Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies ending explained: Answering all the big questions
By Sabrina Reed
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is here! The prequel series to the beloved original film introduces viewers to Jane, Olivia, Cynthia, and Nancy, four girls who are outcasts in their school. Just as Jane thinks she’s finally going to get some recognition and respect at Rydell High, she’s undermined by a rumor about her and her boyfriend Buddy.
The harassment she endures from that is the catalyst for her budding friendships with the other girls as well as the T-Birds. Over the course of ten episodes, this Paramount+ original will tell the story of how the Pink Ladies came to be and what they did to try to make their high school better for the misfits.
As the series releases on streaming, Hidden Remote will be updating this post every Thursday with the big questions that come up during the season.
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies episode 1 ending explained: “We’re Gonna Rule the School”
What is a JD?
It stands for juvenile delinquent. It’s what the T-Birds are referred to as.
What is a greaser?
It’s a ’50s pejorative referring to a young man who slicks his hair back and is a part of a gang. Typically, the word was lodged against Latinos, especially Mexicans/Mexican-Americans.
Why do the students of Rydell High think Jane and Buddy “went all the way”?
They’d been kissing pretty heavily at the drive-in and when their intimacy escalated in their parked car, they were in plain view of Dot, one of the preppy girls. Dot had been trying to get her mom to pick her up from the drive-in when she noticed the couple. Shocked and ready to gossip, she hung up and then dialed a friend. From there, a game of telephone started where the news spread and got more outrageous the more Dot’s “eye witness” account was shared.
When Jane tried to dispute the rumors no one believed her until Olivia spun a tale during Home Economics that Jane was actually a good girl who killed the vibe of the New York City girls she knew when she lived there because she wasn’t risque and “bad” like them. This worked for a time but then Jane was embarrassed by Susan at the pep rally because they heard from Buddy that he and Jane did sleep together.
When she confronts him at the Frosty Palace, Buddy explains that he told Neil in confidence what they’d done. He’s aware he shouldn’t have shared with his blabber mouth of a friend and that he shouldn’t have implied he and Jane had sex when they didn’t either. So, he apologized.
Why did Jane and Buddy break up?
In the same conversation above, Jane originally was willing to give Buddy another chance despite what he did because he told he loved her and she returns the sentiment. But when he tried to convince her to keep their relationship secret so he could win Student Council President without the stigma of dating her, Jane told him that they couldn’t be together.
Why do Jane, Olivia, Cynthia, and Nancy become friends?
They’re each outcasts. Jane’s being shamed for being intimate with Buddy, Olivia’s been accused of chasing after a teacher, Cynthia wants to be a T-Bird but they won’t let her in the group because she’s a girl and they have a “reputation” to protect, and Nancy’s obsessed with fashion and prefers it over boys which has caused her friends to abandon her.
The girls stick up for Jane when she dares to run for the Student Council like she planned to do instead of pulling out of the race because she’s being harassed. In an act of defiance, they moon the audience and take off in the T-Birds car as the boys (and the rest of the student body) watch on.