S02.E06: Work the Leg 2018.06.29

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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Facing new competition, the women vow to amp up their wrestling. A startling discovery changes Sam's outlook on the show.

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah! Carmen got a bit of the spotlight and shut all the women up about their problems so it wouldn't interfere with their jobs.

It is great to see the accumulation of various problems from previous episodes culminating into this episode.

I was thrilled to see Ruth and Sam get back on track. Their moment in the theatre was very well done...and it included the twist of Sam being mad at Tom Grant and starting to deal with his own issues.

Meanwhile, Debbie's issues all pile on in this episode, where she takes Bash's cocaine and then is too drugged up to be thinking clearly and breaks Ruth's leg. Like, I know she has some anger at Ruth, but breaking her leg? That being said, I had a feeling that was going to happen, but the end was intense all the same.

[thuganomics85]

Glad that Sam and Ruth made-up, and Sam admitted that it was him being an insecure old man.  And then he finds out the truth about why they got shuttled to 2:00 a.m., but rightfully blames Tom instead of Ruth.  Nice moment and Sam does strike me as someone who certainly has dated and somewhat offensive views on certain aspects, but would think it was wrong for a man to try and do what that sleaze did with Ruth.  Alison Brie and Marc Maron really work great together.

Nice to see Carmen step and up and take charge when things were almost getting out of hand.

Curious to see what Cherry's new gimmick will be.

But, damn!  Debbie is totally spiraling out of control.  Granted, Mark dating/sleeping with his secretary is about as cliched as you can get (Rich Sommer really is just playing an 80s Harry Crane here!), but taking cocaine and possibly actually breaking Ruth's leg?  How will she come back from that?  And she is totally letting her ego/issues with Ruth effect her judgment, because storytelling wise, "Zoya" really should have won the match.  You can't have a feud if the good guy beats the heel in their first battle.  Of course, modern pro wrestling now usually has outs like having the heel deliberately get him or herself disqualified or something.

[Captain Carrot]

6 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Glad that Sam and Ruth made-up, and Sam admitted that it was him being an insecure old man.  And then he finds out the truth about why they got shuttled to 2:00 a.m., but rightfully blames Tom instead of Ruth.  Nice moment and Sam does strike me as someone who certainly has dated and somewhat offensive views on certain aspects, but would think it was wrong for a man to try and do what that sleaze did with Ruth.  Alison Brie and Marc Maron really work great together.

Agreed, and I can't imagine how relieved Ruth must have felt to have someone agree with her decision, and state that the move to 2 am wasn't her fault. It just felt so good to have things going her way after a season of everyone shitting on her. So, of course Debbie had to fuck it up.

[ketose]

This might have been the strongest episode of the season. I liked the scene where Sam bashes in Tom's windshield while Glen watched and all he said was that Tom pisses off a lot of people and it could have been anyone. I guess Glen doesn't like his part in those bungalow meetings either.

I had to look up the song used in the training montage. It was "Far From Over" by Frank Stallone. That may be the best choice ever.

[Danny Franks]

"Fuck physics, Ruth!" I kind of want that on a t-shirt.

I love his passion for this. It's so interesting that he's this invested in women's wrestling, when he could just as easily buy into a men's wrestling promotion (and he'd probably be way happier watching the dudes grapple).

Carmen talking about how it just isn't done to steal signature moves was a nice touch. This is an issue of etiquette and respect in wrestling, and it causes controversies even for established stars. Loved her telling everyone to shut up and stop bickering. About time she put her foot down, because they'd all be nothing without her, as this episode proved.

But it kind of undercuts the premise of the show that they've actually been on television for multiple weeks, yet are still only learning pretty basic moves.

Tom Grant is a colossal asshole. Dumping them in a 2am slot, just because Ruth wouldn't sleep with him.

Sam is actually quite sweet with Justine, all their scenes together this season have been him at his best. I like that he and Ruth made up, and that Sam bucked the trend of believing women should let themselves be coerced into sleeping with powerful men. But I'm not on board for a romance between them. I just don't think they have that energy. And Marc Maron looks old enough to be Alison Brie's dad (hell, he is old enough to be her dad).

Debbie is pissing me off with her inability to understand how wrestling stories work. Ruth understands what she's doing, and she gets how the business works. I feel like Debbie would flip the fuck out if she was told she had to be the villain. And now she wants her own dressing room because she's just better than everyone else? I've had sympathy for her in previous episodes, because she has valid reasons to be a mess, but I had none for her here.

And yeah, Mark is the worst kind of cliched asshole, to be sleeping with his secretary. But Debbie taking it out on Ruth is simply not forgivable. Nor is getting high before a match. I'd fire her for either one of those things.

[DianeDobbler]

I enjoyed the entire episode, thought Debbie was out of control and also thought the show let her off the hook too easily, but at the same time, I saw a couple of things that made me uneasy.

1. When it turned out Mark wanted to know what bed Debbie had so he could keep things familiar at his apartment for their son. Unfair. He had his secretary call Debbie - and what kind of a dick move is that - to ask for that inappropriate information. A couple of decades later and his secretary should have refused - even if she also is his girlfriend.  Yes, it turns out he wanted the information for good guy reasons, but in that case he ought to have called Debbie himself. She has every reason to think he was being an asshole. I hated her in this episode, but I wasn't on board with that reveal.

2. the conversation on the phone with the secretary took place while Debbie was wearing a matching bra/underwear set with filmy cover up. I kept waiting for a reason for that wardrobe, but there wasn't. It was just exploitation, IMO. She was home, hey, let's show off Betty Gilpin. 

I think Maron and Brie do have that energy as their characters, but it does annoy me, especially on a show like this, that GLOW would go there, or play with going there, where if the genders were reversed there is no way. I think the casting of Russell almost guarantees they are going to go there or at least do a will they won't they. He reads as "spoiler", not the real thing.

I sound really critical, and I do love the hell out of this show. It's just that certain sexist double standards or cheesy stuff - the double standard being "Sure, Mark Maron can be a love interest for Allison Brie" and the cheesy stuff being "Why not have Betty Gilpin play this scene in glamorous, sexy bra and underpants for no reason" - get under my skin. A third thing is this is reminding me of Orange is the New Black, which is ostensibly about all these women, except when suddenly the writers get excited about the one male lead, and then decide to write an entire story arc for a secondary male (Bash), which takes time away from this large female ensemble that supposedly centers the show.

Edited July 3, 2018 by DianeDobbler

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Debbie is pissing me off with her inability to understand how wrestling stories work. Ruth understands what she's doing, and she gets how the business works. I feel like Debbie would flip the fuck out if she was told she had to be the villain. And now she wants her own dressing room because she's just better than everyone else? I've had sympathy for her in previous episodes, because she has valid reasons to be a mess, but I had none for her here.

I think this is true, and to be fair(ish) she is the only one of the women who has had a successful run in acting. I think Debbie always feels superior, and it was an essential element in Debbie and Ruth's friendship. She was the successful actor who supported (emotionally) her poor friend who just never seemed to have any luck. To see Ruth shine and come into her own after betraying their friendship is always salt in the wound. She wants the dynamic of their old relationship, only one where she's able to punish Ruth instead of support her.

[kieyra]

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I sound really critical, and I do love the hell out of this show. It's just that certain sexist double standards or cheesy stuff - the double standard being "Sure, Mark Maron can be a love interest for Allison Brie"

Nothing irritates me more than the fact that age-gap relationships only get to go one direction on television or movies. Swap genders and the older woman is either pathetic, delusional, or (when Shameless plays the card), some kind of sicko.

Edited July 4, 2018 by kieyra

[TallulahBelle]

Fucking hell, Debbie!  Yikes.

[DianeDobbler]

I just burned through this whole season, but then rewatched a little bit to get the sense of the arc. I didn't realize there was no middle scene between Sam being brutally rude and mean to Ruth, and Ruth showing up for Sam's film. It needed another scene. He's being a nasty bitch to her, she shows up to this thing in support of him and it's merely a little awkward, as if they'd already made up. Yes, they addressed it with him saying "I'm not mad. I'm an insecure old man." but that's something you get to after things have thawed a little bit. Her showing up played as if they'd already thawed, when the fact is the last time he saw her, he'd treated her like shit. Unsatisfactory to me - needed another scene before this.

[Loandbehold]

52 minutes ago, DianeDobbler said:

I just burned through this whole season, but then rewatched a little bit to get the sense of the arc. I didn't realize there was no middle scene between Sam being brutally rude and mean to Ruth, and Ruth showing up for Sam's film. It needed another scene. He's being a nasty bitch to her, she shows up to this thing in support of him and it's merely a little awkward, as if they'd already made up. Yes, they addressed it with him saying "I'm not mad. I'm an insecure old man." but that's something you get to after things have thawed a little bit. Her showing up played as if they'd already thawed, when the fact is the last time he saw her, he'd treated her like shit. Unsatisfactory to me - needed another scene before this.

I think the scene w/ Justine asking Ruth to go served that purpose. She told Ruth that Sam really respects her. And, given Ruth's need to please people and to be needed, I think that's enough for her to go.

[DianeDobbler]

It's enough for Ruth to go, but not enough for the Sam character, IMO, and unsatisfactory. I wanted that transitional moment from him. He had already thawed when she showed up. He was just grouchy. He had been full on asshole the previous time we saw her with him.

[Clanstarling]

11 hours ago, DianeDobbler said:

It's enough for Ruth to go, but not enough for the Sam character, IMO, and unsatisfactory. I wanted that transitional moment from him. He had already thawed when she showed up. He was just grouchy. He had been full on asshole the previous time we saw her with him.

For me it worked, because I had a father who was very much like Sam. His anger would go away in a flash, with no perceivable reason (the same way his anger would start). You never knew when it was okay to be "normal" again.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 03/07/2018 at 2:04 PM, Danny Franks said:

But it kind of undercuts the premise of the show that they've actually been on television for multiple weeks, yet are still only learning pretty basic moves.

I can kind of buy it. Even without the basic skills they could probably get by and build some interest purely on the whole novelty factor of it being a women's wrestling show. But once that novelty wears off people would be more likely to notice if the moves aren't good. Plus that training montage was awesome.

[Cheezwiz]

Another really strong episode - from the episode title I could tell that something reeeeeally bad was going to happen to someone's leg!

Now that Sam has toned down his assholish behavior, Ruth & Sam's scene together in the movie theatre wound up being really nice. They have good chemistry - not in the romantic sense (I really hope they don't go there), but in the supportive friend sense. Ruth is a frequent irritant who pushes Sam to be better, and Sam has often been there to help pick Ruth up when she's at her lowest. It was nice to see her brighten up if only temporarily. The AV kids were adorable! Also it was fun watching Sam smash the executive's windshield, because who among us has not fantasized about doing something similar to a corporate bigwig?

Not sure where they are going with Debbie - she is really on a downward spiral, and it's getting harder and harder to sympathize with her. That little baby they cast as her kid sure is cute, and this is coming from a non-kid person!

Also, yay Carmen!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I always love the training montages but this one was extra awesome combined with the classic training montage song. I especially loved seeing Rhonda practice that trick on her motel bed and then executing it in the ring.

 I loved that when Glen came around the corner and saw Sam smashing the windshield of Tom's car, he just shrugged and said that Tom makes so many people mad that anyone could have done it. Ha!

One thing I like about this show is that there are repercussions. Previously, Bash made a comment about one of the chairs breaking and then they lost Patio Town as a sponsor. In this episode, Carmen warned Cherry about stealing wrestling moves so I have no doubt that there will be consequences for that sooner rather than later.

Debbie is clearly still letting her personal feelings interfere with work because as someone who was on a soap opera (and wrestling is basically a soap opera with smaller/tighter costumes), she should have known from the beginning that Ruth was right - you can't let the good guy win right away. But she's been spiraling and these bad decisions are just her most recent examples of letting her personal feelings get in the way.

I'm glad that we got to see Carmen being a boss. I hope Sam and the girls realize that their show would be nowhere without her. Aside from her wrestling skills, she is a patient teacher and a great leader, all of which they need since Sam, their supposed leader, is none of those things.

[Neko]

On 7/3/2018 at 4:27 PM, DianeDobbler said:

2. the conversation on the phone with the secretary took place while Debbie was wearing a matching bra/underwear set with filmy cover up. I kept waiting for a reason for that wardrobe, but there wasn't. It was just exploitation, IMO. She was home, hey, let's show off Betty Gilpin. 

I think it did serve a purpose: 

Quote

Spoiler

Mark's secretary (forget her name) is a cute girl, but nowhere near as conventionally hot as Debbie.  I can see a woman like Debbie looking at the secretary and wondering what the hell she did wrong when she followed all the rules; she's blonde, fit, obviously puts effort into her physical appearance, but her ex chooses a rather frumpy looking woman to rebound, with (not saying the actress is frumpy, just the character).  By showing Debbie/Betty Gilpin in a desirable light while she is talking to the secretary on the phone, I think they were trying to highlight that difference and give the audience a hint into what might be going on in Debbie's mind when she finally learns that the secretary is actually the girlfriend. 

 

But, that's just the way I interpreted that scene.

Edited August 31, 2018 by Sweet Summer Child

[aradia22]

Why is everyone being shady this episode? Debbie is guilting Ruth but not telling anyone else about Tom Grant in a way that could actually be helpful. Cherry wants to steal super obvious moves like a lumberjack chop. 

I feel like it's realistic even aside from their personal drama for a face to not want to throw a match. But Debbie is being ridiculous. Being the face doesn't mean she can win all the time. 15 matches? 

I mean, yay, Carmen for getting it together. But it's not true that the men are better because they don't talk about their feelings. As we've seen, plenty of the men on this show let their feelings and egos get in the way of doing the best job they can.

There was some great fight choreography this week.

The deadpan delivery on "Oh, hey Billy. Hey, Billy's here!" was brilliant.

"I'm an insecure old man. I get defensive." So many problems could be solved if people could just admit things like that. 

I'm glad they arranged things this week for Ruth to tell Sam the truth about Tom Grant. And that he responded in his Sam way from last season. Cursing a hell of a lot and then smashing his windshield. He's back!

Wow. How young is Mark's secretary?

Is Debbie doing coke going to be a thing? Because I don't need it. 

Moscow Potato Blossom XD

How were we supposed to interpret that snap in Debbie's coke high? Because she seemed disoriented but she also seemed to do it pretty deliberately.