Paramount+’s Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies episode two begins with phones ringing all over town. Moms interrupt their household chores and day drinking to spread the news that the girls at Rydell have gone crazy. There’s even a new girl gang at the high school! The horror!
Poor Assistant Principal McGee’s phone won’t stop ringing with moms complaining and demanding action be taken. She promises she’ll get right on it.
Jane (Marisa Davila) and Olivia (Cheyenne Isabel Wells) get the worst of it from their parents, while Nancy (Tricia Fukuhara) apparently has her mom and dad wrapped around her little finger. As for Cynthia (Ari Notartomaso), she’s not in the least bit of trouble.
At school, the reaction to Jane’s candidacy and the girls’ mooning includes wolf whistles and an article in the school newspaper. The article describes them as vicious vixens who performed vulgar acts and mentions a speech by Nixon referring to his opponent Helen Gahagan Douglas as “pink right down to her underwear.” Jane can’t believe they’re being called communists, but Nancy knows any press is good press.
Nancy whips out her first attempt at a jacket and gang name – Black Widows – and only Cynthia likes it. Jane suggests it’s not the best way to convince people they’re not vicious vixens.
The T-Birds give the girl gang a hard time in the hallways, and Cynthia points out they’re never made the newspaper’s front page. Richie and Jane have a chat and Richie (Johnathan Nieves) compliments her impromptu speech.
Dot (Josette Halpert) passes out invitations to a party at her house and Susan (Madison Thompson) tries to get Buddy (Jason Schmidt) to take her to it. He declines, not wanting to give their friends the wrong idea.
Nancy, Jane, Olivia, and Cynthia are called into McGee’s office and told their punishment is detention every day at 2:15pm. Jane’s the only one upset since colleges frown on negative marks on high school records.
Alone in the hallway, Jane sings about not wanting to settle and always wanting more.
Buddy catches up with her at her locker and Jane turns her back on him. She reminds him he ruined her reputation, and Buddy tells her again that he loves her. Jane says if that’s true, he needs to tell everyone he lied and that he’s not the good guy everyone thinks he is.
Jane rehearses her campaign speech during detention and it’s all about Buddy being a big fat liar. The T-Birds, of course, are also in detention and they critique her speech as shrill and sounding like she’s just jealous.
Jane gives up and joins her girls to go over new jacket designs. Nancy offers Red Cherries and Yellowjackets and no one bites. She’s about to show off her Pink Flamingos design but Cynthia quickly vetoes anything pink.
Olivia changes the subject to Buddy. They need to figure out how to expose him, and Olivia offers to check out his record in McGee’s office. Nancy volunteers to check out the boys locker room.
Cynthia pretends to be ill, and McGee escorts her to the nurse’s office. Once they’re gone, the girls spring into action. Olivia grabs Buddy’s file but there’s not a single derogatory mark in his record. She then pulls her own file and reads the write-up on her encounter with Mr. Daniels. Her official record states that she threw herself at the teacher and he did everything he could to push her away. The blame’s placed squarely on her shoulders.
Nancy hides out in the boys locker room but all she hears is a bunch of gross teenage boys talking about farting and dating. When Jane is finally brought up, Buddy shuts down the conversation.
Richie catches Jane trying to get into Buddy’s locker and offers to help her get a key to open it. They sneak into the principal’s office, grab the keys, but then are forced to hide behind the door when Principal Nicholson suddenly shows up.
He settles in to listen to a baseball game. Fortunately, they’re saved a few minutes later by a call from the superintendent that sends Nicholson out of the office in search of McGee.
Olivia confronts Mr. Daniels, upset he told Nicholson she seduced him. He claims she misconstrued his interest and should find someone her own age to be interested in.
Cynthia’s illness mysteriously clears up when the bell rings, and McGee realizes she was tricked.
The keys don’t work but Richie’s able to use a bobby pin from Jane’s hair to open Buddy’s locker. There’s not much inside the locker but Richie does spot a note addressed to Jane. She grabs it and walks away without reading it, barely thanking Richie for his help.
Jane meets with her girls at the Frosty Palace which, by the way, is run by Nancy’s family. Jane reads the letter and it’s a confession of everything Buddy’s done wrong – including smoking, drinking, and being a perverted sex fiend. The letter also reveals that although he and Jane didn’t sleep together, he did go all the way with Susan!
Buddy added that he never loved Susan but is in love with Jane. He ends the letter by asking for her forgiveness.
Olivia suggests they blackmail him to get him to drop out of the race. Jane’s not sure what they should do.
Later, Jane’s gang and the T-Birds show up uninvited at what looks to be a pretty boring party at Dot’s. Surprisingly, Dot allows them to stay. (She and a T-Bird have been flirting.)
Dot lays down the rules and warns everyone to keep an eye out for a missing rabbit. She lives in a mansion and her dad owns a candy company. She points out her dad’s study and says it’s off-limits; she’s never even been in there.
Other rules: no drinking, no smoking, no peeing in the fountain, and shoes must be off at all times. However, Spin the Bottle is allowed and the group gets down to it. Cynthia doesn’t play and instead serves as referee for any conflicts or rule violations.
It’s Jane’s turn and it lands between Buddy and Richie. She chooses Buddy and asks for 7 Minutes in Heaven. They head off to a closet and Jane pushes Buddy away. She’s all about the election and tells him to drop out of the race or she’ll show everyone his letter.
Buddy insists he can’t drop out because his dad wants him to be a leader. His dad’s running for mayor next year and Buddy must win school president. Jane doesn’t care – her future’s as important as his – and demands he drop out or else. Buddy still won’t and doesn’t think she’ll show anyone the letter. She’s not that type of girl.
Meanwhile, Cynthia gets her feelings her when a T-Bird asks her why she can’t act like a girl. Richie’s done with this party and takes off with his gang while Jane’s still in the closet.
Jane and Buddy return to the remaining group and Jane’s about to read the letter but stops, looking around the room. She realizes all the football players believe they’re entitled to have sex with any girl they want, whenever they want. They brag about their conquests as they return to the living room while the cheerleaders look ashamed and uncomfortable. The cheerleaders, including Susan, can barely meet Jane’s eyes as she looks around the room, watching them fasten their buttons and adjust their clothing.
Jane doesn’t read the letter and rushes from the room.
Cynthia asks if she took Buddy down and Nancy asks why she didn’t go through with it. Jane explains that it wouldn’t be Buddy she’d be taking down, it would be Susan. He’d still be considered cool, and Susan would be labeled a slut.
Nancy’s upset with her friends for obsessing over stupid boys instead of just having fun at the party. Nancy reveals that in junior high she and her friends kissed all these boys lots of times. They even had a secret rating system. (Buddy’s a B-.) But now everyone takes boys way too seriously.
She asks them to imagine how fun this party would have been if they could have done it without boys. And that leads into another musical number where they erase the boys and imagine a world without them. No more obsessing in the mirror…no more watching their figures…no more lowering their voices. Nancy sings, “Imagine being more than just trophies and toys,” as all the girls dance in comfy clothes. (Absolutely love this song and its message.)
The future Pink Ladies spot the football players spiking the punch and decide to do something about it. Olivia lures the boys into Dot’s dad’s study and Jane’s already there posed seductively on the desk. Jane breaks into the liquor cabinet and the guys drink while the girls watch.
Jane and Olivia escape up the stairs and secure the door so they can’t leave the study. When they pound on the door, Jane informs them that since they spiked the punch with alcohol, they spiked their alcohol with castor oil.
The girls point out that if the guys can slip things into drinks, it’s no big deal that they did the same thing. The guys insist it’s not funny and Olivia replies, “You’re right. It’s not funny to put something in somebody’s drink that makes them feel out of control of their body.”
The guys call them pinko tramps and as the girls walk down the street, they consider embracing the idea of being bad girls. Jane corrects them; they’re not girls – they’re ladies. The Pink Ladies!
Cynthia agrees to consider it.
Jane’s decided sometimes you gotta be bad to do good. Even though it’s late, Jane suggests they stop by the school.
The following morning Asst Principal McGee arrives at school and all of Buddy’s banners have been tagged with “Vote Pink.” She pulls the girls into her office and reveals she’s letting them out of detention. Instead, Cynthia will have to join the Thespian Club. Olivia will be her office assistant and handle all her filing. Jane is given hall monitor duty. And Nancy will be on call whenever she needs her.
Episode two ends with the reveal of the Pink Ladies jackets. The girls strut through the hallway wearing their new jackets while their classmates stare.
- Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode 1 Recap and Review
- Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode 3 “So This Is Rydell?” Recap
- Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode 4 “If You Can’t Be an Athlete, Be an Athletic Supporter” Recap
- Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode 4 “You Can’t Just Walk Out of a Drive-In” Recap
- Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode 6 “Sloppy Seconds Ain’t My Style” Recap
- Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode 7 “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’ Recap
- Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode 8 “Or at the High School Dance” Recap
- Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode 9 “You’re Dropping Out of Rydell?” Recap
- Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode 10 “Racing for Pinks” Finale Recap
