Win or Lose
Watch on Disney+
Episodes: 8 twenty-four to twenty-six minute episodes
Rated TV-PG
Follow along with multiple team members of the co-ed softball team, the Pickles, as they prepare for the State Championship. Each episode is from a different character’s perspective showing the audience aspects that were not known in the previous episode.
Themes:
Baseball, teamwork, perspective, pressure, wining, losing, next time, friendship, anxiety, family, divorced parents, self-doubt, trying your best, rejection, cheating, finances, peer pressure, single parents, influencers, being judged, making new friends, influence on others, stealing, pranks, dating, guilt, apologies, breakups, insecurities, crushes, holding hands, jealousy, breakups, perfectionism, mistakes, overbearing parents, faith in your teammates, respect, disappointment, being enough, and imagination.
Language:
Religious Exclamation - 1
Minor name calling such as dummy, stupid, and doofus.
Stuff to be aware of:
Alcohol - There are a few scenes in which characters drink out of wine glasses. In episode four there is a party and one of the teens acts like she have been drinking. She stumbles a bit and looks out of it.
LGBTQ+ - In episode seven the story focuses on Kia. My understanding is that this character is biologically male, but is referred to as a she. Up until episode seven she just seems like a girl on the team. In episode seven Kia and her dad have a conversation about how she is so good at baseball, but he will love her no matter what. The scene changes and a discussion between her and her dad implies the change is from playing baseball to co-ed softball. When you first see Kia’s hair it is short. A scene shows it growing out to become longer. There is a scene in which Kia is at what looks like a slumber party with all the girls on the team. It kind of sounds like the voice actor changes from a slightly deeper voice to a slightly higher voice over the course of the episode. I’m not sure if this is to signify changing from male to female, but I’m not sure. The character is voiced by a transgender actor.
Religious - There is a character that prays. Her prayer starts with, “Dear Heavenly Father,” and she prays for faith, strength, and to catch and hit the ball. The character later asks God to make her good at softball and she asks for forgiveness for hitting a ball that smacks into a girl’s face. Judas is mentioned. This character’s parents are divorced, but her mom reads tarot cards in a scene. We get no hint that he Dad practices any Christian faith.
Sexual - There is a blob-looking character made of sweat that represents a girl’s inner self-doubt during times of anxiety and severe pressure. The blob sometimes has curved humps where its bottom could be. One character mentions that a boy character likes a girl character. An older man and an older woman a kiss each other.
In episode two there is a man who constantly reminisces about a woman he dates. He remembers her sitting at a table with him eating dinner and reading her a book. He later asks another girl to have coffee with him, but she rejects him. He creates a dating profile and his avatar is briefly seen in his underwear. He meets a girl online and they chat. When online the characters are seen in what looks like a video game in the show. The story leads the viewer to assume that he had a hard breakup with a girl named Monica.
In episode three a girl showers, but you only see her silhouette behind the shower curtain. In one bathroom scene, there are a ton of kids are in the bathroom buying help and cheat sheets from a girl. There are both girls and boys seen in the same public bathroom. One girl’s avatar twerks. A mom runs up a set of stairs and breaks up tons of teen couples trying to kiss. Two couples appear to be same-sex couples, but I had to pause it to look at all of the couples kissing to see them.
In episode five a kid mentions that some bugs make babies by touching butt to butt.
The older couple that kisses in several episodes act a bit different in every perspective. In episode six they seem to be making out, like some heavy kissing. In episode eight, the woman is seen crying with a cat carrier near her. Not sure what this means?
A boy and a girl character share their first kiss in a comical way. Little cardboard versions of themselves also kiss.
There is a janitor character in episode two that presents as male but acts effimat. In episode eight he shows up and calls a male character Frankie-poo. It is here that we learn he is an imaginary character.
Scary - In episode three there is a guy in a chicken suit that moves his head in a creepy way. There is also a scene where a character is chased by people in a car and there are things floating in the air. This is all in the character’s head, but it is played out like a horror movie.
In episode four some PTA parents can be seen crawling on the walls and ceiling in unnatural ways.
Other - There is a brief scene where a kid’s mother is reading tarot cards. One kid asks another if she has been juicing. A girl lies to her mother and withholds information.
There is a small boy who drinks orange soda and predicts the future until he burps. Some kids that egg the umpire’s car.
Overall:
Seeing It With Your Family
This show seems to be aimed at slightly older children/preteens. Some of the themes and character’s stories might get lost on younger viewers. A huge part of the show is experiencing stylized inner head/voice visual dialogue to show what each character is thinking, feeling, and experinecing. This might confuse younger kids. My ten-year-old asked a few questions about if characters could see what the main character of each episode could see. The answer to that is no.
Some of the “controversy” surrounding this show involved a character named Kai who is transexual. From what I have read Disney had Pixar remove this trans story, however Kai remains in the show. This character is portrayed as the best player on the team. Kai is the character on the poster in the middle left spot.
Kai gets an episode focused on her in episode 7. Through all the episodes t is hard to tell if this character is a girl or a boy. I am not sure a child would pick up on some of the transitioning vibes in episode seven, but it seems to me that the writers just slightly tweaked the episode to make it appear that the “change” or “transition” is about moving from baseball to softball. Some hints of sexual transitioning are still present. More details on episode seven are in the LGBTQ+ area above. In my personal opinion there is still enough in episode seven to point to this character transitioning even if it is never said out lout.
In episode four there is a high school party with no adults present. There are solo cups sitting around that are blue. I wonder if this was to make it appear that there is no underage drinking. There is also a girl who acts like she is drunk and throws up, however this is explained to be because she ate pizza and she is lactose intolerant.
What I Thought
The show is well-written and deals with some real problems and emotions in a humorous and creative way without downplaying their seriousness. The idea of giving us multiple different perspectives about the same day/week is a neat concept and executed well in the show. It’s fun, but I don’t see it being one I would watch more than once. It could be a good way to discuss the topics of anxiety, peer pressure, social media, and other themes I mentioned above with children.
This series has been praised by some because one of the characters prays. However, the big thing the character is praying for is for God to make her good at softball. There is something to say here about the interesting things children pray for, but it also brings up a deeper theological question of what Christians should be praying for and what matters. That is just a free thought.
If you have a quick eye it is neat to see the changes in each episode of how each character sees the same event and how different scenes and characters interact differently.