‘Heels’ Recap: ‘Cheap Heat’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Heels’.
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Redemption is a concept that carries great weight with modern man and understandably so. For we have finally come to understand, that we are flawed creatures. The kind that outright make mistakes on a fairly consistent basis and we genuinely love the idea that in this day and age, that we can come back from those mistakes and atone for them and move beyond them and enjoy redemption through and through. Which is why we celebrate the comeback as often as possible in our everyday world and that is also why we tend to gravitate to stories that feature redemption… since they inspire us to do whatever it takes to reclaim what we’ve lost and make things right.

But while it is indeed wonderful to enjoy uplifting stories where the fallen find their way back into the light through acts of attrition and kindness, those stories unfortunately don’t cover the entire spectrum when it comes to redemption. For in reality, the act of redeeming ourselves, sometimes isn’t pretty or simple. Nor does it quite go the way we expect it to, making it less celebratory in nature. But thankfully, there are stories out there that are eager to show us exactly what redemption genuinely looks like in the world… such as the new STARZ series, Heels. For this raw examination of the wrestling world and dreams and small-town life, took the time to examine the true nature of redemption during last night’s episode and that made ‘Cheap Heat’ quite the powerful tale for certain. 

For it served to remind us that sometimes, redemption comes forth in a manner that isn’t satisfying in the slightest, but we accept it because it puts us back on a path we desperately want to walk in life and it explored that concept, by way of Ace Spade’s journey in this tale. Because when we catch up with him here, he’s ready to go face the people of Duffy, from the ring of course, and atone for his tears and show them that he’s a great guy that’s ready to win the belt and be the people’s champion once again. But that of course… doesn’t quite go as planned. Because the crowd has zero chill once he steps into the ring. In fact, they mock him mercilessly and toss tissues his way, leaving him to wonder exactly what it will take to get the crowd to bathe him in energy and redeem him as a star. 

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Which meant Ace needed to genuinely realize that his time in the ring as a Face had come to a close and the only way the crowd would provide him with the energy and attention, he so desired, was to accept the advice he was given about leaving the world of the Face behind and embracing the life of the Heel and he did just that in a harrowing manner. By beating the tar out of Bobby Pin in the ring and getting the win in a sour fashion and well… that did indeed redeem Ace Space as a star. For the crowd was booing and jeering and was completely and utterly into the match and his actions, and that really did serve as a fine lesson as to how sometimes, redemption doesn’t play out the way we would quite like or expect.

Yet what was truly fascinating about this particular story arc, is that it offered up another unique perspective on redemption. Specifically… how sometimes it can potentially come about after we’ve left this life, provided of course there is someone out there willing to be our champion for it and that was explored by way of Jack Spade's journey in this tale. Because it turns out, that Jack is actually trying to redeem his father’s legacy and rightfully so. Since this episode made it clear that Tom ‘King’ Spade was remembered poorly by a great deal of people. in part because of how he treated his wrestlers and his business and also because of how he died. Since he simply made the swift and painful decision to take his own life on the porch of his home while Ace was inside and that clearly has impacted both brothers in ways they have yet to address. 

But by doing whatever it takes to bring the Duffy Wrestling League to glory and putting forth better writing and making the tough calls, Jack really is hoping to redeem his father and his sour legacy and hopefully help this town see him as the hero that brought forth a league that makes dreams come true and pleases audiences through and through and in turn, Jack will hopefully be seen as a hero as well, for building on the King’s dream and making it into so much more. As to whether or not that will be the case, is yet to be seen, since Jack is in fact, pissing people off at every turn with his bold actions and that could lead to his own need for redemption down the line. But all of that aside, this particular exploration was indeed quite powerful and poignant and a fine way to hammer home how diverse the notion of redemption can be. 

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However, as this series is wont to do, it had so much more to offer than philosophical musings. For this is another episode that took the time to pay proper tribute to the world of wrestling in the most dynamic ways imaginable. In part by once again giving us a powerful behind the scenes look at how these shows come together by way of the conversations and moments that happened behind the scenes, but also by straight up paying tribute to the modern era of the sport. A feat the story accomplished by having a current legend play a role in this episode, since that was former WWE Champion CM Punk playing the part of Ricky Rabies in this tale and it was just incredible to see this series include a big wrestling star in this manner and it speaks volumes to how this show really is a love letter to the sport, alongside being a powerful character drama about family and dreams.
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Plus, this episode also took a moment to set the stage for the future. Such as how there is genuine trouble on the horizon for Staci and Jack. Largely because her embarrassment amongst her friends over her husband’s career choice, and her outright admission that she wants more of out of life than going to church and the dome, informed us as to how she isn’t getting what she needs in her marriage or her life and if Jack doesn’t respond to that soon, that frustration is going to boil over. Speaking of boiling over, we need to be concerned about Rooster as well, since his desire to get a shot at the belt is motivating him to create friction and hopefully, he and Jack can find common ground before Rooster finally snaps. Also, clearly it would seem that Wild Bill is about to make his presence known in Duffy once again, courtesy of his embarrassing act aboard an airplane and it should be quite interesting to see where that mistake takes us in the weeks to come and if his journey will be an extension of this week’s overall theme.

However, while we wait to see where those juicy plot-lines take us, we can genuinely bask in the majesty of one powerful tale. Because this really was an intimate and stunning examination of redemption and its power and our desire to obtain it and what sold it so well, were the performances. Because Alexander Ludwig really helped us to understand how much it means to us through Ace's pain and Stephen Amell… well he genuinely sold how difficult it is to carry a tainted legacy and how deeply Jack is burying himself in the league to not deal with the circumstances and pain of his father’s passing, as evidenced by the incredible closing moments of this tale and well, in the end, all this episode does is leave us hungry for more of this dynamic series. Since we are now eager to see where this bold new direction in storytelling is going to take Ace and whether or not the DWL can move beyond its current strife and if Jack and Ace can find the peace and happiness that they so desperately crave. Until next time.  

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