GLOW Episode 2.4: "Mother of All Matches"

Chris: I can't say enough how impressed I am with Kia Stevens in this episode. She earned plenty of praise from me in her smaller acting moments in the previous season but her and Betty Gilpin carry this episode and Stevens does her part beautifully. Otherwise, I'd think I would be beginning to grow weary of more moments of Debbie having breakdowns but instead, we're given moments of amazing chemistry between Debbie and her son to bring the episode light-hearted moments.
In wrestling, most stories build up to the moment where the heel get what they deserve and when done right, the crowd basically has no choice but to come unglued and cheer their hearts out for the face. However, there is a fine line between a heel getting what they deserve and the face just being mean and that risks the crowd not giving back the reaction desired. Point in case, recently WWE did a rivalry between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman for the good part of a year. Basically the point the whole story is that Roman is trying to get back into the championship scene but Braun is a massive roadblock and no matter what Roman does, it's never enough to keep Braun down. One night, at a particularly dumb titled event (Great Balls of Fire, not kidding), Roman and Braun had an ambulance match, Braun outsmarted Roman and managed to win. Roman, being the good guy, got angry at his dumb mistake and attacked Braun after the match, threw him in the back of the ambulance and Roman proceeded to back said ambulance into a trailer with Braun still in the back, you know, like how a good guy attempts to murder someone, right? I know it's an extreme example but it shows that good guys have their limits in order to get the desired reaction from the crowd.

Joel: We should take a moment to talk about the fickle nature of heels and faces when it comes to wrestling. A heel turn is when a face does something shocking against their nature. They betray a former friend, or they decide to cheat in a match or do something else that causes the crowd to boo a character that they once cheered. The most important thing about a heel turn however is it’s planned. Everyone working on the creative side knows that while a character may be getting cheers, before the match is over the crowd will be booing them. Where it goes wrong is when the crowd turns on creative’s plan and decided to boo a wrestler that they were supposed to be cheering.

This is what happens to Liberty Bell in her match in this episode. After her title match with Welfare Queen (a match that gets a lot of screen time on the show and it some of the best wrestling we’ve seen in GLOW so far) Liberty Belle tries to get a “Get a job” chant going with the crowd aimed toward the defeated Welfare Queen. It’s supposed to be a moment where the heel character finally gets her comeuppance but that’s not how it comes off in practice. Part of that is because of the “behind the scenes” story we know between Tamme and her son with him watching her wrestle for the first time. However, as a wrestling scene this just doesn’t work. Liberty Belle comes across as mean and petty. And the crowd rightly turns on her and starts to display sympathy for Welfare Queen. And just like that, the character that’s supposed to be your biggest hero is now hated by the crowd.

This is something that happens with surprising frequency in wrestling. Often times a wrestler who is selected to be the main face of the company is rejected by the crowd. John Cena for example has been the biggest face of the WWE for years but has been frequently booed by large portions of the audience. Roman Reigns is another more current example of this happening. Even Hulk Hogan had a period in his career where he was getting booed by crowds that were supposed to be cheering him. In GLOW this misstep is quickly fixed. Ruth rushes in and gets the crowd back on Liberty Belle’s side in a manner of minutes. But far too often, this is something that wrestling promotions struggle with. GLOW has mentioned before that you sometimes have to roll with the audience, even if it’s in a direction that you weren’t initially expecting. This is something that even the biggest wrestling companies in the world struggle with on a weekly basis.

Alexa: This episode is hands down the best installment of “GLOW” to date, both in terms of character development and the featured wrestling. Most of the cast doesn’t even appear. It’s truly a showcase for the team’s two mothers - Debbie and Tammé - and both Betty Gilpin and Kia Stevens knock it out of the park with their nuanced performances here. Gilpin had some great material in season 1 as well, but Stevens is taking on a much bigger role in season 2. She’s the only one of the main cast who’s a professional wrestler, but it turns out she’s also one hell of an actress, and I’m so glad the writers are giving her a chance to shine. I mentioned in last episode’s review that “GLOW” has increasingly been addressing the fine line the show-within-a-show walks between empowering and exploiting its stars, and nothing underscores that theme better than Tammé’s storyline. She grapples with what the “Welfare Queen” persona means when her son finally finds out about her new job, and his reaction to the role’s offensive undertones gets to her. The scene where she flees the ring humiliated is emotionally shattering, but perhaps even more poignant is the following scene, when she tentatively and hopefully asks her son what he thought of the show. And while he still finds the character offensive, he’s in awe of his mom’s athletic ability and showmanship. The show truly allows Tammé to flourish as an athlete and performer after years of working odd jobs to support her family. The little moments between her and her son as they unpack her latest career move are so natural and tender, and some of the show’s most compelling interactions.

Gilpin also does some outstanding work in this episode as Debbie juggles her star and producer duties with raising her son and dealing with her divorce. Joel has mentioned before how adeptly Gilpin shifts from one emotion to another in her strained relationship with Ruth, and she showcases those skills beautifully in the context of this episode’s storyline. She’s trying to be a good mother and a consummate professional while figuring out who she is without her marriage, so of course she was bound to snap, if only for an afternoon. She ricochets between determined and frustrated, confident and guilt-ridden, and she expertly navigates the delicate area where comedy and drama intersect. Her reaction to a woman’s comment that Terrible Mark “looks like such a nice man” is hilarious and heartbreaking. And on top of the brilliant character work this episode, we also get an extending wrestling sequence between Liberty Belle and Welfare Queen that shows off both ladies’ abilities. My wrestling knowledge is admittedly slim to none, but I never really appreciated how choreographed the whole thing is until this sequence. It’s almost like a dance. The scene captures Debbie’s and Tammé’s subtle nods and glances to each other as they wrestle, illustrating the real partnership they share in the ring.