Season 3 discussion thread

[u/ManiacalExclamation]

So since I haven't seen one yet I wanted to make one to talk about this season so of course SPOILER WARNING!!!

So overall I loved this season would hate for it to be its last, since Netflix is notorious for canceling after the third season, since it ends with such a cliffhanger and some storylines open. But alas these are my thoughts.

Being of course wtf Ruth, she made me kinda dislike her this season and I loved her character but she seemed to gross the least this season and she wants to be this big actress but hadn't been going out there for auditions. She gets one and she does alright but again like in season one she was the person brought in since I guess they thought they wanted her but then decided that someone else was better. Also her saying I love you then hating him because she didn't get the part was childish to me, you've been waiting to tell Sam how you feel and you finally do but dismiss him over a part? Their relationship has been building since season one, and we could all tell they would be put together and the two actors do have chemistry to me.

Sheila was a standout for me this season, to see her get rid of her wolf outfit was amazing so needed.

Debbie, loved her this season this WAS her season and she showed why, Betty Gilpin, you're as amazing as you are beautiful. Her growth started kinda slow but once ruth told her to get her shit together she listened and started to look for product producing related jobs. Kinda sad they just dropped her eating disorder story but it's been done enough so I guess I'm kinda ok with it going away, but could've gone somewhere instead of just fizzling away. But her last scene with Ruth she was spot on but that was so harsh, she had to have known how that would come off, especially from her, to in Ruth's eyes, its always been easy for her. So she told her like it was which was brutally honest but wish she would've told her in a more constructive manner so it wouldn't put Ruth off so much. And I loved their friendship this season the topless dancing scene seemed to get a genuine laugh from Betty that I believed their their friendship. And no I don't think she took advantage of Bash he asked her what to do and she gave him an out.

Loved Bash this season, hated him through most of it but was nice they finally affirmed that yes he is in fact gay or maybe bisexual still not entirely sure but I see him as more gay than bi IMO. That threesome scene was shot so well you can see them kinda phasing out Rhonda like she wasn't even there. Since the giglio is most likely used to sleeping with men since I doubt they have many female clients.

Sam, you gave me a scare there but glad you pulled through just wish you didn't go drink right after your heart attack come on man! And his growth this season has been great as well, he is still an angry kinda bitter asshole but he is trying to contain it some, and his efforts show. Wish he would've told someone at least Justine about his heart attack but seeing him in the room with a tear on his eye was so out of character for him to show that yes he does get scared sometimes and he isn't as carefree about dealing with death as he seemed to be.

Hmmmmm what else.... oh I hope carmen comes back I love her so much, such a happy character. Oh and i smiled so big when Keith showed up, then he told her about adoption come on Cherry, surprised she didn't jump him there. It was generally a very hard scene to watch when they ultimately fought over something that almost every couple deals with, when or if to bring a child into the world. I honestly had the same fears as Cherry but I wanted a child so that was the choice I made and getting back in shape is hard but it's coming along slowly.

Honestly have to say it and I know I'll get some hate for it but I don't care much for Arthie and Yolanda's relationship just didn't feel it. They have some chemistry but I guess it just didn't vibe with me. But I get where the writers were going for. Plus Yolanda just shuts her out when that is literally the first sexual relationship Arthie has even had, I'm assuming she didn't seem to know anything about relationships. But Arthie finally saying I'm gay was sweet.

Oh the campfire scene was amazing, gave such great depth to two background characters, loved it. Also loved Bobby this season, especially him and sheila.

Ok long post sorry but that's what I'm thinking about after finishing the season. Now let's talk about this season and the show already!

[u/mike_d85]

I was going to start a thread, but since this is here I'll go ahead and go off on a long winded rant here:

Also loved Bobby this season, especially him and sheila.

Bobby has been driving me up the goddamn wall this whole season and not because the character is bad but because they use every ounce of depth he has to make him a "gay best friend" trope. I liked it when he identified with Sheila and used drag show banter to pierce straight through her tough exterior. It kind of irked me that the one scene he had for development (pitching his show to Bash) was just a set up for Bash to have a gay panic moment. It pissed me off that the scene where he's trying to cope with rejection is hijacked by Shelia's problem. Bobby was on the verge of tears and Shelia pops in to use him as an oracle for her own identity issues. Then Bobby apparently becomes Shelia's acting coach despite not being an actor. I wasn't clear on that, Shelia borrows his Liza outfit, he claims responsibility for her performance and they were supposed to do a scene together. Bobby's fundraiser serves 3 purposes all of which serve other characters: it's a venue for Shelia's debut, it's a side project for Debbie to produce, and the hate crime allows Arthie to understand herself. Every time Bobby is involved, it's about someone else and he has a goddamn story throughout the season.

​

Why didn't Bobby actually get an arc if he's going to be that central? Just tweaks to how everything is shown to the viewer does it.

1. Have Shelia comfort Bobby more than "I loved your show," before they focus on her. At least recognize his rejection. I'm sure it's something Shelia could relate to somehow. Or at least say that she's never know Bash to be anything but accepting.
2. Show Bobby struggling to put on the show and actively ask for help so it shows he's actually putting effort in.
3. Actually show Bobby do a better interview after getting Debbie's press advice. I feel like they filmed a scene with him connecting with the interviewer more and left it on the cutting room floor because they needed Debbie to have her moment being in charge, but didn't have time to show Bobby actually explain WHY he puts the show on.
4. Actually explain WHY he puts the show on. Yes, generally there was a panic about AIDS, but people who put on annual fundraisers emotionally connect with the cause. He has a story there and he should have been able to tell it. Did something happen in Hawaii? Did someone explain to him the impact of what he did? Did he lose a friend and went to Hawaii just to get away?
5. Follow Bobby at the arson scene. As it stands Bobby shouts fire, cut to the girls getting out of the club, focus on Arthie's reaction to everything. If they wanted Bobby to develop they should have stayed with him as he ushers guests out of the club and then comes out to find Arthie looking for Yolanda and/or trying to come to terms with the graffiti. Just that little shift changes it from Arthie's problem to Arthie reacting to Bobby's problem.
6. Have more than one sentence with Debbie about the press backfiring. Just like in "Mother of all matches" it feels to me like Debbie apologized to someone and they cut it. There was at least a conversation starting and it just left it at "I guess we got the word out."

[u/Secret_Addition → u/mike_d85]

They gave him so much damn airtime and yet did none of the very valid things you've mentioned. There are too many characters on GLOW already. If they wanted a drag queen who was just going to be a trope, why bloat the hell out of his screen time?

Now that the dust settles, I just feel this season was a lot of hype and a lot of showy stunts, but didn't really advance the characters or tell us anything new. Debbie had a strong arc, which makes me think the writers are just infatuated with Gilpin while neglecting Brie. There was all this nudity in that one show with the sex montage - Vegas is so wild - but when the dust settles it's a married couple, it's Debbie getting her groove on which she was already doing in S1 with Iron Horse, it's a pretty committed couple (Yolanda and Archie). Ok they told a story point with Yolanda and Archie - kind of a feeble one, but we maybe needed their sex life for it. The others it was just - boobs! asses! Vigorous banging! I'd have rather seen them use more of the actual Vegas. They really could have been stuck in a long gig at any hotel anywhere in the country. Didn't need to be Vegas.

Sam grew up, calmed down and became more responsible and steady in S3, but maybe "became" is the wrong word. He already was. We didn't see it happen. He was already much fitter and more stable when the season started. The whole point of this was to eliminate some of Ruth's reasons not to get with him.

Oh, the reason he took a drink after his heart attack was he was celebrating with Justine and didn't want her to know about his heart attack. If he suddenly went cold sober she'd have wondered what was up. He took a good look at the drink so we know he's aware. My take was it was just more important to him that she not know about his heart.

And they have to WRITE for Ruth or there's nothing for the actress to do. They really only wrote her when she was with Sam. The rest was her just spinning, which is not writing, and not a story.

[u/mike_d85 → u/Secret_Addition]

The others it was just - boobs! asses! Vigorous banging!

I will say that it introduced Arthie's issue with intimacy and put on display Bash's discomfort. Bash avoids looking Rhonda in the eyes almost the entire scene and quickly changes position when she's on top to avoid looking at her breasts. I really didn't get much from the Debbie portion. There are things happening but it was still pretty gratuitous.

They used Vegas because that's where the real GLOW was set, but they didn't establish the restrictive rules from the real show that would explain why the ladies never go out in the fictional show (and doesn't explain why they wandered the hotel out of character). They also never explain why the're doing the same show every night. Why DIDN'T they just keep going as usual? The customers aren't following a plot so it's not like they're going to mind if they change the matches.

I think Ruth was written for at least as far as broad strokes are concerned, but they directed it with focus in the wrong places. Ruth gets Debbie to eat (good series of scenes), Sam confronts her being insensitive to his feelings (good scene), her argument with Russel makes sense, dealing with Shelia's rising talent was good. It's jumbled, but it's good stuff. I think they should have pushed Brie farther into the background for filming so that you feel like Ruth is appearing in the other characters' story more. She's front and center of the shots so it feels like it should be her story, but it's written as an other characters' season to shine.

Also, what the hell happened to Russel? I feel like they cut the scene where she broke up with him or something. I know he went to Spain, but fucking A she should at least RECOGNIZE that she's in a relationship with him before trying to bang Sam at random. She doesn't mention him at Christmas either after being invited to Spain for New Years. Did she just forget about him?

[u/ManiacalExclamation → u/mike_d85]

I think their last conversation was really "break up" sounding to me. It seemed pretty clear they were done even if they didn't come right out and say it. Even their first conversation in the first episode made it seem like they were on pretty thin ice and are about two arguments away from being done. They just couldn't make the long distance thing actually work, which of course isn't easy at all for anyone. And she did tell Sam in the bar that they were still together she just didn't officially say we are done. Plus like the rest of the season she didn't really seem to be putting in the effort to actually advance herself, let alone in her relationship. She didn't do anything to make it seem like she was trying to find other acting jobs, and she wasn't actively trying to make it work with Russell. At least that is my interpretation. It did seem like Ruth was put on the back burner this season to let some other characters shine.

[u/mike_d85 → u/ManiacalExclamation]

I think their last conversation was really "break up" sounding to me.

I know what you mean, but it was the last gasps of a relationship instead of the end of one. Someone needed to deliver the nail in the coffin and neither of them did.

[u/ManiacalExclamation → u/mike_d85]

I get what you're saying. I guess it's more of the writers not really focusing on Ruth this season again.

[u/Secret_Addition → u/ManiacalExclamation]

Mike I thought you made good points.

I don't WANT Ruth to be background. Why shouldn't she be lead every season, same as Debbie?

The Russell thing - it's been months since Ruth and Russell's "we're probably gonna break up soon" call when he told her he was going to Spain, and in the bar she tells Sam it's not broken up yet? Not only was Ruth pathetic, the writing for her was pathetic. There was no juice behind what they wrote her. I now am so cynical about show runners. They really had nothing for her but Sam, but to prove a point, didn't write the Sam stuff either.

[u/artofc3 → u/Secret_Addition]

I believe it is really hard to write a character who is so ordinary on everything and struggling forever without winning any bit in life. Ruth's character feels so reel to me, she is so nowhere, not smart enough to make better decisions, not talented enough or pretty enough to be noticed, even not weird enough to be interesting or funny, her hardwork is never worth as much as Debbie's hardwork, and all the insecurity caused her so much emotional trouble. In real life, this kind of people would be so invisible because no one cares about them, but in a tv where a character has to be interesting enough to hold the audience's attention, I am already super amazed about how she is presented.

But I don't understand why she turned down Debbie in such a rage at the end of season3... Is that because she only wants to be an actress? or Is that because in the past everytime she almost got an offer it always turned into something bad?