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‘GLOW’ Season 3 Burns Slower, But Brighter

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GLOW is one of Netflix’s quieter successes, the strangely compelling story of an all-female wrestling team struggling to succeed through the casual misogyny of the eighties. 

For season 3, the group heads to the holy land of Las Vegas, the Mecca of gaudy entertainment, and instead of heating up, the series slows, prioritizing character development over story.  

Vegas proves to be fertile ground for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, the sudden stability of the show allowing them to flourish offstage, to branch off in new directions.   

There’s not so much an overarching narrative this season, more like a series of short stories, with each of the characters enjoying ample time in the spotlight. This is great for Debbie and Ruth, both of whom have strong stories to tell, but not always as interesting when the focus is on the side-characters.

GLOW, boasting a sparkly retro aesthetic, doesn’t lean on the eighties as heavily Stranger Things does, instead utilizing the setting by telling stories about outdated forms of bigotry that, sadly, still apply today. 

Two of the main LGBT characters in the series, Dash and Arthie, mirror each other’s storylines, with both taking a bit too long to acknowledge their sexuality. Debbie deals with the internalized sexism of the decade in a way that would make Joan Holloway proud, while Ruth deals with a profound internal crisis, unsure if she’s wasting her years working toward an unreachable goal.  

Sam, meanwhile, is the most stable he’s ever been, his daughter having managed to give the man a reason to stay strong and sober, and maybe even kindle romance with Ruth. 

It’s a fantastic season that delves deeper into these larger-than-life personalities than the previous two seasons combined, but lacks the pacing, the sense of urgency behind previous plotlines. 

One of the most fun elements of the series was the underlying panic, the fact that the wrestling show remained in a near-constant state of cancellation (ironically, mirroring the state of the series on Netflix). 

Season 3 brings a newfound stability, which enables the protagonists to ask themselves some difficult questions, now that the pressure has finally eased, but slows the silky smooth pacing of the series. 

It’s a great season that leaves one, somewhat perversely, hoping that something terrible is just around the corner for season 4. 

Hopefully, not a cancellation.

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