Years of excess finally take their toll when the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling start their latest adventure. As Sam Sylvia begins to face his personal demons and Ruth taking more of a backseat this time around, viewers will be pleased with another great year that relishes in more sentimentality for the '80s, even if some of story points are never expanded on.
The ladies of GLOW were back this weekend with a brand new season three on Netflix. With most episodes clocking in at just over thirty minutes, it's another easy binge watch that sees the streaming giant perfectly render '80s nostalgia into a short and sweet package wrapped up with a shiny bow. Capturing that decade in a near perfect light, viewers are transported through the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the challenges of divorced motherhood, a major cultural shift, and the overt materialism of the Reagan era. Most of it hits the mark, but some falls flat footed as numerous arcs are left wide open.
Picking up from the events of the disastrous space shuttle Challenger explosion, this is another exciting but slightly uneven ten chapters that sees Ruth slide further into self realization as the female wrestlers around her bang against the ropes attempting to get ahead in life. As with the last two seasons, they're met by struggles at each and every turn. The physical nature of their profession takes a mental and physical toll as Bash and Debbie push the production into new territory that might see their big time wrestling show turn into something major. Introducing Geena Davis as a new central figure, GLOW gets a shot in the arm with fresh dramatic blood that was drastically needed.
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| Yer soooo perrty. |
Kicking off from last year's concluding moments, the latest batch of episodes sees the wrestling squad taking on Las Vegas as their high flying antics and personal demons once again take center ring. As a lot of focus shifts from Ruth to other integral characters, their story expands in many ways but also seems to lose some of the luster of the last two seasons. These latest ten episodes are still extremely entertaining but seem to jump around too much. Just as we're digging into the details on smaller characters, things shift quickly making some of the decisions they made seem lackluster, if not still melodramatic and relatively untamed. Yet, the message of female empowerment against the male establishment definitely remains. This is a show about women taking charge. It undoubtedly continues to work.
The best thing this year is watching Sam change and grow. Like usual, Marc Maron steals the spotlight whenever he's on screen. Finding a balance between Brie and Maron's flawed characters, this season sees Sam make new headway, dealing with the fallout of his past mistakes, forcing him to change in a positive direction. Of course Brie's Ruth Wilder continues to be her own worst enemy, continuing her personal search for acceptance as a film actor. Per the norm, Ruth tries and fails, then continues to push her friends away. Sure, much of this has become formulaic for GLOW, but it still feels right.
If you've followed the show up to this point, you'll definitely want to watch season three. However, this is probably the most challenging year so far. It's not quite as good as previous episodes, but is still a unique premise that will probably continue for at least two more seasons. These are characters we can all relate to in some form or another. Their story is still centered on folks bucking the system, trying to gain a little fame and notoriety. If anything, the fantasy sill works. Check this out but know that it's not quite as sharp as seasons one and two.
-Chris George
