GLOW – Hot Tub Club

By: Ellie Dolan-Yates

Debbie (Betty Gilpin) is on a flight home to see her son. She is explaining to the stewardess how she feels terrible for being away. After the stewardess hands Debbie a pin as a present for her baby, we cut to Bash (Chris Lowell) and Rhonda (Kate Nash) getting “Merry Happy” in the bedroom. Oh, and Yolanda (Shakira Barrera) and Arthie (Sunita Mani), too! NSFW! Meanwhile, Cherry (Sydelle Noel) is checking if she’s ovulating. She isn’t, but her husband Keith (Bashir Salahuddin) says that shouldn’t stop them from having sex so, yep… Back to Yolanda and Arthie, but Arthie stops Yolanda as she seems to be having second thoughts about bedroom wrestling.

Some of the girls are walking back to their rooms, looking pretty rough, when they bump into an unimpressed Sam (Marc Maron). Melrose (Jackie Tohn) is making it her mission to get kicked out of every casino in the area. Sam sees Ruth (Alison Brie) sat at a table working. He gets a coffee and sits with her. He asks why she’s working and she explains that she does performance reviews after every show. Sam reminds her it’s a day off. He takes her notebook from her and asks for it to be taken to her room and then tells her to go with him.

Bash and Rhonda are outside the hotel. A valet brings their car around but as Rhonda gets in. She looks like she’s going to throw up…and she does, all over the side of Bash’s posh car! She says she needs to go back to bed. As Bash is leaving his car with the valet Yolanda, who is unimpressed that the hotel is in the middle of nowhere, offers to clean Bash’s car only to drive away with it to the hair salon! As she does, Arthie comes out looking for her.

Sam has taken Ruth into the casino so that she can have some fun on her day off. Ruth is reluctant, but when Sam puts his money on the table she lets him teach her how to play Blackjack. He teaches her about probability and sure enough she wins! Meanwhile, Rhonda is in bed, still feeling ill. Bash thinks that she might be pregnant…because she’s British! She explains that she’s had an IUD for years so she can’t be pregnant. She has a migraine and she just needs Bash to be quiet and the lights turned off. Bash looks confused as Rhonda lies down and leaves. Rhonda shouts after him.

In the hair salon Yolanda is talking about “boyfriend trouble.” Her “boyfriend” is being uptight about sex. As Yolanda and the hair stylist moan about men Arthie turns up for a wash and blow! She asks what they are talking about. Yolanda replies, “Guy trouble,” and Arthie says her “boyfriend” is being weird. Yolanda says maybe “he” wants some alone time, but Arthie says “he” needs to communicate that. As Yolanda says her “boyfriend” is not very experienced (sexually), Arthie reminds her that “he’s pretty good at making you come,” much to the hairdresser’s shock! Yolanda leaves, her hair still wet, saying that she doesn’t need a “boyfriend.”

Bash is in Carmen’s (Britney Young) room venting to her about how he’s not sure how to take care of Rhonda since his family never dealt with illness in a compassionate way. Carmen is upset as she thought Bash came to her room to hang out. She feels like she’s lost both of her best friends since they married each other. Bash asks if Carmen will go and help Rhonda, but she reminds him that they’re married- not just in the ring and at parties! Carmen still isn’t happy that Bash never sees her anymore. Plus, she’s still feeling ill from the night before. She says she wants to go back to sleep so that she can go out again that night. Bash leaves looking defeated.

Back in the casino Ruth is cleaning up! She has a pile of chips in front of her and says she’s going all in. Sam advises her not to as she wants to leave a winner. When she says they’ve just got there, Sam points out that they’ve been there for two hours! He tells her to leave a tip and cash out. She says it’s his money, but he says he’ll just take twenty dollars. Ruth takes Sam to dinner with her winnings, a posh dinner with the looks of it. She asks if Sam is hot and then fans herself with her winnings. Some dodgy looking blokes on a table across from them are watching. Same raises his glass to them and Ruth says she thought the mob left Vegas. Sam asks her to change the subject before she gets them killed. They joke about Ruth visiting the library whilst in Vegas. Sam says that he’s been more well behaved since being in Vegas as he’s concentrating on his writing and it feels nice. They both agree that it’s been the best day. Ruth says she needs to buy a watch and Sam hands her his for the time being.

Arthie returns to her and Yolanda’s hotel room with a bob cut! Yolanda mentions that she didn’t ask for her opinion before having it cut. Arthie says that she thought Yolanda had broken up with her in the salon. Yolanda explains that it was just a fight. Arthie hints that this relationship is a first for her. Yolanda explains that it’s getting her down that Arthie won’t let her be intimate with her. Yolanda reminds Arthie how satisfying it is to her to make her feel good and that she wants to have that feeling. Arthie explains that she doesn’t feel sexy and it makes her feel uncomfortable to be so exposed. Yolanda tells her she’s crazy since whenever she sees her she just wants to grab her and pin her to the bed. My heart! Arthie tells her to pin her before she starts overthinking. Cue awkward wrestling moves.

Rhonda is lying in bed in the dark, she still has a migraine. Bash enters and she asks where he went. He says he thought that she wanted to be alone, she says that she did want to be alone, but with him. He explains that whenever someone in his family was ill, they were emotionally quarantined. She says comforting someone is showing that you care about them and Bash awkwardly approaches her. She lays on him and he pushes on her temple. He worries that the migraine is because Rhonda is stressed about him not being a good partner. He rambles on, but Rhonda asks him to stop talking. He carries on whispering and reassures her that he’s there. Now and in the future. Awwh.

Debbie is on the plane home. The same stewardess who was on her outbound trip makes her feel bad that she doesn’t see Randy much. Debbie asks a fellow passenger if he gets asked about being away from his kids. Debbie hands Brenda the pin back because even though she’s sure she’s a good mom it’s very dangerous for a baby. As Debbie gets back to her hotel room the phone rings. It’s Mark (Rich Sommer) who has rung to tell her that as soon as she left Randy took his first steps. Debbie is clearly devastated. She asks if Mark’s girlfriend saw. He hesitates before saying no, but I think we and Debbie can both tell that she did. Debbie asks Mark to buy a new camcorder.

Ruth joins Sam in the hot tub. Sam asks what she is doing, but Ruth doesn’t understand. He tells her that he’s in love with her. Obviously! She’s making it hard for him to not act on his feelings because of how she is with him, especially when earlier she said she’d had the best day and now she’s in the hot tub with him. He wants to give it a shot. She says that she doesn’t want to though. Sam drinks, does coke and gets angry. Ruth says she doesn’t want to ruin what they have. Tammé (Kia Stevens) interrupts them and joins them in the hot tub. Ruth leaves.