The Amazing Loser

A musical scavenger hunt is racing through Odyssey, and the prize is a pass to Water World. Barrett and Priscilla surge ahead, decoding clues about sousaphones, sandwiches, and circus music, while Jay drags book-smart Matthew along in a scheme to beat them. Then, at a thrift store, Barrett meets a little girl who can't afford a pair of shoes... and hands over the last two dollars he and Priscilla need to finish the race. When the girl turns out to have a closet full of shoes at home, Barrett is sure he's thrown the contest away for nothing. But Jay's team stumbles at the final clue - guessing George Washington when the answer is a Lincoln penny Jay already spent on a victory gumball - and Barrett and Priscilla win after all. Whit helps Barrett see that choosing to lose for someone else's sake was the real victory all along.

Found on Clanging Cymbals...and the Meaning of God's Love Album 54 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

9 of 12 0687 The Green Ring Conspiracy While Whit's End closes in on the truth behind the counterfeit money, Jason reveals the dangerous secret behind the Stiletto - but the criminals he's infiltrated are beginning to have doubts of their own.

10 of 12 0688 The Green Ring Conspiracy As the counterfeit investigation closes in on the carnival auction, a boy caught between two worlds must decide where his loyalty truly lies.

11 of 12 0689 The Green Ring Conspiracy As the carnival auction reaches its climax, the truth behind the Green Ring counterfeiting operation finally comes to light - but knowing who's responsible may put Odyssey's friends in the most danger yet.

12 of 12 0690 The Green Ring Conspiracy While the police chase decoy trucks, the fate of the Green Ring's counterfeit fortune - and three missing friends - comes down to a forgotten rail line and an old junkyard switch.

0691 Wooton Knows Best When two siblings compete for the single helper spot on a weekend retreat, Wooton must figure out which of them truly has what the job requires.

0692 A Penny Saved After doing the right thing at great personal cost, Penny disappears, and her friends race to find her before she loses everything.

0693 The Amazing Loser A musical scavenger hunt through Odyssey puts Barrett's teamwork - and his priorities - to the test when winning and doing the right thing pull in opposite directions.

0694 Anger Mismanagement When a classmate steals the spotlight on her friend's homecoming float project, Olivia must learn what to do with her anger before it costs her more than she realizes.

0695 Forgiving More...or Less When a school recording project goes sideways and a broken machine goes unconfessed, young Camilla discovers that forgiving others is a lot trickier than it sounds.

0696 You're Two Kind A student's offer to help a struggling classmate is tested when kindness, secrets, and hurt feelings collide over a class project.

0697 A Penny Earned When free-spirited artist Penny can't find a job in Odyssey, her friends scramble to help her find work before she's forced to move back home.

0698 Never for Nothing When Matthew questions why anyone should keep showing kindness to people who don't deserve it, his grandmother-in-town Lucia's story of a childhood friend who believed love is never wasted begins to reveal an unexpected answer.

0699 Emily the Genius When a school aptitude test labels Emily a genius, her family's newfound pride sets her on a path she'll do anything to stay on.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 7 more roles

7 supporting roles

Priscilla Peterson Gatlin Green Hal Snyder Bob Hoose Angie (b) Caitlyn Leone Music Store Clerk Tamara Mark Thrift Store Clerk Actor Unknown Ziborski Sporting Goods Clerk Actor Unknown Angie's Mother Actor Unknown

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Dave Arnold Writer · Director · Executive Producer Kirby Atkins Writer Christopher Diehl Sound Designer Bob Hoose Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Whit hosts a band camp at the little theater, and Eugene begins it with a musical scavenger hunt through Odyssey. The students choose partners: Barrett teams with Priscilla, while Jay claims Matthew as his partner because Matthew has actually read the assigned book of music trivia. The winning pair will receive passes to Water World.

Each clue requires the teams to connect an object or location with a musical term. Barrett and Priscilla take an early lead by identifying the stationary percussion pit and ordering the correct sandwich at Hal's Diner. They follow clues involving a conductor's baton, John Philip Sousa, the sousaphone, and other musical words. Matthew's knowledge keeps him and Jay close behind, while Jay treats every step as another chance to defeat Barrett.

Near the end of the race, both teams reach a thrift store in search of circus music by composer Karl King. Barrett notices a young girl who says she has only one dollar and cannot afford a pair of shoes costing three. He and Priscilla have two dollars left, which they will need to finish the hunt. Barrett chooses to give the money to the girl anyway.

Jay delights in Barrett's apparent mistake and rushes away with Matthew. Then the girl's mother appears and reveals that her daughter already has a closet full of shoes; she simply was not allowed to buy another pair. Barrett feels foolish for being misled and guilty for costing Priscilla the contest. Priscilla assures him that he acted for a good reason.

Whit tells Barrett that doing the right thing reveals his character even when the result is not what he expected. Barrett may have misunderstood the girl's need, but he still chose to put someone else ahead of winning. Only God can see how every good action will turn out, so an imperfect result does not make the loving choice a failure.

Jay and Matthew return first, but their last item is wrong. They bring a dollar bearing George Washington because they think the clue refers to “Hail to the Chief.” The quotation actually concerns “Dixie” and was spoken by Abraham Lincoln, whose picture appears on a penny. Jay received the needed penny as change but spent it on a victory gumball. Barrett and Priscilla still possess their penny and win the hunt after all. Their victory is satisfying, but Whit has already shown Barrett that his willingness to lose for another person's sake was the more important success.