Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies not only sets up the original movie perfectly, but also makes its story more poignant. Taking place prior to the events of Grease, the prequel series Rise Of The Pink Ladies shows the genesis of one of the original movie’s main greaser factions, the Pink Ladies. The Grease prequel mainly follows an entirely new cast of characters, but in the series’ first episode, Rise Of The Pink Ladies reveals an important connection to Grease that gives the original movie’s story a different meaning.
In Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies, it is revealed that main character Jane’s younger sister is actually Frenchy, one of the main characters of Grease. While the main focus is on Jane’s story and the beginnings of the Pink Ladies, the Grease prequel also establishes Frenchy’s close friendship with other Grease main character Rizzo. Though Frenchy and Rizzo’s childhood connection is wholesome to see, the full story behind their friendship actually makes the events of Grease sadder.
Grease’s Rizzo & Frenchy Backstory Makes The Movie Sadder
Paramount+’s Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies mostly focuses on its main characters, but the prequel show also provides a new backstory for two important Grease characters, Rizzo and Frenchy. In Rise Of The Pink Ladies, it’s explained that when Frenchy was getting bullied, Rizzo befriended her and stood up for her. Their backstory not only makes Frenchy and Rizzo more developed than they appear in Grease, but it also makes their Grease arc more sad, as it shows that the future Pink Ladies became antagonistic because they endured bullying themselves. This brings a darker tone to the otherwise upbeat story and characters of the original Grease movie.
Rise Of The Pink Ladies Better Explains Their Early Movie Antagonism
While the Pink Ladies are some of the main characters of Grease, they spend much of the film acting antagonistically towards Olivia Newton-John’s Sandy, and Rise Of The Pink Ladies explains why. However, since Grease doesn’t fully explain why they dislike the jocks and cheerleaders, it can make them seem like bullies. Paramount+’s Rise Of The Pink Ladies shows that it’s actually the popular kids who make life more difficult for the greasers at Rydell. This not only explains the clique dynamics at Rydell High, but also offers insights into the behavior of characters like Rizzo in Grease.
The explanations given about the social dynamics at Rydell High and Rizzo and Frenchy’s past in Rise Of The Pink Ladies sheds light on why the Pink Ladies were so hard on Sandy in Grease. On the outside, Sandy appears to be like the popular kids who used to bully Frenchy, and since Rizzo protected her, it makes sense why Rizzo would be standoffish to Sandy at first. Because of the added context from Rise Of The Pink Ladies, the Pink Ladies’ behavior in Grease is far more understandable, cementing Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies as a vital part of the Grease timeline.
