S02E01: Viking Funeral 2018.06.29

[The Crazed Spruce]

Quote

Nerves run high as the ladies return to work and meet a new cast member. To boost morale, Ruth takes the gang on a raucous outing to the mall.

[thuganomics85]

Yay, GLOW is finally back!  I just find it to be an enjoyable show filled with stuff I love, like pro wrestling and Alison Brie!

Loved all of the stuff in the mall, especially how half of the shoppers would barely reacted to all of their shenanigans.  It's like every mall in the 80s has pro wrestlers running around and acting crazy, and it was just the norm!

Got crazy at the end though.  Sam took offense to Ruth filming that opening credit sequence without his permission and his now throwing his weight around.  And then Debbie reveals that she renegotiated her contract to make her a producer now.  Should be fun!

Edited June 30, 2018 by thuganomics85

[Nordly Beaumont]

"Oh! Prep... Like preparing..." sadly removes preppy sweater... Too funny!

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

"Oh! Prep... Like preparing..." sadly removes preppy sweater... Too funny!

I actually had to pause the episode to laugh at that.

What a good episode to start season 2 on. I really enjoyed the mall sequences. It looked like everyone was having a blast. As for the new characters, I liked Yolanda and I liked Russell, though were they trying to make him to be a creep? I thought he was alright, but with the seeds planted and Debbie wary of the guy, I guess I should expect him to actually be a creep.

I guess with the pressure of the show, and Justine living with him now, Sam is finally stepping up his role as a director, more so that he isn't one upped by women.

I like how Debbie fought to create a contract to benefit her. I also love the little moment where she handed the wife her contract as well. I wonder if that moment will be referred somehow later in the season.

[snowwhyte]

I thought Sam was an asshole in this one and although Ruth does tend to take things too far in her enthusiasm she wasn't wrong that Sam needs to treat the women better. Aside from professional courtesy a strong team and high morale would definitely help with a fun show like theirs. Most of the women aren't professional actresses and a hostile environment could affect their performances.

I was glad that they introduced a potential love interest for Ruth. I was worried she might end up with Sam. The new guy seems decent enough. I think Betty's view of men is probably more jaded now that her husband cheated on her with her best friend. Although, I might be too optimistic and he'll end up being a potential date rapist or something.

[Loandbehold]

1 hour ago, snowwhyte said:

I thought Sam was an asshole in this one

Have you met Sam? Maron is really good at playing the jerk who does have something going on underneath. He showed that a lot last season. I knew he was going to be pissed at Ruth, but I also was surprised he fired the viking (don't remember the character's name). That ranks right near the top of the worst things he's done. 

[Clanstarling]

20 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

"Oh! Prep... Like preparing..." sadly removes preppy sweater... Too funny!

It took me a second, then I laughed. My husband didn't get it, until we replayed it. So sweet. So, is it just me, or does it seem that Bash and his friend/"servant" might just be moving toward something a little more like a relationship? There just seemed to be a little energy there when he was reassuring Bash that he would have made the same mistake.

Sam is doubling down on the asshole, but I think it's because he's struggling with being locked into a job (20 weeks doesn't sound like much to us, but for a man who probably never worked the same job more than a couple of months, it's forever), so he's taking it out on the women. Though notice, it wasn't Ruth, but the Viking who pointed out that Ruth had saved his ass during the pilot.

I loved how Debbie got producer credit and likely a pay raise. She's got to look after herself. I'm hoping she and Ruth can get back to being friends, but the awkwardness between them really works and feels real.

[snowwhyte]

I didn't get the Bash prep joke but I don't know anyone who would use the word preppy so it just didn't occur to me. I was pretty lost until I read the comments on here.

[Clanstarling]

43 minutes ago, snowwhyte said:

I didn't get the Bash prep joke but I don't know anyone who would use the word preppy so it just didn't occur to me. I was pretty lost until I read the comments on here.

Yes, it was such an 80's expression. Even so, it took me a minute.

[tennisgurl]

So happy this show has returned! Loved every minute of it, especially Debbie giving her contract to the wife and her giant 80s glasses! 

[BigPaul25]

Sheila’s decription of Cheers as a show about an invisible woman name Vera just slayed me.

[veronicamers]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 5:22 PM, Clanstarling said:

Yes, it was such an 80's expression. Even so, it took me a minute.

The whole concept of prep is so dated, but I live in a part of the country where it is still very much alive and well as an aspiration/aesthetic.

[Danny Franks]

Aw, I've missed this show and all it's cheesy, 80s fashion and music and... everything. I certainly appreciated that they had Alison Brie in full Zoya outfit and makeup for the almost the entire episode.

I really liked the clash of personalities between the ever optimistic Ruth and the relentless cynic, Sam. But I don't like the idea of romance between them. Her as the constant irritant/conscience for him works really well, and Marc Maron plays that misanthropic asshole so well. I don't know about the camera guy yet, but I love his frizzy hair and moustache.

Him trying to be a dad to Justine was a nice surprise. I really like Justine, and this could be such a great thread to develop on the show. He's completely hopeless, but he is trying.

Sam describing the show's format was great, and unintentionally funny when you consider how much of a hash the WWE makes of producing "wrestling match. Then a wrestling match. Then another wrestling match."

Ruth actually had some decent ideas for the main title sequence, if you consider (again) that this is a cheesy, 80s trash TV show.  And of course the security guard has a headshot to hand out to people.  It's a shame Sam had to be so insecure and dickish about it.

The awkwardness between Ruth and Debbie is still so uncomfortable. But both actresses are doing such a good job of playing this yearning for things to just be normal again.

Not sure about Yolanda, but I'm glad they didn't abandon the idea of Cherry getting a TV pilot. The girls ganging up on Yolanda was actually kind of nice, in that it highlighted just how much all the girls bonded in season 1.

Also:

"Oh, I've never seen Cheers."

"It's great. It's about an invisible woman named Vera...."

Huh?

[BigPaul25]

If you’ve ever watched Cheers, you’ll note that Norm regularly mentions his wife Vera but she’s never seen.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

As much as I love The Warrior and think it's a great song for the show, I hated how they chopped it up for the opening credits in this episode I totally get that they didn't want to spend four minutes on the opening credits, but they could have cut the song better.

Awww, Bash was dressed like a preppy for prep day!

I totally support Debbie looking out for herself and getting much better terms for her contract, but it suck that everyone else is stuck with the shitty contract that Sam gave them.

Although I find Sam's attitude to be realistic, I also find it annoying. He treats these women like they're talking mannequins who exist only to create his vision, conveniently ignoring the fact that they have questions and feelings and stuff. He pawns off stuff that he doesn't want to deal with onto Ruth and then gets mad that she actually did something. I also rolled my eyes when he asked Russell if he'd ever worked with that many women before. Funny how people find things like that annoying but expect people to find the opposite to be fine.

[paramitch]

On 8/24/2018 at 3:17 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I totally support Debbie looking out for herself and getting much better terms for her contract, but it suck that everyone else is stuck with the shitty contract that Sam gave them.

 

I was disappointed that Debbie didn't clue the other girls in that the contracts were horrible and they shouldn't sign. They could have had the power to actually protect themselves if someone had spoken up.

I know it's more realistic that Debbie didn't do so, but it did make me feel for the rest of the women, who are so desperate for jobs and inclusion, and who didn't have her clout.

Also, for me this was where Sam was at his absolute worst so far, but I'm hoping he calms down again going forward.

[aradia22]

Hmn... a new Junk Chain. And she's very pretty.

I legitimately thought Ruth was just singing thinking she'd motivate the rest of them to join in. It was better that she was talking about shooting a main title sequence.

"It's great. It's about an invisible woman named Vera." XD

The mall montage was silly but fun.

Debbie was giving off a weird energy in this episode... first hiding her contract without talking to any of the other girls about her concerns and then heading off Ruth when the camera guy wanted to invite her over.

I feel like the sparkly makeup was not as good in the 80's but I do love some of the makeup looks on this show.

"Can we order pizza?"

"Yes! Not from Billy."

I did like that Debbie made Mark useful and her move of including Glen's wife. Power moves, indeed.

I think it's significant that everyone loved the title sequence except Sam. And that he called it "cheesy girly bullshit." Good for Reggie "Vicky the Viking" for calling him out too about putting his name on the pilot even though he was MIA for that shoot. Why does Sam have the authority to fire people? Why didn't Bash DO something?

I didn't like Sam OR Debbie very much at the end of the episode but I appreciate Debbie at least standing up to him and his BS.