If You Can't Be an Athlete, Be an Athletic Supporter

Episode Information

Season	Episode
1	4

Airdate

April 20, 2023

Written by

Christina Nieves

Directed by

Maria Jamora

Episode Guide

Synopsis[]

The administration is determined to squash the brewing teenage rebellion at Rydell. A new scandal galvanizes Olivia to take action, but causes Jane to consider giving up.

Plot[]

Nancy, Cynthia, Jane, and Olivia hung out in Jane's room, where Cynthia showed Jane the newest publication of The Rydell Review, which blamed the Pink Ladies for Buddy's broken arm. Olivia was immersed in her book while Cynthia and Nancy complained about football. Nancy was frustrated because the football team got new “costumes” each year while she had to work with Depression-era ones for the school play. The trio turned to a quiet Olivia, who wasn't surprised they were blamed for everything again. Cynthia knew the rag was run by Mr. Daniels, Olivia's ex, so they asked her what happened between the two. Olivia told them how they fell in love before he turned on her. The girls knew he didn't deserve her and they laid on the bed together and laughed over their respective fantasies of Mr. Daniels' demise.

Hazel and Buddy discussed extraterrestrials on their way up the school stairwell. He didn't believe in them while she did. When they got to the hallway, Buddy met with his friends while Hazel stood awkwardly in front of them before she passed by. The Pink Ladies walked into school and greeted Hazel, who ran off without a word. The girls thought everyone hated them and mused over their short-lived popularity. Susan saw them and loudly asked why Jane broke his throwing arm as she hung onto it. He didn't want pity votes but she wouldn't take no for an answer and pulled him along by his broken arm. Richie greeted Jane but she wasn't chipper as everyone blamed her for everything. He knew that feeling well, and she wanted to remind people why they didn't want to vote for Buddy. The Pink Ladies talked her out of it, as Cynthia knew it was classless, while Olivia ordered her to do nothing. They bumped into Miss. McGee and Dot mocked “Calamity Jane” on her way past. McGee relayed Principal Nicholson's decree that they were no longer permitted to wear gang-affiliated attire at school, which meant they had to fork over their jackets. Nancy struggled to get rid of hers and McGee had a job for her that required discretion.

McGee led Nancy to the football locker room and to a closet where an old mascot costume resided. She wanted Nancy to be Rowdy at the game that night, hooves that McGee once filled. Nancy leveraged her role as Rowdy to get money for new costumes, and the VP agreed but reminded her that Rowdy's true identity must stay secret. The Thespians arrived at the gymnasium where McGee gave Mr. Vaughan pamphlets for a new play. He was no longer permitted to do his production of Bertolt Brecht's play, “Mother Courage”, because of The Pink Ladies' actions being too rebellious. They now had to perform “Romeo and Juliet”. Cynthia tried to cheer up her peers as some of the roles didn't seem bad but learned that everyone already knew who they would play. Lydia as Juliet, Arthur as Romeo, and Floyd as Mercutio, while the rest would be peasants.

Rosemary read her paper for history class when Gil leaned over to ask Olivia what happened to her jacket. She told him not to worry about it and her pencil got flung onto the floor. When she bent to pick it up, the boys in the class whistled and snickered. Gil smacked Potato with a book as punishment. Olivia volunteered to read her paper next, but Mr. Ford refused as she couldn't present wearing an inappropriate outfit. She pointed out that Polly wore the same one, but Ford claimed Olivia didn't wear it “in the same way” and that it was "distracting to the boys.” Fed up with the sexism, Olivia sang out her frustrations in “Sorry to Distract”. She brought up strong, famous female historical figures that made a difference in the world, then ended her empowerment with the boys in a crumpled heap around the desk.

Olivia stormed into The Rydell Review to complain to Mr. Daniels about being kicked out of class. She blamed their biased reports, though he refused to print a retraction as they were too busy. She wanted to write a response at least, and a student in the back shouted that she was in as they needed the help. Another needed 400 words in 20 minutes, so Oliva took her seat and began to write.

By the afternoon, the entire class read Olivia's scathing response. They loved the response and praised the Pink Ladies in their own ways. Jane thanked Olivia for saying everything she couldn't. Miss. McGee responded on the intercom that, in the interest of impartiality, they would institute a brand-new dress code for everyone. Boys will be required to wear long-sleeved button-up shirts, no sneakers, no T-shirts, no dungarees. Ladies will be required to wear skirts below the knee and shirts up to the neck. No tight clothing or loud colors. Most importantly, to end divisions, they banned jackets. The class quickly turned on Jane, with even Gil annoyed.

The girl's skirts were measured the next day and their legs pinched for tights. The Socs confronted the Pink Ladies. Rosemary told the girls to go “straight to heck” as she couldn't wear her boyfriend's letterman jacket. The band kids were angered that they couldn't play Ellington because it might “inspire further delinquency”. The Thespians glared at Cynthia as she walked past. Jane thought Olivia was right about not fighting anymore and walked off. She found the T-Birds in the stairwell, and Richie tried to hide from her. She thought he made a nice square and they flirted. She offered to cut class so he could teach her how to do nothing. He snapped his fingers and Gil gave him the car keys. The pair snuck out of the school.

Olivia walked in on Miss. McGee's argument with Mr. Daniels. She was ready to write a new piece but he refused, as the paper wasn't her bullhorn. He gave her a new assignment on why Rydell would beat the Titans at the game tonight. She didn't want to quit the club, so she took a seat at a typewriter.

Jane and Richie hung out at the park, though Jane couldn't unwind because of her nerves and anxieties. Richie helped her calm down, not to care about everything so much, and they sang their troubles away in “Carelessly”. They danced through the park, went on the swings and the roundabout, then ended their romantic endeavor with a kiss.

Coach Wade spoke to the football players about the game that night. He gave the quarterback position to Wally, which made Rosemary scream with glee. In the bleachers, Cynthia urged the Thespians to brace the auditions and go for the parts they wanted without Lydia's insight. She asked Hazel to join the auditions, but the girl declined as she wasn't the theater type. Shy Guy asked for a pamphlet and Cynthia happily gave him one - she had an idea for him. Hazel sat next to Buddy on the bleachers to ask if he wanted to walk home together, but he wanted to stay. She asked if he wanted to join the theater with her, and Cynthia thought it was a splendid idea. She still hated him but had bigger fish to fry.

Olivia struggled to write and found the bookmark Mr. Daniels wrote to her in her purse. She was inspired to write a different piece, this one titled “The Rydell Blame Game.” Hazel and Buddy arrived at the theater to audition. Buddy wanted Hazel to audition for Juliet. The Thespians warmed up and Lydia confronted Alice about putting her name down for Juliet, and Geraldine revealed Cynthia helped them prepare. Everyone watched the auditions and Lydia smirked at the failure of her classmates. Lydia was flustered in her audition and Cynthia crossed her legs happily and then auditioned perfectly for Mercutio.

Richie and Jane ate lunch at the Frosty Palace. He distracted her with algebra while he stole a Socs wallet to pay for food. He wanted to hear her dreams, and she narrowed it down to doctor, professor, senator, and/or first woman on the supreme court. He wanted to go to India to see what there was to see. He wanted to travel all around the world and pulled her out to dance. She thought it was wonderful he wanted to travel, but he didn't want to join the military, and never gave much thought to college. He wasn't serious about his dream, but she was and told her to get off his back. She had homework to do and they planned to meet up at the game. She stormed off while Richie combed his hair.

Buddy and Hazel read for Juliet until she froze and ran off the stage in fright. Mr. Vaughan called Alice forth to read with Buddy. The Thespians waited anxiously while Mr. Vaughan pinned up the cast announcement. Buddy apologized to Hazel but she was fine and wished him luck. The Thespians learned they didn't get the roles they wanted, including Lydia, who was cast as the nurse. Cynthia was cast as Juliet and Lydia once again corrected her pronunciation of Mercutio, while Mr. Vaughan lauded himself for casting a tomboy Juliet and maimed Romeo. Cynthia looked across the room at Lydia, who walked off upset. Olivia submitted her paper for The Rydell Review with Mr. Daniels' forged signature on the bottom.

During the game, Miss. McGee took the students' jackets, flasks, bullhorns, and whistles. She collected the jackets in a bin. The T-Birds hopped a wall to get into the game. Richie looked over to Jane who averted her eyes. Nancy, in the Rowdy gear, walked onto the field and saw their love for the mascot. She did a little dance before the game. Everyone chanted Wally's name and Rosemary told the referee who he was. He was tackled shortly after the snap and the Titans scored a touchdown. The T-Birds booed loudly and drank from their flask, while Nancy tried to keep everyone's spirits high as the Rangers lost. McGee helped Nancy escape the pelt of food from the stands.

Olivia learned from two students that her piece was thrown out when Mr. Daniels saw his forged signature. The whole paper had to be thrown out to protect the sanctity of the paper. She confronted him about it and got angry when he claimed to be her teacher. They were more than that, and he pulled her aside to agree. Though it can't happen again, and his fiancee Barbara arrived a few moments later to hang on his arm. She asked if Leonard was the most handsome teacher at Rydell, and Olivia forced a smile.

The Rangers were down hard and Wally confided in Rowdy about how no one benched Buddy when he did badly. Wally felt he was good for one thing at this school and just flat-lined it. She put a hoof on his back and admitted it wasn't in his head. He recognized her voice as Nancy, but she insisted on no names. This was hard because he was popular, but he would get used to it. Kids used to throw rocks at her and called her slurs because they blamed her for World War II. After her pep talk, Nancy tackled one of the players and unmasked herself while the cheerleaders loudly booed. The Pink Ladies were shocked to see their friend, while Wally asked to be put back in and scored the first touchdown. Nancy stole a lemonade while Jane and Cynthia praised her for the theatrics, which Nancy insisted never happened. Oliva planned to leave as she was an idiot for thinking Rydell could change. She thought her article made a difference until Mr. Daniels threw it out. It made a difference to Jane, as it made her feel less alone. They decided to get everyone's attention differently.

The Pink Ladies made a scene at the track but no one would listen. Nancy stole a megaphone from the cheerleaders while Cynthia corralled Susan. Olivia was tired of how the administration pitted them against each other, and took a megaphone to rile up the student body in “Pointing Fingers”. The T-Birds and band joined in first, slowly followed by the rest of the students. Gil stole the basket full of jackets and dispersed the jackets out to everyone. They ended their number with a march to Vice Principal McGee and Principal Nicholson and ended with a flip of their middle fingers.

The football team and Wally returned to Frosty Palace where the cheerleaders were thrilled to have lost by only a little, which is the best they've ever done. Hazel found Buddy to tell him her plan to do props so they could walk home together. He wasn't sure he'd do the play as he wasn't a thespian, and Susan called him over. Hazel wasn't a thespian either but thought they could be more than one thing. She offered to run lines with him so he agreed. The Pink Ladies arrived at the restaurant, thrilled with themselves. Richie hurried over to Jane and they both apologized for the day while their friends laughed. A glare from each set them in their places. He liked that she was a dog with a bone, and thought being different was what made it fun. They both needed a little of what the other had. He offered to cut class tomorrow to explore their differences, but she hated missing class. But she has hall monitoring tomorrow and slipped him a hall pass that he could return to her in the broom closet during the second period. He walked away suave and she imitated his signature comb move. He showed off the hall pass to the T-Birds who cheered, while the girls questioned where their hall passes were. She claimed she ran out.

The Pink Ladies entered the Frosty Palace where everyone cheered and clapped for them. Dot did a dramatic bowing while people chanted “Vote pink”. Wally put his hand on Nancy's shoulder as he passed, and the girls grinned. Olivia was starting to like school.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Marisa Davila as Jane Facciano
Cheyenne Isabel Wells as Olivia Valdovinos
Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia Zdunowski
Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy Nakagawa
Shanel Bailey as Hazel Robertson
Johnathan Nieves as Richie Valdovinos
Jason Schmidt as Buddy Aldridge
Maxwell Whittington-Cooper as Wally
Jackie Hoffman Assistant Principal McGee
Madison Thompson as Susan St. Clair

Guest Starring[]

Nicholas McDonough as Gil
Maximo Salas as Shy Guy
Alexis Sides as Potato
Josette Halpert as Dot
Charlotte Kavanagh as Rosemary
Dylan Sloane as Neil
Niamh Wilson as Lydia
Chris McNally as Leonard Daniels
Danny Mac as Jonathan Bateson
Marc Senior as Mr. Vaughan

Co-Starring[]

John Prowse as Coach Wade
Eva Tavares as Barbara
Scott Swan as Mr. Ford
Abbygale Chung as Lucille
Lola Clare as Pearl
Zane Clifford as Fred
Peter D'Souza as Tommy
Summer Lynn Gillespie as Polly
Kallie Hu as Peg
Kenya Jordan as Virginia
CJ Damaso as Maria
Andrew Kyrzyk as PR
Sarah Formosa as Edith
Matt Kennedy as Orson
Victor Lau as Floyd
Dominique Mailloux as Ellen
Julien Naud as Arthur
Ryan McEwen as Roy
Cole Neumeier as Bill
Emilee Nimetz as Alice
Sam Scherzer as Gus
Aidan Springle as Ernie
Zac Vran as Irving
Rachael Withers as Geraldine
Shane Simpson as Distracted Dancer #1
Zachary Burke as Distracted Dancer #2

Soundtrack[]

Title	Performer	Notes
(It's No) Sin	Dorsey Burnette	The record played while the Pink Ladies hung out in Jane's room
Sorry to Distract	Cheyenne Isabel Wells	Olivia was chastised as her outfit "distracted" the boys in her class
Carelessly	Marisa Davila & Johnathan Nieves	Jane and Richie had a date in the park
Pointing Fingers	The Pink Ladies, T-Birds, and Socs	The student body rebelled against the new dress code

Notes and Trivia[]

This episode's title is a quote from Principal McGee in the 1978 film, Grease, when she's giving her morning announcements.

Gallery[]

Promotional[]

Screencaps[]

All Screenshots are courtesy of Screencapped.net. For a complete image set, see their gallery.