We're Gonna Rule the School

Episode Information

Season	Episode
1	1

Airdate

April 6, 2023

Written by

Annabel Oakes

Directed by

Alethea Jones

Episode Guide

Synopsis[]

Four outcasts including a brainiac student, a scandal-ridden cynic, a tomboy, and a fashion maven, navigate the first day of junior year at Rydell High.

Plot Summary[]

Jane Facciano and Buddy Aldridge made out in his car parked at a lookout spot. Jane thanked Buddy for the best summer of her life but understood that he was popular and she wasn't. She wanted this year to be different and announced her plan to run for student council. When he won student president, they would be a team again, even if just as friends. He thought her idea was dumb as they wouldn't be friends. He asked her to go steady and offered to endorse her council run. They kissed to commemorate the moment.

They arrived at the drive-in theatre where Jane sang, “Grease is the Word”. Gossip erupted around her about Jane wearing Buddy's letterman jacket. She passed the social girls who instantly questioned how Jane got the jacket. Rosemary mused what Susan would think about it, and couldn't wait to tell her. The student body joined Jane in song. Inside a parked car, Nancy Nakagawa tried to tell her friends about the new fashion line. They were more interested in making out with their boyfriends, so Nancy snuck out the back and joined the song. Olivia Valdovinos honked her way into a parking spot and then signaled for the T-Birds to get out. The gang emerged from the trunk and backseat in spades. She talked to her brother Richie who assured her no one remembered last year. Olivia was then harassed by the boys on her way to the café and joined the song. Cynthia drove up on her dirt bike and joined the T-Birds in song.

Jane was accosted in the bathroom by Susan and her friends who were protective over Susan as she used to go together with Buddy. Susan feigned happiness over the coupling and then sobbed into her friends, who guided her outside. The girls tried to cheer Susan up, who latched onto Richie across the lot. Dot didn't think she would go for the JDs, but Susan sauntered over. Cynthia waved a bottle of alcohol around and offered to ditch the passion pit for real fun, but the gang shot her down. They wanted to prowl for girls; the first to get a girl won the keys to the car. Susan arrived and asked Richie to buy her a soda. Gil dropped the keys into Richie's expectant hand. The gang left to patrol, but Shy Guy stayed back with Cynthia and offered her his T-Bird jacket to keep her warm. He wanted to see it on her more often, though she mistook the gesture for his endorsement for her to join the gang.

Jane walked to the concessions where Buddy introduced her to his friend group. There were Susan's friends Rosemary, Lucille and Dot, then Rydell football players Wally and Neil. The latter of whom believed Buddy dated Jane so she would do his homework. Wally told her to ignore Neil and welcomed Jane to the crew. Across the lot, Richie shared his plans for the future with a clueless Susan, who then noticed Buddy and laughed dramatically at Richie's words. Jane and Buddy headed to a car where they made out. She worried someone would see them, but he quelled her fears. Richie and Susan made out in his car but he stopped her so they could watch the romantic part of the movie. Rosemary and the other girls told Dot a boy made eyes at her, only to show her a young boy instead. Dot laughed awkwardly then stormed off to get popcorn. She passed Olivia who focused on the part in the movie where a woman was dressed in a risqué outfit and was applauded. Dot tearfully called her mom to pick her up, but saw Jane and Buddy in the car. She made a single call and rumors viciously spread across Rydell.

Jane woke up with Buddy's jacket in the morning and sang “Different This Year” in her bedroom. In the kitchen, Mr. Facciano tested toasters while Mrs. Facciano refused her youngest daughter Fran's plea to get her ears pierced like her best friend Betty. Kitty told Jane to talk to Fran about Betty. Jane hurried to school where she finished her song. Olivia walked to school with the T-Birds, who gossiped about Jane, and Cynthia joined them. Richie commented on Olivia's good mood. She decided to stop worrying about what everyone said and lean into it. She removed her long jacket to reveal a vibrant outfit. He tried to cover her with his jacket but she wanted to find out what everyone would say. She sauntered into the school as boys catcalled her.

Jane signed up for student council and Vice Principal Miss. McGee brought her a ladder for the pep rally banner. She explained she was doing two jobs since the new secretary retired and Principal Nicholson won't hire anyone new. The T-Birds burst through the corridor and peeped up Jane's skirt as she hung the banner. Gil remarked that under her skirt is NYC's biggest tourist attraction. She grabbed hold of Richie to ask him what people said and learned the extent of the salacious rumors. He then ditched when Susan called out to him. Jane talked to Buddy under the stairs about the rumors. They both denied telling anyone about what happened - they didn't go all the way but did other stuff. She didn't care what others thought but he did. Student council kids were meant to uphold an image that weren't as sex deviants. She decided to clear their reputations before the pep rally that night.

Miss. McGee gave the morning announcements. Olivia strutted onto the courtyard and all the boys stared. Fred, who sat next to Wally, harassed her but she merely said she didn't fraternize with high school boys. She spotted Mr. Daniels with some teachers but, after a moment, continued on her way. Jane tried to talk to some students but they either walked away or wanted her to leave them alone so they wouldn't catch the clap. She eagerly approached Nancy Nakagawa, but she didn't care about Jane's sex life or lack thereof. She and her friends only talked about interesting things so they wouldn't discuss that. Jane scurried off after Olivia, while Nancy eagerly gave her friends applications for the Traphagen School of Fashion. They wanted to eat lunch with their boyfriends, which didn't deter Nancy from joining. Jane approached Olivia under the bleachers, though Olivia coolly said she was busy. Jane explained she and Buddy did not go all the way, but Olivia advised her that she can either get on the gossip train or get run over. Jane thought people at Rydell were reasonable. Olivia told her to drown in her glass-half-full and then sauntered off.

PINK 101 Gil-Potato-Shy Guy-Olivia-Richie-Wally-Fred-Buddy-Neil-Dot-Susan-Peg Still

Jane witnessed Susan approach Richie. He tried to brush her off but froze when he saw Jane under the bleachers. Susan wanted him to ask her out but he couldn't, because kissing her was “like going through a car wash without a car!”. She screamed, called him despicable, then ran to her fellow Socs. She lied that she had one soda with him to be nice and now he won't leave her alone. Richie, the T-Birds, Olivia, and Cynthia stalked over as Richie argued that Susan flipped the roles. Neil didn't believe Susan would associate with low-life dirty greasers or “their whore sisters”, which provoked Richie to attack Neil. Jane intervened before it could escalate and told everyone what she saw. She reasoned with Susan that someone could get hurt. Susan admitted that she exaggerated a little. The Rangers mocked the T-Birds as the groups dispersed.

The girls of the school attended home economics to learn all of what the “modern woman needed to know”. The teacher left to get supplies, and Olivia told Susan she was right. Jane could teach them about those kinds of girls. But it's not what she thought. She got up and sang “Good Girl Act”, which spurred the entire class to get involved. She spear-headed the movement to clear Jane's reputation back to that of a goody-two-shoes. Things were fun until Nancy's middle finger was pierced by a sewing needle and the teacher walked in to see the mess. When asked who started it, Susan only smirked. Nancy, Cynthia, Jane, and Olivia were sent to the principal's office.

As they waited, Cynthia stole hall passes while Jane kept her from doing anything else. Olivia expected a thank you from Jane. Principal Nicholson exited his office as Miss. McGee rushed out the reports she had finished in triplicate. He saw the girls and left for a lunch meeting. Miss. McGee talked to Olivia first and gave her a sweater. She then threatened to call her mother, but Olivia appealed to Miss. McGee not to. McGee believed in second chances and cited the Mr. Daniels incident, but warned that she didn't believe in thirds. When Olivia left, the VP scolded the girls and let them off with a warning, but told Cynthia she would never be part of the boys. She warned Jane to be careful with whom she associated, as a girl's reputation is all that she had. Jane walked down the halls as Dot, Peg, Lola, and Rosemary emerged and apologized. They believed she was a good girl now. Buddy spoke to Jane in the halls and she shared that she cleared their reputations. He kissed her before he left for practice.

In a garage, the T-Birds plotted revenge against the Rangers for the disrespect at the football field. Cynthia announced she wanted to be a T-Bird, but they laughed at her. She gave her case and offered an initiation; she would get them revenge. She led them in a performance of “New Cool” that took them from shop class to a warehouse. After it ended, Cynthia explained to Gil that they would interrupt the pep rally that night. If they pull it off, she would get her own T-Birds jacket. Richie agreed and joked that if they pulled it off, he'll give her his.

The pep rally began and the cheerleaders, mascots, and band prepared as the T-Birds rolled in. Jane's family arrived, with Kitty pleased to have a reason to be proud of her daughter. Fran showed off her new pierced ears that Betty did for her. Kitty admonished Fran's vulgar new nickname from Betty - Frenchy. Jane walked off and spoke with Olivia to properly thank her for what happened earlier. She made it clear she thought the rumors about Olivia and Mr. Daniels were all wrong. Olivia warned her about the cheerleaders, but Jane didn't think they were all bad and invited her to Frosty Palace. Olivia was more interested in surviving high school than having fun. After Jane left, Olivia looked at a bookmark signed by Mr. Daniels.

Meanwhile, Nancy's friends Edith and Peg dumped her so they could be with their boyfriends. The band and cheerleaders took center stage under a banner that read “THIS YEAR, RYDELL GOES ALL THE WAY”. Jane took the stage in the front as a baton twirler under their banner. During the grand finish, the cheerleaders pulled a rope that revealed a second banner which covered the words "THIS YEAR, RYDELL" and replaced it with "JANE FACCIANO", which humiliated the girl and her family. The T-Birds arrived wearing mascot costumes to orchestrate their prank. They stood in front of the band and mooned the audience. Unfortunately, Cynthia's mascot's head fell off, which exposed her identity. She made a distraction while the T-Birds fled the scene. In the parking lot, Jane confronted Susan and her fellow cheerleaders about the cruel prank. They now believed Buddy, who told Neil that Jane slept with him.

The student body headed to Frosty Palace afterward, and the Rydell Review asked the T-Birds for a comment about their actions that night. They played it coy until Cynthia arrived having escaped McGee and taken the fall for them. They thanked her and she eagerly asked about her jacket. Gil and Richie explained that the T-Birds just got their respect back and couldn't let a girl in now. Shy Guy insisted they wanted her to pal around with them still, but Cynthia pretended it was fine. When she left, she ran into Jane and, once she realized who it was, apologized for the tough night. Jane saw Buddy and left to confront him about what he told Neil. Buddy thought Neil wouldn't tell anyone, but she reminded him that Neil had the biggest mouth at Rydell. Buddy retorted that girls are supposed to put up a fight. He knew it would blow over eventually, but she knew that was for him, not her. As she walked away, he professed his love, so she returned. They hugged and he told her they had to pretend to break up until after the election. Then, he can bring her back on, but things had to be in secret like they were during summer. She reminded him summer was over and handed his jacket back. Jane walked away from him and back home.

She snuck into her room through the lattice. Her mom waited up to convey how embarrassed the family was that night. She knew it wasn't true, but also that Jane put herself in a bad situation and should be more mindful. Jane laid down when she noticed candy wrappers on her comforter. Fran peeked out from under the bed. She had snuck in because Jane's room was nicer. Fran eagerly asked what Jane wanted to talk about earlier, and Jane relayed their mother's message that Betty is a bad influence. Betty emerged from under the bed; they had another secret sleepover. Fran admitted how hard things were for her when they moved to Rydell and how Betty bullied her, until one day when Betty stood up for her against a boy. They were best friends ever since, so Jane would just have to deal with it. Jane merely smiled at the girls.

The next day at Rydell, Jane told Olivia she was right about the Socs. She offered a friendship to Olivia, but the girl cruelly dismissed her. Jane told her she can drown in a glass half-empty, too. The student body gathered for the student council '54-'55 candidacy election. Buddy gave a speech that was directed more to Jane than the class, then switched to his candidacy stance that they could have fun “like we did before”. Miss. McGee called Jane to the stage for her candidacy, but Jane told McGee her desire to withdraw. Someone called her a slut from the crowd and Jane started to go back to her seat when she turned to the podium to give a speech about Rydell. It wasn't fun for everyone before. They didn't have to just survive high school, they could have fun. McGee began to talk Jane off the stage as she reminded her that she withdrew moments before.

PINK 101 Nancy-Jane-Olivia-Cynthia-Stage Promo

Olivia shouted her endorsement from the side of the auditorium. Susan corrected that Olivia couldn't endorse her if she wasn't running. Cynthia seconded the endorsement as she thought Jane should run for something. Nancy thirded the movement and the four girls stood on stage together. The crowd booed and called them tramps. McGee threatened to give them all detention if they didn't stop. Jane decided to run for president. Most of the crowd booed, though for the theater kids, outcasts, nerds, and Dot, until Susan corrected her, clapped for Jane. Cynthia shouted “Vote for Jane!” and then mooned the audience. Nancy, Olivia, and Jane, followed Cynthia's gesture. Susan shouted it was indecent, a gay student said it was fantastic, Potato developed a sudden interest in politics, and Gil wanted to register. The girls gave parting words as they fled the stage with everyone in pursuit. Cynthia snagged the keys to the T-Birds car from under the rim and tossed them to Olivia, who drove them away. Gil protested over his stolen car while Richie chuckled as he taught her that.

PINK 101 Jane-Nancy-Cynthia-Olivia T-Birds Car Still

Olivia, Jane, Cynthia, and Nancy sang a new version of “Different This Year” as they drove away from Rydell High School. They pondered what came next as they couldn't go back to before everything happened, or pretend it didn't happen. They arrived at Jane's house and quelled each other's fears. They also celebrated their new friendship. They decided to stop crying over jackets or to even let boys be the kings of jackets any longer. They wanted to start a new gang, the four of them together. But first, they needed some jackets.

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
Jackie Hoffman Assistant Principal McGee

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
Danny Mac as Principal Nicholson
Vivian Marie Lamolli as Kitty Facciano
David Alpay as Vincent Facciano
Chris McNally as Leonard Daniels
Madison Elizabeth Lagares as Fran Facciano
Emma Shannon as Betty Rizzo

Co-Starring[]

Cheyenne Roulau as Miss Adcock
Abbygale Chung as Lucille
Lola Clare as Pearl
Zane Clifford as Fred
Peter D'Souza as Tommy
CJ Damaso as Maria
Sarah Formosa as Edith
Summer Lynn Gillespie as Polly
Kallie Hu as Peg
Kenya Jordan as Virginia
Matt Kennedy as Orson
Andrew Kyrzyk as PR
Victor Lau as Floyd
Dominique Mailloux as Ellen
Ryan McEwen as Roy
Julien Naud as Arthur
Cole Neumeier as Bill
Emilee Nimetz as Alice
Sam Scherzer as Gus
Aidan Springle as Ernie
Zac Vran as Irving
Rachael Withers as Geraldine
Joshua Blumhagen as Autoshop Dancer #2
Mariesa Crouse as Home Ec Dancer #1/Tuxedo Dancer #2
Tessa Tamura as Home Ec Dancer #2/Tuxedo Dancer #5
Desiree Manning as Home Ec Dancer #3/Tuxedo Dancer #3
Britt Good as Home Ec Dancer #4
Chanel Lacasse as Tuxedo Dancer #1
Emma Wiley as Tuxedo Dancer #8
Cora Kozaris as Tuxedo Dancer #8

Soundtrack[]

Title	Performer	Scene
Sexy Ways	Hank Ballard and The Midnighters	Jane and Buddy make out in his car
Grease is the Word	Cast ensemble	Jane arrived at the drive-in with Buddy's jacket
Different This Year	Marisa Davila	Jane woke up in the morning and went to school
Make New Friends (but keep the old)	Jackie Hoffman	Miss. McGee sang the rhyme during the morning announcements
I Gotta Feeling	Big Maybelle	Olivia walked onto the courtyard during lunch
Good Girl Act	Cast ensemble (Cheyenne Isabel Wells as lead)	Olivia cleared Jane's reputation in home ec class
New Cool	Cast ensemble (Ari Notartomaso as lead)	Cynthia proposed a revenge initiation to earn her way into the gang
Ding Dong Daddy	Wynona Carr	The student body hung out at Frosty Palace
Mambo Baby	Ruth Brown	Cynthia, Olivia, Jane, and Nancy mooned the student body and then drove off in the T-Birds car
Different This Year (Reprise)	Marisa Davila, Ari Notartomaso, Tricia Fukuhara, Cheyenne Isabel Wells	The girls drove away from the school and celebrated their new friendship

Notes and Trivia[]

We're gonna rule the school was a quote said by Rizzo in the 1978 film, Grease.
Buddy and Jane's conversation in the car is parallel to Danny and Sandy's in the original Grease, including Buddy telling Jane that this is only the beginning.
When Jane arrives at the drive-in with Buddy, gossip spreads throughout the theatre about her being with Buddy. This scene, including the students going from car-to-car, the gossiping through windows, and the female student jumping onto the hood of a car, parallels the one in Grease when news of Rizzo's pregnancy scare travels.
Future Pink Ladies Fran "Frenchy" Facciano and Betty Rizzo are introduced as Jane Facciano's younger sister and Fran's best friend, respectively.
At the pep rally, the marching band is playing with white fiberglass sousaphones (marching band tubas), which are common today but were not introduced until the 1960s; sousaphones of the 1950s were all brass.
From April 6-9, 301k households watched the premiere episode of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.^[1]