Date of release: June 29, 2018 (Netflix)
written by: Liz Flahive, Carly Mensch, Sascha Rothchild
directed by: Sian Heder
It looks like this episode inhabited the climax of the entire season, and from here on it is going to be a wild and hilarious circus. In a way, this could have been the season finale, with Debbie and Ruth’s conflict culminating into a kind of epic fight of words and emotions, as well as the women being aware that their wrestling show is going to be canceled, and Sam decided they will do whatever the heck they want during the last four episodes of the season, to have fun, and to go out with a bang. Although Sam should have said that he still had three episodes left, just to be on point with the fact that GLOW has three episodes left this season. Now that the characters do not fear their fate any longer and go into the next day and production of the next episode by having fun, there is almost nothing to threaten them any longer. No network executives bossing them around, no director trying to steal Sam’s job, no hassle in trying to get another sponsor. They are essentially canceled already, so why try to work their hardest to keep their job? Ruth and Debbie’s “truce” that came out of their big fight could easily lead to peace between the two (although I hope it will not – their argument was excellent drama, and I want to see it again), which could help the production of the remaining four episodes.
That kind of makes the show more intriguing from here on, because I have no idea what is going to happen, how awesome the show-within-a-show’s craziness will be, or how the narrative will keep me engulfed in the lives of the characters with three episodes remaining when they all joined Sam in the “no damns given” corner of television production in Los Angeles.
 |
| They have to reach far to share cookies. |
So, this episode was clearly too short. One big story, all of it spread throughout the 30 minutes, and I was fixated on absolutely every second of it. Beginning with the awkward piece of comedy that is Russell trying to find a way out of the ring with Ruth in his arms, ending with the cool-as-heck image of four people exiting the hospital, not giving a crap about what is happening with their careers, as well as how people were reacting to their awesome looks and demeanor. Even Bash came over as the cool guy by putting on his sunglasses, even though he reminded me that his character arc was buried again and I still have to wait for the gay in him to break out and have a little naughty fun (maybe he could swap homoerotic stories with Yolanda in the next season). I also adored the montage of all the GLOW stars entertaining Ruth and Sam in her hospital room, all in their own way, all with their own talents, even if Yolanda’s “talents” were absolutely childish. I only would have loved some interactions between a few individuals from the cast, kind of like how Sam and Arthie had a bit of a conversation at the snack machine, as the writers went a tiny bit into Arthie’s backstory. So, back to medical school in season three, now that she has a history separating her from the terrorist character she reluctantly plays in the ring?
Ruth’s words about having people who came to the ER with her, who care about her, hit me the most during this episode, as she came to realize she never had anyone who gave a damn about her, nor did she realize previously that she was rocking at this job. I mean, if all of her castmates followed her to the hospital and wanted to entertain her and make her feel good after feeling pain for most of the evening, does it mean she left a huge impression on all of them and they see her as more than an equal, as something of a leader? Does that mean she is doing her job more than well? She was essentially directing the pilot of the show, she was directing the opening credits, she improvised the kidnapping storyline which seemed to have been a hit with the network executives, and she is generally being an awesome fake Russian villain – and now Ruth is wrecked and cannot shine any longer, making me wonder if she will move behind the camera and make the show nuttier and therefore more successful, now that she has time to work her magic behind the camera without having to focus to look cool as the heel in front of the camera. It is like the writers found a way to force Ruth to be the creative force of the show within a show instead of letting her fight in the ring, just so she can be the official co-director. And with it, Ruth discovers her talent that could lead to a new career.
 |
| Cool people do not look back at the hospital they just left. |
Meanwhile, the episode did not forget some of the other characters. As I mentioned already, Arthie got some depth with her medical school backstory, and even Sheila looked like a real person with her make-up off and her story about how her parents were still together after fighting for so long. I love it when the show puts me in the lives of some of the other main or supporting characters, and I suddenly know about them a lot more than I did five minutes ago. It is almost like all of the women were dealing with some serious and emotional stuff before they joined the wrestling show, and now they were starting to realize they had the time of their lives. Can it be that the entire show is about the friendship between the women? Is it possible that this angle of the show saves itself from going too dark at times? GLOW can get pretty dark sometimes, but every once in a while, Russell looks like the funny fool because he cannot get off the stage with Ruth in his arms, and the foursome at the end look rad as heck because they realized how lucky they are to have each other. They go through all this complex crap, but at the end of the day, they are still friends.
