Glow: Season 2
created by Liz Flahive, Carly Mensch cast Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, Sydelle Noel, Britney Young, Marc Maron
Plot After a long time trying to grapple a women’s wrestling show into shape, the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling now have their own little-watched cable series. They’re going to do all they can to make it a hit, while contending with equally punishing dramas off screen. Everything hits harder in GLOW’S second season. the storylines are punchier; the performances are better; the scripts are funnier; even the fake wrestling moves are more elaborate. What was formerly a good show is now a great one.
season 1 did a great job laying the foundations of a story with endless potential: a group of women who want to be stars, but don’t fit hollywood’s preferred mould, get cast on an unpromising, cheapo ladies’ wrestling tv show. it had terrific characters and some solid jokes, but it was a little unfocused. it now sees exactly where it’s going. this season is about turning the show-withinthe-show from a lark in a gym into a real tv hit and its cast finding their places in it. ruth (Brie) becomes less the lead than part of the ensemble. all the supporting characters step into the spotlight, especially debbie (gilpin), who is not adjusting well to life as a single woman.
One of the best aspects of GLOW, more developed in season 2, is how it digs into what a strange time the ’80s were for women. second-wave feminism had long since swept in and GLOW’S women confidently forge careers, enjoy their sexuality (new character yolanda, played by shakira Barrera, is an out lesbian) and insist on equal footing with men (debbie demands to be made a producer or she’ll quit, and ruth turns director). yet they have ghosts of internal misogyny — one foot is still dragging out of the ’50s. there’s a scene later in the series, a plus-çachange moment with a sad Weinstein nod, when ruth is asked to meet a network executive in his hotel room. he is expecting sex. standing alone as he runs a bath, a look plays across Brie’s face that shows fast debate about the right decision here. she leaves, but is berated by another cast member for not flirting a little, for the good of the show, because that’s ‘how it works’. she feels, awfully, guilt.
‘What is worth surrendering to get what i want?’ becomes the show’s running theme. tammé (Kia stevens), who in the ring is Welfare Queen — a stereotype who lives large on benefits — is embarrassed when her stanford student son sees her playing a “minstrel”, but proud of herself for becoming a success. debbie makes great career advances but at the cost of her family. those battles to find happiness, even if it’s not the exact type of happiness they really want, go to some pretty raw places. gilpin, particularly, drags her character along rock bottom, giving a performance that makes her the season’s stand-out.
all that character drama doesn’t weigh the series down. the heavier battles outside the ring are balanced by the silly ones within. it’s as camp and funny as it ever was. We see an entire episode of the tv show within the show, wooden acting, crap effects and all, and, frankly, it should get a full series commission. the scripts are specked with hilariously odd, sly lines (“What’s Cheers? it’s about an invisible woman named vera”). the show is no longer just a contender; it’s a hulking great champ.
Verdict it’s a pleasure to watch a show that always had the potential for greatness grow to fulfil it. As good a drama as it is a comedy, GLOW is now one of the best shows on tv.