Vice Principals Recap: The Principal

Hailed as a spiritual successor to Eastbound & Down, creative team Jody Hill and Danny McBride have crafted another dark comedy in the form of Vice Principals. Ordered to series by HBO two years ago, Vice Principals developed from a show of ridiculous hijinks revolving around the job of principal at a high school into a complex look at people who have become so dissatisfied and disillusioned with their lives that they cling to their jobs for support.

The opening scene of the flag being raised marks the beginning of the season, the school day, and the war of the vice principals at North Jackson High School. Walton Goggins’ charming yet manipulative Lee Russell immediately inquires about the soon to be open position to the retiring principal, played by Bill Murray, who is stepping down to focus on his dying wife. Meanwhile Danny McBride’s authoritarian Neal Gamby chastises Russell for his lack of tact. Both reactions establish the characters well, with Russell being the likeable opportunist and Gamby as a man who resents anyone who breaks the “rules” but is constantly ignoring social norms to do so.

While the first episode spends the most time with Neal Gamby by introducing his home life and family, Goggins appears to be relishing every one-liner he delivers as well as every second he spends on-screen. Lee Russell may be the most fun to watch (when he is there), but there’s no denying that Danny McBride is just as game to bring his character to life. His chemistry with Goggins is the easily the strongest attribute the show has.

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Following the title screen, Vice Principals is ready to do a mandatory introduction to some of the supporting cast. First up is Amanda Snodgrass, played by Georgia King, the idealistic new teacher who Gamby is infatuated with. Along with her are three students who are caught fighting, who are swiftly taken to Gamby’s office for some discipline. Throughout the discussion, Gamby manages to come off as a bit of a misogynist where he makes comments about the boys “punching like a woman” or claiming that Ms. Snodgrass may be emotional from watching such an extreme event as well as immediately writing off her opinion but still calling it a “debate”.

Vice Principals never makes it seem like Neal Gamby is a likeable guy, in fact McBride and Hill never even attempt to position him as a sympathetic character. His next scene is an interaction with school cafeteria worker named Dayshawn, played by Sheaunn McKinney, where he claims that he would rather spend time with the “lower class workers”. While Gamby claims that he wants to get respect for Dayshawn and his coworkers, he is actually just being incredibly insulting to a man who works hard at his job.

Gamby manages to come off as a bit of a misogynist

But the highlight of the episode is a goodbye assembly for Bill Murray’s principal where a young female student sings a song to him while he takes care of his deathly ill wife on stage. Midway through, Gamby notices two students laughing and he springs to action by grabbing the microphone in an attempt to intimidate the boys into silence. The look of shock on the principal’s face as well as the crowd when Gamby becomes the true disruption of the assembly is priceless, yet in his eyes he just stopped a great injustice.

Danny McBride instills his signature notes into his character, and his short fuse makes his reactions entertaining to watch. Meanwhile Goggins’ Lee Russell savors his ability to predict Gamby’s behavior and his manipulative nature makes him the perfect foil character. After posting a silly sign in the staff room, Gamby comes storming into Russell’s office perfectly on cue to throw an embarrassing tantrum in front of the school board. As Russell questions Gamby as to why he even wants the job so badly, it becomes clear that these two are extremely unhappy in their lives. While Russell’s home life may not have been revealed yet, Gamby shows all the signs of someone who is depressed from the lack of opportunities in his life.

Meanwhile he appears to have a semi-strained relationship with his daughter who appears to be both embarrassed of him as well as proud.

This couldn’t become more clear than the next scene with Gamby’s daughter Janelle, his ex-wife Gale, and her new husband Ray. His pettiness leaks through when he attempts to both impress and one up Gale, played by Busy Philipps, through announcing his new promotion (which he hasn’t received yet) as well as angrily address Ray despite the guy proving to be incredibly supportive of Gamby. He even refuses to change his seat even though he doesn’t get along with his ex. Meanwhile he appears to have a semi-strained relationship with his daughter who appears to be both embarrassed of him as well as proud. But based on their brief interactions, the two of them will most likely have a deeper struggle as Gamby’s true nature is revealed through time.

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Of course after assuming he received the job, Gamby parks in the principal’s spot as well as sits in his chair only to be shocked that the superintendent decided to hire a completely new replacement. Kimberly Hebert Gregory plays Dr. Belinda Brown, a prestigious principal from Philadelphia, who is more than ready to go to war with Gamby and Russell. While Gamby is completely unable to mask his disdain over the decision to hire Brown, Russell is more than willing to play the long game by resorting to both flattery and brown-nosing.

Returning home that night Gamby is met by a surprise congratulations party from his daughter and Ray. Here he admits that he holds people to such high standards that they always fall short and that the teachers hate him. It appears that it will become a recurring joke that Ray is a genuinely nice guy while Gamby insists on hating him. Of course he decides to use intimidation tactics in an attempt to get school nerd, Matthew Potter, to stage a walkout against the new principal in return for getting his previous punishment erased. He quickly agrees and Gamby capitalizes on this by informing Ms. Snodgrass that he “agreed” with her point of view in an attempt to bond and makes some uncomfortable arm touching before announcing that the “good guys” are still going to win but what Gamby doesn’t know is that he isn’t the hero of this story.

Vice Principals definitely has one glaring issue.

Of course Potter’s walkout doesn’t go as planned because none of the students will help him and Gamby is furious that he threatens to have the boy raped in suspension. It’s a despicable moment for him but it’s lightened by Dr. Brown finally revealing her true character by switching from a pleasant smiling woman to a confident and self-assured principal who clearly has the upper hand against Gamby.

While “The Principal” is a strong first episode which hits all the beats a pilot should by setting up the story and introducing characters, Vice Principals definitely has one glaring issue. It may just be a coincidence but two impudent white men waging a war against a black woman they believe got a job because of affirmative action when they truly deserved it is a dangerous subject to address during a time where the debate of racism has hit a new high in America.

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Fans of McBride will definitely enjoy Vice Principals as the dark raunchy follow-up to Eastbound & Down. Overall “The Principal” is a strong opening episode for a show which has been met with lukewarm reactions from other critics as they debate whether it crosses the line of too offensive or not. While that remains to be seen, there’s no denying that Goggins and McBride are ready to deliver eighteen episodes of absolute destruction as they attempt to win back the position of principal.

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