As GLOW has progressed and moved further away from its wrestling and comedy roots, it's lost the charm that made its first two seasons so enjoyable.
The show picks up with the girls in Las Vegas, signed to a three-month contract at the Fan-Tan Hotel where they are tasked with putting on a show every night. If you're tuning in to see some in-ring action, you'll only find it in episodes one, five, and ten. Those are also the seasons strongest in terms of their focus on character development, whether it be through finding creative fulfillment or confronting social prejudices, both internally and externally. Otherwise, I found the writing to be unfocused. Every angle, no matter how much potential it shows, is given a superficial treatment that has no long-lasting effect. There are even some subplots that are introduced and then dropped with no explanation. There's simply not enough time to properly service every person.
The cast is once again excellent and makes the best of the material. Perhaps one of the biggest issues plaguing this season of GLOW is that the supporting cast is far more interesting than the leads. Debbie, Ruth, Sam, and Bash are battling the same dilemmas, and I'm more than ready to see them move on and do something different. Their story arcs feel stale and they could use a shakeup.
Kia Stevens takes on a bigger role this season and shines as Tammé. Watching her physically and emotionally deal with the rigors of wrestling every day should have lasted more than an episode. The same can be said for Carmen's boredom with doing the same show every day, Sheila's search for her true self, and Arthie's sexual insecurity, respectively. If they had focused on building the story around those four ladies instead of the ten plus characters they tried for, this could have been a better season with more emotional depth.
GLOW sets itself up for a fourth season, but at this point, I'm likely tapping out on the show. Season 3 meanders and never picks up enough momentum to be truly engaging. Somehow, GLOW manages to feel incredibly slow while also conveying a sense that the writers had to rush storylines to fit them into 10 episodes. The laughs are few and far between, and because of how crowded the cast is, no character is given enough attention to be as interesting as we're led to believe. There is no common goal linking everyone together anymore. What's worse is that the ones with the most intrigue are put on the back burner for things that should have been dealt with two years ago. I don't need for there to be wrestling to enjoy GLOW, but if there is no drama, tension, urgency, or humor than why am I watching?
