I Got It

If you know the backlash this series faced you know why this episode can be seen as special. But besides the small details Kai is just relatable to people who have that parent or those parents who put that weight on you that like Kais element suggest pulls you down, it makes you feel rooted and stuck, and then there's the other side of the coin where your friends / hobbies can make that weight feel light as a feather not holding you down. Just overall from all the scenes with Kais dad not accepting her change, to wanting to become more of a weight in her life, it shows that middle schooler perspective on parents much like Lauries and Rachelles episodes.

I heard about the controversy prior to watching this episode, so viewed with the understanding that Kai was a trans girl. I loved the scenes where you can see her finally start to feel like herself and be confident. This was honestly such a great visual to explain what it feels like to be transgender and what being accepted feels like. While I loved this episode, I'm knocking my review to 9 stars instead of 10, as it would've been improved if they kept the original dialogue in rather than just giving us subtext. Not many characters, especially in children's or all-ages media, explicitly state they are Transgender, and I feel it makes that piece of media extra special when it takes that extra step, especially in this case since that was the original plan that got changed last minute.

Kai's episode was superb. Hands down one of the best in the show. Her learning to become one in the team was sweet and her father ultimately became the reason for her downfall. She gets pushed by her dad to be the best and in doing so she injures herself. The animation of her injury and her feeling down was excellently shown. The injury animation of a scrawled ugly black mess shows her messed up from her injury and her sinking into the ground signifies her falling into a state of not feeling good enough and being swallowed by her surroundings. Literally. The episode ends on a cliff-hanger ending and we don't know whether the Pickles will win the championship or lose in the dying moments.