#BUT if there's anything that needs clarification/explanation send me another ask!! love over analysing tv shows help me

[laylakeating]

this ask is about to be so long i apologize

i’m actually curious about your rini thoughts. idk if you’ve ever said it before but how do you think their relationship was intended to end at first? rinis and ex hsmtmts stans main argument is always “rina is only endgame bc of the jolivia fallout and nini leaving bc of olivia’s popularity”

i’ve always been of the idea it was genuinely a dawson’s creek situation. tim accidentally recreated his favorite show in a way lmao. i do think rini was probably suppose to be endgame at first and rina was suppose to be plot device but when they filmed rinas scenes he realized he has to write towards this (like he said). so he wrote it in a way in s1 where they never truly end their book. even before the flashback the last 2 episodes didn’t close their book at all ricky honestly just seemed more confused about his feelings towards her more than anything. and the flashback (that was confirmed not closure 🫂🫂) makes that even more obvious they didn’t want to close the book.

but anyways i think rini was prob endgame at first and then in the s2 writing room or after reading s1 opinions they realized they accidentally in s1 wrote a relationship that is destined to fail and went with it. the same thing happened with dawsey. they realized the better option was jacey and went with it. and i love when writers realize maybe the relationships or storylines they planned at first aren’t working so they change it (not doing that is how we get horrible endgame relationships especially in disney shows)

i think i remember tim saying he wanted them broken up before any of that irl drama even went down but even if some of it was bc of the drama then ok? it probably gave them the courage to full out end rini and go with rina.

okay so. strap in. this got so long i put it under tab thingy. i know that's called something i just don't remember what 😭

WELP LET'S GOOOO

main rini thoughts: hate the ship, hate the characters together and what they bring out in each other BUT i absolutely love their relationship from a writing perspective. it's very well written and well structured and the writer in me really admires it.

idk if you’ve ever said it before but how do you think their relationship was intended to end at first?

i haven't said it before BUT naturally i have opinions <3 i think their relationship (their romantic one, anyway) was set up to end in much the same way it actually DID end. i'll explain why i think this is a little bit, but just to address the next bit of your ask:

rinis and ex hsmtmts stans main argument is always “rina is only endgame bc of the jolivia fallout and nini leaving bc of olivia’s popularity”

i think that's a fairly valid opinion to hold if not also like. totally wrong. while it may have contributed to how certain scenes were written (lots of video calls between rini etc) the main outcome (rini breakup) i believe has always remained the same. the seeds have been laid since s1 !! (going to explain this dw)

i’ve always been of the idea it was genuinely a dawson’s creek situation. tim accidentally recreated his favorite show in a way lmao. i do think rini was probably suppose to be endgame at first and rina was suppose to be plot device but when they filmed rinas scenes he realized he has to write towards this (like he said).

this is a very interesting interpretation that i don't necessarily...disagree with? but i've got to say, that from analysing the show bc i can't ever just watch something it's pretty clear that rini was never meant to endgame past s1. it's set up in the PILOT. while i can definitely see tim and the writers deciding to focus more on rina, i really do think that rini was always written to fail and was always MEANT to.

so he wrote it in a way in s1 where they never truly end their book. even before the flashback the last 2 episodes didn’t close their book at all ricky honestly just seemed more confused about his feelings towards her more than anything. and the flashback (that was confirmed not closure 🫂🫂) makes that even more obvious they didn’t want to close the book.

yeah i pretty much agree with all of this. they discovered gold with rina, wanted to keep building towards it, but they didn't want to throw away everything they'd built (to fail lmao) with rini, to they left all the necessary avenues open and gave neither ricky OR gina proper closure leading into s2.

okay but now: RINI ANALYSIS (BUT ESP NINI)

so. i said before that rini were never meant to be endgame past s1, and that this was set up in the pilot.

(cheryl blossom voice) let's unpack that, shall we?

in the pilot we encounter a nini who we are told (and shown!) is remarkably different from before. she's stepping out of her comfort zone and auditioning for the lead. now, why is this important?

in 101 nini tells ricky "the old me got her heart broken. and then she went away and she found herself" (or something along those lines lmao i'm too lazy to look it up). this is pretty pivotal bc this is when nini also found her voice. she steps out of her shell (ej says something similar). kourtney makes several remarks of the same nature!! we get the impression that while nini is clearly NOT over ricky, she's much better off without him (while he's spiralling without her).

so now we can follow that thread to 105. nini blows off the homecoming dance and goes to the karaoke bar with kourtney. kourtney signs her up to sing. nini is very adamant that she doesn't want to...and what happens next? they have a heart to heart, where kourtney says something VERY impactful (and i looked this one up bc it is IMPORTANT) - "what happened to the 7th grade nini who used to belt this song out in the back seat of my mum's minivan?" - "she grew up" - "nuh-uh. she met ricky." "what?" "ever since you discovered boys you've spent way too much time trying to see yourself through their eyes."

AND BOOM. THERE IT IS. THERE IT IS

now. WHY am i making such a big deal out of this ONE scene? it's a good kourtney/nini bonding moment, sure, but how does it let us know that rini was written to fail???

let us jump ahead to season 2. specifically, season 2, episode 6.

what happens in 206 that doesn't have anything to do with rina, you ask?

well, dear reader, in 206, nini writes a song. what's that song called?

it's called the rose song. and within the rose song there are a few choice lyrics:

"i am more than what i am to you" - directly inspired by what kourtney says to howie beforehand at slices (there's a lot of focus on nini's reaction to this here btw)

and

AND

"all my life i've seen myself through your eyes"

which okay. WOW. DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR ANYONE??????

it's a DIRECT callback to s1. it's a direct callback to all of the problems in the rini relationship that have ALWAYS BEEN THERE.

these seeds were always planted. all the signs were there!!! you just had to look for them <3

to get even deeper into it...rini are endgame in s1 bc they both regress back to the "safe" option. despite moving on from nini (during the period of time gina is actively in his life) ricky confesses his love for her (this is due to lots of things..gina leaving, his parents' divorce etc). nini is safe. he knows her!! ricky's arc in s1 is abt being vulnerable emotionally!! it's abt saying ily!! this had to happen with nini BC he'd known her as long as he'd known her and also bc she'd said it first!! he already knew how she felt !!

whereas nini tried to have it all. she wasn't over ricky but she couldn't be WITH ricky and also chase her dreams. they needed different things from one another, and while it seems like everything is tied up in a neat little bow at the end of s1, it's really just the tip of the iceberg for them.

to make a veryyyy long story short, i think the line "i never outgrew you" says it best. in the end, that's exactly what happened. nini had grown too much as a person to stay "trapped" in her relationship, and ricky had discovered that change wasn't as bad as he thought and learnt to stop relying so heavily on nini (mostly thanks to gina).

in s1, we see rini outgrow each other, even if they don't. in s2, they realise it for themselves. and that's how we know they were ALWAYS written to fail.

anyway, i digress. also i hope this was coherent lmao.