Pitch continues to be one of our favourite shows on television. The fourth episode tackled the All-Star game, and all the drama that comes with it – on and off the field.
Join Fangirlish writers Beata, Lizzie and Lyra as we discuss Pitch episode 4, The Break.
What were your overall thoughts on this episode?
Beata: I’m really starting to feel like a broken record here, but it was amazing. I love how this show is diving into the lives of athletes, and exploring its characters beyond what we see during games. I also like how it’s managing to appeal to sports fans and non sports fans alike by staying accurate without losing us with constant baseball talk.
Lizzie: I love this show. It has yet to disappoint me, and in a way, you could even say it’s getting better and better. It’s certainly rounding up the characters in a way that feels believable, and most importantly, it’s not adding drama for the sake of drama. It all feels earned, real, like the kind of things that happen in real and people deal with – or don’t deal with.
Lyra: I loved that they gave even the smallest of characters a bit of background story to understand where they’re coming from. It’s not just about black and white, yes and no. There are in betweens that you have to adapt to and overcome.. Luckily Ginny is killing it while learning about herself and the type of ballplayer she wants to be. This episode, like the ones before it, are a test to see how far she’s willing to go for her dream.
It looks like Mike Lawson is nearing the end of his baseball career. Are you excited to see where the show takes his character, or sad that he won’t be in the Padres’ locker room anymore?
Beata: Both. At first I was worried about him leaving, because I assumed he would have a much smaller role on the show and I really wanted him to stick around and be a mentor to Ginny. But now that the show has really examined the struggles of finding a second career after sports, I’m convinced that they’ll be able to continue to give him compelling storylines. So while I’ll miss his inspirational speeches in the locker room and on the field, I’m pretty intrigued about where his story is going.
Lizzie: I hope/think he’s got a year or two left in him. I don’t think someone with Mike’s temperament would really retire at the end of the season, but I’m glad that he’s exploring the possibilities, especially because, well, catching is hard. And there’s a new kid in town. So …maybe a move to first is what’s in the future for Mike Lawson. The immediate future, that is.
Lyra: I’m excited that Mike Lawson is getting ready to retire from baseball. For too long the game has been everything to him. It helped destroy his marriage, made him into a bit of a womanizer, and set him on the fast track to delusion town where he thinks that he’s still a young man. Moving on means accepting his limitations and building new ways around them. He’ll come out stronger for it all.
We saw some tension between Blip and Evelyn for the first time all season. What are your thoughts on their relationship?
Beata: I adore them. They’re so awesome, so in love, and even after two kids don’t seem to have lost the spark. And unlike so many TV couples, they’re allowed to have issues and allowed to work through them together in a mature way without ever wavering in their dedication to each other. Their argument in this episode was over a really big issue, and yet each of them was able to understand what the other person was going through and work to fix that problem.
Lizzie: They’re relationship goals, aren’t they? Even when they’re having issues, like they were in this episode. Because couples have problems, arguments, disagreements. It’s how they deal with them that shows what they’re made of. And the fact that Blip could take a step back, see Evelyn’s POV and recognize the point she was trying to make was monumental. They make each other better, stronger, and that’s hard to find on TV these days. Which is why it must be protected, at all costs.
Lyra: I absolutely love that the main romance in this show involves side characters. 95% of the time they leave romance to the main character. But Ginny isn’t in that place right now with so much of her career on the line.. Sorry Bawson fans. Creators switched gears and focused on that 5% to create Blip & Evelyn and I couldn’t be happier for it. They are a warm, steadfast, and badass couple who understands their worth as individuals and together. If anything, I’m cheering for them more than I am anyone else because I believe in the love they share..
We also met Ginny’s mom in this episode. What did you think of her character? Do you think she and Ginny will eventually be able to put aside their differences and make up?
Beata: I really sympathised with her in the flashbacks. She seemed so supportive, always making sure that Ginny had a life outside of baseball, and that she knew her worth didn’t depend on her athletic ability. Considering what her dad was like, I think Ginny really needed that in the life. However, in present day, I didn’t get the impression she was making any effort whatsoever to understand Ginny’s situation, which really got on my nerves. I think there’s a lot to work out between them right now, what with the affair, Ginny finding out about it, and both of them lying to each other. But right now, I’m definitely taking Ginny’s side.
Lizzie: Not if Ginny’s keeping secrets, no. I understand why Ginny didn’t tell her what she saw as a kid at the end of the episode, Ginny was trying to move forward. She was trying to be the bigger person. And maybe in some other kind of relationship it would have worked, but this is her mother we’re talking about. It doesn’t work that way. There’s just too much behind the connection, too many hurts, too much unsaid. They can’t properly heal if Ginny’s not honest about the reason why she chose Dad and baseball.
Lyra: I absolutely loathed her mom in the present. Flashbacks, I could understand her hesitation and frustration. But there was obvious love and protection radiating out of that woman. She’d do anything for her. But the present day version of her mom…lady needs help and wouldn’t offer that kind of unconditional. She twists everything that Ginny says into a power play where she’s the victim. And if there was anything to suggest that she wasn’t a good mother, because honestly we can bet that she wasn’t, then she would get angry and lash out. Ginny deserves better.
The only way that Ginny and her mom will be able to move forward is if Ginny confesses what she saw. No more festering wounds, hiding, or avoiding things. They have to lay their cards out on the table to move forward and become stronger for it. Most importantly they have to listen. Ginny is obviously angry at her mother for lying about her relationship with the guy from Family Matters (I loved that show.) And her mom is blaming the game and her husband for taking her daughter away. Surprise, it was your fault as well. Until the mom knows this they can’t move on together and make it last.
The overarching theme of this episode was balancing career and personal life. How do you think Ginny is doing so far in that department?
Beata: The problem is that Ginny’s dad always made her believe that she had to choose between baseball and personal life. Now that she’s made it to the MLB and her career has gotten so much more important, she’s not focusing on anything else.
Lizzie: I don’t think she has that much of a personal life at this point to balance. She’s made the decision that she wants to be a ballplayer and that takes precedence in her life. Whether she made this decision for the right reasons or not, that’s the decision she’s made. Hopefully, in the future, she can find a way to balance both things. Right now, though, Ginny is just a player. And that’s what she wants to be.
Lyra: Personally I think she’s struggling but moving forward. It’s always been either baseball or her personal life. There was never an in between allowed by her father or where things didn’t go horribly wrong. But what makes this time different is that Ginny’s grown enough to admit that not every person in her life is going to disappoint her. That’s why she keeps trying to find an in between. With this team, this family, I think she can finally find a balance that makes her happy or deprive her of what she needs.
Ginny’s spot in the All-Star game was somewhat controversial, and she didn’t exactly wow people with her performance. Do you still think it was a good idea for the league to name her to the team?
Beata: Look, All-Star nominations are nothing but a gimmick, and they will always be controversial. I don’t know how it works in baseball, but I’m pretty sure the integrity of any All-Star game in any sport was forever lost when the NHL named John Scott its captain last year. The truth is, All-Star nominations are just to sell tickets, and right now the fans want to see Ginny Baker. And you know what? She learned something from it. She saw just how far she had to go.
Lizzie: Yes. All-Star games aren’t about the best players, but about the spectacle. If they were, then we wouldn’t have a representative from every team. So it was absolutely the right call, because Ginny was the biggest story in baseball and if people are going to tune in for the game, then of course they wanted to see her. The League was smart to name her.
Lyra: As Lizzie pointed out to me, baseball and the All-Star game are a business. (I’m an ultra sports newbie who continually asks her questions.) Ginny might not have been the best but she’ll get the most seats sold. And that’s what the owners need right now and will continue to use as her popularity grows. This won’t be the last time that her popularity gets her places.
Pitch airs Thursdays at 9pm on Fox.
