The move to Las Vegas offers the illusion of permanence. GLOW season 3, episode 2, “Hot Tub Club,” shows that just because Vegas has everything, it doesn’t mean it offers any solutions.
The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling may not work typical 9-5 hours, but putting on a show for a packed house every night takes its toll. Since the series is not focused on creating a new show every week for their television stint, the series has more freedom to play with the timeline. We can show up at any point in the three-month stint and know that the women, Sam, and Bash have been on stage night after night executing the now locked show. When we tune in for GLOW season 3, episode 2, the day off from the stage is not only needed, but well-deserved for these characters.
The free hours present themselves as a constraint for some characters, an illusion for others, a chance for rest, relaxation, and decompression. Three pairings share the spotlight, while Debbie spends most of her hours in transit, and the rest of the crew sleep off a wild night out.
Structurally, “Hot Tub Club” is an episode I would have expected in the middle of the season. However, it plays well right out of the gate, toying with the biggest hurdles for everyone this season — time and circumstance.
Related: GLOW season 3 hits the jackpot in Las Vegas
‘GLOW’ 3×02 review
Arthie and Yolanda get their groove back
Arthie and Yolanda’s relationship made a bit of a wave when they kissed in the ring at the end of GLOW season 2. And luckily, it is not being swept aside as season 3 carries forward. Arthie has some inhibitions about her relationship with Yolanda. While one might expect that these would follow the course of being ashamed to be seen with her in public places, it is quite the opposite.
In the bedroom (and the ring), physical contact does not bother Arthie, so long as she is the one who is initiating all the moves. But when the tables are turned and Yolanda goes to make an advance, Arthie shuts her down.
Yolanda decides to spend her day treating herself to some personal pleasure (in this case a wash, trim), since she is not getting it in the bedroom. But when Arthie arrives at the salon, she is greeted with some hostility and takes it as a sign that the couple has reached an impasse.
GLOW does not use this hiccup in the relationship to push the couple apart. Instead, it takes the opportunity for Arthie to recognize and process what is causing her hesitation. After cutting her hair to a radical bob, Yolanda addresses the elephant in the room — why are they not equal connecting in the bedroom? What is holding Arthie back?
Turns out that Arthie is having trouble seeing herself as being physically attractive to anyone else. Thinking back on it, Arthie visits Yolanda at the strip club to watch the beautiful women brimming with confidence take the stage and dance for others to enjoy the view. In the lobby of the casino, Arthie marvels at the show girls in their revealing get-ups (not dissimilar to the ones that she dons nightly in the ring). But she does not place herself among these women, she places herself apart from them.
This, coupled with her lack of experience in any relationship, immediately sends her mind to think that she is not loveable, attractive, or sexy and that her relationship is over because of it. But Yolanda’s patience and rationale calms Arthie enough to open herself up to feeling desired.
Arthie and Yolanda’s story mirrors a similar tale playing out in the penthouse between Rhonda and Bash.
Rhonda and Bash try the silent treatment
In the GLOW season 3 premiere review, I noted how Bash’s desire to bury and forget all the feelings that arose after Florian’s death would affect him in Vegas. One way to do that is by putting on the illusion of a picture-perfect life. That ideal, for him, includes lots of sex with his bride, wedding photos at the “latest” National Park, and treating Rhonda to the best his money can buy.
However, when Rhonda falls ill with a migraine, Bash retreats. I do not doubt for a second that Bash would cater to Rhonda’s every whim and fantasy, but it’s no surprise that he cannot handle being a compassionate caregiver. And so, when he turns to Carmen for help, a lot is revealed not only about the current state of their relationship, but also about Bash.
Carmen is pissed. Not only because Bash woke her up to ask that she move into the penthouse to help with Rhonda, but because she is talking with this man who all but ditched her once he stepped into the ring to marry her roommate. Just as Bash cannot understand what Rhonda needs, he does not see the damage he has done to his relationship with Carmen. People are not going to wait around until he decides to grace them with his presence.
Luckily, Carmen lays it all out for him — she is hurt, not going to help, and is trying (without him) to be happy and have fun. She doesn’t need him. But if he wants to be friends with her, there is work to be done.
And Bash, bless him, does try with Rhonda. It’s a rocky start, but maybe he will soon learn how best to love Rhonda. I think this boils down to Bash and Rhonda realizing that their marriage of convenience is just that.
Workin’ Mom
Debbie’s commute back and forth from Vegas to Los Angeles leaves her with approximately 16 hours with her son. But even though he is going to forget these years of his life, his mother will not. In episode 2, Debbie walks exhausted into her hotel room only to discover that as soon as she left, her son took his first steps.
The line delivery of “Buy a fucking camcorder. Tomorrow.” may go down as one of my favorite things Betty Gilpin does in this series. She is exhausted, defeated, and having a hard time seeing an upside to having it all.
Debbie may have the producer credit, but she also gets the pity-looks of flight attendants and the unwanted attention surrounding her frequent travel. When Debbie asks the man next to her if he ever gets questioned about how often he leaves his kids, I wanted to high-five, hug, and celebrate the moment. Although GLOW manages to keep a light on several important sacrifices these women are tasked with making, Debbie’s trajectory never fails to make my heart sting with every reminder of what she is sacrificing to feel fulfilled.
Will they, or won’t they? Do we care?
I’d love to come at the Sam and Ruth relationship and condemn it as a waste of time. But I am hopeless here. Even in season 3, GLOW manages to keep just enough chemistry between these two to make you want them to give it a shot.
After all, being able to spend an entire day with someone outside work and not hate them by the end of it is a feat. That’s not to say it is the only thing keeping these two moving. There is an easiness between them. Conversations are not forced, they can press each other’s buttons without pushing boundaries, and yet there is a huge roadblock in their way — Sam’s affection.
In the grand scheme of the episode, we do not spend a ton of time with Ruth and Sam. We don’t need to see the duo on screen to get the gist of why Sam reacts the way he does to Ruth joining him in the hot tub every night.
“I’m frustrated, I can’t tiptoe around this for three months, I’ll implode.”
Sam being on his “best behavior” in Vegas is not some big ploy to get Ruth into bed. I think it is carryover from feeling true loss (Jocelyn moving in with her mother). If he is in Vegas for the long haul, it cannot be three months of hookers and coke. Instead, he is working, showing up for Bash when demanded, and making a decent paycheck. With the show locked up, Ruth is drifting aimlessly. She isn’t looking ahead at what’s next so much as biding her time by browsing libraries and nit-picking minute details of the show. (It’s hard to believe that distractions are so limited when Vegas is built as a city of distraction.)
While I’m not entirely ready to root for these two in the long-haul, there is still enough goodness baked into this will-they-won’t-they to keep me hooked.
GLOW season 3 is available now on Netflix.
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