I will be the first to admit that the first episode of Heels didn’t draw me in. I knew that they were setting up the world, but I also felt no connection to the characters. It was good, but it missed the mark on what it should have been.
With episode 2, I didn’t feel that. I felt a connection to the characters, a want for their development, and hope for their future. There is nothing like an episode of television where you finally start to see the characters for who they are and who they want to be.
And episode 2 of Heels did that.
In the small town of Duffy, Georgia, Jack has the job that has been his for awhile. He sells lawnmowers and you can tell that it sucks the life out of him. He looses a bit of himself every time he walks into work, but he does it. Because Jack loves his family. He hates his boss, but loves his family.
What Jack sucks at is showing it.
He’s like most men in small towns that I have met, Jack is distracted by feeling a pull to Duffy and the DWL, his family, and making everyone that he knows proud of him. But he doesn’t realize that he’s too proud to let anyone be there or proud of him.
And to even see the good in himself.
He’s trying to figure out everything in life and the DWL. But there is a part of him that is blocked and it’s because he doesn’t – in my opinion – know how to find a common ground after what he did to Ace.
Not to mention the Florida Wrestling Dystopia that seems to come for him at every turn. His wrestlers are entranced by the promo. They are even upset about what happened with the match the week before. They don’t know what Jack is doing and even they want some information about the belt.
But most of all they think if that’s the way that Jack treats his brother, how will he treat them?
Jacks made a dramatic entrance when he returns home, as he does with most everything. He doesn’t want to talk, but then again – what man does? Stacy wants to talk to him about house stuff, but he wants to write the script.
I have to say that Stacy has the patience that we all hope to have, but just don’t. She loves Jack, loves her son, and loves her family. She wants them all to find happy but wants the fairytale for herself. And hey, the fairytale is different for everyone. For her it’s happiness and time together.
But she knows that she’s not going to get things that way she wants them just yet. But she’s no quitter. She makes sure that everyone is taken care of, but I wonder at what point she will take care of herself.
Ace on the other hand is doing everything that he can to numb the way he feels. He’s upset with what his brother did, the way that his life is going and that fact that he can’t get the recruiter to call him back. Everyone is making of him for breaking down in tears after the match – but I challenge anyone of them to not cry when someone basically rips your arm from your socket.
Ace is his own worst enemy. He’s doing everything that he can to say that he needs help, but no one hears it. Ace is used to numbing his emotions with alcohol and sex, rather than dealing with them head on. He’s trying to call the recruiter, trying to deal with Crystal, and trying to deal with his Mom.
Memo to ones self – apparently his Moms casserole is shit. Also memo to ones self – some Mom’s are tougher than others. Cause the way she treats Crystal like she’s a hooker is just fucking wrong. She should be happy someone cares about her son and putting that person down just isn’t right.
Meanwhile, the dude behind the Florida Wrestling Dystopia meets up with Willy and he wants to buy the DWL. He calls Jack all sorts of names, but he’s just as toxic as Jack. I couldn’t stop laughing when he said that he wasn’t coming for Jack, he was already here. Look dude, calm yourself and shave – cause you busted.
Jack knows that everyone is talking shit and it’s annoying. But man, does he get mad when Willy tells him that Charlie wants to buy the dome. I love when Jack cusses him out and shows his passion for the DWL.
The thing about Jack is he doesn’t show emotion unless he’s mad or someone is mad at him. That’s something Ace and him share in common.
But they show their anger and frustration in different ways. Jack tells his wife Willy is up his ass to get script done, rather than telling her the truth. She’s doing everything to direct Jack more towards family, even when he’s not listening. She wants him to talk, to communicate, to let her know what he’s feeling. He’s not wanting to talk and he’s making sure that she knows.
But again, she proves why she is a better person than us, because rather than kicking Jack to the couch, she goes and sleeps on it. I woulda sent his ass there and been like bye bitch.
Ace is upset because he finds out that he’s no longer being recruited. He’s upset because he had the chance for his big break and his brother ruined that. And he has no idea how to process that.
When Ace goes missing – his Mom is worried. She calls Jack, who I have to admit that I was shocked that he got up in the middle of the night to go. But, it does show me that he loves his brother, even though they fight.
And you know who else loves Ace? Crystal. I think that people don’t take her seriously enough, but the girl has heart. She is put down repeatedly but she is right there when Ace could be in trouble. And when Jack takes off to go find him – she’s right there too.
Jack thinks that he knows where Ace is, but he’s wrong. Ace is walking around town drunk and ends up at a sports bar where Rooster works. You can’t help but feel bad for Ace, because he doesn’t know how to do anything but numb pain with alcohol and drugs.
Ace doesn’t like being booed, and when he is it infuriates him. He talks a lot of shit and who comes to his defense – his big brother. There is a fight and I have to admit, I love a good bar fight. It is a fucked up way to bond, but they are bonding none the less.
Hell even Crystal is trying to get in on it.
It’s very disrespectful because it’s Roosters place of work. But the way these men are – it’s about family. They protect their family. And even when they are taken outside, and the dude that started the fight comes out – they go back to kick his ass when he talks shit. But who gets there first? Crystal? She’s not gonna take anyones shit
There is something wrong with Ace, and I find it a little hard to say that. Because there is something wrong with all of us. Doesn’t mean that it needs to be pointed out. I think what Ace wants is a career, but what he also wants is to know that he’s loved and that people believe in him.
But hey, isn’t that what we all want? Crystal on the other hand has proven to Jack that he’s been overlooking her. I love the fact that they have bonded, even if it’s in the littlest of way. She tells Jack that what he did was a dick move, but for Ace’s character it was brilliant. It was a great set up to make Ace a heel.
I don’t know enough about wrestling to make a comment about what he would be but I also think that Ace is a dick and that what he is good at is being a dick.
By the time Jack gets home, Stacy is worried. She has every reason to be. But also we know that he’s not going to talk. Hell, I didn’t even think he was capable of it until the next day at the hospital – cause Big Jim’s wife has given birth – and his Mama goes off on him.
Ace doesn’t want to come in because he’s embarrassed. It only takes one look from Stacy before he goes outside to talk to his brother.
Jack feels like he thinks he needs to take on the father roll. He explains everything in a way that shows his father side. But it also is talking down to others. All Ace wants is respect. And when Jack tells him he was right, you see a sense of relief. Jack tells him who they are and Ace wants to know what is wrong with him. Is who they are now who they will be always? Jack says when he’s in the ring, he is alive.
What I think I relate to the most is that Jack says if this is gonna be a normal life, it is not enough for him. Their lives may be fucked, but they all need each other. The two come to an understanding and who knows if it will last, but for now it gets them through.
Ace just knows that he never wants to be booed again and I truly believed Jack meant it when he said that if he didn’t want to get booed, he wouldn’t.
Whatever happens, the way that they all come together when they need to be there. They are all there for Jim. They are all there for Ace. They all may not agree, but these people are family.
And they are a family that you want to win.
MVP of the episode: Stacy. Jacks’ wife is a hero. She puts up with so much shit and doesn’t blink an eye. She goes on a path to make her family better, but she does know it is a path. However, she takes shit into her own hands and gets done waiting for Jack. She gets rid of the squirrel in the attic and she mows the lawn. And hey – thats what women do. We take care of shit.