G.L.O.W. - Viking Funeral

 

I am an unashamed fan of women wrestling, and if you were to follow me on my Twitter account this is beyond an understatement. And I just LOVED the first season of the Netflix original series, G.L.O.W. In fact I wrote reviews for every episode. Every part of me wants to binge the hell out of the second season, but I’m applying restraint because I would hate to watch all of the episodes in like a few hours, considering each is only twenty-five / thirty minutes. That said, if the remainder of the season is as entertaining as Viking Funeral (the actress playing the Viking wrestling character is fired by Sam Sylvia for speaking up against his ornery outburst at all of them, mentioning that he wasn’t responsible for the success of the pilot when he tries to throw his clout around), then I’m ecstatic for what is left to come. I just loved the pacing of the first season, too, and the running time was perfect because I felt with every episode that they could tell an episodic story without the weight of filling space when unneeded. And because each episode comes and goes in a flash, with every scene carried expertly by the spirited, personality-rich cast, I never felt like the show was an endurance test.

But Mark Maron, as much as I love the guy, is really an asshole, as wannabe auteur, Sam Sylvia, having let whatever prestige he feels has been built with his past work go to his head. Not only is he a tyrant barking at his cast (Brie’s Ruth Wilder tolerates a lot of his attitude and blowhard theatrics, bless her heart), the new contracts whipped up for those working on his show appear unreasonable while he is more concerned with the gym set “prep” than whatever character ideas his cast has to offer or desires. The one real actress with any real pull is former soap opera star, Debbie (Betty Gilpin), having even negotiated a producer credit with the show’s television exec, including contract demands that might seem untenable but are nonetheless considered. He just wants the cast away while the set is underway, so Ruth seizes the opportunity (Sam tells her to keep them occupied) to shoot a main title sequence for the show, calling upon a camera operator (who had worked for a porn director Sam is fond of, while he considered him a “creep”) to help cultivate footage in the hopes of contributing to the overall product. But Sam takes the amusing, campy mall montage, pieced together to incorporate the cheesy (offensive to the extreme) nature of GLOW to task because he wasn’t involved, leaving the cast (and especially Ruth, who put a lot of heart and mind to it) flabbergasted at his mean-spirited, profane tirade. When Sam is introduced right off the bat snorting coke and berating Ruth for interrupting his quiet time in the car (with his handy-dandy “portfolio”, that everyone considers a trapper keeper, much to his chagrin), it sure doesn’t exactly ingratiate him to us.

Ruth and Debbie continue to share this awkward, tense atmosphere when near each other, trying to alternate around the continued heartbreak of the adultery and betrayal concerning her husband, Mark. Mark does, however, handle her affairs as an actress quite impressively and Debbie knows how to present herself as a star. Ruth, though, is the one who sees GLOW as much more than just a gig, as her vision of the show far exceeds the cheese that ultimately derives from Sam’s direction (and how the cast comes off). Debbie never wavers in her need to be the main attraction while the other actresses begrudgingly try to accept the racist, extremely inappropriate caricatures they are saddled with, sorting through their costumes, preparing their makeup and hair, and attempting to deal with the loss of Cherry while another is cast in her role of JunkChain (their disproval and critique of her creating a bit of intense bad juju). The ladies in their wrestling gear at the mall while all the patrons move about is hilarious.

Sam talking about how the ladies are disposable when Ruth questions his firing of Vicky the Viking, including herself, is rather harsh, while Debbie plops her own contract on his desk with any dispute mute. Ruth, though, sees the set, including the GLOW ring, and is smitten, quickly relieving herself of the nasty business she just left from. Sam’s insecurities underneath the bravado is something that made the first season quite special, while all the actresses gave their civilians/personas distinctive characterizations. His rotten, corrosive attitude in this episode leaves much to be desired as he even remarks with great concern that his daughter might overstay her welcome at his home!

Brie is such a vital heart beat for this show, but I think Kia Stevens (as the "Welfare Queen") steals every scene available to her.

4/5