‘A League of Their Own’ – ‘Find The Gap’ – Review

It’s time to hit fast from home plate because Episode Two of A League of Their Own, ‘Find The Gap’ has arrived and this story is moving fast.

Max and Clance prepare for Clance’s housewarming party. But Max has her eye on the prize and asks Gary for an unusual favour. Meanwhile, the Peaches meet their coach, Dove Porter, but stumble through the league’s Charm School. Carson struggles to find how to react to her new connection with Greta.

We’re moving quickly in A League of Their Own, and the rosters are set and the Rockford Peaches are readying for their first match. But with dreams of professional baseball in her sights, Carson Shaw (Abbi Jacobson) and her teammates might have just forgotten what time they’re in and their stance as athletes is not as much in their hands as they think.

While the Peaches consider themselves athletes first, for their manager Morris Baker (Kevin Dunn), they’re essentially nothing more than a gimmick. Trotted out in matching pink uniforms, with full skirts, instead of trousers, the Peaches are brought under the whims of celebrity stylist and make-up entrepreneur Vivienne Hughes (Nancy Lenehan) who expresses that they’re to be ladylike in every way possible. And plenty of unintentional laughs follow as they are put through ‘Charm School’.

Styled and manicured, the Peaches are made out to appear as a bunch of baseball bombshells and it goes against everything that their dreams of being professional athletes stand for. This conflict between the players and the management leads to plenty of drama on-screen, and there’s also the ever-growing threat that they can be cut from the team at any moment. All of this collective drama pulls you deeper into the narrative of A League of Their Own, and while they might have gone out swinging its clear that the Peaches are the underdog team and they’ve got a lot of work to put in if they want to make it in the big leagues.

While Carson is facing her difficulties with the Peaches, Max Chapman (Chanté Adams) is not about to give up on her dreams of baseball stardom and may have found a way onto the field. She also finds herself placed amid a wild goose chase in support of her best friend, and this produces more laughs, but also a serious portrait of the segregation of the era. This moment is also important for ‘Find The Gap’ as we see the distinct narratives of Carson and Max come together and it makes me think that these two are going to bump into each other a lot more as the season moves ahead.

‘Find the Gap’ also introduces audiences to another key character in the series, the Peaches coach Dove Porter played by the wonderful Nick Offerman and his trademark dry wit is on full display as Dove. As a down-on-his-luck former player, this is Dove’s last chance to have anything to do with baseball and while he comes off as a likeable character he also has his reasons for taking the job and this doesn’t quite jell with Carson. It’ll be very interesting to see what happens next with Carson, Dove and the Peaches, but as they move forward into the season I’m certain it will get a lot more interesting.

A League of Their Own has us hooked, and we’re excited to see what moves the Rockford Peaches will make next.

A League of Their Own is currently streaming on Prime Video.

Image: Prime Video