Vice Principals Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Spring Break

This Vice Principals review contains spoilers.

Vice Principals Season 2 Episode 7

I’m always amused at the way Vice Principals finds ways to bring our characters together outside of the school setting. Spring Break is yet another excuse for Gamby, Russell, and Snodgrass to get out of the halls of North Jackson and out into the world. No doubt things have been tense at work, so all three are looking to blow off a little bit of steam and enjoy a long weekend. Unfortunately for Russell, who’s in the midst of a divorce, there’s no fun getaway planned, so he grafts himself onto Gamby’s plans, a beach trip with his daughter Janelle and her friends. Meanwhile, Snodgrass attends a writing convention with her beau Brian. Luckily vacation time uncovers plenty of new information about our characters.

The most interesting storyline happens to be Snodgrass’. Seeing Brian basking in his element reveals a smug, pretentious side that Snodgrass had been blind to. Brian openly flirts with attractive convention workers, talks down to Amanda in front of other influential attendees, and worst of all, tears into her novel. Snodgrass’ need for approval and attention are the only logical reasons why she would be interested in a person like Gamby, and here it’s those qualities that allow her to get so used and hurt by Brian, thus driving her back to Gamby. Georgia King has been great for the entire series, but her impassioned reading of her book and the defeat she displays afterward is her finest moment on the show.

Meanwhile, Gamby has his own relationship issues to deal with. Abbott tries to force her way on Gamby’s trip and even makes an impromptu appearance at Gale and Ray’s. Her chaotic, co-dependent behavior has been allowed to progress solely because Gamby is too afraid to be alone. Clearly harboring feelings for Snodgrass, he finally breaks things off with Abbott once she materializes at the beach house. It’s another growing moment for Gamby, who is adult enough to realize that it’s not right to string someone along that you’re ashamed to be with.

Even though he does the right thing in that instance, Russell continues to bring out the worst in Gamby. Because of Russell’s influence, Gamby spends the day doing cocaine and getting wild at a strip club, completely neglecting to keep an eye on his daughter and her friends. Russell always seems to be the devil on Gamby’s shoulder, but it also appears that he may be the devil in real life, as Gamby discovers the disguise and weapon of his shooter in the back of Russell’s Jeep. Russell being the shooter is the logical conclusion, unless there’s some 11th hour twist waiting for us, and I’m glad it will finally set these two back on the war path against each other. That being said, Abbott was standing next to the Jeep when Gamby and Russell returned to the beach house, just saying.

Besides that late reveal, the majority of the episode felt a bit like stalling, something I’ve leveled at the show the past two weeks, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing when the episodes are so funny. The “bloody tips” song, the borderline uncomfortable jokes leveled at Janelle’s friend Deb and all of Abbott’s insanely desperate attempts to get close to Neal score huge, if not uneasy, laughs. Season two of Vice Principals has been sharper and funnier than the first and I can’t wait to see the deranged action that awaits us in the last two episodes.