Season two of the Netflix original, GLOW, is worth the binge session if you are a fan of the 1980s, staged wrestling, female empowerment and pelvic bones.
In this season of Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling, director Sam Sylvia is still the same irreverent coke-snorting asshole, KDTV cans GLOW, Debbie and Ruth are still shaky in re-establishing their friendship and the show’s writers finally reveal which of the characters is a lesbian.
Social issues such as media whitewashing, acting out as a stereotype, women not being embraced in a predominately male dominated career field and other issues true to that era are all themes addressed in GLOW.
It is refreshing to see a show set in the 80s, not solely revolving around big hair and neon colors, but actually accurately reflect the social climate of the 80s, such as the ignorance that revolved around the AIDs outbreak and being a part of the LGBTQ community.
Wrestling was not as heavily showcased as in the previous season but the moves that are seen, especially later on as the episodes progress, are badass and undoubtedly cost the cast a handful of bruises and constantly sore muscles.
However, those accumulated discomforts proved worthwhile as the moves were executed proficiently.
An artfully curated music and score helped set an authentic atmosphere for the setting, as well as the costuming.
GLOW’s storyline is not all drama as we are introduced with a new character, Yolanda, reunited with Cherry Bang and witness Ruth finally immerse herself in a relationship with Russell, a cameraman, also new to the season.
The character of Yolanda seems to serve as another diverse element for GLOW, due to being an LGTBQ person of color who works as a stripper and can also breakdance.
New wrestling personas based on offensive stereotypes were introduced, however these new personas seemed only to be thrown in to the storyline just to freshen up the characters.
These changes weren’t necessary as they didn’t affect storyline or impact the audience.
Whiplash is something that a viewer of GLOW should expect if they have no experience in screenwriting or storytelling.
Some of the many “plot twists” are very predictable if you dabble in story writing, due to screenwriters having such a penchant for plot twists.
Just as the first season, this season ends on an optimistic note, however, instead of GLOW obtaining a tv deal, they were granted a live show in Las Vegas.
GLOW is definitely a must-watch this summer due to the perfect balance of comedy and drama, incorporation of themes just as relevant then as they are now and providing a visual representation of the ups-and-downs of life in show business.