different. Guys have been doing the same crap in Hollywood for generations, which is why Ruth and Yolanda’s dance number appealed to me significantly. Yes, it was not the prettiest dance number, and you would never see it in a STEP UP movie, but for a quickly rehearsed number, which was essentially just an audition, it was neat and entertaining and fun. Except for the many finger peace signs Yolanda and Ruth were flashing during the number – a little less of those cliched “gang signs” and a couple of wrestling moves in its place and the entire thing would have been my next obsession to rewatch on YouTube over and over, as I do with PITCH PERFECT music numbers every once in a while.
In the meantime, I am starting to see where Sam and Ruth’s story is going. Or maybe not because I still cannot figure out if he hates her, or if he is falling in love with her, which means he has to stay away from her, just so he will not screw things up with the show. I guess Ruth’s story with Russell will bring out Sam’s true feelings for her – if he is jealous of seeing Ruth and Russell making out in one of the next episodes, it is obvious where his behavior comes from, and the writers have gotten themselves into a very easy-to-write narrative that could bring a lot of drama. But if Sam actually hates the crap out of Ruth, and this is going to turn into a toxic work environment, maybe there is something else the show can offer.
I do not believe the writers were ready to go full-on complex, ready to dismantle the Hollywood patriarchy though. After all, Sam and Justine’s story is simple, and Debbie’s efforts to get past the wall of a male Hollywood environment is a story that does not give you the sweats when developing it in the writers’ room, while Arthie trying to distance herself from Middle Eastern stereotypes and becoming her own developed wrestling character is the typical growing-out-of-the-shell narrative, which you will find almost everywhere else on television. Yes, GLOW sounds a little repetitive while it is telling all these stories, but at least the show has so many fires burning at the moment, it will be a major surprise to the negative if the writers managed to make none of them count at the end.
 |
| The secret of the ooze has revealed these two mutants. |
Especially Arthie’s story, which seemed a whole lot more important in this episode. She is not the white girl among the cast members, but she kind of behaves like one while also making fun of white women (when she was commenting on Ruth and Yolanda’s breakdance plans for the show), but two white women just stole her idea to make her wrestling character better and free her from the horrible cliches and potential hate that could come against her. Talk about being beaten down by privilege – if that is not another idea to create toxic work environments on the show and risk it from ever getting a second season, then I do not know what the issue is with GLOW, the Netflix show.
By the way, was I the only one thinking that Justine was about to throw down some wresting moves during the punk show, showing that she a) learned something while hanging out with the cast of wrestlers, and b) may be interested in the genre and trying it out, giving Sam a chance to be biased over one of his cast members? It could have been a great first step to establish Justine’s interest in wrestling, although that may also be unrealistic, as Justine is only interested in her punk rocker boyfriend who is still a loser as it seems.
