‘Heels’ Recap: ‘Cutting Promos’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘Heels’.
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When the going gets tough in life and the world is simply bearing down upon our shoulders, to the point where it seems as though everything is about to fall apart… each and every one of us fall back on a certain behavior to clear our heads and give us perspective, so we can pull ourselves out of our respective quagmire. For some, getting away from home and exploring the world is a way to make that happen, while others are keen to immerse themselves in hobbies that soothe their ailing minds. But regardless of how you handle your business when your world is on fire, there is one particular behavior that each of us partake in when life is a bear, that we don’t talk about enough. Which is odd, simply because it is quite the healthy and wonderful way to heal and figure out a way forward. Specifically… returning home to spend time with our family and closest friends.

Because no knows us better than them and being around them in any capacity can quickly give us everything we need to forge ahead in a healthy and clear manner and well, that voyage home and its importance are top of mind today… simply because it serves as the focal theme of the next episode of Heels. For when we catch up with Jack Spade in ‘Cutting Promos’, his world is seemingly falling apart. Because the squirrels that weren’t dealt with in time, managed to chew through some of the wiring in the house, sparking a fire and forcing the family to move in with grandma while repairs were made. Plus, Jack wasn’t getting what he needed from his sponsor, Earl, in regard to growing the business and of course, Staci was rightfully brazen with Jack about his priorities and their struggles and all of that weighing down upon his shoulders, made it clear that he needed his family now more than ever.

Granted, his voyage home is far easier than a majority of ours, but once he was surrounded by family once again and opened up to his closest friends, Jack started to garner the perspective he needed on what should come next for his immediate family and the future of the DWL. For Willie made it clear to him, that he can’t mix emotion with business, or make it personal in the slightest, because that will lead to disaster and if he just kept his head down and did the work, the league would come out okay on the other side. Plus, a little downtime at home with his baby brother, helped the both of them to bond and refresh their love of wrestling and that oddly allowed for Jack to lower his guard for a change and let Ace offer up some fresh ideas in regard to how to put the league on the map. 

In fact, he was so impressed with what Ace had to offer idea wise, that he basically handed over the promotional reins to him so that he could put together a poppin’ promo that would suck people into the wonder of the DWL and well, Ace definitely delivered on that front. Because his promo was bold and fun and entertaining and it will indeed make waves and garner attention and all of this was made possible by the fact that Jack returned to his roots when the world brought too much heat upon him and being surrounded by people that knew him best really did give him the clarity he outright needed and it was wonderful to see a more tender side of Jack in this tale and get a better understanding of how badly he wants the DWL in the spotlight.

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However, as this series is wont to do, it had to more to explore in regard to this concept. Specifically, how going home isn’t always a joyous occasion. Because sometimes we have to return home because we’ve failed in life and have nowhere else to go and sometimes going home for all the right reasons, opens up a great deal of old wounds as evidenced by how Carol, Jack and Ace’s mother, handled having everyone home. Because it reminded her of the unhappiness that she endured during her marriage with Tom, and it also reminded her of the pain and sorrow in her heart over losing him. But thankfully, Staci was there to offer kind words and support when the dust settled from the explosion that Carol experienced when that pain overwhelmed her, once again reminding us of the positive side to having family around.

As for how a homecoming can be an embarrassing experience, well that was handled in this tale by ‘Wild Bill’ Hancock. Because this episode filled us in on why on earth Bill was standing in Willie’s driveway at the end of last week’s tale and why everyone was so keen on watching a video of him and it all relates to the fact that Bill let his ego and his anger and his belief that being a Heel at all times is a way of life, get the better of him. Which in turn motivated him to get stinking drunk on a flight and dress in the new championship belt and little else and having Will Bill’s ‘libido’ go viral on the internet, more or less forced him to return home and lay low for a bit and reflect upon his life and where he’s been and where he is going and well, that didn’t quite sit right with him.

Mainly because all of his past deeds and transgressions came back to haunt him in Duffy, so much in fact that eventually it got him kicked out of Willie’s house when he felt the need to put a Heel-style spin on his actions and the past. Giving him a fine lesson in how being a Heel all the time doesn’t pay off in the manner he thinks it does and most important of all, his return home really helped Bill to understand, just how lost in life he is right now, especially since the league fired him for his stupidity and it will be quite interesting to see what comes next for Bill. Since he has no job and no prospects, and wrestling is all he’s ever known and to complicate his life further, he really has no one to turn to right now. Which really did hammer home the reality that a return to our roots can be as sour as they come when it forces us to face our shortcomings and in the end, this rough patch will either be Wild Bill’s finest hour… or it will lead to his downfall.

If anything, this was just a beautiful… slice of life episode. One that really did put something we do on automatic on display in a compelling and thoughtful manner. Which just goes to show that Heels is a series that is unlike any other on the airwaves right now, since it takes the time to examine aspects of everyday life that other shows ignore for being too mundane. But this show teaches us, that when you really look at life and everything we do in an objective manner, something as innocuous and boring as say, two friends getting ice cream… and assembling a wrestling identity (as Crystal and Bobby did in this tale) can be as compelling as anything else. Which means that every moment of life is vibrant and powerful and engaging, when we choose to view them in that manner and now that we’ve reached the end of this adventure, and learned that beautiful lesson... we’re left eagerly awaiting next week’s episode. So, we can see what Wild Bill does with his new chapter in life and what that spicy promo does for the DWL. Until next time.

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