Irrelevant But Awesome

Chris:  First off, we finally get the Chavo Guerrero (Chico) cameo that was promised. Not enough can be said about the work he’s done with the actresses and teaching them wrestling so they look as great as they do in the ring in this show. I found myself feeling like I would really like to see how this wedding episode would actually look like when it aired much like the show within a show episode. Weddings on a wrestling show are a weird tradition going back to Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth. It’s a tradition that doesn’t happen all that often but never has a wrestling wedding gone smoothly and GLOW proudly continues that tradition even without the battle royale. I enjoyed the back half of season two, the first half was alright but so little of it had to do with putting the show together or wrestling. And I understand that the first half was focused more on the drama and relationship aspect of the show but it all made it slow and at times made me question if GLOW was even a come...

Chris:   A few years ago, Joel made a great point on the podcast about how most wrestling shows like Monday Night Raw are basically the same as The Muppet Show and now GLOW joins that list as it’s basically a show about a group of people trying to put together a show. I know Muppets on Broadway isn’t the same as The Muppet Show but it’s a decent enough time to mention because it’s one of my favorite analogies. I’m still not sure at all how I feel about Ruth and Sam having possible romance feelings and that uncertainty isn’t by accident because it mirrors Ruth’s clear uncertainty because she felt so put off when Sam seemed like he didn’t want her around earlier in the year to now being included into Sam’s personal life once they’ve patched things up. However, once Sam starts to make a move, she runs off to the camera guy who I am also uncertain of. Finally, I’d watch a spinoff show of Bash and Debbie trying to sell shows to investors. Joel: You know what’s complicate...

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 sh...

Chris:  I don’t know what will happen in the remaining episodes of this season but I think this will be everyone’s favorite episode as it is mine. First of all, it’s by far the most fun with the bond Ruth has with all the other girls being put on display as they try to make her hospital wait as painless as possible.I’m still a little weirded out by Sam trying overly hard to not let the camera guy be the night and shining armor and I really thought he was gonna try to lean in and make out with Ruth when Sam was telling her that he won’t make the show without her but luckily, the show didn’t go that direction. And of course, we finally get the blow-up argument between Ruth and Debbie that had been bottled up the entire show. What I liked about the show is how realistic that argument aftermath was, they got it all out and it seemed like they both felt a lot better afterward and seemed willing to be in the same room with each other again without any tension. It set the emotional ...

Chris:  A pendulum can swing one of two ways and in this episode, we see Sam swing back to the Sam we grew to love at the end of season one once a creative fire was rekindled and found out about Ruth’s unfortunate encounter with the studio exec. Sam seems to only be motivated if he’s got something to prove and he’s got it once again with the show being given a death knell time slot for petty reasons and being told that the male wrestling show is better. Suddenly, making the show better is sticking it to those execs which is something that motivates Sam more than anything. And now a pendulum swinging further is one direction is Debbie and her descent into unmanageable depression which now involves drug use prior to a match. Unfortunately, drug use and wrestling have gone hand-in-hand, especially in the 80s and 90s. Thankfully, the mindset of trying to keep your opponent safe in the ring has caused a decrease in drug use before a match but it still happens every now and then and...

Chris:  Cherry’s introduction into season two brings with it the return of Sam’s redeemable qualities. Up to this point, there hasn’t been much to like about Sam and how he’s interacted with everyone else so it makes sense that the return of his longtime collaborator would bring out his positive qualities. All we’ve seen from Sam up until this point has been a miserable guy that only wants to work on his show with as little input from anyone and flat out ignore everyone that he possibly can. However, Cherry shows up with a genuine need and while Sam is still brutal and unforgiving, he’s a least doing it to help Cherry understand her predicament and coming up with a way to come back to GLOW. Joel: Because of a time period in the late 90s and early 2000s, wrestling is well known as something that is crass, lowbrow, offensive, and something that was frequently protested against. Of course it makes sense that at some point in this series we were going to get a storyline wher...

Chris:  Episode two picks up where season one left off with incorporating things that happen all the time behind the scenes in wrestling with this instance being someone being in the doghouse with the people running the show. And, like all things, there’s absolutely favoritism in how severe the punishment is and who it is being punished (hence Ruth is just getting the cold shoulder whereas the other girl got fired in the previous episode). There’s never really one thing anyone does to get out of said doghouse, it’s usually a gradual thing where the offending party just keeps his/her head down and do their job until the people in charge get over it or feel like enough time has passed. Also, it’s nice to see that we’re seeing the process of them considering the pacing of the show and realizing that they need different types of segments to keep the audience (both at home and in-studio) energized and into the show. It all seems silly considering everyone there to watch wrestling ...

Chris:  And we’re back. GLOW takes the logical step as last season was about trying to get a show started and they filmed a successful pilot and it looks like this season will be about what the team will do now that they got the thing they wanted. Ruth continues her self-motivated ways and uses the initiative to create a opener without the approval of Sam, of course without malice but we see Sam have a power trip nonetheless. Looks to me like a lot of this season will be a struggle over who actually is in charge and will that struggle have an affect on the show they’re trying to get off the ground. This episode also establishes that even though Ruth and Debbie had a breakthrough moment at the end of last season, they still aren’t on the best of terms and I see that being an underlying issue as Debbie seeks more control with her new producer credit while Ruth continues being the locker room leader. Joel: Where do we go from here? That seems to be the big question that is on...

Chris:  The money is in the chase, it’s one of the oldest yet effective booking strategies in wrestling history and I’m so glad that it made it’s way into the end of the episode because it’s one thing to have a good first episode but it’s another to make the audience tune into the next episode. That’s really all wrestling boils down to, every show is mostly an advertisement for the next show and so on and so on. Even when a show features the end of a feud, if the rivalry was successful then the audience should be looking forward to what each wrestler will be up to next. I’m so pleased with how the first season of Glow turned out, not only does it feature pro wrestling, it explains why certain things are done in the industry in a way that the audience can connect with it. It exposes the business that would’ve angered promoters/bookers back in the day and I’m sure even now, some old school wrestling guy that hasn’t mattered in over a decade is going to say a show like this wil...

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 th...

Chris:  I honestly wasn’t expecting such a serious episode out of a show like this but Alison Brie and Marc Maron really nailed it in the last couple scenes. And it makes sense that while Debbie and her almost ex-husband are dealing with the damage the infidelity caused that Ruth would be doing the same on an entirely different level. And even though this episode has such a heavy subject matter there’s not a whole lot of tension thanks to the birthday party and Marc Maron. I’ll admit that I never really saw the appeal of Maron, I wasn’t a huge fan of his IFC show and I only listened to his podcast unless I was interested in his guests and even then, I’d cut off most of those because he came off as condescending. I suppose that’s what he fights into this role so well, he’s basically playing himself but I will say, I’m actually starting to like him as this show progresses. I’m starting to dig him not only because of how he handled things in the doctor’s office but I like the way...