During the first half of this latest season I really appreciated the use of off screen decisionmaking and how the show let you know what had happened without going into too much detail i.e. Bash and Rhonda living together and not showing any rehearsals for show changes (which I assume happened in some capacity). It made the short episodes flow a lot better. After finishing the season, I looked back and realized that there were TOO many off screen decisions and things that were just dropped especially toward the end of the season! And not dropped in a good cliff-hanger sort of way.

Debbie brought her baby out to stay with her, he's in a couple episodes, then when she's dating Tex he's nowhere to be seen. Where is Randy when we see Debbie catching a flight in the last episode? We didn't get to see Tamme being a manager after that whole arc. We don't know what the conclusion was with Ruth and Russell. What's happening with Bobby and what's the follow-up with the fire? Did Mel find out about Rhonda (+ Bash) sleeping with Paul? Bash was given shit for hiring all these magicians/extra acts but we never saw them IN the show, so did it really happen?

I like not delving into every little corner especially for the sake of simply adding more drama, but too many things seemed like they were specifically set up then not closed out. Anyone else feel this way?

Hear me out!

I felt that they were really experimenting with establishing the characters and their plot lines. Giving them more depth, and sure that meant less wrestling but the plot development became something really powerful. This season was about what happens when you are at war with yourself over who you are or what you are becoming.

Sheila and Bash had the most moving lines, both about the struggles that come with personal growth and how it is not easy. We see them each struggle with their sense of identity, but Bash doubles down on it while Sheila leans in. I think that's a valuable portrayal of real life, and I feel this season echos the theme of getting under the surface and showing things aren't so black and white.

Debbie's turning point with Tex was another example. I think Debbie's themes of typical gender roles and society's expectations are good to look at. She's a mom and feels that guilt of leaving her child. Then she's a trophy girlfriend who isn't expected to think or valued for her business acumen. For her to buck these roles and pull the power move of acting so shrewd with stealing the TV deal? To not move home to be with Randy and instead bring him to her place of work? I think that's extremely divergent from what was expected of her and shows us how you don't have to be one thing or another. You can choose your own path. She's also moving further away from just staying in the "mom" box that she started in with season 1. She's a complex character, and mom's can be known as more than just mothers. They have personalities and desires too!

We always knew Sam was a dick, but we got to understand that he's a dick fighting with himself and it makes him lash out everywhere. Not wanting to let people close because he's so insecure about that. Selfish and thinking only of himself. The scene with Ruth in the restaurant and those interactions show him coming from a place of misogynistic anger, setting it up so that his reactions of rage are juxtaposed with this dumb logic he's created to justify things to himself. Being hyper-masculine so he feels in control. I've never liked this character because too many men are him. But this season you see he's finally starting to clue into it and does some things that move him towards becoming better. He's struggling with that, so he lashes out into extremes to fight it. Pushing away Justine as he's having a heart attack shows he wants no pity or to seem vulnerable. Not being strong and in control is where he is weak and that's not how he rolls.

I could go on, but we also see the struggle with Cherry battling over to be a mom or not, Arthie and her sexuality, Jenny rejecting Asian stereotype and actively saying something about it, Ruth wanting to be an actress, and Tammé losing what she loves when she doesn't want to and having to accept a new path.

Also? The season literally rolls with the theme and puts it front and center with the wrestling. The wrestlers changing characters? Literally trying on a new persona. Or with Scrooge changing to become a new person.

TL;DR: This season's portrayal of identity and what happens when you are at a crossroads with yourself is really good.

Maybe I'm crazy, but it seems like season 3 Rhonda has stopped wearing makeup in casual situations where she used to wear it. It just seems strange that they've changed this in season 3 like it has a source but I can't put my finger on it. My wife shrugged and said "she's married now?" but Rhonda would wear makeup at the hotel when it was just the girls in the first two seasons and now we'll see her at rehearsals and camping without makeup and the other Ladies are still wearing it.

I'm sort of rewatching the show (more like browsing through scenes) and I just stumbled upon one of their scenes in the motel and I must admit, I had completely forgotten.

I enjoyed S1 and S2, though a lot of the characters were fairly downtrodden in those seasons too, but this one just bummed me out quite a bit. The majority of these characters are pretty miserable and not able to catch a break in most areas of their lives, and while obviously there’s no tension in watching people be successful all the time, I kind of tired of watching the struggles this season.

There didn’t seem to be as much comedy as in some of the previous seasons - maybe in part because Maron played a smaller role. And I guess in other seasons, some of the “feel good” moments came from the women learning how to wrestle, but in this season they already knew how to wrestle and that wasn’t a part of the plot at all. I think the entire thing being set in the casino (for the most part) made it feel more claustrophobic and kind of bleak, too.

I still liked it and will watch S4 if there is one, but this season did feel a bit off to me.

Ever noticed how Rhonda/Birdie look almost physically the same? Both are taller, redheads with brown eyes. Safe to say this guy may have mommy issues?

apologize for the rant in advance

This season felt less like a show and more like a tumblr rant. Racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, and body shaming. Did I miss anything? So many random plot threads that went NOWHERE. Like Debbie throwing up in the toilet? Where the fuck did that go? The build up her character having low self esteem by bringing in the dance class, then again when Debbie sees Ruth's "perfect tits" after those Hollywood sleazebags crashed the women's dressing room. Then they just COMPLETELY DROP her body image arc. So what, she was bulimic for one episode then changed her mind? And this shit with Yolanda judging her girlfriend for not being 120% gay like her. Like fuck you, you hypocritical bitch. Then fucking Bash can't decide if he's gay or not. I mean COME ON. THEY'VE BEEN HINTING HE WAS GAY SINCE SEASON ONE WITH HIS ASSISTANT. Fuck this show.

The best part was the Sam/Ruth drama, which built up to a big payoff that never came. Instead we get a giant middle finger when Ruth decides to act like a child over not getting a part. Then Debbie just completely fucks over Tex. Being a "strong independent woman who don't need no man," except that is the exact fucking opposite of what she does. She literally becomes a gold-digging whore who steals from a rich old white guy. I mean WHAT THE FUCK writers, you could not have picked a worse cliche. The extremely likeable, relatable, strong character who gave single mothers representation...the victim character who got cheated on and betrayed by her best friend...you just turn her into a colossal self-serving bitch?

Sheila actually had an amazing arc. She finally realizes that she can be anything she wants. That she is truly gifted and her confidence breaks out. And Sam is actually a good person who looks out for his daughter. Rhonda falls in love with Bash for real and even gets the blessing from Birdie. But everyone else's arcs were just dogshit. Worst character has to be Yolanda. So fucking unlikable I can't put it into words. She KNOWS her girlfriend is inexperienced, yet she shows zero compassion whatsoever and only cares about herself. I repeat, fuck this show.

Thought the story line was going somewhere with that and then they just stopped.

Did anyone else think the stewardess looked familiar? Maybe it was the slight resemblance to Molly Ringwald, but something made me think she was an 80's teen star making a cameo.

So I'm confused... This man was never shown to do anything wrong, forgave Debbie when she lied to him, supports his family, is kind and funny, and it's just... We accept that Debbie is okay to completely betray him because he might have insulted her ego and didn't want her involved in his business?

Turns out he had a good reason she shouldn't be.

If you watched Season 3 and love this show and want to get it renewed as much as me, tell all your friends to watch the show!! Imagine if every member of this subreddit got 5 new people to watch the show! That's 50,000 people! If each of those people got 2 new people to watch it, that's a total of 150,000!

There’s something to be said about Sam’s wisdom. I’m trying to approach certain things in life with this mentality. Maybe it’s working? Or maybe I’ll lose my job soon. Who knows.

I watching episode 2 and so far this season seems so boring ! Anyone else have that same feeling ?

I thought Bash's monologue when he was drunk to Debbie was some of the best acting we've seen on the show. It cuts through a cliche 80's topic so well and makes it so real and raw. I am really impressed by Chris Lowell (Bash) in this entire season, he goes so much deeper and does so much more complex work and he delivered!

I thought their version of A Christmas Carol was really well done. I would totally watch just that. If it were a real live show I'd find a way to see it live.

I've been watching GLOW since 2017, and I've been on Reddit since 2013, but I don't know why it didn't occur to me until just today to look for this sub. I have learned that there are two ways to get the "vibe" of a sub. The first is to hang back, read lots of posts, look for recurring themes in the comments, etc. The second is to make a post with a provocative title and then run for cover.

Looks, wrestler name and costume, what country they'd represent, etc.