Underdogs and Curses

writing yourself a different story

Well, it’s been a while since I posted in this space, but life, as they say, has gotten in the way.

Which is kind of a dumb expression because I’m pretty sure the only time life doesn’t get in the way is when you’re dead.

So…better start writing!

My topic of choice is something I’ve been mulling over a while now, the underdog. Who doesn’t love an underdog story? Underdog, by definition is “a competitor thought to have little chance of winning,” but it also can mean, “a person who has little status in society.” When an underdog succeeds, you feel an adrenaline rush, and maybe it’s because all of us can relate to being an underdog at some point in our lives. Some of us more than others. And how satisfying when a downtrodden person or team beats the odds.

When I consider underdogs, I think about literature. Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, and of course Harry Potter. Wonky gender politics of the author aside, Harry Potter begins his life as an underdog. An orphan – check. Unloved – check. Living in squalor and/or in a cupboard under the stairs – check!

Recently I’ve been enjoying watching underdogs on TV. I hopscotch from one streaming service to another to find my favorites, and I have to say, Apple TV has quite a few, including the obvious, Ted Lasso, but also my new favorite, Slow Horses, based on the popular book series (which I have yet to read, but have heard good things).

Let’s talk Lasso first. I was super reluctant to get on board the Ted train. I am not a sports fan at all, and the idea of watching a show about soccer, excuse me, football, did not entice. BUT. I am a sucker for good stories, in books and on screen, and so while on a flight with limited options, I reluctantly watched episode one. Like when I say reluctantly, I was audibly annoyed. I made several grunts and more than a few eyerolls at the folksy and kind of annoying main character, and was ready to move on until I got to the very last scene.

Grouchy sexy Ray Kent (I mean, you can watch the show just for him) is a former superstar turned almost has-been is taking a shower and there is this brilliant moment of physical comedy that made me laugh out loud. It was so unexpected and funny, but it also had…heart. Which is a huge draw of the show. I was impressed enough to watch episode two, and by then I was fully hooked. I didn’t just want the team to win, I wanted the characters to succeed and be happy. It doesn’t hurt that many of the leads are attractive, but that’s just a bonus.

Just look at that eyebrow raise.

Then there’s Slow Horses, which is a very different kind of show, zero folksy good-feels humor and all MI5 intrigue. The main characters, the slow horses, are washed up spy characters who are literally sent to pasture at a dirty paper pushing office called Slough House. But, against all odds, and many attempts at their lives, they sometimes prevail, and when they do it’s hard earned and exhilarating. Unlike the mostly upbeat tempo of Lasso, this show can get dark. But like Lasso, it’s the characters who catch at your heartstrings, and you are rooting for them to make it.

And speaking of dark, let’s talk witches. In a way, they are historical underdogs, especially when caught by prissy Puritans and tied to stakes or tossed into wells. The latest Marvel installment (maybe not by the time I publish this) Agatha All Along, is also an underdog story of sorts.

While the main character Agatha is, or was, a powerful witch, she must engage the help of a coven of has-beens, witches who have lost their magic, and/or have lost belief in themselves.

While it may help orient you to have watched the show that came before, Wanda Vision (which is a fantastic portrait of grief, despite its superhero set up), you don’t need to know the details to enjoy the incredible actors and characters of this show. Also, the music! Witches Road!

So good. 

Anyway, there’s a moment a few episodes in where one of the witches says, “I feel lighter,” after a curse has been lifted from her without her knowledge.

This line stuck with me and now I realize why. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about memory. Specifically, how much of it we don’t, can’t, remember. Which in many cases is not a bad thing, but it’s still strange.

I’ve been (happily!) divorced for more than a handful of years now, but recently I tried to remember being married (it was for a writing class, otherwise I would not be trying to recall such things). And it was really hard to remember specifics, like the daily life of it, the scenes – but what I could recall were feelings.

The feelings of dread and anxiety when I suspected my ex was mad at me, the feelings of sadness and hopelessness when I thought about my crumbling marriage, the feeling of being stuck, trapped. The sticky, dark molasses feeling of my daily life.

So, when the witch says, “I feel lighter” I can relate. I feel lighter too! I feel fantastically light, even when I’m exhausted, which is often, and to be clear, it’s not fantastic to be exhausted. But even under the weight of all I have to do for my two kids, which is everything, I can still conjure that feeling of lightness, of confidence, of freedom.

My curse has been lifted, but unlike on the show, I did it myself. On purpose. I was the underdog in my own life, but I wrote myself a different story.

What is your favorite underdog story? Do you consider yourself an underdog?