By Michael Pedro
Editor’s Note: Spoilers for the show follow.
Disney subsidiary Pixar finally released its first original animated TV series, ‘Win or Lose.’ The show, which focuses on a middle school coed softball team named the Pickles, consists of eight episodes, with each one focusing on a different character involved with the team.
The show’s production was embroiled in controversy and chaos, casting a damper over the show’s hype even before it hit Disney+. However, was the pre-release backlash justified? Or was it a case of people counting their chickens before they hatched?
The first two episodes premiered on Disney+ on February 19. The episodes all have one thing in common- they all show a different character’s perspective of the week leading up to the championship game.
The first episode, titled ‘Coach’s Kid,’ focuses on Laurie, the coach’s daughter. Laurie is, to put it nicely, subpar at softball, and as such, she is insecure. These insecurities manifest in the form of an imaginary sweat blob that is constantly whispering in her ear. By the end of the episode, these insecurities have manifested to an insane degree at the big game, but after a pep talk from her father, she is able to overcome them. She goes up to bat… and is hit by the ball.
The second episode, titled ‘Blue,’ focuses on Frank, the umpire. Frank is determined to constantly make the right call, and he does this well on the field. However, his fear of making bad calls led him to break up with his now ex-girlfriend. This fear manifests in the form of a suit of armor. Frank is also a teacher at the school most of the Pickles attend, and with the help of the (possibly imaginary) janitor, he gets back out into the dating world. At the episode’s end, Frank realizes he’s still hung up on his ex but discovers she’s now engaged. This gets Frank emotional, and at the championship game, this shows.
Episodes three and four focus on characters with a familial link. The third episode, ‘Raspberry,’ focuses on Rochelle, the catcher for the Pickles. She is driven by a desire to make money to play softball again the following year, but when the fee dramatically hikes up, she needs to find a way to make the money fast. She resorts to creating a tutoring service (that ends up devolving into something akin to cheating) and comes extremely close to reaching her goal, but after a series of unfortunate events, she is nearly scammed and misses the majority of the championship game.
The fourth episode, ‘Pickle, ’ focuses on Rochelle’s mother, Vanessa. Vanessa juggles a lot of things, such as being a single mother to two children, as well as a job. When she loses her job, Vanessa must resort to odd jobs around town as she attempts to get back on her feet. When Rochelle’s academic cheating endeavors come to light, Vanessa wants to talk to her, but she’s on the other side of town being scammed. The two reunite at the end of the episode. While this pair of episodes weren’t the strongest, they still held up extremely well and were quite emotional.
Episode five, ‘Steal, ’ focuses on one of the youngest characters of the bunch, Ira. Ira is the younger brother of Taylor, a player on the Pickles who takes a spotlight role later on. While Taylor is playing on the field, Ira wanders the vicinity, using his cardboard telescope to fuel his vivid imagination, and encounters a group of high schoolers dubbed the ‘Bleacher Creatures.’ These characters have played a small role in previous episodes, attempting to scam Rochelle and just being regular background nuisances. The Bleacher Creatures invite Ira to join their group, an offer Ira happily accepts. After all, he just wants friends. They get up to no good, egging Frank’s car and stealing from the snack shack, all while Ira uses his telescope to imagine it being a fun adventure. Later, Ira realizes what they’re doing is wrong and tries to stop it, but one of the Bleacher Creatures breaks his telescope. Ira runs off. Later, at the championship game, Ira encounters the group again, and the episode ends with them offering him his repaired telescope.
The sixth episode, ‘Mixed Signals,’ focuses on Yuwen, the Pickles’ pitcher. Yuwen is quite the formidable pitcher, and his ability to cause any opponent to strike out is impressive. As such, he has a massive ego and is shown to be a jerk overall. However, this is just a persona he puts on, as his insecure inner self is shown to be more small and kind. After the Pickles are officially locked into the championship, Yuwen asks Ira’s sister, Taylor, out on a date, which she accepts. Outer Yuwen plays it cool, but Inner Yuwen is exploding with joy. The episode shows the progression of their relationship, showing them opening up to each other in the week leading up to the championship game. However, Yuwen is insecure, and his insecurities lead him and Taylor to fight. Their relationship turmoil boils over into the championship game itself, with Yuwen as pitcher and Taylor filling in for Rochelle as a catcher; Yuwen’s pitches are aggressive as he tries to pressure Taylor into a mistake. The two break up, leaving Yuwen distraught at the episode’s end as the realization of what he has just done sets in.
The final two episodes focus on two more high-profile characters in the series. ‘I Got It,’ the seventh episode in the series, focuses on Kai. Kai is undoubtedly the most valuable player on the entire team, with a playstyle fueled largely by her dad’s training. Kai’s emotions are portrayed by her either flying when happy or sinking into the ground when sad or stressed. Kai’s dad, while supportive, pushes her to an intense degree, where she believes she’s failing him by not always being the best player on the team. During a training session with Laurie, Kai sprains her ankle but plays it off. At the championship game, the effects linger, and the weight of expectations set by both her dad and the entire team set in. She begins to feel like she’s sinking but focuses and gets a hit, ending the episode.
The eighth and final episode, ‘Home,’ focuses on Coach Dan, the coach of the Pickles and the father of Laurie. After the game, in which the Pickles lock themselves into the championship, Coach Dan is confronted by parents of other team members who think he should step down as coach and be replaced by Kai’s dad. This makes him insecure, and this is represented by his inflating. He bottles it up throughout the episode, and his insecurities get worse. By the climax of the episode, he is shown as something akin to a blimp, throwing a temper tantrum as he fears he’s going to lose his life’s work. After Laurie brings him down to earth, he apologizes and sits out the rest of the game, allowing the final inning to play out. It is unknown if the team won or lost, but the episode ends with the team at a pizzeria, all celebrating with some postgame pizza. Kai expresses her feelings of stress to her dad, who profusely apologizes. Yuwen and Taylor make amends and continue life as friends. Frank finds love in an unlikely person- Vanessa, Rochelle’s mother. Laurie decides to quit softball. Everyone gets a happy ending, and life keeps going as normal.
My hopes were insanely low going into this show due to how poorly it was marketed, but after only two episodes, I found myself wanting to watch more. I’m far from the biggest fan of animated shows, but this was a charming watch that blew my expectations out of the water. It’s a riveting watch for all ages, and each and every character has an insane amount of depth to them.
I wasn’t a big fan of Vanessa or Yuwen before their episodes, but after their episodes, I understood why each character acted the way they did. The format of the show was something I hadn’t seen before, with each episode focusing on the same events from a new perspective. It kept the show fresh and fun, and while this will likely be the only thing we get from this universe, I hope Pixar takes notes.
The show definitely got a lot of hate, but I feel the hate was overblown, and the show deserves far more praise. Give it a watch if you have 4 hours to spare on a random day because I found it to be a very fun show to watch.
