Too Pure to Be Pink

Episode Information

Season	Episode
1	2

Airdate

April 6, 2023

Written by

Alethea Jones

Directed by

Mackenzie Dohr

Episode Guide

Synopsis[]

A moral panic drives Jane and her friends to create their own narrative and name, and The Pink Ladies “girl gang” is officially formed.

Plot[]

The mothers of Rydell began a phone tree where they spread the news about a new girl gang at Rydell. They sang about their horrors, disbelief, and disapproval in “Girl Gang”. The phones at Vice Principal McGee's office wouldn't stop ringing. She tried to call Jane, Olivia, Nancy, and Cynthia's parents to discuss punishment. Jane pretended to be on the phone with a classmate while Olivia disconnected and hid the receiver, and Nancy answered at the Frosty Palace at her busy parents' request and then hung up. Cynthia merely unplugged the phone. Unfortunately, Jane didn't answer the phone in time, and her mother answered.

Jane, Olivia, and Nancy's parents reprimanded them with varied degrees of punishment. Cynthia and her father laughed on the couch as they watched TV. The Rydell Review wrote an article titled “GIRL GANG, BARES ALL” with a picture of the girls mooning.

The girls read The Rydell Review outside the school while the boys catcalled them. Jane was worried as the article labeled them communists, but Nancy assured her it was great press that worked perfectly with their new jackets. She unveiled the prototype - a black leather jacket with the name Black Widows. Cynthia was the only one in support, and Jane noted it wouldn't deter people's belief they were vicious vixens, so Nancy scrapped the idea. They headed inside where the T-Birds sarcastically knelt to a hall monitor, then blocked the girls from passing through. Gil demanded which one of them would pay for a new paint job for his car. They laughed him off but he insisted until Olivia said she'd pay for it, and he told her that he'd get it. Shy Guy complimented Cynthia for her headline while Potato mocked the girl gang. Everyone dispersed except Richie and Jane. He acknowledged that what she said took guts - and it wasn't a bad show, either. Gil laughed then led Potato and Shy Guy down the hall to knock books out of people's hands and run from hall monitors. They passed Susan, who asked Buddy if he liked the voting posters she hung for him. Dot invited them to a party at her house after school. She ran into a student and slipped, but Potato caught her and bestowed sweet words. Rosemary and Lucille yelled him off then ushered Dot away. Susan told Buddy to pick her up at 8 for the party, but he worried people would get the wrong idea since they weren't back together.

Olivia, Cynthia, Jane, and Nancy went to Miss. McGee's office to receive their punishments. Cynthia tried to bargain but McGee was unamused. Children were traumatized, parents called for their heads, and they created a public crisis. The school believed in rehabilitation, so detention every day that semester should make them act like ladies. The incident would also be on their permanent records that colleges examined. As they left, Cynthia tried to make Jane feel better, but she was worried about not getting into college now. It's all she ever wanted. The girls left her alone and she sang about her frustrations and goals in “I Want More”. She saw a poster for Buddy where he was advertised as “The Good Guy”. Buddy walked over but she was still mad at him because he killed her reputation. He should be worried that he won't get into college now and wanted him to tell everyone he lied. She walked off with the threat that she might tell everyone if he won't.

Jane practiced her speech in front of her detention mates - the T-Birds. Gil called it shrill, Shy Guy thought she sounded jealous, and Potato wasn't paying attention. Richie liked it but he didn't vote. She sat down with Olivia, Cynthia, and Nancy to discuss new jacket and name ideas. Cynthia drew a line at pink so the girls redirected to find a way to expose Buddy. Miss McGee entered and reprimanded the girls for their behavior but didn't bother with the boys. Cynthia faked severe stomach pain so the others could get out. Olivia went through the student records, though Buddy's was pristine. She then went through her file and found Mr. Daniels' comments regarding the incident between them, and that he framed her and claimed she misconstrued his attempts to help her as a romantic interest. Meanwhile, Jane tried to get into Buddy's locker and Richie startled her to ask if she wanted a key.

Nancy snuck into the boy's locker room and was forced to hide in a stall when the team arrived. The boys asked who was going to Dot's party and laughed about going to second base with their girlfriends. Neil suggested Buddy take Jane instead of Susan, who he called “Fort Knox”. Meanwhile, Richie led Jane to the principal's office as she tried to convince him she didn't usually do this type of thing. He took her hand and led her into the office where he grabbed the keys. Principal Nicholson arrived so Richie and Jane hid behind his door.

Olivia stormed into Mr. Daniels' office to confront him. He tried to justify his actions then said he didn't lie, and that some students misconstrue teachers' attempts to help them. She knew she didn't because he held her after class, and gave her books, and poetry, but he denied it all and asked her to leave.

Principal Nicholson listened to the radio and then answered a call from the Superintendent, and blamed Miss McGee for the missing budgets. He hurried out and closed his door behind him. Richie and Jane lingered for a moment until she held up the keys and left. In the nursing office, McGee tried to diagnose Cynthia's pain but couldn't figure it out. The bell rang and Cynthia suddenly felt much better, thanked her, and promised to see her in detention. McGee noticed her open file drawer and then saw Nancy leave the boy's locker room. In the hall, Jane and Richie tried to open Buddy's locker to no avail. He admitted they might be the classroom keys. He spun her around, removed her barrette, and then guided her hand to pick the lock. Buddy's locker was barren except for a picture of a pro-MLB player, a schedule for the soup kitchen, a birthday card, a non-overdue library book, and a note that Richie found addressed to Jane. She walked off and he stole the library book, locked the locker, and mused that the book was overdue now.

Jane, Olivia, Nancy, and Cynthia went to the Frosty Palace where Jane read the letter she found in Buddy's locker. He admitted to having sex with Susan among other socially taboo subjects. It was the perfect ammunition for Jane to get her revenge and planned to blackmail him at Dot's party. That night, the Socs party was crashed by the T-Birds and the four girls. Dot allowed them to stay and gave the house rules to everyone. Gil called the house fat, but Potato thought it looked smart. Dot's father was the colonel from Colonel Candy, which made her the candy princess.

The party drudged on so Olivia encouraged Jane to talk with Buddy. Neil called for everyone to gather to spin the bottle. Cynthia took control of the game as the game master. Different people kissed with varied degrees of intensity. Jane spun and it landed on both Buddy and Richie, so Cynthia ruled Chef's choice. She picked Buddy for seven minutes in heaven, which angered Susan, but Cynthia allowed it. They went into the closet and she stopped him from kissing her. She blackmailed him to drop out with the letter, but he couldn't because his dad wanted to run for mayor and have a family of leaders. Gil spun the bottle and landed on Olivia, but Cynthia pantsed him before they could kiss. He lashed out at her for not acting like a normal girl. She stormed out and Richie decided it was time to split. Olivia waited for Jane while Nancy emerged from behind the couch, glad the game was over. In the closet, Buddy wanted to keep their campaigns but she didn't think that was fair. His future wasn't more important than hers. He didn't think she would show the letter, but she was not sure he knew her at all. Jane stormed into the living room just as Wally and Rosemary emerged with a crass remark from Fred, followed by a boy and Peg who were timed, then Neil and a drunk Susan. Jane opened the letter but saw the girls that were mocked for their exploits, which included Susan and decided not to go through with it.

Olivia and Nancy chased after Jane. She couldn't expose the bastard because he wouldn't go down, it'd be Susan. Cynthia didn't understand them because she'd punch Buddy out if he did that to her. As the girls left they mentioned the boys they wanted to avoid, which made Nancy groan. She wanted to have fun that night but all they did was obsess over stupid boys. Cynthia wanted to impress the T-Birds - boys, and she admitted it was true because she was too girl to be one of the boys and too boy to be one of the girls. Olivia assumed Nancy was upset over the game because she hadn't kissed a boy before, but Nancy had kissed every boy at the party several times back in junior high. She was annoyed that everyone took boys so seriously. She wanted them to imagine how fun the party would have been if they could go back and do it all in a “World Without Boys”.

The girls then saw three of the boys spike the punch with alcohol and plot revenge. Olivia led them into Dot's father's study, a previously off-limits room, where Jane waited on the desk posed sensually. She used her barrette to pick the lock on the liquor cabinet, and the duo tricked the boys into drinking. They excused themselves momentarily, but Olivia used her girl scouts skills to secure the door which trapped the boys downstairs. Cynthia, Nancy, Olivia, and Jane mocked them as the castor oil Cynthia slipped into the liquor took effect. They wanted them to know what it felt like to have no control over their bodies because someone spiked their drinks, as they had done to the punch.

The girls walked home, pleased with their prank. They laughed over the nickname the boys called them, The Pinko Tramps, which could work as a jacket. Everyone thought they were such bad girls, but Cynthia mocked McGee's term “ladies”. Jane stopped suddenly and said The Pink Ladies. They all turned to Cynthia who agreed to consider it on a trial basis. Jane had begun to realize that she had to do bad to do good, which Olivia thought was a great campaign slogan for the leader of a girl gang. Jane removed her barrette and asked if they wanted to stop by the school.

In the morning, McGee found Buddy's poster had been defaced with “Vote Pink” paint. She pulled them into her office once again. She had too much to do without the need to keep an eye on them after school, so she relinquished them from detention. However, she would still punish them. Cynthia would join the thespians to learn to act like a lady because of her flair for theatrics yesterday. Olivia enjoyed filing so she was McGee's new office assistant and pointed to a mountain of files. Jane roamed the halls yesterday so McGee made her a hall monitor. McGee ran out of jobs for Nancy, so she would be on-call for whatever job McGee needed to be done. Once dismissed, Nancy held up her giant bag to the girls.

Susan tried to scrub the “Vote Pink” graffiti off Buddy's poster, but he assured her that she didn't need to do that. He heard about the punch incident last night and thought the guys were jerks. She called him one of the good ones. He wasn't in the place for a girlfriend but asked her to be his campaign manager. The hall doors opened and Susan's mouth dropped, followed by shocked murmurs from the student body. Jane, Olivia, Nancy, and Cynthia strutted down the hall in their pink jackets. Cynthia snubbed the T-Birds, Olivia didn't glance at Mr. Daniels, Jane smirked at Buddy, and Nancy pushed a smiling Richie out of the way. He combed back his hair and watched the girls strut down the hall, their new name visible on the backs - The Pink Ladies.

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 (Credit only)
Johnathan Nieves as Richie Valdovinos
Jason Schmidt as Buddy Aldridge
Madison Thompson as Susan St. Clair
Maxwell Whittington-Cooper as Wally Winslow
Jackie Hoffman Assistant Principal McGee

Guest Starring[]

Nicholas McDonough as Gil
Maximi Salas as Shy Guy
Alexis Sides as Potato
Josette Halpert as Dot
Charlotte Kavanagh as Rosemary
Ty Wood as Trip
Dylan Sloane as Neil
Danny Mac as Principal Nicholson
Chris McNally as Leonard Daniels
Fiona Vroom as Tippy
Madison Elizabeth Lagares as Fran Facciano
Vivian Marie Lamolli as Kitty Facciano
David Alpay as Vincent Facciano
Kevan Ohtsji as Mr. Nakagawa
Mayumi Yoshida as Mrs. Nakagawa
Juana Lerma Juarez as Irene Valdovinos
Michael Scholar, Jr. as Raul Valdovinos

Co-Starring[]

Kallie Hu as Peg
Lola Clare as Pearl
Zane Clifford as Fred
Sarah Formosa as Edith
Dominique Mailloux as Ellen
Zac Vran as Irving
CJ Damaso as Maria
Julien Naud as Maria
Julien Naud as Arthur
Victor Lau as Floyd
Aidan Springle as Ernie
Kenya Jordan as Virginia
Rachael Withers as Geraldine
Peter D'Souza as Tommy
Jocelyn Gauthier as Mary (Mom #1)
Emma Pedersen as Dee (Mom #2)
Courtney Van Wirdum as Helen (Mom #3)
Jana Berengel as Ruth (Mom #4)
Lachlan Smith as Green Suit Dancer #1
Kane Nelson as Green Suit Dancer #2
Tessa Tamura as Leg Double Dancer

Soundtrack[]

Title	Performer	Notes
Girl Gang	Mothers of Rydell	The mothers of the town discussed the girl gang at Rydell
I Want More	Marisa Davila	After McGee gave punishments, Jane expressed her frustrations and dream of going to college
When You Are Near Me	Nora Kovach	Susan put on the record and reminded Buddy it was their song
Breaking Up the House	Tiny Bradshaw	The T-Birds and Pink Ladies crash the Socs party
Kiss of Fire	Georgia Gibbs	The teens played spin the bottle at Dot's party
World Without Boys	Cast ensemble	Nancy led the song after the sleepover so the girls could imagine how much fun they could of had without boys there

Notes and Trivia[]

This episode's title was a line by Betty Rizzo in the 1978 film, Grease.
The Rydell Review newspaper titled, "GIRL GANG BARES ALL" is dated Tuesday, September 10, 1954. In real life, the date was a Friday.
- The section of the newspaper not read by Jane said, "where she attempted to rally the student body around inclusivity. Following her speech, Miss Facciano was endorsed by fellow students, Olivia Valdovinos, Cynthia Zdunowski and Nancy Nakagawa where all three girls joined Jane up on stage. The question is, was what they were about to do or more accurately, reveal, planned? The vicious vixens performed vulgar acts before violently vacating the premises. Even more shocking were the ideas Miss Facciano espoused in her manifesto-like speech. While there were a few trouble making students who yelled out some support for the four on stage the majority of the students did not. Then in front of the whole student body, teachers and staff, each one of these girls proceeded to yank down their skirts one at a time. Shocking cannot even describe what was witnessed. With that, one of them shouted "Vote for Jane! Make Rydell fun for everyone!" Then they ran off the stage and out the doors of the school [illegible] right in front of Assistant.