Slo Pitch Episodes 3 “A Sloppy Start,” and Episode 4 “Sexy Car Wash,” pick up right where the first two episodes of the show left off and do a great job of providing some depth to the characters we didn’t spend as much time with before, all while moving forward some storylines, like the Joanne and Sasha of it all and Zari’s lack of “fun.”
But the two episodes are mostly about Barb and Boris, providing some much-needed backstory to their tryst, which is very much starting to look like an actual romance instead of just a mistake. But the episodes go beyond that and actually give us a reason to like Barb, the one member of the Brovaries we were perhaps iffy on before. And sure, she’s still, you know, Barb. But now we know there’s something hidden in there, behind the bluster.
Not just personally, but when it comes to Boris too. Transmitting real emotion in mockumentary-style shows always has to be played off as a mistake, or something that catches even the character doing so off guard, because there’s a camera. You know there’s a camera. Slo Pitch does a great job of letting us see behind Barb’s walls and yet not changing who Barb is.
This makes the entire team more interesting, because it showcases how different they all are. We’ve already spent some time with Joanne and her neuroses, and with Sasha and her commitment issues. In these two episodes, we also get to focus on Zari being the responsible one and how, sometimes, that clashes with the rest of the Brovaries. Except, you know, everyone needs a designated driver when they’re drunk. Zari is right! Listen to Zari on this.
Plus, we see a little more of the dynamics between the team. Lee and Ann get to spend some time together, and spin a tall tale of Boris’ nonexistent girlfriend to a very jealous Barb. We also get a bit of Ann and Boris, who make a really good, if chaotic, duo. And though we thankfully don’t get much more of Leanne past a text that just proves why she’s the worst, every other part of the ensemble clicks.
We talk a lot about representation, and this show has that. It has that in the best way: we can have representation in a way that feels organic and not forced, and that respects what each different character brings to the table, from Mel’s deadpan delivery to Sasha’s panicked and yet kinda hilarious reactions to Joanne. But Slo Pitch is, in some ways, also about the experience of being queer and just existing.
More often than not, the queer stories we get are sad. And I get it; a lot of our history has been sad. Those stories need to be told, because entertainment is how we communicate ideas and lessons. But that reality makes Slo Pitch feel even more transgressive, because this is about queer people having fun. Laughing. There’s no drama, not even when Barb continues to try to stay in the “wardrobe” despite clearly wanting to have sex with Boris.
We deserve queer comedy. The women in this show deserve queer comedy, just like how we deserved queer joy and embraced it with Heated Rivalry. And they deserve for that diversity, that queerness, to be something that is celebrated, not something that has to be hidden to fit into some impossible standards that not even Barb can live up to.
If the first two episodes of Slo Pitch were about why a beer slow pitch league really needs the Brovaries, these two are about why even someone like Barb can find something to love in this team. And hey, if Barb can be convinced, what exactly are you waiting for?
New episodes of Slo Pitch release Fridays on Crave.
