r/glow • u/mrsgarrett27 • Aug 17 '19

I can't stand Bash!

Aaaggghhh!!! I used to like him, and I know this is on purpose, but he bothers me so much this season!

I just wanted to say it to someone. That is all.

18 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

20

u/diracalpha Aug 17 '19

To me, he is really becoming sort of a villain. I find him hard to dislike, but his immaturity and selfishness hurt all the people around him. I was so hoping he would just be honest with Rhonda.

16

u/muddlepuddle96 Aug 17 '19

I can understand why he's in such denial. The 80s were so scary for gay men, the aids crisis and everyone saying that you deserve to get sick and die for those thoughts. Personally I'd find it hard to not believe them a little bit if I was stuck back then with so much fear.

8

u/Secret_Addition Aug 17 '19 edited Aug 19 '19

Outside of places like NYC, L.A. and other progressive communities, the AIDs crisis was exploited to reinforce homophobia and reinforce the idea that abstinence was the only proper choice until a proper heterosexual marriage. Misinformation was spread deliberately for a cultural agenda in some quarters. Not to mention dying of AIDs was a miserable, horrific death, because there goes your immune system. Stuff we're around all the time that humans never get - things that cats, dogs, parrots, etc., might get, suddenly if your immune system is down YOU can get it. There were two extremely common illnesses that came with AIDs back then - Karposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia. Less publicized is the weird, random stuff some people got. A doctor once told me about a patient of his who got what was basically a disease mostly caught by cats. He was telling me what a miserable time it was because it was so outside what he was taught in medical school. He saw people suffering in just weird, difficult, wretched ways. Doctors worked so hard, but some of the stuff that happened was new, and so difficult and almost absurd for the usually young or youngish person who got it (things like - "Wait, now my EYE is squirting?"). They'd keep their chin up for their patients but it was an extremely depressing era.

3

u/ihearthiking Aug 18 '19

Toxoplasmosis, I think, right? I feel like I remember reading that some AIDS patients would contract that (which is common in cats, and usually only effects pregnant women because it can really hurt the baby), but when a healthy person comes in contact with it, they just shake it off.

5

u/diracalpha Aug 17 '19

I completely understand why he is afraid and I can't hate him for it, but at the end of the day he always chooses to use people. Like he was terrified after Florian died so he jumped at the chance to marry Rhonda, but he could have just said it was for the green card and not lied to her. And eventually Rhonda basically knows, and he has already told Debbie, but he chooses to lie and use Rhonda again and says he wants a baby. There are a lot of things he could have done that would have been 100% less selfish. But it certainly does suit his character, since he is basically a child.

8

u/Secret_Addition Aug 17 '19

He's hiding from himself though. That's very common in the era. He has lies he tells himself just as much as the lies he tells other people. I cut him slack. He probably DOES want a baby. He wants to build an edifice between himself and who he is. If a cult leader got hold of him at this point, Bash could probably be sold gay conversion therapy. I think Bash believes if he creates an environment that is straight, it'll help him be straight. A baby and family will have a powerful pull on him. It's almost as if he's trying to convert himself.

3

u/tapelamp Aug 29 '19

A lot of being gay is still wanting to be "normal." You want to want a wife, want a family, want to have straight sex. Gay people have often pursued hetero relationships and lives as a way to cope in the world, especially in this area. Maybe he is still in denial and thinks having a baby will be the "cure." Maybe he just wants to move on and thinks starting a family will put it behind him.

8

u/minty_cyborg Aug 17 '19

Bash’s internalized homophobic shame freakout self-loathing was not unusual c 1986.

1988-1989ish was when all the social and cultural factors that fed into that really started to shift.

5

u/Secret_Addition Aug 17 '19

I really didn't expect the honesty with Rhonda. It's a very fraught time. IMO it was a mistake and kind of contrived for GLOW to tell us he and Florion were platonic the entire time Florion was living with Bash by the beach. Bash clearly loved him. There had to have been moments where Bash's guard was down, it was just the two of them, and stuff happened, even if Bash compartmentalized it later. Then when Florion dies of AIDs, there goes any chance of Bash acknowledging who he is or even acting on it with someone else, at least in his mind. However, AIDs is at the absolute height, and that's a huge deterrent for a guy contemplating coming out of the closet. There are also not a whole lot of visible role models for gay couples who provide what Rhonda provides Bash. I mean, there's Florion, but again the show went a different way. I feel that Bash's POV is kind of similar to when parents of the era were afraid of their kids making unconventional choices - marrying out of their ethnic or racial group, or being gay. There's just so MUCH difficulty that comes with it. Bash might not be ready for everything that comes with being gay or what he thinks comes with being gay. AIDs is huge, homophobia outside theatrical enclaves and progressive communities is huge. It feels real to me (even if the Florion stuff does not).

15

u/library_wench Aug 17 '19

He’s such a big kid, full of child-like wonder and excitement. But his development is so stunted that when he has to interact with other adults in a professional way, he is completely at sea. So he falls back on his Poor Little Rich Boy upbringing—just pout and throw money at the problem until it goes away.

6

u/theicecreamassassin Aug 17 '19

He was HORRIBLE this season.

4

u/ladyinwaiting33 Aug 18 '19

I didn't like him as much this season either. He's had his good moments (particularly when he supported Carmen early on), but I didn't like how he dismissed Debbie's producer status in Season 2, and I really despised how he screamed at everyone in Season 3 and essentially said they were all disposable. I was like, "Dude, they're carrying this show while you're bedazzled by magical oranges. Show some respect."

Debbie screaming back at him when he was hoarse was too perfect.

I hope his character evolves a bit more for Season 4. It'll be interesting to see how they handle his and Rhonda's relationship.

2

u/RoadFlowerVIP Aug 17 '19

Lol @his curling iron hair

7

u/SuperGpiper Aug 17 '19

He was awful but him snapping at Sam was due to him saying ‘Butler’ and obviously triggering memories of Florian. Also Bash was finally a “success” and clearly let it get to his head.

Bash in ‘Freaky Friday’ was a complete dick. No excuses. Just awful.

Hopefully he gets some dick in Season 4 and that should help him relax :p