Review: Teenage Euthanasia “A League Of His Own”

Overview:

Annie’s efforts to bond with Uncle Pete through organized baseball turns into an awkward exercise in displacement. Annie struggles to reconcile with her self-worth and why her company isn’t enough for her uncle, while Pete gets caught up in the age-old question of what differentiates a dad from a coach. A budding team of muscle-bound boys forces Pete to look inward and Annie to act out.

Meanwhile, outside of the baseball diamond, Trophy finds herself enamored with someone who might be the perfect match. This aloof bachelor could be her ticket to an undead life of happiness. She just needs to break the news that she’s lacking certain basic facilities–-like a pulse. 

Our Take:

Uncle Pete is a fascinating figure who has good intentions, but a lifetime of neglect and codling (a vicious combination) has left him eternally fragile. Pete often has to rise to the occasion and step in as Annie’s father figure whenever Trophy is absent, and yet he finds himself impossibly caught up in the arbitrary differences between an uncle and a father. Pete proudly wears his uncle status like a badge of honor. However, any fatherly duties cause him to shrink in terror like a boy without a dad. The semantics of these roles, of course, aren’t important and Pete is ultimately doing a good job as long as he’s there for his family. However, “A League of His Own” teaches Pete that “uncle” and “father” are arbitrary titles that aren’t as significant as the actions behind them. 

“A League of His Own” embraces Teenage Euthanasia’s traditional themes, albeit in a way that breaks free from the constricting formula that typically defines the show’s plotting. After a season full of Annie/Trophy and Baba/Pete stories, this entry doesn’t even have Annie and Trophy interact. This restraint is long overdue after a handful of Teenage Euthanasia two-hander stories that unpack the toxic familial dynamics between these duos. “A League of His Own” instead breaks down a whole other type of unhealthy relationship through Annie’s desperate desire to connect with Uncle Pete while he obliviously fails to read her signals and give her what she needs. 

The bang of the bat! The cheers of the crowd! The rhythmic crunch of peanuts and Cracker Jacks! The festering ulcers and self-doubt! These are the immortal sounds of baseball, as seen through the warped lens of Teenage Euthanasia. Baseball is a sweet and simple idea to explore teamwork and trust that’s frequently turned to in sitcoms. Most of the time this recreational sport doesn’t shift into a traumatic exercise for everyone involved, but that’s Teenage Euthanasia’s secret ingredient. The push and pull of being a good uncle versus being a good coach tears Uncle Pete apart and truly tests his mettle. He wrestles with victory over emotional honesty, which becomes a trying journey for Pete. 

Teenage Euthanasia’s misguided romance and competitive sports rivalry are storylines that thematically complement each other. However, “A League of His Own” cleverly turns to the device of a sports color commentator to provide play-by-play narration over Trophy’s budding romance with VelJohnstone. It’s a smart way to connect these dots that gives the episode’s final act a motivated driving force and focus that’s somewhat absent during the episode’s beginning.

Monique Moses, who previously penned this season’s “Radio Frankenstein,” turns in another sharp script with “A League of His Own.” This is an inherently endearing installment, but there are some really dark jokes in “A League of His Own” that slip through these silly stories, whether it’s a confirmation that the baseball little-league isn’t beyond the point of hiring pedophiles, the name of Pete’s team being the Cadavers, the sight of a man and dog on a romantic date together, or the abject sadness that consumes many of the widowers who are at Baba’s mixers. Moses puts her sketch comedy experience to work with some wild premises that develop in surprising, satisfying ways. 

“A League of His Own” is a sweet Teenage Euthanasia about family bonding and finding one’s team. Pete isn’t the sharpest member in the Euthanasia family, but even he understands that a biological family of lovers is better than a fabricated family of winners. There’s a strong case to be made for why this is not only one of the better Uncle Pete and Annie episodes, but also a standout Trophy installment that finds strength in removing these characters from their usual patterns. “A League of His Own” builds to one of the series’ strongest conclusions that’s built upon raw emotions and it’s comforting to see a baseball episode not rely upon some of the sports’ expected trappings like steroids, cheating, or gender dynamics. It’s fun and freeing episodes like this that prove that Teenage Euthanasia still has plenty to say and that this odd comedy can be at its best when it takes risks for the sake of developing its voice and finding new ways to get weird and welcoming. 

Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth would be proud. Or horrified. I don’t know if they liked cartoons.