Chris: I just had to say something about someone using the “fake” word in the last review, didn’t I? And notice she was immediately put in her place after that. I’m not a huge fan of a couple things in this episode, one being that Cherry is suddenly training everyone with any sort of success. Sure she admits that she doesn’t really know much about wrestling but through sheer will power, a stunt background and the help of someone that grew up in the business, they kind of do lock-ups. This might be a minor gripe because really they just need to progress the plot and Johnny Mundo wasn’t available beyond the first episode. What I did like was the emphasis of there always being a hero and a villain in wrestling because otherwise, it’s hard to get people invested in anything combat-related and, a lot of times, the villain is way more interested than the hero. That’s why, if you watch wrestling with any sort of regularity, really good villains almost always become heroes because they’re just that good at what they do. However, the best villains are the ones that are the best at what they do and yet still manage to find a way to make sure they get a villain response from the audience.
Joel: I don’t know why actual wrestler Johnny Mundo (also known as John Morrison) was only in one episode as the trainer before disappearing. Perhaps he could only fit one episode worth of filming into his schedule, but his absence after being there in the earlier episode sets up an interesting situation. Last episode, Salty “The Sack” Johnson was the only character in the room that had any real knowledge of wrestling. (We can assume that Carmen probably knows some things with her family being involved in the business, but we don’t know to what extent) So for this episode, the training is left to Cherry. Cherry hasn’t had any wrestling experience and basically uses her background in stunt work and “just figuring it out as she goes along” to train the rest of the girls. A part of me really wanted to take issue with the fact that someone was able to teach wrestling safely to a group of people without having any extensive training themselves, but in the long run, it’s actually handled very well. Cherry does come across as genuinely trying to pull this off through trial and error, not suddenly becoming an expert in in ring safety. Carmen’s knowledge is briefly called upon and we can assume that this is something that happened more than once, it’s just that at the end of the day, the character of Cherry is going to serve the show better in the “trainer” role.
The other hangup I had on this episode was the ketchup used as blood. I know why it was used in the story, and I’m not saying that it should be changed at all, but it brought me back to a thousand arguments where I was told that wrestling was fake and all the “blood” was just ketchup. But the fallout of this story worked great for me. Rather than getting upset at the miscarriage gag when he hears about it, Sam instead immediately sees the potential for a storyline. This rings true of wrestling through and through. Even today, real life, upsetting events are worked into storylines all the time. Even the death of a wrestler can end up being worked into the show’s storyline less than a week after, and not always in a way that’s respectful to said wrestler. We can already see a bit of it in how Sam views Ruth and Debbie, and even more here with the miscarriage angle. To Sam, nothing is sacred, and anything goes when trying to get some heat. And that is an attitude in wrestling that I am very familiar with.
Alexa: I mentioned in the last review that I hoped GLOW would dive deeper into its ensemble, and we get to know a few of the supporting characters here. We learn more about Cherry, including the tragic backstory behind her tough, no-nonsense attitude. I sense her growing into one of the show’s most interesting characters, and I could easily see Sydelle Noel becoming one of its breakout stars. We also spend a lot more time with Melrose, who quickly escalates from acting mildly annoying to being the absolute worst. As Chris pointed out, this episode addresses the “it’s fake” criticism, and I think it did an admirable job underscoring that just because wrestling is scripted doesn’t mean it lacks effort. I liked the comparison of one of the moves to a dance. It’s carefully choreographed, requires significant athletic ability and the potential for injury still exists. There are still stakes, and the storylines bring them to the fore. This episode scratches the surface of that by introducing the hero-villain dynamic, which I’m sure we’ll see evolve both in the context of GLOW the wrestling franchise and GLOW the series as the show progresses.
New to wrestling and want to know more? Chris and Joel have a wrestling podcast called Classy Ring Attire available on iTunes! Follow them on Twitter for more info.
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