GLOW - This Is One of Those Moments

Sam to Debbie: Babies are boring. I mean, they don't party, they haven't traveled, they have no sense of irony. And you love this shit. You love being a temperamental star. I know you do. If you were sitting at home with that kid, your life would become just anger and resentment. No work, no husband. You would burn up in a smoldering ash heap of rage and disappointment. You think that's good for you or your boring baby? It's not. Look. Ruth is the right match for you.

The characters for the show of G.L.O.W. are starting to take shape but Debbie resists the “inevitable” as Sam goes through the ladies in a desperate attempt to find her All American Heroine the proper heel (when it is obviously Ruth). Ruth has developed her Russian archetype somewhat but she feels she needs to method up the character by getting insight from her hotel owner who came from Russia. His family’s talented chess player has immigrated to America so the family is welcoming his move with a celebration. Ruth just goes right in to learn about his family so she can grasp the culture more accurately. While Ruth is at the party, Sam agonizes as Debbie reacts negatively to each of the girls put in the ring with her. Each one (Tammé Dawson’s Welfare Queen especially makes her look foolish and takes her cheers from the others while Sunita Mani’s Arthie runs around the ring not letting her catch her) just gripes Debbie because their personalities simply rival her character. In fact, I’d say Debbie is often the heel in each mock encounter. What you see by this episode is that Ruth won’t give up. She is resilient. She’s copped to her failure as a friend, completely owning up to it, and is willing to accept that Debbie has serious issues with her. But that doesn’t mean Ruth isn’t willing to make Debbie look great, give her the rub, and work up the audience as the ultimate heel. Eventually Debbie relents, caving in because Sam is right that Ruth is the true heel partner she is destined to work opposite.

Included in the episode is Justine’s subplot involving her negative reaction to the pizza boy’s critique of Sam’s work and learning from Rhonda that she’s fucking her idol. Justine leaves pizza boy, Billy Offal, at a diner when he calls Sam a hack and confronts Sam when she learns of his sex with Rhonda. Justine is seriously a devotee to Sam’s work: Sam calls her on such hero worship.

Sam’s acknowledgment of his flaws is one of the show’s shining highlights I think. Like when called a sellout, Sam realizes he must make sacrifices for his “art”, but admits out loud to Debbie, “You can't just go out and do coke and piss away all your money and screw people who are named after liqueurs. I mean, what happens then?” Debbie responds, “You end up here?” And Sam nods, “You end up here.”

That Debbie and Ruth engage in the ring, with Ruth dictating how to work, Sam grabs his camera and gets it all. The inspired smack talk, the bravado, and exchanges involving America vs. Russia. That the episode takes us into a party involving Russian Jews (I never imagined Gregory, the hotel owner, would, in one episode, become so noteworthy) where Ruth sings Yentl to great approval just reinforces how smart and sincere it is in humanizing those that might be looked at as simple cultural stereotypes. Because Ruth is all about studying and learning to embolden her character with layers, it shows how invested she is in her craft...even if perhaps the show, G.L.O.W., might not exactly highlight such hard work. Debbie having to overcome her rage and disgust will be relatable to those who understand her situation, knowing how that feels to be betrayed and reminded of that by looking at a friend behind her pain.