Emmy Episodes: GLOW

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

GLOW: Season 1, Episode 10 “Money’s in the Chase” (B+)

I had debated whether or not I should skip the ninth episode after seriously enjoying everything I’ve watched thus far, but having already missed episodes two through four, I figured I’ll just catch up by watching this episode and paying attention to context clues. The big news is that Sam is apparently Justine’s father, news that he did not take well after he tried to make a move on her. Debbie also appeared to have dropped out of the show to try to make it work with her husband, but evidently that was all a ploy which turned out to be a cool development. The ladies giving money to people waiting outside a nearby movie theater to get them to come join the audience was smart, and it was cool to see the show play itself out in front of a crowd. Britannica the British bookworm facing off against the Middle Eastern terrorist evoked an overly participatory reaction from the audience that seemed to be heading somewhere dark, and it was more inspiring to see Carmen get some very supportive cheers when she nearly had a panic attack again in the ring. China and Russia versus the geriatrics was strange, but it provided a perfect segue into Debbie standing up in the audience to challenge Ruth on behalf of America. Sam adding a new twist that makes it so that Debbie has to fight her way back to the top didn’t provide a neat finish, but did make it very enticing to revisit whatever comes next. The same was true of Debbie telling Ruth that they weren’t yet at the point where they could have a drink despite their joint professional accomplishment. Watching these six episodes made me really like this show, and though I don’t think it could happen, I’d be perfectly fine with it triumphing on Emmy night. At the very least, I think I’ll now start watching this show, making my way through all of season two a bit later this year. This is a great show!