HEELS IS THE DRAMA YOU NEED

I think about this show way too much. I love it. Be ready...SPOILERS ahead. 

First of all, as much as this is a show about wrestling it is REALLY a show about family. One family's tragic legacy that is tied up in a wrestling league, but family is at the heart of the conflicts and drama. 

From episode one we've seen that family put in the spotlight. Jack vs Ace was teased and showcased, but also it's Jack trying to shoulder the weight of the entire DWL. That weight basically became too much for Thomas "King" Spade and he took his own life. In episode 3 we saw that Jack has been following in his father's footsteps (literally) as we saw jogging the same route that Jack was jogging in the first episode. ​

Jack is treading the same path as his father Thomas. I only hope the journey has a different conclusion for Jack.

In fact, the character I am most concerned about is Bobby Pin. The eternally optimistic "everyman" is possibly too gentle and trusting to last long in the rough and tumble world of the Spade family. I fear that his injury might cost him the ability to continue in the ring which would steal his entire world and he might jump from the water tower overcome by his feelings of failure and depression. 

The only way to truly escape the cycle is to leave. In the first episode we see the happiest possible ending for Big Jim. He had a great run and simply walks away to be with his family. This is something that I think Jack, and Thomas before him, have absolutely no comprehension of. Walking away for family is not an option. They stay in for their family...or so they tell themselves. Honestly that may be partly true, but Jack also stays for himself. He sees himself not just as a wrestler but as the DWL itself. He is the DWL. And if he leaves he knows it will collapse and then he has failed everyone attached to it...feeling the same pressure his father felt when he took his last run.  

Well, I've rambled long enough. I haven't even mentioned Diego or Rooster or Bill or Charley or Willie or Crystal. There's just so much. This show is Game of Thrones set in the world of pyro instead of dragons and promos instead of magic.  

Also, I want action figures and t-shirts BAD!! I NEED a Diego Cottonmouth shirt and a Rooster fig with that cape!!! STARZ needs to step up with that merch!! I know they've got it! They flaunt it in my face every week!!!!! GAHHH!!!! GIMME MY DWL SHIRT, STARZ!! DAMN!!!

I should also mention that the cast is STELLAR. And they have been able to sound southern without sounding like hicks or cartoons. Being from Mississippi I cringe at many southern accents. Bravo, Heels!

Then there's the fire, another metaphor, this time a reminder of the brewing heat between the Spade brothers. It's flaring up and impacting young Thomas. Ace comforts his nephew with the same blanket he was wearing when he found his father who had just killed himself. For Ace that blanket is likely a very uncomfortable reminder of the worst day of his life. And on the anniversary of that day he passes it to his nephew. If this were a Shakespeare play this would be some heavy foreshadowing. I am hopeful that Jack doesn't find the same end as his father.

BUT we are starting to see some differences. Jack shared the writing duties with Ace which resulted in the gas station/car wash promo which had the DWL core stable all included. Previously I think King Thomas held the reins tightly to himself. He tried to do everything and it simply became too much as he felt responsible for the success of the DWL and by extension the livelihoods of everyone connected to it. Bill mentioned that Thomas had a mean streak which we might eventually see in flashbacks, but it's likely that rather than any actual mean streak it was a response to the constant pressure that he placed on himself. 

So now we are seeing Jack face the same tests his father went through, but the question is will he find a different outcome? Is Jack destined to repeat his father's tragic failing or will he be able to lean on the family, both literal and figurative, that surrounds him? 

We saw Staci step up and not sit idly by as things begin to crack around the family. She took on some of the burdens at home (cutting the grass, like Thomas did, freeing Jack to focus on DWL). But there is also the question of the squirrels. "Squirrels in the attic" could easily be a metaphor for mental illness/issues that face the family and more specifically Jack. He may not be willing to deal with them, or even be aware of them, but we see that Staci is ready to grab a gun and "take care of business" to ensure that her family and home is safe.