Heels Review: 10 Ups & 1 Down For Episode 1: 'Kayfabe'
2. The Muddied Waters
Starz
While Alexander Ludwig's Ace Spade is set up as a largely dislikeable douchebag in Kayfabe, the waters are also somewhat muddied when it comes to his brother Jack.
In a traditional pro wrestling sense, Jack's heart seems to be in the right place. Continuing the legacy of his father, Stephen Amell's character is obsessive about how to steer the Duffy Wrestling League ship, and this obsession drives his day-to-day existence.
Due to how DWL is a 24/7 job for Jack, though, we've already seen in his first episode how that means his family often has to take a backseat, with him forever thinking of the past, present and future of DWL in everything he does.
Wrestling fans have long heard stories of bookers whose entire existence revolved around wrestling - whether that was Vince McMahon, Bill Watts, Fritz Von Erich, Eric Bischoff or whoever - and Heels has already dipped its toe in the water in how such laser-focussed obsession can take its toll on the 'regular' things in life.
Throw in the shocking finale of Kayfabe, and Jack Spade is a fascinating, hugely intriguing character who is far from the all-out hero of the show. And on the opposite side of the fence, one has to feel that there are at least some redeemable features (somewhere!) to Ace Spade from here on out.
In just one episode, Heels has established itself as a show that is far from black and white when it comes to its characters.
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.
