The new Heels trailer turns wrestling into a bro-y battle of biblical proportions
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There's a lot to fight about in Heels. In the upcoming Starz wrestling drama created by Loki head writer Michael Waldron, brothers Jack (Stephen Amell of Arrow fame) and Ace Spade (Vikings star Alexander Ludwig) struggle to live up to the legacy of their late father, a local legend who constructed a wrestling arena in their small town — or, "built a cathedral to a local pastime," as one character puts it.
Jack and Ace have a lot of disagreements, but this is wrestling, in which rivalries get sublimated into an in-ring narrative. In their matches, Ace plays the heroic character, or "face," that the audience roots for, while Jack plays the villainous "heel." It can be difficult even for them to keep track of who's who and the differences between wrestling and reality — at one point, Ace claims that the audience cheers for his character. "The character I wrote," Jack replies.
Starz Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig in 'Heels'
Face and heel aren't the only metaphors here either. Another character explicitly compares Jack and Ace's relationship to the biblical story of Esau and Jacob, in which a younger brother (the Ace equivalent) bests his older brother (the Jack equivalent). According to the story, Jacob came out of their mother's womb holding on to his brother's heel, as if trying to pull Esau back so Jacob could be born first.
Heels premieres Aug. 15 on Starz. Watch the new trailer above.
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