Win or Lose centers around a middle school softball team, the Pickles. The story unfolds during the week leading up to their big championship game. Each episode offers a unique perspective, delving into the lives and minds of different team members, coaches, and even their families. It’s a tale of teamwork, growth, and the ups and downs of pursuing victory, both on and off the field. Win or Lose (S1:E1&2) Review Animation intended for adults is nothing new. The Flinstones was the first primetime animated series to grace U.S. televisions with the express intention of targeting that particular audience. However, its combination of tackling universal family dynamics with colorful characters and top-notch vocal talent, all propelled by excellent writing, quickly found family members of all ages yelling, “Yabba dabba doo! Of course, since that time, the genre has become a billion-dollar industry featuring programs running the maturity gamut from deep, existential reflections on the nature of destiny and perseverance (Samurai Jack) to fart and incest jokes (Family Guy). These first two episodes of Win or Lose lean far more into the former’s camp. Episode 1 masterfully captures the soul-crushing anxiety of being the worst member of a sports team, while the second episode delves into the loneliness and longing for connection felt by many single people in their early 30s who are trepidatiously navigating the complex and often emotionally baren lattice of today’s dating continuum (thank God I found my wife during high school when the internet was dial-up and apps were served before dinner). Even though children with good parents who make them go outside and play may be able to connect with the concepts being portrayed, it’s doubtful that many of them will find the tone and story appealing. As for Episode 2, it in no way is something that children 8 to 12 need to be thinking about for a decade or more and is clearly not intended for them. Ultimately, the content isn’t compelling enough to warrant a watch by adults who should be far too busy with life and watching the second season of Severance to spare 20 minutes for Win or Lose. Both episodes feel like the somewhat overly emotional shorts that have been sporadically shown in theaters before a Pixar feature film. They are well done but not particularly profound, usually forgotten quickly after they are over, and certainly not fun enough to bridge the viewer age gap. Win or Lose INAPPROPRIATE ELEMENTS Who is it for? Both are too emotionally mature and dour for little ones while lacking sufficient insightfulness to entice adults. Lordy Lordy The Lord’s name is used in vain at least once: “Oh my God, look who’s driving the car.” I’m Too Sexy In the second episode, as the antagonist swipes his way through a dating app, it lands on a curvy gal in a tiny halter top posing in such a way to accentuate her curves. The antagonist has an avatar in the app who wears nothing except tighty whities. Main Streaming the Occult Episode 1’s antagonist’s mother reads and puts a lot of stock in taro cards. WOKE ELEMENTS What’s Not Woke Episode 1’s antagonist prays to God throughout the episode… usually in a respectful way (see next). The dad is a loving and supportive father. And Her Five Sisters Episode 1 opens with a heartfelt prayer for God’s help that quickly devolves into what appears to be an admission of a tween girl having pleasured herself, for which she quickly apologizes to God and promises never to do it again. This series is rated TV-PG, which is supposedly appropriate for children eight and up. White Girls Can’t Jump The only horrendously bad member of the softball team also happens to be the only white person (girl). Pat? There is a very young boy (I think it’s a boy. I can’t find out for sure, and I can’t even figure out who voices him) in a short scene in both episodes who wears large earrings (they are possibly gauges). Boys in Girl Sports There are probably mixed-gender softball leagues for junior high kids (this is central to the series), but there shouldn’t be. This is the time when the boy’s muscle and bone density begin to outstrip the girls, and hormones are beginning to go insane. It’s healthier for both to have their own athletic spaces by this time. Work Happy, Not Hard Episode 1 focuses on a little girl who is a terrible softball player on a really good team. Everyone, her coach/dad included, is incredibly supportive of her mediocrity. While her level of anxiety is unhealthy for someone so young, her attempts and desire to excel (she works incredibly hard every day at improving) are met not with encouragement and an explanation that she doesn’t need to have a panic attack, but only that she shouldn’t care so much, and it’s more important to have fun. Fly Over Country Diversity Has no one making movies and shows today ever been to a small town in the middle of America? There isn’t that much diversity in them. My graduating class of 230 (the biggest graduating class they’d ever had) had one black person and one person of Mexican descent, and the rest were white. This show has about six white people in it. Pushing Mops and Stool Inexplicably, the male school janitor is a flamboyant Eastern European who appears to wear lipstick. His sexual proclivities are never explicitly stated, but he’s clearly gay. The post Win or Lose first appeared on Worth it or Woke.