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Vice Principals Recap: Circles

By Kelly Shanaphy

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Vice Principals wants to know what it means to be a man

With these past few episodes of Vice Principals focusing on Gamby’s characterization, it was only a matter of time before the audience was finally given a longer glimpse into Russell’s home life.  “Circles” is an episode which questions what exactly masculinity is by showing the varying sides of the male characters. With the fragile alliance between Gamby and Russell crumbling after their failure to stop Dr. Brown after last week’s game, the two take some time apart in order to realize that they make actually be friends. Stranger things have happened.

Like many stories involving troubled characters, Russell ends up having a bully in his own life. His muscle-head neighbor, Jackie (played by Owen Harn), believes that his loud rock filled exercise sessions make him the superior compared to Russell’s well-coiffed persona. Despite Russell being polite in his request for his neighbor to turn his music down at night, Jackie views him as weak ridicules his appearance as well as his family, in particular his wife. Walton Goggins continues to shine as Russell as he struggles with his various eccentricities.

Watching Russell whimper his way over to Jackie’s, you know it’s only a matter of time before he snaps.

All bullies have their own tormentor that can find all your insecurities and use them to hurt. Watching Russell whimper his way over to Jackie’s, you know it’s only a matter of time before he snaps.

Meanwhile, Russell and Gamby’s partnership has been nullified because the two both feel like the other is inattentive to their problems. While Russell is well-liked and immediately able to find a new friend within in the Fine Arts Department, Gamby is left behind extremely depressed by the loss of his only friend. With the introduction of Dr. Brown’s new “no punishment,” policy at school, Gamby has no way of releasing his stress through his usual disciplinarian actions.

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Without the ability to use his authority as a therapeutic device, Gamby is less in control of his life than ever.

Yet much to his chagrin, the “circle program,” becomes a success when two young boys are able to discuss their deeper feelings regarding a fight that had previously broken out during the episode. Their honesty has Gamby begin to question whether his inability to talk about how hurt he has been in his personal life is the right decision. As he sits on the bleachers watching his daughter spend time with Ray, it becomes clear that Gamby is worried about losing Russell the same way. Pairing Russell and Gamby isn’t a surprising tactic, though if the two become friends Vice Principals may have trouble finding similar tension.

But the episode does display the conflicting views of society when it comes to “being a man”.

He finally lets out his frustration with a group of girls who had been caught cheating on a math test, who encourage him to fight for his “business partnership,” if it means so much to him. While it seems like a bit of a cliché ending to have Gamby come save Russell as well as beat up Jackie for him, it does solidify their friendship. But the episode does display the conflicting views of society when it comes to “being a man”. Jackie is the prime example of the white male bravado who thinks that beer, classic rock, and ridiculing women are the only ways to judge a person. Meanwhile Russell is often called flamboyant or called “gay” by other characters because of the way he dresses as well as holds himself.

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It’s interesting that this well-dressed person with extreme confidence is immediately judged by many for an unusual attitude. Gamby appears to be right in the middle as he struggles to grasp whether it’s frowned upon for him to openly care about a friend or if he should resort to violence to get his point across. Even Dayshawn’s comment wondering if Gamby and Russell have become lovers just because they’ve become close friends shows just how differing society’s view of what men can and can’t do has become.

Next: The subtle beast returns on The Night Of.

With the partnership reunited, Vice Principals appears to have finished doing all of it’s set up for the next thirteen episodes. It hasn’t really made any strong developments in the misguided war on Dr. Brown, mainly relying on Goggins and McBride’s comedic presence to carry the show through the episodes. That can be hit or miss, as we’ve seen so far.

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