S03.E01: Up, Up, Up

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Hours before GLOW's opening show at the Fan-Tan casino in Las Vegas, a national tragedy unfolds on live TV, leaving everyone spooked.

Original air date: 8/9/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I liked that they worked the Challenger explosion into the episode because that was a huge deal when it happened. It was also nice to see the performers struggle with being upset and whether or not the show should go on that night.

This show always cracks me up but sometimes it's the simplest lines that make me laugh. Sam asking Bash, "What the fuck is going on with your hair?" made me laugh so hard.

[thuganomics85]

Yay, GLOW is back!  I've missed this fun little show!

They certainly dove right into the real life event story here, by having this take place on the day of the Challenger explosion.  I thought they struck the right balance of showing the tragedy of it and how it effected everyone, but how they also still had their own personal concerns despite it, and even some inappropriate humor from the characters that tend to go there.  But, of course, the show must go on!

Everything involving the rehearsal was gold, especially Sam's annoyed/totally over it introductions and recaps.  Marc Maron really is tailored made for this character.

Still not sure I like the idea of a potential Ruth/Sam thing happening, but I won't blame him for his reaction to Ruth at the end, because Alison Brie really was rocking that dress.

Curious to see what is in store for Geena Davis' character and the somewhat icy relationship between her and Debbie.

Bash is just so... well, Bash and I love him for it!

[Lady Calypso]

Welcome back, GLOW! I have missed you, so!

I didn't expect them to dive into the Challenger Explosion, but I'm kind of glad that they did. It really set the tone and allowed for some real poignancy with the story. What I loved was seeing how they all reacted to it. From the lackluster, low energy rehearsal to Ruth's struggle throughout the episode to the balloon scene, where they finally allow themselves to not just lighten up, but embrace the tragedy so they could work the show.

I see we're also really getting into the Sam/Ruth romance early on. We're getting even more tension-filled scenes. I'm not jumping up and down for the pairing, but I hope, since they're doing it, that they give me a reason to root for them.

I loved seeing everyone enter the elevator at the end, only to have Sam abruptly leave. I also got a good laugh at Rhonda's "I ran back down so I could ride up with you guys."

Seriously, I love this show so much. I can't wait to find out more about Geena Davis' character. Sandy's tension with Debbie could be fun to watch.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

32 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I also got a good laugh at Rhonda's "I ran back down so I could ride up with you guys."

I loved that moment and thought it was very telling that even though she's married to Bash, she still wants to be part of the group. I'm glad because I would hate to see her get snotty and separate herself from the other girls.

[kieyra]

Oh god. Only halfway through but had to pause to say: the tension-building during the Challenger sequence was intense, especially if you’re old enough (or space-y enough) that you knew early in the scene what was coming. I was holding my breath waiting to see how bad it was going to get, while Ruth babbled and I watched Debbie’s face for the cue. It took *forever*, waiting in that dread that somehow still managed to be comedic. 

Edit: watched the rest. I thought it was odd that we got very little of the actual opening night show or audience reaction. I know that’s part of why they showed the dress rehearsal and how rote it had become to them, but I still expected to get some sense of how the show was received, especially on opening night. Especially because of the tragedy and how worried they all were about bad luck. Maybe I find out in future episodes.

Edited August 9, 2019 by kieyra

[DoctorAtomic]

I watched the Challenger in real time. When Ruth said her dad watched with the class, I knew exactly how that went. 

The cerberus joke killed me. 

Even though they didn't show the show, it sounded like they were getting a lot of laughs. 

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I watched the Challenger in real time. When Ruth said her dad watched with the class, I knew exactly how that went. 

The cerberus joke killed me. 

Even though they didn't show the show, it sounded like they were getting a lot of laughs. 

When Ruth mentioned her dad being a teacher (did we know that before?) it added another layer to her anguish, given that so much of the excitement about the Challenger launch was the inclusion of a teacher. Also, I don't think she's mentioned her parents since early in the first season, and that was only because she was asking for money, so I like that she mentioned them again and wonder if we'll see them in this season.

I liked the craps game - that's the only way I'd gamble - if someone handed me some chips so I wasn't losing my own money. I loved the look on Debbie's when she turned around after getting the chips from Geena.

Edited August 10, 2019 by Clanstarling

[whiporee]

As awful as it was in retrospect, I loved Zoya and Belle's TV appearance and space race debate. 

Also, Debbie's little "Ruth," and Ruth's reaction were great, too. 

Edited August 11, 2019 by whiporee

[tennisgurl]

I am so happy that this show is back! Its so much fun, but also knows how to get serious and give the characters very real arcs and emotions, even with giant hair and goofy costumes. 

As soon as I realized that Debbie and Ruth were watching The Challenger, I was just begging them to stop, it was like watching people happily waving goodbye on board the Titanic as it sets sail. They handled both the dramatic fallout of that, and the kind of awkward comedy of everyone trying to figure out how to handle it on their show so well. 

Its just great seeing all of these characters again!

[CletusMusashi]

I hate moments of silence. Thank god for balloons.

[Clanstarling]

8 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

I hate moments of silence. Thank god for balloons.

My mind does tend to wander...

[iMonrey]

I hadn't heard that Geena Davis was going to be on this show. So, she runs the casino where they are performing, is that right? Was there any mention of her character last season? I may have to re-watch S2. 

[Loandbehold]

20 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I hadn't heard that Geena Davis was going to be on this show. So, she runs the casino where they are performing, is that right? Was there any mention of her character last season? I may have to re-watch S2.

I'm not sure if she's in charge of the hotel, but definitely in charge of the entertainment aspect. And, no, she was not mentioned in S2. The strip club owner just said that he knew the person in charge at the hotel and could get them a show there.*
 

*Vague recollection as I haven't rewatched. If someone else has a more accurate remembrance, please tell. 

[Cheezwiz]

On 8/10/2019 at 11:11 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

The cerberus joke killed me. 

For some reason I found that bit hysterically funny. I was rolling at all the blank looks on everyone else's faces. It's the weird throwaway lines that make me laugh the hardest.

[rlc]

Laughed out loud at ‘nobody likes to see the ghost of Christmas future’.

[Danny Franks]

Okay, now I finally have time to sit down and watch season 3, I think I'll probably mainline it within a couple of days. This show is so much fun.

The idea of Liberty Belle and Zoya commentating on the Challenger launch was great, and  Zoya being full on "USSR superior" as the disaster unfolded. And then they have to decide whether to go ahead with the show.

The rehearsal walkthrough with absolutely no energy was simultaneously hilarious and incredibly frustrating to watch. This entire episode had that sort of numb, static feel to it, which wokred quite well, both as the response to a tragedy and to represent the nerves of waiting for their first show to begin.

Vegas is a city I have no desire to visit, in no small part to the fact it's always depicted as seedy, sleazy and a place people go to bottom out. And boy, does Sam look like that's what he's there to do. But I guess this show is part of the kitschy, relatively low-rent entertainment, side of the city.

So Bash is actually attempting to live as husband and wife with Rhonda? That's going to end miserably for them both. Or was Rhonda hinting that she knows he's gay (or bi) with that "unless you want them to turn it into a penis cake" line?

Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin were wearing the hell out of those dresses at the end. Good grief.

[aradia22]

I don't know space missions well enough to have seen the Challenger thing coming. That's what comes of too much improv, Ruth.

I usually don't comment negatively on women's looks but what did Geena Davis do to her face?

I'm glad there were some initial struggles. Even if it was filmed live, it's totally different to do a stage show than something that can be edited into a more watchable form.

This is the first time in a while Ruth has been wrong about a creative decision on the show. They should NOT address the tragedy in the show.

I love all the knowledge that Sheila has about random things. When did she have time for Wednesday craps classes?

Aw, Bash is nervous because Florian isn't there.

Ruth's dress was tiny! Was that 80's fashion? The other women looked more like what I was expecting.

[paramitch]

On 8/9/2019 at 2:26 PM, Lady Calypso said:

I see we're also really getting into the Sam/Ruth romance early on. We're getting even more tension-filled scenes. I'm not jumping up and down for the pairing, but I hope, since they're doing it, that they give me a reason to root for them.

 

All I'm doing is begging, begging, seriously, begging, the show to rethink this implied ship/pairing because it just grosses me out so much. I like Sam so much as a character. As a partner for Ruth? Oh, God, no. 

And worst of all, it's a story I've seen a million times. At least.

Given that this is a show that is all about empowering women and focusing on them, do they have to hook Ruth up with Sam the sleazebag producer (no matter how wonderfully or poignantly acted he is)? The guy who's doing every substance known to man, who is disastrous on relationships, who's decades older than she is?

I get that Ruth is sad and somewhat adrift (and Brie is killing the performance, as always). But I'm so begging her to go a different direction here than "now has a predictable and badly timed fling with the sweet loser who put the gang together and will 100% inevitably betray her and break her heart." Just... 

Haven't we seen that story already? I'm just so, so tired of it.

On 8/9/2019 at 3:14 PM, kieyra said:

Oh god. Only halfway through but had to pause to say: the tension-building during the Challenger sequence was intense, especially if you’re old enough (or space-y enough) that you knew early in the scene what was coming. I was holding my breath waiting to see how bad it was going to get, while Ruth babbled and I watched Debbie’s face for the cue. It took *forever*, waiting in that dread that somehow still managed to be comedic. 

The moment they said "Challenger," I froze, and spent the next several minutes just mentally going, "Ruth, shut up, Ruth, stop talking, Ruth, look at the screen," etc. So painful. Especially with Debbie so focused that we could see (in some beautiful acting from Gilpin) exactly what was happening.

On 8/11/2019 at 8:39 PM, tennisgurl said:

As soon as I realized that Debbie and Ruth were watching The Challenger, I was just begging them to stop, it was like watching people happily waving goodbye on board the Titanic as it sets sail. They handled both the dramatic fallout of that, and the kind of awkward comedy of everyone trying to figure out how to handle it on their show so well. 

Perfectly put. And this was very quietly poignant and well-done.

On 9/16/2019 at 8:33 AM, Danny Franks said:

The rehearsal walkthrough with absolutely no energy was simultaneously hilarious and incredibly frustrating to watch. This entire episode had that sort of numb, static feel to it, which wokred quite well, both as the response to a tragedy and to represent the nerves of waiting for their first show to begin.

Vegas is a city I have no desire to visit, in no small part to the fact it's always depicted as seedy, sleazy and a place people go to bottom out. And boy, does Sam look like that's what he's there to do. But I guess this show is part of the kitschy, relatively low-rent entertainment, side of the city.

I liked the rehearsal and especially some of the symbolism, like poor Ruth just hung up there like laundry on the zipline, in stasis, between two points.

On 11/25/2019 at 10:31 PM, aradia22 said:

I usually don't comment negatively on women's looks but what did Geena Davis do to her face?

She got older. I think Geena looks pretty amazing—but I also think she's recovering from some bad plastic surgery decisions of about 5 years ago. Luckily, it appears to have been more temporary (fillers and stuff) because, to me, she looks far more natural and less plastic here than she did then (and it appeared to go away pretty quickly -- she's looked far more natural the past few years.

I'm always hesitant to judge actresses for choosing plastic surgery, even though it's painful to see what some of them choose over simply looking older (Daryl Hannah in "Sense8" is still probably the most painful for me). I mean, I hate it, but I also understand it, because they're in a no-win situation in a brutal industry.

The nice irony is, Geena has also done a ton of stuff to try to even the playing field for women in and out of Hollywood, and I thought she looked gorgeous here. Either way, it's nice to see her again onscreen and I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with the character (I hope she's not cartoonishly evil).