Hollywood Homecoming

"Hollywood Homecoming" is the seventh episode of the third season of GLOW. It is the twenty-seventh episode of the series overall. It was released via Netflix on August 9, 2019.

Synopsis
Sam takes Justine to meet with studio execs, Birdie arrives in Las Vegas to spend time with her daughter-in-law, and Debbie makes a new friend.

Plot
Justine and Sam are in a car, Justine complaining about how hot it is. Sam points out that the air conditioner is broken and she suggests that maybe they could roll down the windows. Sam tells her to not say too much when they go in, to just be herself, but ten percent less weird. She sarcastically thanks him and he explains that he needs her to look like she actually cares. She says she does, that it's summer vacation and she's not backpacking through Europe. He tells her to not look she wants it too much either, to not appear desperate. He says he hasn't been there for a long time as they pull into the lot of Tri-Star Pictures. "Happy faces," he says.

At the Fan-Tan, Rhonda models a colorful dress for Bash. It has a picture of a pig on it and Bash tells her no, that "she" hates animals. "No leopard print, then," quips Rhonda. There's a knock on the door. It's Birdie, who tells him that there's "water feature" in the kitchen. Rhonda explains that it's a hot tub. She invites her in. "Careful making toast," she comments, and Rhonda says they mostly order room service, which is free. Bash speaks to her quietly and Rhonda speaks for him, saying that he's on vocal rest because he yells at the audience for an hour every night. "Rhonda Howard," Birdie says, and Bash says, quietly, that he's sorry he didn't say anything sooner. She comments "What mother doesn't want to learn from American Express that her son married a new cardholder?" She says she's there to meet that woman he fell so madly in love with that he kept her a secret from his family. Rhonda tells her that she doesn't like secrets and she's been wanting to meet her. Birdie suggests they order lunch and drinks.

At the studio, an executive tells Justine that they are very interested in her screenplay. She says she has a couple of questions, the first being what Justine thinks of Michael J. Fox. Justine replies that he's great, wondering if she means for the Dad role. The executive is actually thinking of the character Jules. Justine points out that Jules is a girl in the script, and the executive replies that perhaps in that draft, but she's worked with Michael before and he plays well young. She asks if Justine is married to the script's title, pointing out several title changes in red pen.

Debbie is with her toddler son, Randy, playing with a blue ball. Jenny comes over, and Debbie tells her that she has paychecks, as Randy hands her the ball. She asks if she can talk with Debbie, who is sitting on the floor, and says they'll have to do it there, as she is now living in the hallway. An entire playhouse, and Randy only wants to play in the hallway. She tells her to have a seat, welcoming her to her "office." Jenny tells her that she's been reviewing her finances and has been talking with other costume designers, who have been surprised to find out that she's not being compensated for her additional wardrobe work. Debbie doesn't understand the concern at first, and Jenny explains that all of the costumes require maintenance and doubles, and her goal is to make as much money as possible before they leave the hotel, which offends her to her core. Debbie asks how much of an increase they're looking at, and Jenny asks for 13%, given her research, and she will accept nothing less. Debbie tells her she'll see what she can do. They both smile, Jenny admitting she was "pretty nervous."

Debbie looks over, seeing a pile of toys, but no Randy. She shouts for him. Dawn and Stacey come around the corner carrying him, Dawn making baby talk at him. Stacey jokes that she knows she stopped breastfeeding a while ago, but the kid still has a thing for breasts. Debbie calls him a "Vegas baby." Elsewhere, Arthie tells Cherry that while she and Yolanda have broken up before, she thinks this time it's for real. She can't eat or sleep and is crying at the weirdest times. She says she can't talk to anyone about it, because the only person she could talk to about it is Yolanda. She asks Cherry if she knows what she means, and Cherry admits that she doesn't. Arthie wonders about her and Keith and she points out that they're still married. They're playing craps, but Arthie turns to leave, saying that she made a deal with herself that she would only spend $20 of her paycheck. She says she's going to go eat alone. Cherry tells the croupier that she personally hates eating alone, that people say to bring a book, but she can't do it. She wants to be alone with a bunch of people, and that's why she likes craps. Cherry asks if she ever plays, and the croupier replies that she can't gamble there, that it's against the rules. She's also a scaredy-cat when it comes to taking risks. Cherry tells the woman, Rita, that she has four letters from her husband that she's too scared to open, that everyone is afraid of something.

Bash, Rhonda and Birdie eat together. Birdie comments that Rhonda is from England and Rhonda wonders what gave it away. "London?" asks Birdie and Rhonda says from the suburbs of Bromley. Birdie asks if England's suburbs aren't a bit "dodgy." Rhonda tells her that's why she left, having been in the U.S. for three years. The band Duran Duran was touring the States and asked her and friend if they wanted to come. She said yes, as she wants to be a singer, but would never be discovered in the U.K. She was desperate, auditioned for GLOW and met Bash. Birdie is surprised that she's on the show, thinking that they met in an alley somewhere or something. Rhonda admits that she did live in a car for a while as Birdie gets up. Bash asks if she's leaving, and she says she was thinking that they should go shopping. She's married to her son and she hasn't even gotten her a wedding present. Bash offers to come, but she says she wants to get to know her daughter-in-law one-on-one. Just girls.

Back at the studio, Justine tells Sam that it wouldn't be the worst thing if Jules was a boy. Sam thinks it's a terrible idea. He had said it was interesting, but was only being polite because the executive was a woman. She had every other page of Justine's script crossed out. They're about to meet Don Silverberg. He says they go way back and he gave him his first job, so hopefully things should go better. Don enters, saying that he kept Sam waiting. Sam extends his hand to shake, but Don just nods. Sam asks if he's a Buddhist now or something, and he replies that he is. He talks about the last time they met, at a pool party. Don says it's not the last time he saw him, but he isn't surprised he doesn't remember that. Sam suggests that they skip the pleasantries, that his daughter wrote a great script and that's why they're there. Don replies that he didn't read it. Sam suggests that they walk him through the story, and Don says that he just wants to know if the rumors are true, that he's directing porn. Sam tells him that isn't porn, it's women's wrestling. Don tells him that nobody cares about him anymore, but he remembers him, the guy who sent him to deliver flowers to his mother's hospital room while he had sex with an extra in his trailer. There was also the time he made him cry in front of grips because he didn't know what a hoagie was. Sam says it's time for him to go and Don comments that he would have enjoyed it a lot more if his daughter wasn't there, that he's not a monster. Justine turns and tells him to go f- himself, the hypocrite Buddhist, and that his last movie sucked. Out of Africa? he asks. He says he'll be sure to let Sydney know.

In the lot, Sam curses, saying they'll be late for their next meeting. Justine says they should just go home, but Sam is adamant, given what he had to go through. He had to call his ex-wife's brother just to get a phone number. He called his own agent, who is ten times the asshole that Don is. He could have stayed in Vegas if he wanted to feel useless. Justine suggests that they grab a camera and shoot the film guerilla style like his Blood Disco. He tells her that her script is so much better than Blood Disco, better than anything he could ever make. He tells her not to come crying to him if she squanders her one opportunity to be great, or at least not mediocre. They head back to the car.

Rhonda models dresses for Birdie. She tries on a black one that she feels is kind of unique. A saleswoman comes in with two dresses and Birdie asks which one she would go for if she could choose. Rhonda says that she thinks she's supposed to go for the more expensive one because it's more posh, but she's going to go with the other because she likes it more. Birdie finds this interesting. Rhonda tells her that Bash told her to be scared of her, and she is, but she wants to be honest with her. She says that she married Bash for the wrong reasons. Birdie sighs and says she's taking all the fun out of it, though she does appreciate her not wasting her time. She asks for the explanation and she says that when Bash asked her to marry him, she didn't love him or even really know him. She married him because she needed a green card. She knows that it's awful, but she loves him now. Birdie comments that it's not hard to love a millionaire, but Rhonda says that she finds Bash kind, caring, and genuinely clever. He's also compulsive and sometimes so innocent that people take advantage of his money. Birdie wonders if she's supposed to believe that she doesn't, that she won't simply walk away with his money. She says that the other day, she saw unopened checks lying around the penthouse and asked Bash why he didn't deposit them. He told her he didn't know how. She went to the credit union and did it for him, and she puts his paychecks into savings so he can't spend them. She's not even sure he knew he got paid. Birdie says she doesn't trust her son with money. She replies that he's not good with it, but nobody has to be good at everything. Birdie examines her wedding ring, saying that he didn't even get her diamond. She says that she picked it, that she likes blue. Birdie says that she hates it and laughs.

Back at the hotel, Randy screams, apparently having hurt himself. She leaves the room where Bash is in the tub, saying he's better in the hallway. She asks Bash if it's her job to send Sam the check he somehow still collects even though he's no longer there. Bash nods. She tells him of Jenny's request for a raise. She says she went through the budget and found the money in what appears to be a line item for cigarettes and Dr. Pepper. He scoffs and writes something down. She reads the note - "Fine with Jenny raise, not wasting my voice on this." She tells him he's smart to rest his voice, that he doesn't have to talk at all. She tells him that she doesn't trust him anymore and that Sam may have run off to Los Angeles, but she's still there. She brought her kid and there's not a single day she won't be in his face, and she has very strong vocal cords. She comments that she wishes more men would on vocal rest and shouts to Randy that it's time to go. She steps into the hallway to find Randy getting on the elevator.

Randy gets off downstairs and wanders into the casino. He tries to crawl under a velvet rope, then simply goes around it. A man picks him up, asking if he's looking to get lucky like the rest of them. A casino employee approaches, telling him he can't have a baby on the casino floor. He says that's why he picked him up. Debbie comes and takes him back, explaining that he slipped away to the elevator. She apologizes. The man says that he knows her, that she was on his 11:40 flight. She remember him as having a beard, and he comments that he turned in his hobo card. She vaguely remembers losing her cool in front of him. He says he hasn't seen her in a while. She says it's because she made the very smart decision to bring her baby to the casino where she works and it's going exactly according to plan. She thanks him for finding him, asking if she can buy him a "thank you" drink. He suggests he buy her a "you're welcome" dinner instead. She wonders if he's really asking her on a date while she's holding her screaming son in a casino. He asks if she has a good babysitter, and she says she has some options. He tells her he'll pick her up at 8. She heads back to the elevator.

Justine and Sam sit together, Sam smoking, though Justine wonders if he should be smoking in the room. He says there's an ashtray, but she thinks it's an award. They meet with a man, Jonathan. Sam says that his daughter wrote a good script, and she'll tell him the rest. She says her character is kind of based on her, that she moved out to Hollywood to meet her father for the first time, though he didn't know he had a daughter. She only knew and worshiped his movies. He didn't know what to do with her. She only survived high school by meeting a group of AV club nerds, weird, complicated kids who were trying to make little movies in a town of people trying to make big movies. As she continues her pitch, the scene takes Sam's perspective. Her speech slows down, there is a ringing, and he breathes heavily. He clenches and unclenches his fist. As Jonathan studies the script, a phone rings. The sound resumes and Jonathan says that he loves it, and they'd love to do this with her. She asks just what that means, and he says that they'd love to make her movie, asking her to not sell it to anyone else. He asks if she has an agent.

Outside, Justine wonders what this is like when your life changes. She asks Sam just how much money he thinks they'll give them. She asks how you get an agent, and how he's so calm. She says they should go to celebrate, but he tells her that he has to "go see a guy about a thing." He tells her to take the car and he'll get a cab. She wonders who she's supposed to celebrate with and he suggests Billy, or some of the other people she wrote the movie about. She asks what his problem is, why he's being weird. She walks away. She gets in the car, but he comes up to her. He tells her that he's proud of her, and loves her. She says she loves him too. As she drives away, Sam pants and looks pained. He asks a man to call him an ambulance as he sits against a wall.

Rhonda, Bash and Birdie are back together at the hotel. Bash asks Rhonda how many dresses she got, but she calls over an intercom for Marty. He asks if that's their business manager. Allen says that he's there's too. He's the family lawyer. Bash asks if this is a coup. Birdie tells him that he can't be on an allowance forever. He's a grown, married man. Bash shouts as best he can that she can cut him off if she wants, that he's doing fine and can support himself. She can't banish them, he banishes her. She tells him to sit down, that he's embarrassing himself, and they're not on Falcon Crest. "So you do watch television," he snarks. Marty tells him that when his grandfather setup his trust, he allowed for a stipulation that if he was married he would bypass his trustees and unlock the whole of his funds. It's not a banishment. Allen explains that this means that the full 40 million dollars are now his to do whatever he'd like with. Rhonda chuckles in disbelief, saying that Birdie is joking. Deadly serious, Birdie says that she's the comic relief.

Debbie is on her dinner date, where she says it's nice to be on a date with a grownup for a change. He comments that babies can be handful, and she replies sarcastically that babies were exactly what she was talking about. He says he missed out on that stage and his boys are 24, 20 and 18, and he missed a lot of it. He tells her that's on him, that his ex is a good woman and excellent mother. He calls himself a dabbler. She asks what he dabbles in. He tells her he had a ranch, that he has ranches. One of the ranches has a mine with a semiconductor used in radios, which led him to media, buying up radio stations. He asks what she does and she jokes that it's the same. She says that she's also a dabbler, one who makes way less money as a producer, actress and wrestler. She produces and stars in a wrestling show, and he's having dinner with Liberty Belle, one of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. He says he thought he was sitting with somebody special and she tells him that she's trying to transition to more production work, but it hasn't been easy. Calling him Tex, she says that she's staring down the barrel of life. He tells her his name isn't really Tex, and she wonders why she made up that name. He suggests maybe the hat or the accent, but he's actually from Wyoming. He gives his real name as James Joseph McCready, or JJ. She says she's gonna go. He tells her to stay. She asks if she can still call him Tex. He says he can call her whatever she wants.

In the hospital, a doctor tells Sam that the results from his EKG confirm that he had a cardiac event. Sam tells him to just say "heart attack," and he does. He tells him that he's lucky, but it's a wake-up call. He needs to lay off alcohol and cigarettes, change his diet and start exercising. He tells him that he has and the doctor replies that he's on the right path. He says that they're keeping him overnight for observation, asking if there's anyone he wants to call. He shakes his head and says no.

Outside of the Fan-Tan, Birdie tells Bash that she's going put him in touch with their group at Morgan Stanley when she gets back, set up his portfolio, and that he will eventually need a will. Bash says she's always thinking ahead. She says that she's married and he agrees that he is. She tells him that she didn't feel a thing at his sister's wedding, but that she would have at his. He suggests they do something when he gets back. She agrees that he's out of his mind if he thinks he's getting away with her throwing a giant party. She tells him to consider having children while she's still young enough to be mistaken for their mother. Rhonda thanks her for everything. She hugs her. She tells her to keep him interested, however she sees fit.

Debbie's dinner date has come to an end. She suggests that he come back to her hotel and she buy him a drink. He quips that he's always trying to get him drunk. He suggests that instead she let him take her out again tomorrow. She says that's moving a little fast and he notes that she just invited him to her hotel. They kiss and she agrees to tomorrow night. Back in her room, she finds Ruth asleep with a book. She goes to bed herself, happy. Sam arrives at his and Justine's room, and she tells him that she was just about to call the police, asking where he was. He says that he's sorry and that old habits die hard. She wanted to celebrate with him and instead spent the worst night with Billy. He asks her how Billy is. "Fat," she says, still cute, but definitely having put on a few, and he dragged her to a terrible club. He suggests she put that in her movie. She says it's their movie, but he demurs, saying it's her journey now. She's surprised - she thought he wanted to direct it, and had told the producer that she wouldn't do it without him directing, something he didn't hear due to spacing out because of the heart attack. He says he hasn't directed anything good in years, if ever. He tells her he's dead weight. She's upset that he can believe in her, but she can't believe in him. She demanded he direct, so he is. He says they should celebrate. She tells him that's what she's been trying to say. He toasts, and reluctantly, has a drink. He says they're going to make a movie.

Guest starring

 * Sunita Mani as Arthie Premkumar
 * Kimmy Gatewood as Stacey Beswick
 * Rebekka Johnson as Dawn Rivecca
 * Ellen Wong as Jenny Chey
 * Elizabeth Perkins as Birdie Howard
 * Toby Huss as J.J. "Tex" McCready
 * Angela Gulner as Lori Jacobson
 * Brandon Keener as Don
 * Armen Weitzman as Jonathan

Co-starring

 * Tami Sagher as Rita
 * Peter James Smith as Doctor Infinger
 * Andrew Johnson as Pit-Boss
 * Harold J. McNeill as Tristar Security Guard
 * Allan Wasserman as Allen
 * Randy Brenner as Marty