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Vice Principals - Danny McBride & Walton Goggins - HBO Comedy - [update: S2 trailer!]

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I was kidding before, but it actually seems pretty plausible that it's Bill Murray's character and he's trying to teach Gamby/Russell a lesson or something.
 

labx

Banned
Major spoilers:

That's got to be Russell. Too tall to be Belinda (and out of character), doesn't make sense to be Steffon... I also feel like we've seen that mask before... I watched the scene a few times, there's got to be some kind of clue....ahhhhhh WHEN'S THE NEXT SEASON



It has to be!


Yes, it must be a sort of clue, that mask is in prior episodes? I also think is
Lee
.
 
Major spoilers:

That's got to be Russell. Too tall to be Belinda (and out of character), doesn't make sense to be Steffon... I also feel like we've seen that mask before... I watched the scene a few times, there's got to be some kind of clue....ahhhhhh WHEN'S THE NEXT SEASON



It has to be!

Who the fuck is Steffon?
 

Trakan

Member
There's no way it was Russell. If he were capable of that, he wouldn't be suffering through his life with his mother in law right now.

The show might have thrown some things at you to make you think otherwise, but it was Brown. These guys took literally everything from her. She lost her kids, her job, her house, they got her back on alcohol, and humiliated her.

S2 is going to be a long wait.
 
Biggest point against Russell is that it's uncharacteristic of him. You all saw how he acted with his neighbor, mother in law, and Belinda. No gloating or anything.

yeah. he would have done some serious violent shit to his neighbor and his mother in law if he was capable of being the man in the mask.

end came out of nowhere for me lol. i saw belinda getting payback in some way but not hiring a hitman lmao.

season was great. Goggins killed it with his ridiculous facial expressions this episode and his savagery. man i felt bad for belinda. "Freeze, you fucking creature" lmao.

gotta also mention that shea wigham is a great, underappreciated actor. did very dope work in boardwalk empire. his little scenes in this one were good.

Some redditors think it's Ray, and I have to agree the knife as a gift was weird and the show spends a strange amount of time on Ray scenes and he has a lot of lines. His monologue about how he'll never have what Gamby has could be looked back on as a giant red flag and be interpreted as sinister. Without Gamby in the picture, he really would be her dad, and the funniest part would be that all of Gamby's unwarranted vitriol toward Ray will have been warranted.

man i kinda hate that theory. not looking for a twist here, just hoping he remains being the good guy that is unfairly shit on by McBride as usual in these jody hill shows.
 

Stasis

Member
I'm guessing most of you know this but it's pretty easy to see if someone's still in a show by checking IMDb. How many episodes they're in of the 18. Kinda ruins the fun of guessing I suppose, so I won't say anything, spoiler tags or no. You can go see if you're curious.

Don't think it's Russell or Ray, personally. Ray seems genuine with that chat and appreciates the motocross gesture at the end. Russell can't go from the crazy we know to fucking shooting someone in a day. Would be too damn weird. Never did anything to the neighbor, or to Belinda, or anyone. Different kind of crazy. Gotta be someone related to Belinda in some way. The ex, her previous weird associate (he fits the physical profile more)...
 
So many people have reasons to want Gamby out of the picture whilst simultaneously not liking Lee. Could be Lee, Ms. Abbott, Brown (someone she hired, anyway), Ray, Bill Hayden. I'm pretty psyched to see the reveal but hate that we have to wait a year. This was, by far, my favorite comedy of 2016.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
What a bonkers finale. I felt so bad for Belinda but damn if that scene wasn't entertaining as hell. Gamby and Russell's 15 minutes was fun while it lasted, but I am so ready for things to fall apart for them.

gotta also mention that shea wigham is a great, underappreciated actor. did very dope work in boardwalk empire. his little scenes in this one were good.

Agreed, he's a great actor.
 

SURGEdude

Member
My opinion on the end of the episode:
That second shot to the gut has to be fatal. No way Gamby lives to the second season. I'm sure they filmed it continuously because that would be too hard to keep secret otherwise. Neal is almost certainly dead.

I was all down with other people thinking it's
Lee
, but you make one hell of a good point about the continuous filming.

Overall this show really grew on me after a mixed start. Looking forward to next season.

Who the fuck is Steffon?

Yeah, I'm drawing a blank here too.
 

KahooTs

Member
I think the burning of both cars is supposed to serve as a clue. Lee is either behind it or it's someone who would have been just as happy to shoot Lee had he been first on the scene.

Clever writing, all this while they've been stacking up people Gamby has pissed off without us noticing, then they drop this and there's an overwhelming amount of suspects to think on.
 
Fuck me, I was thinking I love the dark turns this show takes when the car was burning and then that fucking shooting happened and my mind was blown.

I feel like it maybe Belinda's ex. Maybe she told him what happened and then wanted to get revenge for messing with his family. Or Bill Hayden, maybe he is fearing for his job.

I haven't been this excited for a who done it since the shooting of Mr Burns
 
Fuck me, I was thinking I love the dark turns this show takes when the car was burning and then that fucking shooting happened and my mind was blown.

I feel like it maybe Belinda's ex. Maybe she told him what happened and then wanted to get revenge for messing with his family. Or Bill Hayden, maybe he is fearing for his job.

I haven't been this excited for a who done it since the shooting of Mr Burns

That was what I was thinking.
 

Meier

Member
The show might have thrown some things at you to make you think otherwise, but it was Brown. These guys took literally everything from her. She lost her kids, her job, her house, they got her back on alcohol, and humiliated her.
She very well could have hired/requested the shooter, but I don't think it could have been her herself just due to the physical characteristics of the shooter -- far too tall. I also think she must realize that Russell was the mastermind and Gamby a bit of a reluctant participant and herself wouldn't have been able to shoot him so easily. But a hitman would probably just know what either looked like and have been willing to shoot whichever showed up.

Swift could have been involved in retaliation for the way Neal treats her. I think the car burning is a little bit of a red herring either way. It's meant to put us on the trail of Belinda or Lee as the culprits, but everyone knows her house was burned down in general so another Principal having something burned would make sense without the context of knowing who did the first burning.
 

Chucker

Member
I went back to see if Lee had the pen while he was implicated Gamby at the flag raising but I didn't see it.

S2 is Gamby v Lee or Gamby/Belinda v Lee.
 

Vyer

Member
I swear i almost teared up in those Ray scenes.

What's amazing about this show is how efficiently and effectively it shifts things like it's tone, pacing, characterization, etc and all of it feels perfectly in line with the series as a whole. You go from the terrible thing
Gamby is partipating in confronting Belinda, where we hate their shithead ways despite the acknowledgment that Gamby feels some remorse, to the hilarious 'fight' and her beating his ass, to the terrible feeling of watching her break down because of what they've done. Then almost immediately after we see Gamby do probably the best things he's ever done, from being honest about what he is with Snodgrass to the emotional payoff with Ray (damn that was great). And then suddenly we're in a horror show lol.

it just works so well. all of it has been built up beautifully and pays off because of it.

And it does all that while still being filled with crass, crude and hilarious moments. And some kickass camera work and music.
 

dave is ok

aztek is ok
I didn't even think of the crazy teacher.

They are kind of tipping their hand towards Lee with how crazy he's been the past couple episodes and the last scene with the crazy teacher was actually cordial.. hmm.
 
I swear i almost teared up in those Ray scenes.

What's amazing about this show is how efficiently and effectively it shifts things like it's tone, pacing, characterization, etc and all of it feels perfectly in line with the series as a whole. You go from the terrible thing
Gamby is partipating in confronting Belinda, where we hate their shithead ways despite the acknowledgment that Gamby feels some remorse, to the hilarious 'fight' and her beating his ass, to the terrible feeling of watching her break down because of what they've done. Then almost immediately after we see Gamby do probably the best things he's ever done, from being honest about what he is with Snodgrass to the emotional payoff with Ray (damn that was great). And then suddenly we're in a horror show lol.

it just works so well. all of it has been built up beautifully and pays off because of it.

And it does all that while still being filled with crass, crude and hilarious moments. And some kickass camera work and music.

I know what you mean about shifting tones.

I almost cried to the response of Belinda when they told her to resign. Her acting felt so good after the comical nature of the fighting.
 

Shanlei91

Sonic handles my blue balls
The finale in a nutshell:

Pc6vsKF.jpg

I think the "previously on" montage in the beginning of the episode, reminding us that once Belinda is out it's everyone for themselves, was an intentional red herring.
 

Trakan

Member
She very well could have hired/requested the shooter, but I don't think it could have been her herself just due to the physical characteristics of the shooter -- far too tall. I also think she must realize that Russell was the mastermind and Gamby a bit of a reluctant participant and herself wouldn't have been able to shoot him so easily. But a hitman would probably just know what either looked like and have been willing to shoot whichever showed up.

Swift could have been involved in retaliation for the way Neal treats her. I think the car burning is a little bit of a red herring either way. It's meant to put us on the trail of Belinda or Lee as the culprits, but everyone knows her house was burned down in general so another Principal having something burned would make sense without the context of knowing who did the first burning.

Yeah, I didn't mean it was her literally but that it's her behind it. I don't think she cares who was the mastermind, just that her life is ruined after what these two did.

It being Russell makes no sense IMO. We've seen who he really is, how he handled situations with his mother in law and neighbor. He's crazier than Gamby, but deep down he's paranoid about everything and I think has truly becomes friends with him. During the scene with his wife, he didn't care at all that he was called the co-principal, just that he looked fat. The stuff at the flagpole was praise. He was complimenting him after thinking Gamby was a pussy all this time. He was impressed.
 
Lee being enthusiastic and happy around his wife could be a way for the audience to not suspect him and him complimenting and truly cementing his friendship with Gamby could be a way for Gamby not to suspect him. He's never been that nice to him before and it happens right before the cars get fucked up.
And Lee not being able to deal with his neighbor or mother in law is a very different thing than him being kept away from his dream position. He wants to be principal so badly that he'd burn a person's house down. Lee doesn't seem like someone who would be happy being co-principal either.
The shooter didn't want to kill Gamby either, so it doesn't make Lee a killer, which would indeed be out of character. It was purely for intimidation and fear. It's a message.
On top of that, it's been shown that Lee will do awful things anonymously but not when people know it's him. That's his whole thing. He's a weasel. Even the call on the walkie could be used as a way for Lee to know exactly where Gamby is. The shooter shows up almost right after Gamby calls Lee.
I'm not saying it is Lee, but it's not crazy to assume it.

One thing I am positively sure of is that it won't be someone you've never seen before or someone who truly has a real reason to murder Gamby.
It's going to be played for humorous effect. It has to be funny, that's how Jody Hill does things. So it has to be someone that would make the whole situation humorous for the viewer but not the characters. While the show and Hill's previous work shows that things can be very dark and bleak, this thing has to eventually get a laugh. It's too outlandish for it to not. Shit just got ramped up.
 
Lee being enthusiastic and happy around his wife could be a way for the audience to not suspect him and him complimenting and truly cementing his friendship with Gamby could be a way for Gamby not to suspect him. He's never been that nice to him before and it happens right before the cars get fucked up.
And Lee not being able to deal with his neighbor or mother in law is a very different thing than him being kept away from his dream position. He wants to be principal so badly that he'd burn a person's house down. Lee doesn't seem like someone who would be happy being co-principal either.
The shooter didn't want to kill Gamby either, so it doesn't make Lee a killer, which would indeed be out of character. It was purely for intimidation and fear. It's a message.
On top of that, it's been shown that Lee will do awful things anonymously but not when people know it's him. That's his whole thing. He's a weasel. Even the call on the walkie could be used as a way for Lee to know exactly where Gamby is. The shooter shows up almost right after Gamby calls Lee.
I'm not saying it is Lee, but it's not crazy to assume it.

One thing I am positively sure of is that it won't be someone you've never seen before or someone who truly has a real reason to murder Gamby.
It's going to be played for humorous effect. It has to be funny, that's how Jody Hill does things. So it has to be someone that would make the whole situation humorous for the viewer but not the characters. While the show and Hill's previous work shows that things can be very dark and bleak, this thing has to eventually get a laugh. It's too outlandish for it to not. Shit just got ramped up.
I agree with this, it's just hard to shake the feeling that they want us to suspect Lee or Belinda. You're right though, I wouldn't put it past him but holy shit. Assuming it's Lee, I wonder if the reveal gets dragged out because how could you top shooting someone??
 

dave is ok

aztek is ok
Knowing Lee, his plan all along was to get rid of Gamby as soon as Brown was gone. I think he probably wanted to implicate him in the fire and catch him admitting to doing it (during the flagpole scene he was probably recording him) but Gamby was saying it was Lee who did it too. So after Gamby said something about being afraid of Belinda coming for them outside of the superintendents' building Lee altered his plan to frame Belinda for shooting Gamby instead

The season should have just ended with a shot of Lee burning his files/cds of Gamby
 
Knowing Lee, his plan all along was to get rid of Gamby as soon as Brown was gone. I think he probably wanted to implicate him in the fire and catch him admitting to doing it (during the flagpole scene he was probably recording him) but Gamby was saying it was Lee who did it too. So after Gamby said something about being afraid of Belinda coming for them outside of the superintendents' building Lee altered his plan to frame Belinda for shooting Gamby instead

The season should have just ended with a shot of Lee burning his files/cds of Gamby

Totally agree with all of this. Lee was setting up Gamby at the Flagpole but he botched it, then paid someone, probably his neighbor, to kill him.

God damn, Lee. What the fuck is wrong with you.
 

Fitts

Member
...wow. It's gonna be a rough wait for season 2. I really hope we're not done with Gamby or Belinda, but who fucking knows with this show? So many scenes had me thinking "this is definitely 'character' having a fantasy moment" throughout the season, (including the "end of the line, slut" scene) so I wouldn't put anything past the writers at this point.

There's no way it was Russell. If he were capable of that, he wouldn't be suffering through his life with his mother in law right now.

Who says he is? When Russell was talking with his wife, she mentioned the mother in law had locked herself in her room all day or something to that effect. She could already be dead. He's definitely been the most "evil" character and I wouldn't be surprised if he's a straight up monster by the end of the series -- a character who is only motivated by getting his ideal life at any cost.
 

OmegaFax

Member
Theory/Analysis

The thing I'm really curious about is whether they used a stand-in actor or not.

While it's very difficult to see, whoever is behind the mask has dark eyes. The character does not seem to walk like Lee Russell. At least, from the very quick shot of the shooter walking up on the curb does not seem as bow-legged at him.

The shooter stands on the curb and is a little taller than Gamby in these shots. It's safe to say that the shooter is about the same height, if not shorter than him. I also want to say the shooter is a woman. There's something about the shape of the body. Even though it's really thick clothing, I got the impression it was a woman. Perhaps the crazy teacher he had an affair with "snapped" when she finally realized her advances were futile.

Doesn't one of the high school sports teams use a Native American mascot?

Crackpot Theory:

Season 2 starts with Kenny Powers waking up from a drug fueled fever dream.

Edit:

Who says he is? When Russell was talking with his wife, she mentioned the mother in law had locked herself in her room all day or something to that effect. She could already be dead. He's definitely been the most "evil" character and I wouldn't be surprised if he's a straight up monster by the end of the series -- a character who is only motivated by getting his ideal life at any cost.

I really got the impression he poisoned her.

Funny enough, no one really assumes anything about Russell's wife like no one thinks anything of Ray. We know very little about her other than she's a nurse but she seems very aware of Russell's behavior or how he treats her mother. I wouldn't rule her out as an accomplice. No idea why they're together.
 
Episode 8...holy shit! This woman got turnt. Gotdamn I wasn't expecting it to get that nuts, and A Christmas Fucking Miracle playing in the background made it feel even more messed up.

Onto the finale!
 
Once again, please DO NOT spoiler tag speculation. If you're just spinning theories based on what we've seen this season, there is no need for tags and it confuses things. The only reason why you'd need spoiler tags is if it's information from a reasonable source on what's going to happen in S2 (e.g. an interview with a cast member, your friend that worked on the show, a season 2 trailer, etc...)
 

labx

Banned
Funny thing, is Lee or Ms Abbott. Why? Both of them have black shoes like the shooter and they walk like a girl (like the shooter)
 
I like that a lot of people thought that the show had prematurely shot it's wad when they burned down the principal's house at the beginning.
The last two episodes have easily eclipsed it and they're going to have to ramp it up further for next season.
 
Brilliant final two episodes. Some really exceptionally good television. Really enjoyed the finale last night and I'm super curious to find out the identity of the shooter.
 
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