#SeriouslyWon'tStopWritingAboutTheseTwo

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The Marvel of Trelsi (Part V)

I’m back to continue unpacking the sheer beauty of the Trelsi friendship and relationship during the canonical movie series, using the following template:

11 Signs of a True Friendship

So far, I have demonstrated that Trelsi fit the bill when it comes to: 1)-a wholehearted acceptance of the other, and 2) sticking with each other through thick and thin. It would have been incredibly positive to see scenes where Troy returned this favour, as the introductory scene between Troy and Kelsi gives a clear blueprint as to how much he values Kelsi, her feelings and how quickly he sees her inherent worth.

Let’s continue with the list.

Question: What makes the Trelsi friendship and dynamic so friggin’ special? Why does it make me want to weep and write poetry?

3- “They are happy for your successes, and congratulate you when you reach a new goal.”

The best examples for this are demonstrated with Troy’s reaction to Kelsi’s growing confidence and success as a composer*. Of course, this is entirely thanks to his kindness and consideration of her in the first place, but he does not ever try to overshadow her success by claiming credit. There are smaller indications of this, such as him gesturing to her after HIS successful callback audition, after which she receives applause, or his surprised smile and applause after she wins the scholarship to Juilliard. Sadly, that is such a tiny scene, as is usually the case with Trelsi interaction. Another example is his thumbs up during the HSM III musical, a quick way of showing his approval of her work even though he (outrageously) had not been there to see the beginning. 

But by far the best example is when Kelsi stands up to Sharpay during HSM I, right before the callbacks. Previously, Ms Darbus had indicated, perhaps understandably, that Troy and Gabriella’s lateness would cost them their chance at an audition. I always considered Kelsi’s upset to be melodramatic until I began studying her character in earnest and realizing that it is so important to her that Troy gets his chance to perform, because of what it represents for her as a person. She is empowered by Troy, and his success is a symbol of that empowerment. So devoted is she to helping Troy succeed that she overcomes her intimidation and apprehension towards Sharpay for one glorious moment:

[S] “You REALLY don’t wanna do that.”

[K] “Oh yes: I really do!”

*mic drop*

Troy’s reaction pretty much says it all: he’s impressed, he’s astonished, he’s proud, he’s quietly suppressing his own amusement at this verbal slam-dunk. In fact, I see smugness written all over his face. Overall, the pride shines through, because it means that Kelsi has taken his advice and encouragement on board, and fully understands her own potential. This is a triumph for her character arc and for the film’s overall message, and a testament to how Troy has an undeniable positive effect upon those around him. 

The movies have a greater slant towards Troy’s success in each one, and Kelsi is instrumental towards him achieving that success. Not just because she writes the songs for him to perform, but because she is eager for him to participate, devoted to nurturing his talent and delighted when he finally accepts his love of performing and shines onstage. It’s no exaggeration to state that Kelsi is the main motivating force behind Troy’s success throughout each movie; it cannot  be Gabriella, since the latter shows no consistency or loyalty and is quite willing to throw away all of Kelsi’s hard work on a whim and without apology. However, in line with what the movie wants us to believe, it should be Gabriella, who shows reciprocal concern in building Troy up. Once again, the movie inadvertently gives to Kelsi a role that should have been fulfilled by Troy’s girlfriend. His success is her success. Once again, they are on a completely equal playing field; they share each other’s highs and lows. Kelsi’s insistence upon Troy’s participation in her musical ideas can definitely come across as over-zealousness, perhaps even have a “Number 1 Fan” vibe, but I believe that there is genuine commitment to Troy’s potential and future behind it. Kelsi does not do so for her own glorification; in fact, if you study the performance scenes in the movie series, she rarely ever takes centre stage. It is ONLY when Troy moves towards her (as he does each time) that she gets a few moments under the spotlight. And she appears to be content with this. Why? Because it’s all about him, and her irrepressible desire for his success. In each performance scene, her excitement, pride, admiration and delight for Troy’s superlative performance abilities are small but bright lights-- far more touching and meaningful than the romantic signalling between him and Gabriella. The thing is, you can take Gabriella out of the equation and you’d have Troy centre stage, still pouring his heart and soul into performing. But you cannot take Kelsi out of the equation, because she’s the steady rhythm behind him, motivating him to reach his potential. Such selfless devotion is never shown by Gabriella throughout the entire movie series. 

4- “You feel totally comfortable around them, and they probably know things about you that many others don’t.”

Here we come to a significant disadvantage of limiting Trelsi scenes throughout the movie canon; we simply don’t get to see Troy and Kelsi hanging out when they are not rehearsing/working on music/performing. This is a great shame, because from the little we do see, Troy and Kelsi are completely comfortable with each other. The fact that Kelsi thinks nothing of holding his hand on two occasions is a significant sign of this. On the two occasions, once in HSM II and HSM III, both include Kelsi leading Troy to the piano; in other words, leading him to what the two of them share in common on an emotional level, which is a passion for music and performing. It appears to be a silent message. And Troy trusts her completely, allowing Kelsi to teach him a song on the very night of the Lava Springs Talent Show, and in HSM III, allowing her to pick him back up when he’s missing Gabriella. It is not necessary for Kelsi to hold his hand at all, which is why it did strike me when watching HSM II and HSM III in the early days. Comparatively speaking, she (Kelsi) is not Gabriella. Furthermore, the two have known each other for less time than he has known Gabriella and, more importantly, his team-mates. Should Troy have reacted in surprise, perhaps? And yet he does not react at all. He lets her take the lead, and follows without question. Interestingly, these two times occur when Gabriella is absent, which gives the impression that in the wake of Gabriella’s absence, it is Kelsi who steps in as his source of comfort, understanding and encouragement. Given that Kelsi is the only one who holds his hand for these reasons, it lends to the notion that Troy shares some affection with her, which appears different to that which he shares with Gabriella. It is, interestingly, not a simple case of substitution. It’s something else with its own merits entirely. Troy accepts this. He values it. These observations led me to Trelsi after watching HSM III. 

And that’s what really underpins the Trelsi dynamic: unspoken understanding. At the end of the day, there is little dialogue between Troy and Kelsi, which still frustrates me. But in many cases, there doesn’t need to be. Troy and Kelsi only have to look at each other, or make a gesture to know that they are on the same wavelength. That when Kelsi takes Troy’s hand, it’s a sign of encouragement and a method of spurring Troy to action. He understands that without question. This certainly doesn’t happen between Troy and anyone else, particularly not Gabriella. But in theory, Gabriella should be the one to pick him up both emotionally and literally with one gesture, right? A better comparison would be Troy’s friendship with Chad, in which Chad is there as a chief source of support. But this support is volatile and inconsistent, largely dependent upon whether Troy is doing things that Chad wants, and fitting an image that Chad has created. When the two of them are discussing their respective futures, they are miles away from each other in philosophy: Chad believes in the predestined and Troy believes in uncertainty. However, Troy and Chad’s friendship has the advantage of longevity; it is Chad who knows far more about Troy than anyone else. But doesn’t it speak volumes when Kelsi, a girl whom Troy has known for a significantly shorter amount of time, is more attuned to him than his best friend since pre-school? Obviously, I have a Trelsi bias, but had the script showed more of Troy and Kelsi together, I can see Troy confiding in Kelsi, because he knows that there is no judgement with her; no predictable scoffing, as he gets from Chad, no condescending laughter, as he gets from Gabriella. We have to use a lot of imagination in this regard, but the canonical scenes don’t contradict speculation. 

5- “They meet you halfway- they don’t expect you to always be the one to reach out to them.”

This one may be more relevant when it comes to comparing Troy and Gabriella’s relationship to the potential of Troy and Kelsi’s relationship, but as I have already said, there is no imbalance in support when it comes to the latter two. On the contrary, the Wildcats rarely reach out to Troy when he is struggling, as I discussed in the last post. It is he who must accept his culpability and must also be the friend to Chad and co., regardless of how much he might have suffered or struggled, regardless of his side of the story. Such a massive imbalance displays itself in every movie. In HSM I, Chad reaches out to Troy after realizing that betraying his trust to sabotage his relationship with Gabriella was wrong. But what he says to Troy is striking: “We’ve just had another team meeting.” I assume that he means the Wildcats. But isn’t Troy part of that team? Shouldn’t they have had the team meeting WITH Troy, explaining their duplicitous actions? The fact that Troy was not even aware of this “team meeting” demonstrates the gulf between him and people alleged to be his friends and team-mates, as well as explaining why they don’t often reach out to him. 

6- “They make you feel happier and more alive, not drained and stressed.”

Again, I will discuss this in more detail with regards to Troyella, but it is clear that Troy and Kelsi sincerely value their friendship and the consequences of their interactions with each other, whether in a happy or sad time, are nearly always positive. In HSM III, the squee-worthy hug had Troy smiling all the way up to the piano, giving him the encouragement that he needs to carry on without Gabriella. Later on, when Kelsi tells him that things will be fine, he looks somewhat reassured, despite having messed up on dance moves and songs throughout rehearsal. Earlier in HSM I, Troy is truly liberated when rehearsing “Breaking Free”; Kelsi is entirely on the same wavelength throughout as well. There’s just no comparison when it comes to the Wildcats; sometimes they are Troy’s buddies. Other times, they are the reason he looks so indecisive, confused, pressured and isolated. Other times, they cut him down with staggering cruelty and no apology whatsoever. None of this volatility is represented in the Trelsi friendship. 

7- “They tell you the truth about things, even if you may not want to hear it.”

Now this one is slightly different. And again, this demonstrates why Troy and Kelsi should have had more scenes together. If so, we could have seen how the two of them dealt with significant crises that headed their way. The main crisis would be the increasingly negative effect of Gabriella’s presence on troy, and the resultant damage to Troy. It would be a huge test of Kelsi’s character as to whether she would have enough objectivity to point out these problems to him, or try and comfort him without facing these uncomfortable truths. Given her love for the image of Troyella as depicted through her song lyrics, the latter possibility is more likely, up to and until something major enough happens to change Kelsi’s mind. I will discuss this in more detail when looking at Trelsi romance and what the implications are. Suffice to say, Kelsi’s lack of objectivity towards Gabriella is a significant disadvantage to Troy, who needs to see that his relationship is destructive and unhealthy. 

And this works the other way around, too. Even though Gabriella quits each musical/show, I simply cannot see Troy admitting to Kelsi that this is her (Gabriella’s fault). And Kelsi deserves to see that. It is patently obvious that Gabriella’s repeated quitting always threatens putting her hard work to waste. But Troy never addresses this; instead, he is caught up trying to get Gabriella back, and taking the blame for his own reaction to her absence. This is why he apologizes to Kelsi for messing up during rehearsals in HSM III. Of course, he is not helped by the fact that Kelsi cannot see any fault in Gabriella, but he doesn’t help her either by pretending there is no link between the two events. I will look at this in more detail later (as I keep saying!), as neither of them are willing to move past the superficial image of Troyella. 

To be fair, Kelsi does not allow Troy to blame himself for Gabriella’s absence. And I do think, in other circumstances, they would provide the support each other needed, because they have a very strong inclination to support each other through thick and thin. One clear example of this is where the Wildcats are concerned. Kelsi’s decision to support Troy in HSM II sent a clear message of disapproval towards the Wildcats’ behaviour. On the other hand, Troy’s reaction was of hurt and confusion-- notably not anger towards their actions. So potentially, Kelsi seems capable of objectivity when it comes to their friends, as she has less of an emotional connection to them than to Troy. 

8- “They don’t blow things out of proportion when you make a mistake-- they forgive you.”

Trelsi win 11 times out of 10 on this one. The rehearsal example in HSM III works time and time again to illustrate this. Kelsi has no reason to remain patient with Troy, as his potential mistakes will reflect poorly upon her during the final show. And remember, judges from Juilliard will be in attendance, and she desperately wants that scholarship. (Don’t be fooled by Kelsi’s apparently modest and demure nature; underneath it all, she is ambitious). Instead, she tells him that “it will be fine”, which I always tend to consider weak encouragement, but which comforts Troy a great deal. Kelsi does not expect perfection from Troy, does not need him to be perfect, and never makes hypercritical comments towards him. This forms part of the unspoken understanding that they have; support when everyone else doesn’t understand. The only time that Kelsi did complain to Troy was, inexplicably, at the beginning of HSM II when it was apparently so outrageous that Fulton told them to work for cash. By the time she refuses to join in the infamous Silent Treatment however, it appears all is forgotten and forgiven. Had we seen more scenes between Troy and Kelsi, it is reasonable to assume that this would be shown time and time again between the two of them. Because of the wholehearted acceptance of each other, as was discussed in Point #1 they are not operating under some grand delusion of what a friendship will be like, but what it should actually be like. And Troy and Kelsi are on a journey together, where their success is dependent upon unconditional support. They expect pitfalls and setbacks. This reasoned approach to friendship makes it incredibly strong and means that they aren’t ever going to put each other down for being human. 

The Wildcats should take note. 

TO BE CONTINUED

(*FOOTNOTE-- Remember, out of all the cast members, Troy and Kelsi are the “Playmakers”. It’s their job to succeed and kick ass. Hence we have that lovely scene at the end of HSM I, where Troy awards Kelsi the game ball:[T] “Composer! Here’s your game ball. You deserve it, Playmaker.”Once again, whilst in the middle of celebrating his own victory, far more popular with the school, given how much people idolize the Wildcats, Troy takes the time out to congratulate Kelsi not just saying “well done/congratulations” but by reverting back to their esoteric language. Notably, he gives his own game ball away to someone considerably less well-known, and someone who knows nothing about sports (Kelsi twirling the ball in her hands afterwards is hilarious). This demonstrates that Kelsi’s success is more meaningful to Troy than his own; he’s heard the title “Playmaker” applied to himself so many times, and doesn’t need the Game Ball. Notably, he does not give it to Gabriella, with whom he is supposed to share this chemistry when performing. After all, she gave a good performance. He gives it to Kelsi, because once again, he senses that she needs it, and that she is the one who truly deserves it. This is because of how he quickly and deeply he connects to her music. But he wants to underscore his gratitude towards her for helping reveal this part of himself, and his pride in her achievements, so he uses the way that only she will understand by calling her “Playmaker.” Since the Playmaker is “the one who makes everyone else look good”, he’s basically saying that the success of his performance was down to HER. Not Gabriella. It’s a lovely, lovely compliment to give someone, made even more special by repeating the nickname affectionately and letting her get some applause from his team-mates. Once again, Troy goes out of his way to make kind/thoughtful gestures towards Kelsi and by her smile, we can see how much this means to her).