Everything you need to remember about GLOW before watching season 3
An impromptu wedding, broken bones, a move across state lines…so much happened on GLOW last season.
Friendships were fixed, hearts were shattered, and the wrestling series eyed an exciting change as the women geared up for the biggest moment in their careers so far. But it’s been over a year since we last followed the drama and hilarious comedy of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling on the Netflix series inspired by the real-life show from the 1980s about a crew of Hollywood misfits turned female wrestlers in L.A.
With an all-new season about to hit Netflix, it’s time to revisit all the biggest moments of season 2. So brush up on your GLOW knowledge with EW’s primer on everything you need to remember before season 3.
Vegas, baby
GLOW is moving to Las Vegas! After failing to secure buyers for their wrestling show when they found out that K-DTV owned all their characters, therefore they couldn’t be bought by a new network, the women decided to try out doing live shows as a headlining act in Vegas. It was a win-win, but the question of how everyone would fare in Sin City was the biggest cliffhanger left over by the end of season 2. The finale literally ended on Ruth (Alison Brie) telling Sam (Marc Maron) that she’s never even been to Vegas, to which he smirked and told her that she was going to hate it. Sounds about right!
Working mom
One slight hiccup of the show moving to Vegas is that Debbie (Betty Gilpin) wasn’t sure if she could juggle her career as a wrestler with being a present mother to her baby. Luckily her ex-husband finally stepped up and offered to take care of the baby while Debbie did what she needed to do. Expect this struggle to continue in season 3 as Debbie faces societal and personal pressures of being a working, single mom, especially back in the ’80s.
Happily ever after?
There was a wedding in the season 2 finale, but there sure wasn’t any romance as Rhonda’s (Kate Nash) last-ditch attempt to stay in the country resulted in her trying to marry her stalker/No. 1 fan. To save her from that fate (which is probably worse than death), Bash (Chris Lowell) stepped in and married her instead. Rhonda was shocked because there weren’t any feelings between them, but Bash urged her to give it some time and see what happens, and she agreed. For his part, Bash was freaked out after his former butler Florian (Alex Rich) died from AIDs, implying that Bash loved him as more than a friend and his fears were keeping him closeted. That scene of him ordering Florian’s old room to be bleached was heartbreaking. His last-second marriage to Rhonda (without a prenup!) is just a band-aid on a much larger issue of Bash refusing to come to terms with his sexuality, which should finally rear its head in season 3.
Never been kissed
In two seasons, Sam and Ruth still haven’t kissed. We know, right?! But they came pretty close in the penultimate season 2 episode, when Sam tried to kiss Ruth at the school dance they chaperoned. She hobbled away on crutches, keeping their will-they-won’t-they dynamic very much alive. When will these two crazy kids just finally accept their feelings for each other and make out? Maybe the third season’s the charm? But Ruth needs to dump her sweet-but-boring cameraman boyfriend Russell (Victor Quinaz) —that dude who can’t stop giving her hickeys — before anything can happen between her and Sam. Only time will tell.
It’s (not) too late to apologize
Tensions rose to all-new heights last season between Debbie and Ruth (stemming from Ruth sleeping with Debbie’s now-ex-husband back in season 1) after Debbie had a dalliance with Sam’s cocaine and broke Ruth’s ankle during a show. It was painful, both physically and emotionally, as that mistake finally led to these two former friends airing their grievances. They now have a peaceful truce and are starting season 3 on a shaky but better start to getting their friendship back. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely better than what it’s been for the series so far!
Mama drama
The GLOW ladies never thought their fun clip show would have such a negative consequence, but Sam’s daughter Justine (Britt Baron) was discovered on the show by her mother, who came to drag her back to Sacramento. She had to leave GLOW to go back to high school, leading to a surprisingly emotional goodbye between her and Sam as they both shouted at each other to finish their screenplays. Now GLOW will be down a player heading into season 3.
Co-workers and lovers
While there isn’t any romance between Bash and Rhonda, love did blossom between two others on the GLOW team as Arthie (Sunita Mani) and Yolanda (Shakira Barrera) began dating in season 2. Their sweet relationship is helping Arthie come to terms with her sexuality in an extremely different way than Bash’s refusal to accept his own. Arthie’s wide-eyed enthusiasm for her love for Yolanda and new experiences is lovely to see, and hopefully that continues this season.
GLOW season 3 drops on Friday, Aug. 9, on Netflix.
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