Heels is a show about family, first and foremost. We know that it’s also about wrestling, but at the very core of it is the Spade family. A family that doesn’t know how to communicate, process emotions, or even deal with the life around them.
Each one of them is striving to be a better person – well, except Carol, who is straight up just lost her shit. And hey, that’s okay Carol. Your husband took his own life and you are dealing with it and in your own way.
The fourth episode of Heels, Cutting Promos, we’re upon the first anniversary of Tom Spade’s death and a fire in Jack’s home has forced the entire family to be under the same roof. Put three very distinct personalities in a room and what we’re dealing with is some crazy shit.
Because personalities clash and people tend to let walls down that have been guarding others from pain.
When the fire happens at Jack’s he jumps into action and I am excited for him to do that. Why excited? Because something needs to jumpstart him paying attention to his family and doing the things that don’t revolve around the DWL.
But it also it gives Staci a storyline where she’s putting down the law and telling Jack that they need to save money and telling him that they need to stay with his Mom. For Jack, that is a lot, but he knows that he should pick and choose his battles, and this isn’t a battle he can win.
But I also think that Jack is only thinking about money that can go towards the DWL. He’s a man with big deal of dreams, but doesn’t have the money to make them happen. He see’s the DWL as the WWE – the possibilities are endless.
But just because there are endless possibilities doesn’t mean that they will all come true. Now, granted it doesn’t mean that you should ever stop trying. But you also need to accept that not everyone is going to see things the same way you do.
And you have to adjust with that.
Jack’s largest sponsor doesn’t want to give anymore money, because it’s not good business. The DWL doesn’t bring them a great ROI and no one really knows what it is outside of Duffy.
Of course Jack is angry, but he doesn’t do a good job of hiding it. He instead lets it show. Willie has to reign him in, but in typical Jack fashion, he turns shit on her. After all, she’s got the enemy, Wild Bill, staying with her.
Wild Bill is not my favorite, but he’s a man who had a heyday and doesn’t know how to live without people calling his name. He wants recognition. He wants wrestling to be taken seriously, but he’s so lost in the world of drugs and alcohol that even he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
Though seeing him naked on a plane was something I never needed to see.
Willie is a good woman and she’s there for all the men in her life, but they don’t deserve her compassion. Especially Wild Bill. She can justify it by saying that it was the good sex they once had, but that’s legit only justifying it in her mind. That’s a reason to run – especially when you’re already moved on and married.
It’s not her fault that Bill got naked on a plane. It’s not her responsibility to save him. It’s hard to watch Wild Bill fall apart, as it would be hard to watch anyone fall apart. But here’s the beauty in falling apart – you have the chance to put yourself back together. It’s just that some people don’t see that and keep falling further and further into pieces.
And Bill, well he’s going to be the one to hit rock bottom, but part of me thinks that he’s already there.
The biggest growth in this episode comes from Ace. He sees Crystal with someone else – even though they are only friends – and is jealous. Of course he wants to fuck his way our of despair, but that doesn’t help. When you’ve started feeling emotions, you can’t stop them.
Ace is afraid to feel them, because he can hear the echo of his Dad’s gunshot in his head. He is filled with pain. He doesn’t know how to vocalize it or deal with it, but it doesn’t help that he feels overlooked at every turn and his Mom talks about his Dad burning in hell.
Pain though, Ace knows how to feel it. He knows how to exist in it. And so he finally tells his Mom that she needs to cool it. But he also embraces it – which is what makes him a good heel.
And there’s some relief in acknowledgement, because in that, Ace and the rest of the DWL are able to finally film a great promo. They finally film a promo that will draw people in and make them see what the DWL is about.
You get to see a softer side of Ace in his episodes with Tommy. He has a vulnerability to him that makes you see the man that he could be.
But the real MVP of this episode is Staci. She’s finally at the point where she gets a job and realizes that she needs something for herself. And finally, Jack is supportive of her.
I guess everyone just needed an episode to come to terms with feelings and for their character development.
Heels airs Sundays on Starz.