Don’t Kill Bill
Episode 4 of The Chair Season 1 begins with Bill being handed a temporary suspension and banned from campus for now. With students coming to Ji-Yoon crying, our chair arrives before Bill and demands he write a proper apology before his disciplinary meeting. Ju-Ju is also in trouble for biting, so the pair team up to write their letters of apology. After finishing their letters, Ju-Ju and Bill both read them out to one another. There’s a nice moment here about Ju-Ju’s birth name, Ju-Hee, but it’s cut short as we skip back to the university for more shenanigans. Joan manages to get word back from the IT technician. He’s tracked down the culprit to the humanities library and it seems the review was posted between 5-6pm. This gives them a good window to work with, as Joan dons a disguise and waits in the library. There, she notices another message sent, a ping on her laptop, sending her searching across the library. Eventually she finds the boy and gives him a piece of her mind outside. Yaz’s class is a big hit as singing and dancing ensues across the room. Rentz watches from afar and reflects on his own teaching methods, wondering if they’re a bit archaic or not. Meanwhile, Ji-Yoon learns that David Duchovny is going to take over Bill’s class. Given Bill is under disciplinary measures, Larson reminds Ji-Yoon that she’s the chair now and needs to take her position seriously. However, her line between colleague and supervisor is blurred, and Ji-Yoon is struggling with distinguishing that right now. Ju-Ju runs away from Bill, rushing onto campus and causing a whole world of problems for Bill as he follows. When he notices a sign for David Duchovny and learns from Ji-Yoon that he’s taking over his class. Bill isn’t exactly thrilled. Eventually the pair catch up with Ju-Ju and take her back home. However, Larson happens to be watching them from afar.
The Episode Review
Pembroke definitely needs new blood on the teaching side of things and that earlier plot point about getting rid of three teachers seems to have taken a backseat in favour of Bill’s disciplinary hearing. We’ve been told a few times that Bill’s a great teacher but… is he? We’ve seen nothing in this show to suggest that and if anything, all it’s done is show that he’s apathetic to the whole situation. Surely it’s an easy decision for Ji-Yoon to make him the first of the three teachers to be let go. While Ji-Yoon and Yaz are actually really good characters, Bill by comparison is not. He’s a difficult guy to root for and his constant joking and lighthearted quips don’t do his character many favours. Still, we’ll have to wait and see where this one goes next but one can’t help but feel this show feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity.
