Date of release: June 29, 2018 (Netflix)
written by: Marquita J. Robinson
directed by: Lynn Shelton
The silence that came with the end credits... That had some eeriness to it, which I found creepy in a positive sense, as it was necessary to show the audience what the heck just happened and where the show is heading with Debbie’s character arc, in addition to taking her decision to get high on Sam’s stash and threatening the safety of all the GLOW women in the process seriously. Emotions run wide and wild, and one mistake can cost you your career. But I am pretty sure Debbie has arrived at a point where she does not give a damn anymore, and maybe she is even close to giving up, since her divorce is taking all the lifeforce out of her, with no chance for her wrestling job to give Debbie some sort of fun and enjoyment. She is about to realize that she is losing her kid (she probably does not give a damn about Mark either, but his new girlfriend of his is the latest villain in Debbie’s complicated life), and chances are her career is on the line as well, considering the sound of breaking bones at the very end.
Not to mention the line of coke she took in Sam’s office, and all of a sudden Debbie could be on a very dark path, turning parts of GLOW into a serious drama – which would not even be surprising, since the show has been fairly realistic and downbeat for a couple of episodes now. Seeing the drama stuff play out on a television show like GLOW would be pretty neat, and something I would love to watch. Sometimes a comedy is allowed to turn into a tragedy, and there have not been a lot of television shows out there using the format of a tragedy. I am not sure if GLOW would fit being a tragedy, but you never know when you do not try it.
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| Sam is an ally, and we all know it now. |
It was interesting to notice how Debbie and Sam switched places on the field of emotions. Sam won a little bit of confidence during the film festival, even if I believe it is just because he was able to hang out with a woman he most likely has a crush on, all while Debbie is losing control over her life and decides to mask her pain with drugs and alcohol, something that Sam would normally do if he does not give a damn. Not more than a few episodes ago I was thinking that Sam was still on that path of drugs ’n booze, and that Debbie was just trying to find a way not to think about her failing home life, playing the happy ex-housewife and star wrestler of a public cable television show. But now that the writers have established the paths for the two characters, it is going to be intriguing to follow them to the end. Will Sam have a chance to show Ruth his soft side? Will Debbie turn into GLOW’s very own Christiane F. (minus the homelessness and prostitution part)? While I don’t think the latter will ever happen because that idea is just too dark for a show that wants to be joyful and light every once in a while, it is still an intriguing thought.
By the way, I was happy when Sam
showed up at Tom Grant’s car and smashed the windshield. At least one
man in this series universe who proves he might have some respect for
women – although that was already the case when Sam accompanied Ruth to
the clinic for her abortion the previous season. Sam could be considered an ally, although he is also very much a character written by progressive writers from the twenty-first century.
In the world of GLOW, it was fabulous to see that Cherry took back the role she gave up for black Cagney and Jew Lacey, although it was a little weird that she came back into the role like nothing ever happened, with no one reacting to her return, and everyone seemingly unbothered to be happy about one of their coaches being back in the business to drive them to the max. There was not a lot of attention given between Cherry and Yolanda about who will get the place as Junkchain in the ring and whether Sam will have to decide which one to keep, and I cannot believe I noticed just now that GLOW might have made fun of a typical element of soap operas: recasting a character that is not going to be changed by the fact that the actor is leaving (and then returning after an absence, with the recast actor not leaving either). Yolanda took over Junkchain from Cherry and no one was batting an eye because stuff like that happens on every soap opera. But the original cast member coming back and vying for their old spot? Yeah, that event is a little rarer in the business, which means GLOW needed to have it taken care of, as it also wants to be part soap opera with its show-within-a-show storyline.
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| It is time for high schoolers to direct television shows. |
The training montage was cool. Consider me happy when I saw Kate Nash jumping around on her bed (I am still a big fan), and seeing all the women getting more hardcore and violent in the ring, as they were starting to throw themselves around a little more often. For a second I was interested to know what shooting and preparation for the show were like, since the cast members had to learn those wrestling moves like their characters did (making me think some of the practice moves were filmed and eventually made their way into the episodes?), and how they felt at the end of the day when cameras stopped rolling, and whether they were attempting to copy some of the moves they have learned on set to make their partners at home ... uhm, happy. Yeah, that is where my mind goes sometimes.
