GLOW 2.8: The Good Twin

Chris: Holy crap, I take back what I said about the previous episode, this is my favorite of the season. This serves as a good break as we reached the dramatic climax of the show in the previous episode and we get to sit back and watch the campy direction the show within the show went for after Ruth broke her ankle. As we’ve seen, Sam’s history in campy horror movies serves as his roots so we see that element as Glow goes for broke when they know they’ll likely get cancelled anyway. This episode seemed fun to make and it comes across in every scene, match and commercial with the performance of everyone. I am thoroughly enjoying the increased spotlight on Sunita Mani the last couple episodes. I was a big fan of hers in Mr. Robot and I had been disappointed when she wasn’t featured as much in the previous season and good for her to get to showcase her dancing abilities (as previously displayed in the Turned Down For What music video).

Joel: So I’ve never liked it when a show tries to go full gimmick for an entire episode like this. Shows will try and “shake things up” by having a documentary style episode, or like GLOW does, have an episode of the show within the show. Part of the issue in this case is that I’m going in knowing that there’s only going to be ten half hour episodes of the show and now one of those episodes isn’t going to have the plot moving forward at all. So, about five minutes into this episode, around the time you realize that this gimmick is going to last the whole episode, I was preparing myself to really dislike this episode.
Obviously that didn’t end up being the case. In part that’s just because some of the segments are just so enjoyable (“Don’t Kidnap” being the biggest standout) but it turns out it was nice to see an actual fully fleshed out episode of this show that everyone’s been working on. Often times when you have a movie about a great musician or the world’s funniest comic, there comes a moment where that character has to perform, and more often than not, it ends up falling flat because the end product doesn’t live up to the build up. The episode of GLOW presented here is cheesy, silly, and very over the top, but it’s enjoyable. It flirts with the idea of venturing into  “so bad it’s good” territory, but it comes across as an episode of a show where you can see how an audience would be entertained enough to tune in week after week. You gett a few good wrestling matches and enough traditional “soap opera” style storylines that make it feel like you would want to tune in next week to see what happens next.

Alexa: I’m not typically a huge fan of bottle episodes that interrupt serialized storytelling, but this installment is just so much fun. It’s presented almost entirely as a complete broadcast of GLOW (the show-within-a-show) in all its 80s fabulousness. GLOW (the Netflix series) often walks a fine line between comedy and drama, but this episode is all laughs. It’s exciting to see what the ladies have been working toward all this time, and it’s a bit unexpected. It’s as much a variety show as it is a wrestling show, complete with sketches and musical numbers, and it gives the entire ensemble a chance to shine. The cast clearly had tremendous fun filming this episode, and that translates in the viewing experience for the audience. I completely bought into every ridiculous gimmick, even the “We are the World”-style song about kidnapping. We got a couple of good wrestling matches, notably Liberty Belle’s fight for Savannah Rose, but more than anything this episode showcased how talented this cast is comedically. It’s a particularly strong exhibition for Alison Brie. Her GLOW storylines often steer more toward the dramatic, but she is such a skilled comedic actress, and it was refreshing to see her explore that territory again.