GLOW Episode 9 "The Liberal Chokehold"

Chris: The big reveal in this episode wasn’t one that I saw coming in previous episodes but the longer this particular episode went on, the more obvious it came to be and the more that Sam’s movie explanation felt more like foreshadowing. This felt like another heavy episode but the speech by Ruth at the end of the party was a home run and I felt a sense of relief that Debbie and Ruth made more progress in fixing the damage. The dialogue between the two at the party gave a sense of how lonely it’s been for both women having their best friend become the person they’d least wanna be in the same room with. And the dialogue achieved that without saying exactly that. Also, I never thought I feel such giddiness at Debbie admitting that she liked wrestling. I mean, sure, we’ve seen a change in her behavior that exemplified as much but to actually have her say it is a big step for her character.

Joel: The past two episodes have had pretty much zero wrestling between the two of them. I’m not suggesting that’s a bad thing. Even actual wrestling shows need to take time between the matches to help break up the pace of the show. What we get here is a lot more of the character, and we get to see some of the backstory of characters who have been stuck in the background for a good portion of the show up until this point. We get a peek at Bash’s life behind the personality, and get to see what kind of world that he comes from. It’s not a surprise to see, as we’ve been able to guess what his family and life were probably like based on several hints earlier in the series. Bash’s mother also makes an appearance as she’s the one who’s cut of Bash’s funding, and by extension the funding for GLOW itself. If there’s a wrestling related moment in this particular episode it’s this one. Sometimes people just won’t like wrestling. No matter how you try and explain it, no matter how you compare it to other things (“It’s like a dance in a ring!” “It’s a live theater performance with an emphasis on stage combat!”) there will be people who just think wrestling is silly and dumb. You can be as excited and enthusiastic as you want, they won’t be able to see past the nonsense of it all. And you might just have to be ok with that.
Then we get to the other character Justine who’s story in this episode does come as a big surprise. Justine’s been acting strange around Sam for most of the show, and now we get to know why. I’ll be honest, I was expecting something along the lines of the fangirl crush storyline and was braced for it. This caught me off guard which impressed me because it allows you to rewatch the show seeing this particular character’s actions in a whole new light. I can tell that this is the kind of show where I’m going to end up watching the first season again about a month before the second season comes out as a refresher course, so that will be something to look for on a second viewing.

Alexa: We dedicated a lot of space in our last recap to Marc Maron’s fantastic work as Sam, but if possible I think he’s even more in his element in this episode. He pretty much hits rock bottom here, between GLOW’s financial woes, discovering that the broad strokes of his passion project have already been popularized by a little movie called Back to the Future, and accidentally coming on to his daughter. We finally know the source of Justine’s odd behavior the past few episodes, and it’s more than just a strong admiration for Sam’s work. Maron plays Sam with such natural ease at this point, and his reaction makes the big reveal all the more effective. Elsewhere, the gang’s attempts to raise enough money for a new venue by pretending to be reformed drug addicts provides a little comic relief as the ladies get creative with their backstories. But Ruth’s reformation tale isn’t so far from the truth, as her speech serves as a recap of how much she’s grown since the pilot. It’s a moment that could come across as trite, but Alison Brie once again nails it with her earnest performance.