S02.E07: Nothing Shattered 2018.06.29

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

After an injury on set, Sam and the wrestlers rush to the hospital and wait anxiously for news. A long simmering feud finally boils over.

[Nordly Beaumont]

GREAT episode! First of all, everyone distracting Ruth in the hospital. I mean, there's just nothing I love more than an 80's style montage!

The fight between Ruth and Debbie was so intense and wonderful.

Alison Brie was born for close-up shots.

The walk out of the hospital was also wonderful!

[Lady Calypso]

That fight between Debbie and Ruth was extremely well done and full of passion. Clearly both of them needed to get that out, but it seems like they're really on the road to mend their friendship.

I liked Debbie's moment with Bash, as well as Sheila. I like when pairings are mixed up, which is also why I loved Sam actually getting his moment with Arthie.

What a fun montage with everyone distracting Ruth. 

The end scene was so much fun. 

[thuganomics85]

The montage was close to perfection as you can get!

Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin owned that Debbie/Ruth fight.  Both of them have so much issues and have done so much harm to one another, but even after all of it, there is still a sense that they care for one another, and that maybe; just maybe; they can mend their friendship eventually.  It will be a long, hard journey, I suspect, but I think they can and it would be good for both of them.

Sam and Arthie was a pleasant change of pace.

Oh, Bash!  Of course, he wouldn't even think of the possibility of making sure the wrestlers were insured.  At least he stepped up and took care of Ruth's expenses.

[Loandbehold]

12 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Oh, Bash!  Of course, he wouldn't even think of the possibility of making sure the wrestlers were insured.  At least he stepped up and took care of Ruth's expenses.

 

1 hour ago, nosleepforme said:

I also loved how Chris Lowell delivered the line about how they can only afford two other injured girls, priceless.

Line of the episode. 

Great episode. Loved the montage and that Ruth-Debbie fight was intense. Everything was put out there. Brilliantly acted by both Brie and Gilpin. 

Favorite little-seen pairings were Sam and Arthie at the snack machine and Debbie and Sheila in the hotel room. 

[CletusMusashi]

For the most part, I've been forcing myself to watch this season slowly, so I can get a few days out of it instead of just racing through all the story arcs in one night. But, this time, I had to take a break and watch something else before going back to it. Oh, I agree with everything that everybody has said was well done, but that argument was just too real to be enjoyable. About halfway into it I realized how uncomfortable and unhappy it was making me feel. Kudos to the writers and actresses, but that was not what I tune into this particular show for. Once I accepted that, took a break, and then came back to finish later, everything afterward rolled along fine again.

[benteen]

Really good episode that gave everyone a chance to show off.  The Ruth/Debbie fight being the highlight and I'm glad they finally had it out.

I was wondering if they'd do an injury storyline, as that is something that happens very often in wrestling.  The story that Bash told about Bruno Sammartino (who just recently passed away) and Stan Hansen actually happened.  During a match at MSG, Bruno did suffer a broken vertebrae due to a botched body slam.  It was written into the storyline that Hansen injured him with a "lariat clothesline."  Despite his injury, Bruno came back two months later for his revenge match with Hansen at Shea Stadium.  I appreciate working a little actual wrestling history into the show.  It further shows that the writers are really doing their homework.

Edited July 2, 2018 by benteen

[Princess Sparkle]

42 minutes ago, benteen said:

Really good episode that gave everyone a chance to show off.  The Ruth/Debbie fight being the highlight and I'm glad they finally had it out.

I was wondering if they'd do an injury storyline, as that is something that happens very often in wrestling.  The story that Bash told about Bruno Sammartino (who just recently passed away) and Stan Hansen actually happened.  During a match at MSG, Bruno did suffer a broken vertebrae due to a botched body slam.  It was written into the storyline that Hansen injured him with a "lariat clothesline."  Despite his injury, Bruno came back two months later for his revenge match with Hansen at Shea Stadium.  I appreciate working a little actual wrestling history into the show.  It further shows that the writers are really doing their homework.

It's also a nod to the original GLOW, where Susie Spirit broke her arm during a match - though as I recall, they also televised her getting her arm x-rayed and finding out it was broken on camera.

[Blakeston]

I found Debbie completely infuriating in this episode.

You just broke a woman's ankle. And it wasn't a fluke accident - it happened because you were ridiculously negligent, by choosing to snort coke right before your match.

The first words out of your mouth should be "I'm so incredibly sorry!" This is not the occasion to snap at her for the umpteenth time about the affair.

[JakeyJokes]

Had Debbie's opponent been anyone else, of course she would have profusely apologized. But it's RUTH. Her way of apologizing was bringing the clothes.

The Sheila/Debbie thing was everything! It hinted that Sheila's wolf persona was her way of coping with a traumatic childhood and it made so much sense.

[Blakeston]

8 hours ago, JakeyJokes said:

Had Debbie's opponent been anyone else, of course she would have profusely apologized. But it's RUTH. Her way of apologizing was bringing the clothes.

If her opponent been anyone else, the ankle-breaking probably wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Debbie having lingering resentment against Ruth is understandable, but she'd already been punishing Ruth for it for some time. After you break someone's ankle (while risking their life), it shouldn't take a heart-to-heart with a she-wolf to make you realize you were in the wrong.

Edited July 4, 2018 by Blakeston

[DianeDobbler]

On 6/30/2018 at 4:55 PM, Loandbehold said:

I also loved how Chris Lowell delivered the line about how they can only afford two other injured girls, priceless.

Didn't he pretend that he was relieved he had the money to cover Ruth's expenses but then, as an aside, say to Sam, "Actually I can afford to pay for two other injuries" or something like that. Low balling his money situation but telling the truth to Sam. Very funny.

Even when Ruth finally let some of her anger out at Debbie, I don't think Ruth was appalled and angry ENOUGH. I was a little pissed off that the "I still love Debbie underneath" piece was so clear. Jesus. She broke her damn ANKLE. 

It seemed to me a coked up Debbie was taking her anger out on that leg, trying to do harm. But in the bigger picture, Debbie was treating Ruth the way she did because she had power over Ruth, and didn't feel as if she had power in any other part of her life. She had to strategize and eat shit in order to get her say as a producer, she felt powerless in her divorce even though her husband is a fairly ideal ex-husband and co-parent. Ruth was the dog she was kicking. She power-tripped with her. Let's deal with THAT Debbie. It stopped being about Mark a long time ago. If it were Mark, the push-pull wouldn't be there and it would be a cleaner break, friendship wise, so to speak. Debbie is one angry woman. 

I'm still curious WHY Ruth slept with Mark.  We haven't seen the side of her that would discharge some resentment or jealousy through that. There's a theory, there's talk, but I don't see that part of Ruth playing in her choices, or the side of her that is just that self-destructive. 

This was the episode where I was 

Spoiler

Oh, jeez, I guess they actually are doing Sam/Ruth. I'd read posters saying, "I love their friendship but am glad they're not doing them!" and thought  - pshaw, they're not going to GO there. He's 50something and she's around 30! (I'd missed him looking at the monitor seeing Ruth flirt with Russell)

Took me longer to get into this season than S1, but really enjoyed it.

Edited July 5, 2018 by DianeDobbler

[Clanstarling]

I loved the fight. It was so real and layered. Debbie has gotten on my nerves for a while, so I loved when Ruth stood up to her (so to speak) and let it rip from her side as well. I'd say broken ankle, broken marriage, they're pretty even now in the "who was wrong" event.

Loved them getting all the snacks from the snack machine and dumping it on Ruth's lap.

This is the first time I thought the ladies really seemed like a cohesive group (sans Debbie), and I really liked the camaraderie.

I know nothing about wrestling, don't like it at all. But damn, this show makes me care.

[tennisgurl]

That fight between Debbie and Ruth was super real, it was hard to watch, but so satisfying, if that makes sense. Ruth did a horrible thing to Debbie, and isnt always the nicest person, but she clearly does feel awful about what she did to Debbie, and she has been working her ass off to make it up to her, and Debbie is kind of jerking her around with a possible reconciliation. 

The montage of everyone cheering Ruth up was super adorable. They really did seem like a team this week, and it really sold how much they care about each other, and how much they really need each other. Especially Cherry and her husband doing a whole bit with her new character. They're such a cute couple, I cant even. 

Oh Bash. Of course he just never thought to get the women insurance, as he just assumed that everyone had insurance! It was nice to see him footing Ruth's bills though, and that he is taking their money concerns seriously. In his own, Bash way. He means so well, but he really can be so deeply unaware of other peoples lives. 

[Clanstarling]

14 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

That fight between Debbie and Ruth was super real, it was hard to watch, but so satisfying, if that makes sense. Ruth did a horrible thing to Debbie, and isnt always the nicest person, but she clearly does feel awful about what she did to Debbie, and she has been working her ass off to make it up to her, and Debbie is kind of jerking her around with a possible reconciliation. 

Yes, it does make sense to me. You said it better than I would have.

[bourbon]

On July 2, 2018 at 11:39 AM, Blakeston said:

You just broke a woman's ankle. And it wasn't a fluke accident - it happened because you were ridiculously negligent, by choosing to snort coke right before your match.

This. Are they really just going to skim right over that? This wasn't an innocent mistake. This was coke-fueled recklessness. If that whole fight and her bringing the clothes to Ruth was supposed to make us sympathetic to Debbie? Because it didn't work for me.

Ruth did an awful thing by sleeping with Mark, but she has shown nothing but contrition and has tried to make it right ever since. Debbie, however, seems to be completely unapologetic for almost intentionally breaking Ruth's ankle while coked-up and pretty much shrugging it off with "She knew what she was getting into."  If there's not a reckoning, I'll be disappointed. 

[Danny Franks]

Kind of crazy that this is the first real injury any of the women have had, given they're all working out and learning to wrestle from scratch. 

Poor Russell, trying to be the white knight for Ruth, but being crowded out by all the women, and then dealing with Sam's pettiness. "Hey, I could have carried her too, y'know." But I'm not interested in a love triangle between those two and Sam. Especially because I imagine Sam's assholishness has no bounds, when he's got a love rival. And even without Russell, I just don't like the idea of a romance between Sam and Ruth.

And the rest of the women taking the rest of the night to cheer Ruth up and distract her was really nice. It's a nice sign of how far they've all come, because Ruth wasn't popular with them in the first season. Not only that, but they were pretty clear that they were pissed at Debbie over it.

Bash blaming himself was sweet (as was his naive bemusement that none of them had health insurance), Debbie blaming Ruth was shitty.

But this is one of the blurring lines that's so fascinating about professional wrestling. A lot of people think that genuine ill feeling between wrestlers makes matches and rivalries that much better. But you still have to be able to trust your opponent. You're putting your body, and your health in their hands, and if they take liberties  it's unforgivable. If they're careless, like Debbie apparently was, then it's still a serious issue.

That fight was ugly. Petty, cruel, all those buttoned up feelings just bursting out. Both of them have done shitty things to each other, either deliberately or subconsciously. Or at least they've done things that were perceived by the other as shitty. And for some time before Ruth slept with Mark. Just a messy situation. Really good acting from both Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin.

But perhaps they're going to find a place now where they can be friends again. I really like this as a contrast between another best friend fight over romantic betrayal, Tim and Jason in Friday Night Lights. After their initial blow up, they just didn't speak to each other for a long time, then reconciled simply with "friends?" "friends."

Edited July 9, 2018 by Danny Franks

[dubbel zout]

3 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

But you still have to be able to trust your opponent.

That was one of the best parts of the first season for me, when Debbie and Ruth put aside their personal issues and worked together successfully in the ring. And actually enjoyed it.

5 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

But perhaps they're going to find a place now where they can be friends again.

It's one step forward, two steps back. It doesn't help that Debbie has been having a breakdown this entire season, but when you deliberately break someone's ankle (even if it's because you're high on coke), you need a time out. I'm glad the women had that fight, as it put a lot of those bottled-up feelings and long-simmering resentments out in the open. I think it's still going to take a while for them to become friends again. They have a lot to work out.

[DrSpaceman]

On ‎7‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 12:44 PM, DianeDobbler said:

Didn't he pretend that he was relieved he had the money to cover Ruth's expenses but then, as an aside, say to Sam, "Actually I can afford to pay for two other injuries" or something like that. Low balling his money situation but telling the truth to Sam. Very funny.

Even when Ruth finally let some of her anger out at Debbie, I don't think Ruth was appalled and angry ENOUGH. I was a little pissed off that the "I still love Debbie underneath" piece was so clear. Jesus. She broke her damn ANKLE. 

It seemed to me a coked up Debbie was taking her anger out on that leg, trying to do harm. But in the bigger picture, Debbie was treating Ruth the way she did because she had power over Ruth, and didn't feel as if she had power in any other part of her life. She had to strategize and eat shit in order to get her say as a producer, she felt powerless in her divorce even though her husband is a fairly ideal ex-husband and co-parent. Ruth was the dog she was kicking. She power-tripped with her. Let's deal with THAT Debbie. It stopped being about Mark a long time ago. If it were Mark, the push-pull wouldn't be there and it would be a cleaner break, friendship wise, so to speak. Debbie is one angry woman. 

I'm still curious WHY Ruth slept with Mark.  We haven't seen the side of her that would discharge some resentment or jealousy through that. There's a theory, there's talk, but I don't see that part of Ruth playing in her choices, or the side of her that is just that self-destructive. 

This was the episode where I was 

  Reveal hidden contents

Oh, jeez, I guess they actually are doing Sam/Ruth. I'd read posters saying, "I love their friendship but am glad they're not doing them!" and thought  - pshaw, they're not going to GO there. He's 50something and she's around 30! (I'd missed him looking at the monitor seeing Ruth flirt with Russell)

Took me longer to get into this season than S1, but really enjoyed it.

There was a lot of transference onto Ruth from Debbie in that fight as well

It wasn't just her hurting Ruth.  That was the obvious part.  But she was also acting out towards her because she can't act out towards her newly discovered husband's secretary/lover.  She transferred her anger towards Ruth AND her anger towards that woman, I forget he name, call her bedlady, amplified by her coked up personality, all onto Ruth. 

And Debbie still wasn't sorry enough about what happened even afterwards. 

And Debbie's marriage wasn't that great even without Ruth sleeping with him.  She was in denial about it all.  I doubt Ruth was the first he did it with, though I don't recall enough from season one to say if we know that for sure. 

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

It wasn't just her hurting Ruth.  That was the obvious part.  But she was also acting out towards her because she can't act out towards her newly discovered husband's secretary/lover.  She transferred her anger towards Ruth AND her anger towards that woman, I forget he name, call her bedlady, amplified by her coked up personality, all onto Ruth.

Excellent observation.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 6/30/2018 at 3:57 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Oh, Bash!  Of course, he wouldn't even think of the possibility of making sure the wrestlers were insured.  At least he stepped up and took care of Ruth's expenses.

Bash is a great character. I really like the combination of totally clueless about certain things, but still a totally decent person.

On 7/5/2018 at 6:58 PM, Clanstarling said:

Loved them getting all the snacks from the snack machine and dumping it on Ruth's lap.

I loved the fact that they all looked to be time period appropriate snacks too. In the scene in front of the vending machine I saw Keebler Tato Skins chips. I used to love those things, and totally remember always buying them on trips to the US as a kid.

[DianeDobbler]

I rewatched the premiere to see if there was anything I missed in Mark/Debbie/Ruth. Mark crawls up to Ruth's window, he "can't stop thinking about her", and she is all "Go back to your family." It's all extremely cringe-making, particularly the sex. It doesn't seem to me that Mark is an experienced cheat. He is self-pitying and says "We deserve ... sex." Later in S1 we learn where that came from when we find out Debbie hadn't slept with Mark for a long time, and he felt abandoned (no excuse, just thinking Mark took it out with Ruth). After Ruth is mugged by the skateboard kids, Debbie gives her a key to Ruth's apartment that Debbie used to use. The other side of the key chain has a laminate picture of Mark and Debbie. It's clearly Rich Sommer. Totally missed it the first time around.

I think they cast Rich Sommer - a large cabbage patch kid, as Sam called him - to take any question of Ruth wanting him for herself out of the equation. Or even lusting for him. I think Sam assumed that being Debbie's husband and the best friend sleeping with him, that the guy would be handsome/hot. The SHOW wanted to make it not about the husband at all, but to show Debbie's marriage had been falling apart before Ruth, and Ruth did it for the reason that she felt she had nothing, and hadn't dealt with any of her feelings about it.

Still, re-watching THIS episode, there were far too many moments of "Feel sorry for Debbie, she's falling apart." As one review said, too soon, show. Since the writers knew they were staging the fight the way they were, they had to deal with THAT, IMO, instead of trying to show us "poor Debbie" ahead of time, which was annoying.

Because that last crack - Debbie did it on purpose. She YANKED that leg, and Ruth was already screaming. I don't think the crowd roaring made her unaware - think it was fuel. Debbie's very angry, obviously. The show should deal with that way more than it has so far, or have Debbie deal with it. Sam even called her out in S1 when she said "My life is shit!" and he scoffed - said she's young, she's working, etc. and that is not shit. She needs to own her choices. Remember when Debbie asked Ruth if Ruth hadn't learned ANYTHING from her scene study classes - things don't just happen? People WANT things and then they go after them? Well that goes for all of Debbie's choices up to Glow as well, her husband, her checking out of her marriage, her giving up on acting, etc. A bird's eye view of S2 sort of shows Debbie had all this pre-existing anger in her, and the affair was a perfect vehicle to discharge it all at Ruth.

Although Gilpin does the anger very effectively, my wish is they give her more comedy in S3 because her timing is wonderful. Her scenes with Chris Lowell (Bash) were wonderful, and she was great in "The Good Twin."

Edited July 15, 2018 by DianeDobbler

[lovinbob]

On 7/4/2018 at 12:44 PM, DianeDobbler said:

It seemed to me a coked up Debbie was taking her anger out on that leg, trying to do harm. But in the bigger picture, Debbie was treating Ruth the way she did because she had power over Ruth, and didn't feel as if she had power in any other part of her life. She had to strategize and eat shit in order to get her say as a producer, she felt powerless in her divorce even though her husband is a fairly ideal ex-husband and co-parent. Ruth was the dog she was kicking. She power-tripped with her. Let's deal with THAT Debbie. It stopped being about Mark a long time ago. If it were Mark, the push-pull wouldn't be there and it would be a cleaner break, friendship wise, so to speak. Debbie is one angry woman. 

I'm still curious WHY Ruth slept with Mark.  We haven't seen the side of her that would discharge some resentment or jealousy through that. There's a theory, there's talk, but I don't see that part of Ruth playing in her choices, or the side of her that is just that self-destructive. 

Well said, regarding Debbie's power advantage over Ruth, kicking the dog because she could.

Regarding why Ruth slept with Mark, I think this episode may have offered a clue. Ruth always felt like the pathetic one, the one with nothing, compared to Debbie. Definitely some anger and resentment (and jealousy) there. She believed Debbie was taking all that she had for granted, which probably fed her resentment and assuaged her guilt (somewhat). Beyond career disappointment, she also apparently has had no romantic luck. When you're that lonely, you can justify anything. Plus she and Mark probably developed a strong rapport if they both felt "abandoned" by Debbie in favor of Randy. 

All that said, while I adore Ruth and completely sympathized with her in this episode, it doesn't surprise me that Debbie would feel justified going back to the "you screwed my husband" well. I think fucking your best friend's husband is basically unforgivable.

[Cheezwiz]

On 7/15/2018 at 5:10 PM, lovinbob said:

Regarding why Ruth slept with Mark, I think this episode may have offered a clue. Ruth always felt like the pathetic one, the one with nothing, compared to Debbie. Definitely some anger and resentment (and jealousy) there. She believed Debbie was taking all that she had for granted, which probably fed her resentment and assuaged her guilt (somewhat). Beyond career disappointment, she also apparently has had no romantic luck. When you're that lonely, you can justify anything. Plus she and Mark probably developed a strong rapport if they both felt "abandoned" by Debbie in favor of Randy. 

Good analysis - I was initially puzzled as to why Ruth bothered messing around with Mark, since it's not like he was a great catch in any way, but this is a good explanation.

And this episode also showed why Ruth is so passionate about doing her best with the wrestling show: not only is it a chance for her to use her acting skills, but she actually feels like she has a family surrounding her now. I think her life was very lonely before GLOW.

Great acting by everyone in the show - the argument scene was amazing and raw, hospital montage with the candy was sweet, and Bash made me laugh out loud with his sotto voice "I can actually afford to pay for two more injured wrestlers".

Just reiterating that I really don't want a Ruth/Sam romance and it looks like they might be heading there. Apart from that, the show is making me grin - I thought Season 2 started off kinda slow, but each episode gets better and better.

[DianeDobbler]

I agree that sleeping with your best friend's husband is unforgiveable, but the reality here is that Debbie agreed to partner with Ruth. Debbie is a producer of the show and on a team. Therefore, she is not supposed to be taking her out-of-ring issues into the ring and onto Ruth and her physical well being. For her to do so, and then SCREAM, "You slept with my husband." was a cop out. I don't believe Debbie still has that rage for that action. She may still have rage for the mess she believes her life has become, but if she has that level of rage she has no business in the ring with Ruth. The fact that she felt comfortable expressing that rage even AFTER she purposely broke Ruth's ankle is a huge problem that they papered over, because they made the broken ankle about Ruth and Debbie's relationship, and also about Debbie hitting bottom, which I think was a big misfire. An action as bad as that deserves consequences, first and foremost, and the fact that Bash, Sam and the girls didn't even consider confronting her is absurd. Sheila went from snarking at Debbie  in the waiting room to comforting her in the hotel room. Absurd.

An action like that can't simply be played out to dramatize one character's arc, IMO, and have it land softly among all the other characters, including the victim's. It basically allowed Debbie to cop out on responsibility, and having Ruth all willing to turn the page was another cop out I didn't really believe. After that episode the four leads exiting the hospital together and Ruth back to explaining herself to trying to make nice with Debbie just didn't work for me. They are broken. Leave it there. 

Edited July 30, 2018 by DianeDobbler

[Guest]

Co sign with what everyone said. Not sure how I feel about Sam's obvious growing feelings for Ruby - apart from being a little weird given their nebulous father/daughter dynamic (which I guess has been re-routed to Justine), but their dynamic works precisely because they're not having sex.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

One thing I really appreciated at the beginning of this episode is that Keith was confused about staying professional and helping Ruth. The way he was going back and forth with "Should we call the match?" and "What are we going to do? She's really hurt" was great because it was realistic to me. He was used to all of it being fake and clearly had never dealt with something like this. Thank goodness for Russell.

I loved watching all the girls entertain Ruth to distract her, which was all the more poignant when Ruth told Sam that the show was more than just a show to her because it finally gave her people who give a shit about her.

Man, that fight between Ruth and Debbie was fucking brutal, but I'm glad they finally got all their resentment out in the open.

Bash's hair has been looking so gloriously 80s the last few episodes but that walk down the hospital hallway with his jacket slung his shoulder and then putting on his sunglasses was so perfectly 80s. I totally loved it! I also loved his obvious glee when he realized that Sam had seen Back to the Future.

On 7/15/2018 at 5:10 PM, lovinbob said:

Regarding why Ruth slept with Mark, I think this episode may have offered a clue. Ruth always felt like the pathetic one, the one with nothing, compared to Debbie. Definitely some anger and resentment (and jealousy) there. She believed Debbie was taking all that she had for granted, which probably fed her resentment and assuaged her guilt (somewhat). Beyond career disappointment, she also apparently has had no romantic luck. When you're that lonely, you can justify anything. Plus she and Mark probably developed a strong rapport if they both felt "abandoned" by Debbie in favor of Randy. 

After hearing everything they said during their fight, I thought onen reason Ruth slept with Mark was similar to when Rayanne slept with Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life. As Rickie astutely pointed out to Angela, part of Rayanne wanted to be Angela - a girl with two loving parents, a normal house that always had food in the refrigerator, and all the trappings of being a middle class suburban teenager - and sleeping with Jordan let Rayanne be Angela for a minute. Similarly, it's clear that Ruth has been jealous/envious of Debbie's life: a husband, a nice house, a new baby, and a career. On some level, sleeping with Mark let her be Debbie. I don't mean that in a super creepy SWF/"I want to murder you, make a skin suit out of your body, and assume your identity" kind of way either, just that she gave in to this momentary impulse and for a second, she got to have something that Debbie had. I'm not excusing Ruth sleeping with Mark at all, but I can definitely see why they cast someone who wasn't a drop dead gorgeous male model as Mark so that it was obvious that it wasn't like Ruth had been secretly lusting over him for years and jumped into bed with him the first chance she got.

Edited August 26, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Flannery Tanner]

On 7/4/2018 at 12:44 PM, DianeDobbler said:

It seemed to me a coked up Debbie was taking her anger out on that leg, trying to do harm. But in the bigger picture, Debbie was treating Ruth the way she did because she had power over Ruth, and didn't feel as if she had power in any other part of her life. She had to strategize and eat shit in order to get her say as a producer, she felt powerless in her divorce even though her husband is a fairly ideal ex-husband and co-parent.

I'm late to the party.

I think part of what played into Debbie's anger here was the kidnapping storyline hitting a little too close to home. In the ring, Zoya is keeping Liberty Belle from her child. In real life, it's (at least tangentially) Ruth's fault that Debbie doesn't have Randy all the time. Her response to seeing Mark and his new gal with Randy was to abuse all the substances and get in the ring where Zoya/Ruth is taunting her about keeping her child from her. I think Ruth's lucky all she got was a broken ankle.

[aradia22]

I'm not sure what the protocol is when someone gets injured. Should you move them? But at least Russell did something when no one else was bothered. Being completely honest here, if they'd cast a white guy in this part, I don't think there would be any question about him being a legitimate love interest. Debbie is wrong. He's 100% a good guy.

That moment also highlighted how indie this production is and how all the guys (Sam, Bash, Keith) are kind of incompetent when faced with something big. 

Glad to know they did get Birdie as a sponsor.

Loved that dynamic as they debated on where to take Ruth. The characters are well-defined enough for them to have their own viewpoints. And it was so adorable that Carmen bothered to ask Ruth what SHE wanted. All the women coming together to help Ruth was so heartwarming. They each had their own ways of contributing.

"Ruth? Take a Valium. There you go, buddy." XD

Debbie's dramatic shower scene was fine. Showing off her body was unnecessary. Again, sometimes I don't know who this show is for. I don't have a problem with nudity that feels natural in the context of the story. But the nudity in this show (almost always female) often feels gratuitous and exploitative. Even if you wanted to do a scene with Bash talking to her for some story/character reason there's a different way to shoot it. 

The way Melrose bit the Klonopin in half was... chef's kiss.

Yeah, hundo percent don't need Sam being romantically jealous. Please don't do this storyline, show. I can see you wanting to and I hate it.

Cherry casually resting her feet in Keith's lap? Amazing. I don't know if it's the director or the writers or the cast knowing their characters so well but I love all the little details.

I feel like Sam taking off Ruth's boot was so much more dad energy than romantic energy. 

I'm surprised it was an ankle injury given how Debbie was holding her leg. I thought she did something to her hip or that socket between the leg and the pelvis. Maybe a knee injury.

Justine dumping all the candy in Ruth's lap and the way Sam already had his wallet out. Perfect. This episode is great.

I just loved so much of this episode. They all banded together to support Ruth and it showed us what is special and unique about each girl.

They've been hinting at it for a while so I'm glad we finally found out that Arthie failed out of medical school. More Arthie, please.

I wonder where they're going. During that big confrontation in the hospital room I realized that they've turned Debbie into a huge villain. Since season 1, Ruth has been great and Debbie has been doing one thing after another. I don't care if Ruth slept with Mark... twice. Debbie is completely unsympathetic now. 

"I can afford two more people getting injured." XD

I was waiting for Debbie to apologize. The closest she got was "I didn't mean to break your ankle" until she signed the cast.