GLOW – Outward Bound

By: Ellie Dolan-Yates

Ruth (Alison Brie) exits her hotel room and finds that Sam (Marc Maron) has left Justine’s (Britt Baron) screenplay outside her room. She bumps into Reggie (Marianna Palka) who has all the equipment for camping and they ride the lift together. We see a wide shot of Melrose’s (Jackie Tohn) limo, Bash’s (Chris Lowell) Porsche and another car driving through the desert. We see the beautiful scenery surrounding Vegas as they drive through.

The girls are unpacking the cars and Ruth says how peaceful it is, but Debbie (Betty Gilpin) says that so is the spa. Melrose is venting to Jenny (Ellen Wong) about her mother. Jenny asks her to stop, but Melrose jokes and says she can’t stop talking about herself. Jenny is still upset with Melrose after her Fortune Cookie display. Cherry (Sydelle Noel) approaches Debbie. Neither of them wants to be the one to tell Tammé (Kia Stevens) that she needs to rest rather than wrestle. It falls on Cherry to tell her. Ruth wants them all to go on a hike, but the girls aren’t on board. Debbie makes a dig at Rhonda (Kate Nash) about her telling them what to do now. In the end Reggie, Debbie and Sheila (Gayle Rankin) join Ruth on the hike. Debbie says that this will be her last ‘hurrah’ before she packs in the show.

Reggie and Sheila are walking out in front, far ahead of Ruth and Debbie. Reggie offers Sheila their water bottle, telling her she needs to keep hydrated, but Sheila says she’ll be fine. Reggie shouts at Ruth and Debbie to pick up the pace. Ruth asks Debbie if she’s really done with the show. Debbie says she’s not going to commute for a whole year of her son’s life. Ruth suggests that she could do fewer shows and she will step in for Liberty Belle, but Debbie says it was a crazy idea anyway and only happened because Mark (Rich Sommer) owes her for the rest of his life. Debbie says she hates men because they are free to make choices.  As she vents, Ruth hunts for a walking stick. She finds one, but Debbie realizes that Reggie and Sheila are long gone. With the map.

Jenny is sat on the edge of the rockface and Melrose joins her. She tells Jenny not to tell Cherry how out of shape she is.  Jenny doesn’t look at her. Melrose asks her why she’s mad at her. As Jenny explains why she is upset, Melrose is clearly oblivious. Jenny says that she’s living in a nightmare in the Asian-themed hotel. She says she’s mad at Melrose for her performance, but Melrose says she wasn’t doing an impression of Jenny herself, but she was doing an impression of Jenny doing a racist character. Melrose tells her to relax, they’re on vacation. Jenny gets up to leave and tells her not to follow her.

Cherry finds Tammé crouched over trying to start a fire. She tells Tammé that they can’t let her wrestle. Tammé says to give her a few weeks, but Cherry tells her it will probably happen again. Tammé is still reluctant to go to the doctor. Tammé says that she’s been waiting to be a performer her whole life. Cherry tells her there’s other ways and she doesn’t want to be attending her son’s wedding in a wheelchair. Carmen (Britney Young) sees them and tries to get away before Cherry shouts her. She says a lot of wrestlers suffer from permanent nerve damage, but some of them go on to do other things. She mentions managing, but Tammé and Cherry don’t understand. Carmen explains that they pace the ring and cause trouble. Tammé seems on board.

Yolanda (Shakira Berrera) and Arthie (Sunita Mani) are smoking weed. Yolanda says she’s looking forward to 24 hours of not having to pretend she’s straight and flirt with Mormon dealers to keep her and Arthie safe. Dawn (Rebekka Johnson) and Stacey (Kimmy Gatewood) join them, bong in hand. Arthie does an impression of Ethel, which Dawn and Stacey love, but Yolanda tells them not to encourage her. Arthie said it was freeing not playing a racial stereotype, but Stacey says she loved playing Beirut. Arthie and Stacey agree to switch permanently. Stacey says Yolanda should be a biddie with Arthie, who alludes to not feeling comfortable wrestling with Yolanda. When Dawn mentions there are a lot of crotch-in-face moments, Yolanda defiantly says she will stick with Junkchain.

Sheila is struggling, but Reggie offers her words of encouragement. As Reggie pushes on, Sheila leans on the rock, head in hand. As she tries to catch her breath, she sees a white wolf coming towards her. As it faces her she holds out her hand, but the wolf turns and walks away. Reggie asks what Sheila is doing down there before she finds her passed out. Rhonda and Carmen are stoking the fire and everyone says they are hungry, especially those who have smoked a lot of weed. Melrose asks Jenny if she needs any help, but Jenny doesn’t respond. Melrose puts her foot in it when she disses the “menu” that Jenny came up with. Jenny tells Melrose that she can cook instead then. Melrose realizes that no-one has brought a pot to cook anything in. Dawn says that she brought pot.

Ruth and Debbie are still trying to find Reggie and Sheila. Ruth finds a pile of rocks saying that they are a trail marker, but Debbie isn’t sure. They try the other direction. Carmen is trying to find a pot, but Melrose says she has an idea. She removes one of the limo’s wheel trims with impressive ease. Carmen asks if she’s ever cooked anything before, but she hasn’t. Around the fire Melrose says since they’re all together (obviously forgetting about Debbie, Ruth, Sheila and Reggie) maybe they could do a Passover Seder. She explains what it is and all of the girls join in. Melrose says that the Pharaoh was a power-hungry dictator terrified of losing his slaves. Yolanda says that sounds familiar and looks at Rhonda whilst the other girls laugh. Rhonda reminds them that she was sleeping in her car last year and if it wasn’t for Bash’s idea of a wrestling show none of them would be sat there today. Also, none of them complain when they get paid. Yolanda praises Rhonda for standing by Bash and Dawn jokes about not getting paid which makes Rhonda smile.

Debbie and Ruth are lost in the dark and Debbie says Ruth will finally get her wish of them dying together. Debbie makes up her own obituary, mentioning her acting credits and being survived by her family and many adoring valets. Ruth says hers would be “Soap Star and unidentified woman found dead in National Park.” Debbie tells Ruth that Russell (Victor Quinaz) would throw her a great funeral with a montage of her playing in the background. Ruth tells Debbie that Sam says he’s in love with her and that she doesn’t know how she feels about it. Debbie says she either feels happy, scared, excited or repulsed. Ruth says she feels both scared and excited. Ruth says she’s not sure what to do as she has a job and a boyfriend which is all she wanted, but she still feels lost. Debbie says maybe that’s because she’s holding herself back from something that she wants. She lets it slip that she loves Sam and Debbie says she should tell him. Debbie says she’s not sure what to do with herself. She fought to be a producer, but Bash made it meaningless. At least her son needs her. Ruth says that even though she avoids talking about Randy that Debbie should bring him to Vegas. Debbie says it’s not exactly the place to raise a child, but Ruth says he’d love it. Their heart-to-heart is interrupted by rustling which Debbie thinks is a mountain lion. It’s Reggie with Sheila. Reggie tells them that Sheila is dehydrated and needs to get back. Ruth asks if she knows how to get back and she says yes, because she’s been following the rock clusters.

Back at the campfire Melrose is talking about Passover. As the girls laugh at her story, Jenny gets up to leave saying she’s tired and going to bed. She says Melrose is just talking about herself again. Arthie chirps in and says it’s a story about the immigrant experience. Melrose says she’ll stop talking about herself and Jenny sits down. Melrose reminds the group that mass oppression and trauma are still recent for Jewish people and mentions the Holocaust. When Cherry says they should call it a night, Melrose asks if they’d rather she just joke around and not talk about all of the trauma and how her dad won’t live in a house without a basement or attic in case they have to hide. As the girls look slightly ashamed at themselves, Jenny says that her family hid on a boat. They were lucky to be on it, but every relative and friend they knew died. She says that she understands what it’s like to survive a genocide and not talk about it all the time. As the girls watch her with tears in their eyes, she says she’s really lucky but she spends every night jumping out of a fortune cookie pretending that she’s fine. As Melrose sobs, she tells Jenny that she’s sorry and had no idea. She gets up to give Jenny a hug and apologizes again. As they cry together, the rest of the girls join them in a group hug. We are left with the poignancy for a second when the missing four turn up and Debbie asks what the girls are doing.

Carmen and Rhonda are sat talking in the Porsche when Tammé tells them that she’s going to sleep in the limo. Carmen asks Rhonda if she’s happy with Bash. Rhonda assures her that she is, but it she knows it’s awkward for Carmen since she likes him. Carmen says that she doesn’t want Bash, but she’d like a boyfriend. She’s always the person whose room other people crash in when their roommates are having sex because they assume she won’t be with anyone. Rhonda begins to play MASH with her. In their tent Yolanda and Arthie are talking about Dawn and Stacey’s earlier comments. Arthie says they were just stoned and always say offensive things, but Yolanda says it’s because they’re homophobic. Yolanda says that when you’re gay you have to deal with friends disappointing you. Arthie says she doesn’t know if she’s “that word.” She’s in love with Yolanda and wants to be with her, but Yolanda doesn’t understand and says that she can’t be with her if she doesn’t know who she is or what she wants and turns out the light.

Ruth is sat by the fire reading Justine’s screenplay. Sheila joins her and Ruth tells her that the screenplay is really good and she feels bad for Sam because it’s so good. She asks Sheila if she wants to sit with her and finish the marshmallows, but Sheila starts throwing her clothes and wig onto the fire! Sheila yells that she’s never been more clear and Ruth giver her her coat. Ruth asks her why she did it and Sheila said it was getting in her way as there’s so many things that she wants to do. Ruth looks at her, proud, and hugs her. The next morning Tammé and Debbie discuss Tammé being a manager instead of a wrestler and Debbie tells her she should probably get Rhonda to tell Bash. She isn’t going to be around anyway. Like Ruth, Tammé tells Debbie to bring Randy to Vegas. Tammé says she wished she’d have took her son to auditions. She tells Debbie to stay and fight. Sheila emerges from her tent with blonde hair and still wearing Ruth’s coat. The girls are shocked, but happy for her. She asks what’s for breakfast, but Ruth says it’s probably better to have it back at the hotel. Back at the hotel, Ruth goes to Sam’s room to tell him about Justine’s screenplay. He’s not there!