In GLOW season 3, episode 7, “Hollywood Homecoming,” making up for lost time never looked so… complicated.

In the seventh episode of the season, GLOW takes an in-depth look at three very different parenting situations. Each of them highlight the lengths parents will go to do what’s best for their children. Even if they are incredibly misguided.

GLOW 3×07 recap

There is not much happening outside of the three parenting timelines in this episode, but there are a few hints of troubles brewing on the outskirts.

GLOW 3×07 quick hits

Bash and Birdie

Bash may have all the money and power over the Gorgeous Ladies, and Wrestling, but he is not exactly a self-made man. That money trickled down to him from a family inheritance, the bounty of which has only just been tapped. So, money has never concerned Bash Howard. It is just a constant in his life.

That is, until his mother, aka Birdie, catches wind of the fact that another party has been given access to his American Express account. While Bash is free to throw money at jugglers and magicians in Vegas, Birdie will not stand for someone else squandering their fortune… I mean, taking advantage of her son.

Birdie and Bash do not have the closest of relationships. While there is some love lost between the two, Bash desperately wants to impress his mother and meet her standards. She has a high, very pristine bar to live up to, and he is rightfully worried that Rhonda will miss the mark. While Rhonda is presented with the opportunity to defend herself and make an impression, the hot tub in the entry way will forever be a derogatory mark on Bash’s current living situation.

I should point out that although the episode may cast Bash in a bad light, he really is not all that lost when it comes to finances. He makes some smart business decisions and sees the potential and failures in opportunities presented to him. Personal whimsy may influence a handful of decisions — I still think Bobby Barnes is totally a Bash Howard production — but even if they were, he does have stock pile to fall back on.

And that money is about to become as bottomless as he and Rhonda could ever imagine. But before the lawyers and managers are called in, Birdie completes her assessment of Rhonda during a girls shopping trip. While Rhonda may not like all the same fashion, or care about what the price tag says — if it looks good, then who cares if it is $400 or $25? — she does love Bash. The man who doesn’t cash his paychecks, the man who saved her from deportation, and the man whose life she is trying to keep tied to hers, out of love, not money.

GLOW‘s decision to double down on this marriage is proving to be a huge benefit for not only bringing out some of the complexities of Bash, but highlighting all the inner beauty of Rhonda. In the car, with Carmen in episode 6, Rhonda checks in with Carmen to be sure she is all right, knowing she once had a crush on Bash and that their friendship has changed since they got married.

They are growing together, and Birdie recognizes a pain in Rhonda’s voice. The missed connection she is trying to build with Bash, by simply spending time with him without the filter of their wealth weighing on her, is something Birdie has missed out on for many years.

And so, the family lawyers are on the line and the marriage clause takes over. Bash’s wedding means he now has access to $40 million. And he has Birdie’s word that a party he will hate will happen. A mother will not be robbed of seeing her son wed. It’s a very touching moment to see her stare at Bash, just take him in, and say (albeit coldly, but that’s about as affectionate as she can get), “I didn’t feel a thing at your sister’s [wedding], but I think I would have at yours.”

Maybe we can revisit Birdie in GLOW season 4!

Randy and Debbie

Unfortunately, not all of the relationships can have such great alliteration in their names, nor do they all come with ties to endless trust funds and a nanny on call. But the hallway serves as a great play pen for Randy, whose only goal in life seems to be driving his mother as crazy as possible.

But Debbie is not letting it stand in her way. She is signing payroll checks on the floor while Randy chases a ball; she is confronting Bash in the hot tub while he is (gratefully) on vocal rest; and she is enlisting the help of the other ladies to grab Randy before he wanders too far.

Betty Gilpin plays frazzled very well. It’s not a crazy, screaming/crying display of emotion. Instead, it is a tense current that flows through every single one of her lines and actions.

When Randy makes a run for it and heads down to the casino floor, her rancher-in-shining-armor is able to subdue the crazed mother, but not the wandering son. “Tex,” aka James Joseph “JJ” McCready, aka the man from the plane that she freaked out on in GLOW season 3, episode 2, not only resolves the current crisis, but in spite of her harried state, refuses her drink and turns it into dinner.

JJ is a welcome counter to Debbie. He is the exact opposite of her in every way, and the shining example of the men she is competing with on a daily basis. Those men who can leave their families for extended periods of time, reveling in the satisfaction of professional fulfillment without the societal guilt trip.

But Tex (can we call him Tex?), says that he missed out on the stages of his kids’ lives. And now that they are in their 20s, he isn’t really needed at home. Who knows how much attachment he really feels missing that part of his life while he spent his time acquiring ranches, mines, and radio stations? But it makes Debbie comfortable enough to open up about all the deep-seated angst in her life, like the conflicting feelings of the responsibilities of motherhood versus her ambition to make a name for herself.

It’s only one dinner, but who knows what else will come of this comfort that Tex provides.

Justine and Sam

There are certain events in life that parents do not want their children to witness, and dying on the street is not one that Sam is particularly keen for Justine to see.

Now that Vegas is in the rearview mirror, Sam has turned his undivided attention to helping Justine chase her dream. He calls in every favor to get Justine in the room across studios in Hollywood. Some of the doors they knock on are not welcoming — Sam has burned a lot of bridges in town during his days of hard drugs and drunken outbursts on sets. GLOW has taken us on a tour of some of these escapades, but this episode really cemented why Sam’s reentry into Hollywood has been a long road. And now that road is one that his daughter has decided to merge onto.

Luckily, it only takes one executive to turn a dream into a reality, and Justine finds one that does not want a huge rewrite, or Michael J. Fox, or to bust her father’s balls. Unfortunately, as that door opens wide for Justine’s future, another one is closing on Sam’s, and it is closing fast.

The duo leave the office in enough time for Sam to get Justine to the car and send her on her way to celebrate with her friends. While Justine only sees her father pushing her away, when all she wants is to be with him and celebrate that moment, Sam sees the situation as a way to not ruin it entirely. Let Justine think the worst of him, but just don’t let her see him die.

He does manage to get the final word, “I’m very proud of you, and I love you,” before he collapses on the sidewalk and asks a stranger to call an ambulance. Everything turns out fine in the end, but Sam is hit with more than a physical pain in his chest.

The repercussions of his life are affecting more than just him. Sam is no longer punishing himself; he is putting Justine in harm’s way. If he dies, it’s going to hurt her. If he gets thrown off a set, it’s going to hurt her. If he picks a fight with someone who disagrees with him, it’s going to hurt her. You can see all of this flooding Marc Maron’s face as he lies alone in the hospital for observation. And again, when he walks through the door to find Justine, rightfully worried about where he has been.

She wanted to celebrate and be with him because she fought for them to complete this project together. While Sam wants to put some distance between them, Justine reminds him of her pitch to only sign the papers if Sam is named director. To be fair, Sam was preoccupied with the whole not dying thing, a secret that he intends to keep from Justine as he goes about pouring a celebratory drink to keep up appearances. After all, one can’t hurt.

GLOW season 3 is available to stream on Netflix now.