#also they better not break up redlyn.

[generalwildcat]

I have a LOT of feelings about the Redlyn breakup scene.

Ok maybe just a little bit of venting ahead.... I knew this was coming. I was hoping so much it was just a rumor or one of those plots that's not really a plot to throw people off what's really gonna happen. And even before watching the episode I've been having conflicting feelings about some of the couples. Hell, even watching the scene, as beautiful as it was, I still have conflicting feelings. It makes perfect sense why Big Red made the gesture he did in season 3. When he went to see Ashlyn during Frozen in between her scenes and told her he knew she was the only person for him. It was guilt for what he did. It was realization that something else was going on. It was him having his own inner conflict. That being said, the fact that it was between Big Red and Seb was so out of character for both of them. I understand the writer's strike, the stress of writing and deadlines and everything that comes with being a creative individual. Not denying that. But it still feels like a cop-out. Because cheating, whether it's an almost-kiss, an actual kiss, or more, is the easy way out for couples to break up or for something to happen. There couldn't have been something else? The way Ashlyn realized she was queer; the fireworks she felt just from hugging Val; having these questions and emotions but not acting on them.... It's doable. I don't understand how Big Red couldn't have had similar feelings without kissing Seb. Maybe it'd make more sense if we could have seen it play out for ourselves.... I don't know. It also makes me kinda mad because as much as I was on the fence about Redlyn when the series started, the chemistry between the actors and how their characters are together.... I don't know, maybe I'm just a sucker for quirky characters. Especially after Ashlyn's queer revelation, and the biconic "I'm Big Red, I'm Ashlyn's boyfriend, and I'm bi", I was so looking forward to seeing a second healthy queer couple other than Seblos. However, the way they did the Redlyn breakup scene - reasoning aside - was pretty damn good. Especially when Ashlyn came out to Big Red. There was so much relief and happiness there. And I can understand exactly how Ashlyn felt, not knowing for sure how Big Red would react to her. That relief of saying who you truly are and having someone unconditionally accept, support, and not question is one of the most incredible feelings. It was exactly how I felt when I came out, because I expected so many questions or for people to not understand. Most of all, it goes to show that people can have a romantic relationship and realize that they were better off as friends. That they can remain friends. The friendship that any relationship is based off of should always be the most important aspect. I'm not mad about the season heading towards Ashlyn and Maddox becoming girlfriends. I know what happens and I'm excited to see how it plays out between them in the last few episodes. It really was a beautiful breakup. As sad as I am to see the era of Redlyn end, even if they can't be #relationshipgoals, I'm glad they can at least be #bibesties.

[dream-gate]

Review of season 4 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

Let's get my criticisms out of the way, this list is short

1) It needed to be longer, not as in more episodes at the end because I'm sad it's over but maybe adding in like 3 more scenes where we are doing rehearsals for the musical. It's like a table read and then it's opening night, feels sparse.

2) Scream being saved for opening night was a choice, I can imagine it being used earlier for story reasons, it feels under utilized.

3) EJ has gotten better but doesn't realize that girlfriends are not something that can be "stolen" and he also still thinks Ricky was the reason for his last two break ups. Babygirl, look at your behaviour.

The good things? Literally everything else.

1) In season 3 I was joking around about Seb and Big Red being the only wildcats in town and that being Big Red's gay moment.

2) Speaking of Big Red I love that his name is still Big Red, I didn't trust them to leave it be.

3) I think Ashlyn should have gotten her girl kissing and still got to be with Big Red but not because she cheated, more like they just come to an agreement or something. But madlyn is good, no complaints about that, I just am attached to redlyn.

4) Carlos is that bitch.

5) Jet and Maddox just appearing is so funny, not a chance they would move like 3 days into the school year, iconic.

6) Mark and Spark perfectly captures the feeling of being too old for the new disney shows in like 2009 onward or whatever, it's very dog with a blog.

7) Kourtney has the best looks all season, the duck look for the movie, the orange, love it. Obviously any Sharpay look is going to be good because I am a Sharpay fan forever.

8) Related so nice that Kourtney didn't choose the fancy ivy league school and just went for the choice that made her happiest, that's what we've been needing for her the whole time.

9) "who the fuck are you guys"

Ricky and Gina the heart and soul of the series, they're so bad at secret dating, I can't believe that only Ashlyn guessed that. The whole show really was leading to this season for them, it's so good, they're adorable and so sweet together.

They have like 2 little problems and they overcome it and it like strengthens their bond and it's like, in season 3 people are saying "it's been a week why does Gina feel ignored" but that would be a preview of the future, the preview here is like working through stuff. Love their growth and how it makes them work well together.

Gina's choice to stay in Salt Lake not just for Ricky but for all her friends and the world she's worked hard to like, and it's so true Ricky just saw her as she was, he's the first person to accept her and it was good she said that.

I want to know if the tag was there on the prop the whole time, I am so curious!

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

I JUST FINISHED EPISODE FIVE AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

GUESS WHAT'S PLAYING ON REPEAT IN MY HEAD!!! IT'S "YOU KISSED MY BOYFRIEND?" :'DDDD!!!

I HOPE Y'ALL ARE ENJOYING LAUGHING AT MY PAIN 😭😭😭 no genuinely I hope it helps soften this for you lol

I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine

Anyway 🤪✌️ let's get going :)

CARLOSSSSSS 😭😭😭😭😭💔💔!!!! I HATE TO BREAK IT TO YOU GUYS BUT NO ONE IS GOING THROUGH IT AS MUCH AS CARLOS EXCEPT MAYBE RICKY

YOU ALL JUST CAN'T MATCH UP

Anyway xD. I honestly felt SO bad for Carlos this episode. But you know what I didn't expect to come out of this storyline xd? The part of his conversation with Miss Jenn where they (the show) talked about the high standards for gay people in society, tied into Carlos's body and self esteem issues. Like?? Hello??? Honestly a slay?? I'm not gonna say it makes this WORTH IT, but still lol.

And, to be totally honest or a moment, the longer it goes on, the more okay I am with this storyline. Obviously I don't like "cheating gay" trope, but with Big Red explaining what happened I'm feeling a bit better about it. And I mean hey - it's angst. And also, it's a TV show, and people (especially tv characters lol) make mistakes. I'm not saying I've forgiven either of them yet lol, but I still love them.

Anyway! Back to my drama lol. Besides that serious stuff though Carlos and Miss Jenn's scene was HILARIOUS lol xD. Also, back on the serious stuff for a moment, I love how she acknowledged that it doesn't just go away, but promised to be there by his side through it :'). Beautiful <3.

Now. We'll be back to Carlos in a moment, because I'm gonna discuss Big Red and Ashlyn first lol.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I WAS S O HOPING HE WOULDN'T SAY IT!!! Our greatest fears came true y'all 😭. Also I gotta say I LOVE that Ashlyn was defending Carlos. But also, since she was, and not really defending herself, I think that was a pretty sure sign that it was over xD. They were great, and now, they've grown up, and changed, and they're different :'). Honestly that scene made me feel better about the whole thing than anything else. It honestly kind of mad me okay with the storyline lol? Like I said, I'm loving the angst, and honestly? I just don't enjoy disliking things. Is this how I wanted it to go down, for any of them? No. But it's what I have :). Anyway, HUAOFWIZMOFKAGSKNL I WAS DYING THROUGHOUT THAT ENTIRE SCENE!!! Y'all the liveblogging of panic that was being sent to my sibling 😭😭 xD.

But AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH ASHLYN COMING OUT!!!! :'DDDD. And finally (it's been one episode lol) an explanation on what happened 😭. Yeah honestly I feel like that's the best possible choice. My mans (as in men) just let the impulsive thoughts win 😌 /hj xDD. Or, the best possible option I guess, lol. Anyway, that honestly was the most beautiful breakup ever :'D. They just. . . genuinely were on the same page :'). Given that Redlyn's the last OG ship left (besides Seblos, but yk, they're B-U-R-N-T lol xD they better be fine though -.-), it does feel a bit bittersweet :'). Mostly bitter lol xd. I just- sighh. It's better this way for both of them, but I will miss them :'/. Ash is right - it really does feel like the end of an era x'd. Ahh, my babeys <3.

Goodbye and Rest in Peace, Redlyn <3. You were wonderful :').

Also at this time I'd like to once again bring up the fact that we were jokingly considering Big Rashlyn as the ship name LOL. Wayyy back in the day xD. Anyway lol.

Oh and also, I like that Big Red actually DID pick up on the Maddox and Ashlyn thing lol :'). Good for him xD. Also, it kinda shows again that he and Ash had changed really early on :( :').

Now, back to Carlos lol xd. Yeah, we're doing this part a bit chronologically since it involves all three of them and the background is important for both sides of it lol (Big Red and Ashlyn as one side because their scene was together lol). STOPPPP Caros wanting the international tea 😭😭💔 honey I'm so sorry but this meeting is about to crash and burn :'(( <33. And then I just- BIG RED!! THIS IS THE WORST THING YOU'VE DONE SO FAR!! WORSE THAN KISSING SEB!!! YOU TOLD CARLOS, NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT THE GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS PART, BY DOING A DOUBLE THUMB POINT!!!! Okay, maybe it's on equal footing with smiling while you told Ash xD, BUT STILL!!!! Y'all 😭. Seriously I rewatched that part like three times though. Just like, those 30 seconds of them talking. Carlos's HURT is just what gets to me 😭💔. The hurt and heartbreak and anger in his voice just K I L L E D M E!!! I'm not okay 😭😭😭❤️💔. But honestly I loved it lol xd because it was just SO. GOOD!! Also "I'm very fond of you" 😭😭😭😭 STOP. That whole line honestly - like I said, the whole conversation xdd 😭😭💔❤️. I love them so much and this hurts <33.

Also, I could insult Big Red by saying you don't have to worry about the self conscious side of it anymore Carlos, but I will not because that was a joke my brain made that I don't believe anyway xD. I mean, obviously Seb doesn't feel that way, but you know lol.

Anyway!! I am super stressed and not at all ready :')). Especially because the next episode started a little bit before I could pause it (and then the disney+ logo bit just. disappeared from the runtime lol) and I SAW THAT CARLOS'S SHIRT IS THE ONE HE HAS ON IN OVER AGAIN!!! LIKE I'M PRETTY SURE!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!! It took me a minute of having it paused at the very beginning of the recap but then when I registered it I was like o.o xD. Anyway!

Going from those three into Ash, honeyyy 😭😭😭😭😭💔💔. Madison picking up 😭😭 :'(((. It's okay honey, I'm sure Maddox still likes you, it's probably a misunderstanding D':. Maybe they were breaking up and Maddox didn't answer because she was upset lol. Anyway xD! I felt so bad for her 😭😭. Also AAHHHH HER CLEANING OUT HER LOCKER HIGDKZOSMP 😭😭😭. Like of their pictures :'((. But I was also like xD "chill girl they're still your friends 😭 xD" lol. Maybe she left like one of Big Red so he's equal to her other friends xD. I justified she didn't have multiple of Maddox :((. But, anyway, ouch <3333.

AAAAAHHHHHHHH KOURTNEYYYY!! I'M SO HAPPY FOR HER :'DDDD. Obviously this whole thing is still scary, but she just seems genuinely happy here :'). I don't think we would've seen that if we watched her visit an Ivy League. And then the song being her sign 😭😭😭- stop, don't talk to me <33. It was perfect :')). And AAAHHHHHH IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!! GIRL YOU SLAYED S O H A R D :DDDD!!! WHOOOO ❤️❤️🤩🥰😍🥳🥳😭❤️❤️. Good crying lol <3. It was just amazing :'D. And again, I'm just so happy that she's happy 🥰. Obviously it's still scary, and anxiety-inducing, and weird, but I think she feels a tiny bit more confident in her journey now :'). And hopefully, she can enjoy the year a little bit more <3. Also, I love how surprised they all looked when she started singing xD. A very real reaction lol. And as they SHOULD, she is amazing :DDDD. I love her so much <3333.

AAAHHHHHH EJ!!!! HE'S HERE :DDDD!!! Well I mean, he's not here lol, he's there, but you know xD. HE'S ARRIVED ON THE SHOWWW!!! Lol xD. Anyway!! AAHHHH He's thriving so much :'D. And he's away from his dad :')). I'm honestly just so happy for him <333. Also, it seems like he may mayhaps (just go with it - lol call me ginain 1x05- anyway xD) have a thing going on with Val 👀👀? Good for you EJ :'D. I'm happy for you :') 🥰. He deserves this so much <333. Also, that SONG!!! IT WAS AMAZING 😭😭❤️❤️❤️. And AYYY they finally let Matt play guitar :D xD. I love him so much lol <3. EJ and Matt :).

RINA!! Okay so Ricky first, man was going through it 😭😭💔❤️. I definitely think he really needed that time with EJ <3. And honestly just, time away in general. But not alone :). But like, between seeing how EJ is flourishing (especially given what EJ said at the end), and being outside of everything and being able to look at it with an outside perspective (from himself and EJ), it was what he needed :'). Also that tough love was really what he needed 😭 xD. Seriously though, EJ saying basically that he would do anything for Gina, and the she deserves the best? 😭😭😭😭😭😭💔❤️❤️ Stop, I'm not okay <3333. But seriously, their conversation was just SO. GOOD. And the ACTING bro don't even get me started on how amazing everyone's acting has been 😭😭💔❤️. But Ricky crying? Dang that hit HARD!! And yeah, EJ said exactly what he needed to hear. A little comfort in the way of having faith of him, a little tough love, and just plain old love. He's finally starting to heal, to not run, and I just love that so much for him :')). I'm so happy for Ricky 😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰 :')). He deserves this <3.

Also them hugging and saying I love you 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️. I can't dude I love them so much <333. They really are brothers :')).

Though I've gotta say that right after/during that I was like "and after you keep stealing his girlfriends too :')" AND THEN THEY BASICALLY SAID THAT SLFJGHDKGJLS XDD!! That part was amazing lol, on its own too xD. And also the guitar :'D. Lovely <333.

GINAAA!!! GIRL YOU WERE SLAYING SO HARD THIS EPISODE :DDD! GIRL SHE WAS SLAYING SO HARD THIS EPISODE :DDDD!!! Like all the filming?? YES girl go off :O :DD!! Although I am kinda like. "Bestie the rehearsal xD." still lol, but to be fair that still wouldn't have been enough xD. Anyway, I'm glad Mack got to have dinner with them and honestly just be kinda normal for a bit :). Like, him trying to pay? Nah, dude :). And hey, Gina's doing what she said :p. She's training him how to live life a bit :'D. Also Gina's mom liking him was sus 😭😭. I mean like, sus in a :'((( way because she likes him and would let Gina date him but that's just because he's successful DD':. And that's rude frankly :'((. I mean it's more than rude but still lol. And then YES Gina honestly ska <33 stad up to her :)). I know you love her but she ain't perfect and she needs to know what you have to say <3.

And then, that last scene (with Rina). AAAAHHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️. Y'all I was freaking out and then HE SAW MACK AND HE TURNED AWAY AND I WAS ABOUT TO LOSE MY MIND I SWEAR, BUT THEN AAAAAHHHHHHHHH GINA SAW HIM :DDDD!!! AND I WAS SCARED SHE WOULD BE TOO LATE BUT P H E W SHE WASN'T 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰 :'DDD!!! AND AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH SHE TOLD HER MOM ABOUT THEM :'DDDD!!!!!! AND AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH WAS THAT SECOND CHANCE PLAYING??? BUT I JUST WPXIGUSNMOSMLOAUNPA AND THEN THE K I S S S S S!!!! Y'ALL THAT WAS SO GOOD 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️. AND IT WAS SO CINEMATIC!!! AAAHHHHHHH I JUST LOVED IT SO MUCH :'DDDDDD.

Also side note Ricky calling EJ 😭😭💔❤️ :')).

And then NOOOOOO THE SHOWWW 😭😭😭😭💔❤️❤️. Only Emmy and Miss Jenn being there :'((( 😭😭💔. I was hoping at least a few people would be :'(( but no D':. I mean I know they're all going tough it but 😭 DD':. Anyway that sucks really bad :((. Also what was the principal doing before he came in that he was so happy about lol. Anyway xD.

Accidentally am at the end of the episode and haven't done Miss Jenn yet (shhh might've forgotten xdd) SO here she is :D. Again her and Carlos's scenes were wonderful 😭😭😭❤️❤️. I just love her being there for him :'))). And him for her 🥰🥰. And you know what? We deserve this. We deserve sad Carlos who gets comfort 😤😤😌. Does it hurt? Yes xd. But it's GOOD 😭❤️❤️❤️ MH <333. Anyway xD. Poor Miss Jenn overall though :'((. Especially with the show 😭😭 DD':. I love her though <333

And poor Emmy too :'((. Honey's just trying her best <33. And I mean she literally came to this school for the musical and to be with them D':. Poor girl 😭😭❤️ <333. Plus Carlos said Seb was the only reliable theatre kid but now there's Emmy :'((( :'). She is, but no one else was there 😭💔. Anyway she's slaying as always :'( <333.

Oh also I forgot to mention it but 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔 CARLOS SITTING IN THE STAIRWELL WITH IT RAINING LOOKING AT PICTURES OF SEB KILLED ME 😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔❤️. Also the caption said something about "my favorite person" or something like that so ha I'm fine :'))). Heh :'))). Also, WE HAD NO IDEA HOW DEPRESSING THESE SCENES REALLY WERE 😭😭😭😭💔💔. Like from the promo pics xdd 😭😭. First Halloween now this 😭. Like this one looked sad unless you were like me and thought it as just his skater outfit for a second :')), but still it was WAY worse 😭😭😭💔 DD':. Anyway it killed me thank you :)) :')) :'(( <3333.

Maddox, Jet, Seb, and Nini - we miss you :')) ❤️😭💔❤️❤️🥰. I have no clue where Maddox and Jet were but you know xD.

This episode was so amazing. I loved it so much :'DD. Like, yes, it caused me immensely, immeasurable pain, but it was SO GOOD. The EMOTIONS this episode!! And every episode tbh lol. Like I said, I haven't mentioned it much as of yet, but the acting is absolutely PHENOMENAL!!! And just overall y'all I am so not okay with this show 😭😭😭❤️💔💔 xdd. Like, not okay over this show lol. Anyway xD. I'm so scared for the next episode, and the next few episodes. And I'm also SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Y'all I think we might get Over Again next episode :'D (nearly said week lol). That would heal my broken heart a bit <3.

Oh also, input on everything this far from my sibling through my updates (panicked texts): SEB WOULD NEVER THE WRITERS ARE WRONG. Summarized a bit, but it wasn't much longer than that lol. So yeah, that <3 xD. I agree but I'm still okay with the storyline lol. Again - I'm just enjoying what I've got :).

Anyway!! Yeah :)). Wonderful episode- OH YEAH!!! THE MUSIC WAS S O GOOD!!!! I know I talked about them individually but it was just AMAZING :'DDD!!! Both songs were so amazing, thank you very much for those 🥰🥰. I loved them :'D. And again, that Second Chance motif killed me <3.

But yeah!! I'm so nervous and so excited :))).

NOW IT'S TIME FOR EPISODE 6!!!!

[neon-in-the-night-time]

finished season 2, my thoughts:

the pizza oven >:(((((((

hate how covid basically destroyed the ensemble cast, i think they were an integral part of the theme of drama club as family even if we didn’t really know most of them

i noticed that they began to mix in some non-diegetic music in with the diegetic (for those not aware, diegetic music is music that is part of the fictional setting and is heard by characters). the two songs i noticed it with was granted and second chance. i think that this was a good narrative choice overall, even though it breaks the continuity of having all the songs being physically sung by the characters in-universe, because it brings an opportunity for characters who wouldn’t normally be characterized as songwriters to have their own original song. and it also opened the door to balance and different way to dance in season 3 so i gotta love it

i really loved the seblos and the redlyn plot lines in this season. i like the healthy dynamic it presents, where even when there’s bumps in the road they work through it. especially when you compare it to the super toxic relationships i and a lot of other folks grew up watching on disney channel. it’s also a nice break from the drama of the ej/gina/ricky/nini love square

original songs were as always fantastic, however, i think the covers were a lot better. even when it was just small adjustments to the original instrumentation or harmonies it felt like it was a unique take while still staying true to the spirit of the originals. and the edm dance remix that the french guy made in the field trip took an otherwise boring and forgettable song (emphasis on forgettable: i must’ve seen that movie a hundred times as a kid and not once did i recall the mob song existing) into something new and fresh and honestly? it’s a bop. i unironically listen to it. it’s so good

another thing about the covers i liked is even if they didn’t use the whole song for the show for time reasons, they still recorded the full song for the soundtrack, making it actually listenable (no hate to the season 1 soundtrack, i just wish the hsm covers had all the verses)

[redlyncentral]

HSMTMTS s2b episode description breakdown, speculation and some of my own opinions:

there's so much to unpack with these new synopses, so this is my take!

in episode 8 we hear that the wildcats are benched from rehearsals from a week, a thing that probably happened due to their little trip to north high and that rivalry over a piece of clothing that was probably not even stolen by them (or it was and they just hid it too well), and we finally get to see a school activity outside of the drama club!

it's career week and it looks like we might finally focus on big red for a second since it's been a while since he got an individual story, and it's probably gonna be around how he doesn't want to work at the pizzeria his entire life. Howie finally makes a move with Kourtney which I can only assume will be asking her out on a date. makes sense since they met in episode 3 and redlyn only had five episodes to develop as well.

we're finally seeing one of the Caswell parents! the way they're described they seem to be pretty uninvolved in their kid's lives as EJ and Ashlyn are alone a lot, so it will be interesting to see that storyline, especially seeing ej being mentioned by name in a description for the first time in since episode four.

we're getting to see spring break in action and it seems like they're actually taking two-episode break from the drama club which is odd since we barely saw them rehearse anything at all. I will not be surprised if they won't win.

ricky's mom is coming back and I honestly don't know what to expect, I don't want that 'oh, you're my mom so I forgive you for everything with a minor apology' which is probably gonna happen, I wish Ricky will get his moment to go off on her and how she neglected him and left him alone with his dad and barely keeping touch.

in episode ten we finally have a mention of rehearsals, but of course, it falls flat. I don't mind focusing on the inner dynamics within the club but it feels like they didn't even rehearse cohesively for this musical... and it seems like in this ep we might get gina confessing her feelings to Ricky, a thing that will cause trouble with nini. their friendship was briefly explored and I honestly hope that this episode will bring them closer and actually make them friends.

seblos are having their first fight, and I hope that they'll get to actually resolve their issues instead of having Seb's fear of Carlos get the better of him, the poor boy doesn't even have the heart to tell him about the cashmere sweaters...

it seems like east high are still lost on how to make batb good which again gives me the impression that they are not winning this season. with only an episode left before opening night, I doubt that they'll be able to pull something incredible... but then again, it's Disney.

the unexpected facetime might be from gina who wanted to backtrack her confession, at least so I hope. gina deserves better.

finally, episode 11 is opening night. by having nini be the hype girl and her not being in costume when ash is going on stage as belle, I'm thinking that maybe the rose's role will get cut and she'll give up on the play. maybe her dream changes to being a theater teacher or a songwriter?

unexpected visitors might just be north high kids like lily and Antoine trying to intimidate the kids. EJ might have a decision about what to do after this school year and what will happen in seasons 3+4. I honestly doubt that anyone will leave, except for Olivia.

episode twelve, the last one, seems like an episode similar to episode 7 in season one, where the teens got to just enjoy opening night and having the adults together.

the party crasher might be jack since he's in one or two episodes and 'gina's truth' might be asking him out.

Nini's phone call is probably a way to have her written out of the show if she'll find a way out of her contract.

the lack of Antoine mentions makes me think that they were just teasing us about him actually coming between ashlyn and big red.

so in conclusion, s2b is going to be, in a word, dramatic.

[rosebug3]

Saying...

So Big Red and Seb were the character’s I was not sure how they were going to get to camp. Seeing as they both have family businesses to work at but they are still kids, like if Kourtney can take that time off so can big Red. I also expected some sort of Camp Rock story line with Seb, like how Mitchie works with her mom, maybe even with Big Red and Kourtney since they literally work at a restaurant. 

I also wondered how the teachers and North High kids get there? 

The only answer for them not being mentioned in the cast is if they are off doing something big - like actually staring on Broadway. 

That being said, if they are not in this season Disney better not do it’s typical Disney thing and decided everyone needs a new love interest. It’s summer camp. Just because Rini can’t stay together for a school year and struggled with distance does not mean Redlyn, Seblos, and Kowie need to break up because they did not go to summer camp together. That would literally go completely against their story lines from season 2. 

Also, I really need a Seb and Nini ‘I Want It All’ style duet and if they take that from me to basically triple the cast members when they already struggled with what they had... (Wasn’t Alexis supposed to be moved up to main?)

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x09 Review

Spring Break was a bit of an odd ep but helped move some key plots forward. Let’s dig in!

Well people can no longer claim that Portwell is one sided. We finally got Gina’s pov and she starts off the ep uncertain whether the shift in their relationship means that EJ likes her but by the end of the ep she seems sure of herself and that EJ likes her back. I liked that she didn’t try to pretend that nothing had changed or that she hadn’t noticed potential signs that EJ might like her; it always sucks when tv characters act like idiots. 

Perhaps the most important reveal of this ep was that Gina has a much older estranged brother who left her and her mom many years ago. That certainly makes her backstory more tragic and is definite set up for her brother to eventually return.

The writers continue to give Portwell great tropes, capping this ep off with an airport rom-com trope that also calls back to EJ getting Gina the place ticket so she could come back in S1. Not only did Gina keep EJ’s Duke sweatshirt but she altered it to fit her better which is both sweet and bold in the assumption that it was hers to keep. Gina got her sign when not only did EJ show up to drive Gina home and take her luggage but he brought her the granola bar that she had wanted but forgot to pack. I wonder if her posting on her story that she was ubering home after her flight was cancelled was intended to see if EJ would show up since the camera focused on her posting it. Also sweet that she’s taken to calling EJ, ‘ Eej’. 

EJ’s opening was good, shows a lot of his character growth from the selfish guy he was in S1 and how he’s learned to value other people which of course leads into his feelings for Gina. We got another great use of the camera as character tonight when Gina was laughing after her facetime call with EJ until she realized that the camera was on her. 

Jack was a lot of fun. Though he didn’t really change Gina’s mind over anything like the ep description said he would.  Seemed like Gina was largely over Ricky and wondering about EJ at the beginning and the end solidified her feelings for EJ but Jack didn’t really play a role in that, it’s not like he encouraged Gina to reach out to EJ or anything. There’s a vague sense in which Jack being nomadic linked him to Ricky’s unreliability in Gina’s eyes with her craving stability but that’s a stretch. Jack mentioned that the second most dangerous part of a plane ride is when the plane takes off, a hint to the blossoming Portwell relationship where in order to take off one or both of them has to risk a confession even though they could be turned down.

This ep might seem a bit weird in hindsight. The zoom parts probably won’t age well and five years from now people might be wondering why they had Gina hang out with a manic pixie dream boy of sorts for an ep.

The path is clear for canon Portwell in the finale with EJ being Gina’s second chance at romance and her first kiss since they clearly telegraphed it out of nowhere. I’ve been impressed with the great work the writers have been doing since 2x05 to build up Portwell as a ship but also work on Gina and EJ as individual characters; they’ve been the highlight of the season so far. 

There was discourse this past week over how well or poorly Portwell has been set up. Objectively very few ships on this show get much in the way of set up or consistent writing. Redlyn and Kowie had barely any set up before getting together. Seblos had none (though in fairness that was due to Disney restrictions) and Miss Jenn and Mike Bowen didn’t have much set up either. Rini did get lots of development in S1 but that’s because they had already dated and were the main ship of the show. The show’s not really about slow burns, if Jenzzara canons in the finale they’ll count and if Rina ever got together they’d also count but neither of those ships have gotten consistent development with Mazzara not being in several eps and Gina and Ricky not even interacting for the past 3 eps. 

Is Portwell a slowburn? In a sense since they did feature quite a bit in each other’s S1 plot lines and even had a fake dating plot but it is true that they were platonic and not that close in S1 so it’s a wash. There was clear set up for romantic Portwell in 1x10 with team wonderstudies and Gina staring at EJ (which interestingly enough looked more like set up for Gina to pine over EJ). I think the main problem is that even though we saw Gina and EJ hanging out in the background we didn’t get any scenes of substance between them until 2x05. It was a mistake and there should have been some scene, like EJ and Gina commiserating in 2x03 over being single on Valentine’s Day or something like that. Hell there was even that still from 2x01 of EJ and Gina looking at each other at the piano while they were in the frame between Ricky and Nini singing and having a moment  which would have been good foreshadowing but that shot wasn’t in the ep.

Whether Tim just really wanted Portwell to be a surprise in 2x05 as a mid-season twist to throw the audience off of what looked like a Rini/Rina triangle or he was unsure as to whether he wanted to go with Portwell or if he just planned it out poorly we may never know. Regardless they’ve had great writing for 4 eps in a row now which puts them slightly ahead of the 3 eps in a row of development Rina got in S1. I’m sure if someone added up their screen time they’d find that Portwell has more screen time this season than Kowie and more screen time than Redlyn or Seblos  got in S1. 

Caswell cousins was fun and Ashlyn did in fact paint EJ’s nails. 

Set up for Seblos drama next week, it’s refreshing to see Seb being jealous over Carlos flirting with other boys that’s definitely not something you see on Disney shows.

Ricky got some healing done with his mom. Enough to cover their issues? No but this is probably the best this show is capable of. There was a brief mention of therapy sandwiched between other options which sounds more like checking off a box then setting up Ricky actually going to therapy. I noticed Lynne was smiling at odd times like when she told Ricky she knew about his breakup with Nini; whether that was poor directing or acting I don’t know. Who knows if we’ll see Lynne again. As an aside still so wild that Tim named Lynne who’s been a kinda shitty mom after his own mom who he seems to be fairly close with.

Really liked You ain’t seen nothin as a song but not a fan of the Tiktok style vid. I’ll level with you wildcats, I’m too old to really get Tiktok, it just seems like a crappy version of Vine to me. Let you go was good, seemed better fitted for Joshua Bassett’s voice than some of his previous songs. A big sign that they’re not circling back to Rini for a long time for sure. Though on that note we got a bit of a hint that Ricky was Nini’s muse which may one day come back as a way to help bring them back together. 

Looking Ahead:

If there’s only 3 weeks left till the Menkies, with only 2 weeks left for rehearsal due to spring break, it’s hard to see East High winning unless North High is disqualified or has to withdraw. 

Lily is in a promo photo so she’s likely the unexpected facetime Ricky gets which is what I had theorized. Also makes it much more likely that she’s the party crasher Ricky re-evaluates in the finale though what Tim actually wants to do with those two I do not know.

There’s little point in bringing back the Valentine’s chocolate since there’s no real stakes. Rini are already broken up, Gina hasn’t spoken to Ricky since 2x06, and it’s not like Nini and Gina were ever close so even if they stopped talking to each other it wouldn’t really affect the show in any way. 

Seems pretty likely that Second Chances refers to Gina realizing that her first try with Ricky failed but her second chance with EJ won’t and that leads to her sharing her truth and cue the Portwell confession and kiss, perhaps with an assist on EJ’s end from Mazzara. We’ve gone well past the point where Portwell can be brushed off as just a plot device to help Rina but Tim is playing with fire by getting the audience so on board with Portwell if he’s once again going to have EJ lose a girl he likes to Ricky in S3.

Gina certainly needs to talk with Ricky and I do think that happens in ep 11 or 12 and leaves them on better terms. As I mentioned last week, if Tim was smart he’d slam the door on Rina if he’s going with canon Portwell or vice versa. If he wants Rina to be a slow burn he’s really botched the writing this season, it’s been too one sided and too angsty to sustain any kind of momentum or audience interest. They haven’t even interacted for 3 eps now and not only has it not affected the show but it’s inarguably made Gina’s story line much better.  Again I don’t think he’s smart enough to not try and do Portwell and then later Rina but he’s accidentally set up the Rina story line to quite easily slam the door permanently on them by having their conversation be closure for Gina who’s moved on and an apology from Ricky who never liked her back as much as Gina liked him.

Not looking forward to seeing Nini basically live out Olivia Rodrigo’s life in future seasons

Curious to see Carlos’ apology song to Seb. Ricky helping him with it is a great way to help start redeeming Ricky’s character in the audiences eye’s. According to Matt there is a bit of a Ricky/EJ rivalry this season and if it’s really happening the sleepover would be a good place to do it though I hope it’s not about Gina. 

Until next week wildcats.

[organic-guacamole]

episode 209 spoilers below

I'm so late today but here it is

I love EJ, he's finally learning to be happy. I'm so proud.

Ms Jenn = every boomer during zoom calls, like jeez yes we can hear you stop shouting at me.

LOVE THE SUBTLE JOKE ABOUT QUARANTINE "these dark times" "you mean spring break?"

ah yes, remember when we thought covid was just gonna give us a longer spring break? good times

SEBLOS

damn the passive aggressiveness from Carlos and the absolutely over it tone from seb✋

CASWELL COUSINS!!!!! THEY'RE THE BEST!!!!

we needed more if this kind of goofiness for the first part of season 2 that only such an iconic duo can provide.

old old movies-

is it even that old, or is Nini being a gen alpha rn-

i choose to imagine EJ being scared of the movie and hiding in Ashlyn's shoulder while she keeps a straight face and then EJ pretending to be tough afterwards

aww redlyn are soulmates.... yknow, if gingers had souls

(please ignore me)

y'all saw how EJ's face *lit up* when Gina logged on? how dare you tell me he doesn't like her

ofc she's no damsel in distress, she's Gina porter, she's amazing.

so do we think she'd be the type to just glare at suspicious people? or bark at them

do they not know that Rini broke up? or is Ms Jenn just wanting Nini to suffer through her heartbreak to make her a better actress....

speaking of, why is Nini in the call? she's not in the show anymore. Unless she is, even after the rose and the song got cut, which would be so unfair to all those that auditioned properly before she even came back but whatever, she's the main character I get it 🙄

big red is a hero honestly, Nini better thank him for changing the subject like that

I can't-

i won't work you over the break-

this woman would 100% work her kids 24/7 if it was legal and idk how to feel about it.

YES GINA USE THAT CHARM

QUEEN

FRENCH QUEEN

SHE LEARNT FROM THE BEST (antoine obvi)

smh the airport lady, eavesdropping on Gina's call.

The way she was so happy to answer EJ's call, "eej"

I love them your honour.

EJ WITH PAINTED NAILS YES PLEASE

great now we need to see Gina, Ashlyn and EJ having a complete spa day and EJ getting really into it and Gina and Ashlyn take pictures of him when he's laying down in a robe with a mask and cucumbers on his eyes.

finally we get to see Gina's side of portwell

the way she considered it as flirting, this is the sign she asked for in episode 6 come onnnnn

no is Asher/jack really doing tiktok dances in an airport-

Ricky is me. I am burrito.

oh Lynne, sweetie, I'm sorry but the blonde hair is not it

is that even the same lady or-

THE BEAN

THE CHICAGO BEAN

THE BIG OLD METAL BEAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY 😭

jetlag is my go to excuse for anything... I haven't travelled in 2 years.

"welcome to the Lynne and Mike gossip show. where we talk about our depressed son that we both neglect in certain ways! And now a word from our sponsor, Nord VPN..."

SO MANY CANDLES

WHAT DEMON IS LYNNE TRYING TO SUMMON IN HIS ROOM-

is Nina becoming social media obsessed EJ from season 1? AND SHE LIED ABOUT HAVING SONGS TOO PLEASE WHY ARW THEY RECYCLING THE SAME PLOT-

Gina smiling at the picture of her family on Instagram makes me so happy, idek why.

EJ's nails are so pretty, we needed to see it more (unless he had it on for the rest of the episode and I just.... didn't notice🧍🏽‍♀️)

oh not the tiktok kid✋

yes ma'am end this strange mans whole tiktok career

sir take a hint and leave

GINA NO DONT SAY YOUR LAST NAME HE COULD BE A HUMAN TRAFFICKER

Ricky, walking in style✨

weird kid, ok then Lynne, can't you see he's this close to the edge?

not all your fault baby Ricky, Nini sucks a bit more

RICKY YOU DIDN'T COME DOWN HARD ON THE SONG-

YOU ASKED WHAT IT WAS ABOUT AND SHE SHUT YOU DOWN-

PLEASE DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF

ok but the deleting comment thing was very bad

still don't know if I like Jack honestly

hmmm so Nini's calling herself Nini instead of Nina in her little egg seat, while trying to write a song without inspiration.... Nini, honey, Ricky was your muse, he inspired you to write all those songs, even if it wasn't good for the relationship.

that doesn't mean you gotta get back with him, or that you can't write a song that not about him butttt it'll take some time

the rainbow sticker in her box and her rainbow shirt-

anyways wbk she's not totally straight

Jack are you a criminal?

quick, Gina, check his ankle for a tracker

THE YES AND PRACTICE STRIKES AGAIN

the way Gina wasn't into it in episode 6 but she's used the technique twice now

stole her grandma's Pomeranian-

Jack where the hell did you pull that out from-

the fake crying killed me, that looks like so much fun though

anyone wanna raid a first class lounge with me?

wait so is jack not gonna go in with her?

wouldn't he go in too? help look for the credit card? SO CONFUSED

the first class lounge guy was so into the drama though, watch his face when they start arguing 😭

sorry to break this to you Kourtney, but you haven't even blocked the second act yet soooo...

take that as you will

I love how all of them are totally dissing the dance off

that's the most realistic part of this show tbh

shouldn't Nini have asked how she knew....since the start? why is the fact that her best friend has knowledge of a North high secret now dawning on her...

Howie is sweet honestly, at least he's trying to help. but I stand with Kourtney, don't take him back just because he sang an amazing song, and is giving you a heads up on what's gonna happen...

KOURTNEY IS ME TRYING TO LEAVE AN ONLINE CLASS

I hate school

ooo Nini's writing a song about bad internet connection 🤩🤩🤩

I never lie, except when I do-

son that is the creepiest thing you could say to a stranger that you've been "helping"

2 truths and a lie👀

he's an Ariana fan 100%

called it.

OLDER BROTHER-

WHAT-

free spirit? damn so brother porter was in that horse movie

so has she been kissed or not?????????

I feel like she's moved more than 15 times though so possibly

but then if she's moved so much, and before east high she never opened up to anyone, she's never been kissed then?? damn

same though Gina so let's be besties please

heartbreak president is a great song title idea, give Nini a call rn

but wait

is the no strings attached feeling thing about her telling Ricky she liked him? she thought she was moving away so she thought it'd be no strings attached???

guys I think I figured it out insert the "I've connected two dots" meme

THE DUKE SWEATSHIRT

IS THAT YOUR BOYFRIEND'S

OMG I LOVE I LOVE

NOT THAT I KNOW OF???

ma'am did you just kill me

yes you did

Lynne and Ricky have such a weird relationship

YES IT DID SUCK

TODD SUCKS

LYNNE SUCKS

yeah I get that you wanted Ricky to like Todd BUT THAT WASN'T THE TIME

right so we already know that Ricky was so desperate to keep Nini cuz he didn't want to be like his parents, and now Lynne's talking about this-

Richard needs a long hug

yes Lynne, it is your fault. thank you for finally admitting it.

YES DYE YOUR HAIR

BLOND HIGHLIGHTS RICKY WILL RISE AGAIN

"sometimes the best, last thing you can do for someone you love, is let them go."

gotta admit I teared up at that point

not me thinking big red was calling ms Jenn cupcake for a hot second-

Carlos please omg, you're at the "beach" and they're leaving for the pool?

also, why not just do the call from the hotel room please omg

"don't ask me"

"Carlos"

OMG WHAT HAPPENED

big red wants the tea

O M G

SEB IS JEALOUS

JEALOUS SEBBY IS MY FAVOURITE THING IDC

I'm surprised ms Jenn knew how to give Nini permission to screenshare tbh

So lily's been stalking the East high kids and spending time editing this video while she's supposedly in an immersion trip.... right

EJ and Ashlyn's picture is so chaotic, what even is happening there

"slacking off" bestie its spring break, obviously they're confident enough that they'll get it done in time so why not focus on your own musical.

jealous seb = sassy seb

please what if those guys Carlos is posing with are his cousins or something and that's why he's so confused about Seb

6 YEAR OLD EJ I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM

Nini saying she's obsessed with her ex, that's not weird at all 👍

I can just tell Matt had a blast harassing Julia with those puppets.

Jack please dont be like that, "yet"

chances are you'll never see eachother again 🥰

(honestly sometimes I really miss those friends I made on trips and stuff when we'd spend the day or week together, only to never see them again....those were the good days though)

Ashlyn and Nini should write more songs..... something better than this one at least

Nini: "im good"

cue the Tia Mowry (please I can't spell) crying gif

oh I forgot Ricky was in the show for a hot second

1. where did Gina get to film this without people being around

2. did she just... randomly change her clothes???

ok but the transition between Carlos and EJ

*chefs kiss*

now everyone shut up, EJ's singing

oh i think I'm pregnant

HIS MUSCLES

YES KOURTNEY

I love how big red and Kourtney went from being "the best friends™" to the couple in season 1, to kinda close themselves and having their own plots

sebby makes me so happy

props to biggies editing skills honestly

PORTWELL BEING SIDE TO SIDE I CANT

AND SEBLOS OMG

big red lives for the drama

"wow" so true Ricky

no he is not cute, stop it

"holding" ok that's kinda cute

yeah EJ's a lucky guy😌

jokes aside, it's not that hard to exchange numbers-

keep in touch if you want

ok I really like Jack now

if he comes back in season 3, maybe have him be LGBTQ+ ?

like the only out characters they have rn are Seb and Carlos and they're like the sterotypes, yk?

I'd love to see jack kinda break the mold

Ricky's breaking my heart

that song just hurts

the only thing

now I don't hate Lynne????????

HOW DARE THEY WRITE IN A PROPER REDEMPTION ARC FOR HER

UGH IM SUPPOSED TO HATE HER FOREVER

I mean I don't live her now but she's good

but honestly

"mom can I show you something"

IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL

THE PICTURE AND EVERYTHING OMG

I'm sobbing please help

Gina saying she's just waiting for the right guy and then EJ coming to the airport to pick her up late at night without her asking, offering to bring her back in the morning so she won't have to Uber, bringing her a granola bar (WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT SHE FORGOT TO PACK) and without expecting anything in return???

ms ma'am you've got a keeper right there

her smile at the end was so heartwarming I really can't.

this episode was great.

it felt really short but I liked it, great character development for Ricky, Lynne and Gina.

Cant wait for next episode to see more of EJ being the ideal boyfriend /hj

[its-musical-dinosaur]

This is how I see S3 going. The first half of S3 will focus on Rily's dynamic (don’t think they’ll be romantic at all tho). Lily being weirdly obsessed with the play and causing trouble until he realizes is just not a good idea to entertain anything with her. Tim's interview pretty much sets her up as some Sharpay 2.0 and basically said Ricky isn’t always making right decisions (Lily being one of them).

Meanwhile PW will be going through their own drama related to college, because them making Gina tell Jack that she needs a guy that will show up but also "stay around" is very much foreshadowing for PW. I see a mutual break up happening mostly by 207/208 (like Rini’s). I don’t see any big Rina scene from the first episodes, I would be surprise if the writers even give them something in the premiere like it happened on 201, maybe scenes will come by half the season but all related to built up their friendship again. S3 will give us a finale with Rina, leaving them open for S4 (if it happens).

No one seems to be talking about the tagline for S3 (I saw this on Twitter) but out of all the popular lines from Frozen, why "love is an open door" specially considering none of the canon ships are happening on camp, with Red not going there’s not Redlyn, with Seb gone there’s not Seblos, Howie doesn’t seem to be going either so there’s not plot with Kourtney. Not even Mazzara will be there. The only ones are Rily and Portwell. And the tagline pretty much implies open opportunities and the song itself is about thinking you found the right person after having doors close in your face but we know Anna and Hans don’t end up together and Anna pretty much rushed into a relationship. I find the tagline for the season very interesting.

Mhm. The fact that both Ricky & Lily and Gina & Ej were pushed together in the finale, to me, means neither are coming out of s3 together lol (kinda obvious from a writing standpoint, but you never know). Everything we know about this season (especially the tagline thing) is giving me a sliver of hope that s3 will be good, or at least better than whatever 2b was.

[aroundthewaygirlao3]

OK, so now that I went on a long winded rant about how using the introduction of Val to break up Portwell doesn't work for Gina's character arc so far…

Here's why I can't make it work for EJ, either.

EJ's arc has been about finding out that real is more important than perfect. Having him give up on a relationship with someone that he's spent an entire school year building a genuine connection with in favor of someone who checks the "perfect on paper" boxes (blonde, beautiful, also in college) would feel like a step back in his development. The writers took great pains to build those multiple levels of connection between them DESPITE them being different. We also see Ricky and Carlos offer “reasons” why Gina and he might not make sense (he’s graduating, Gina lives with Ash), and EJ shrugs them off… checking the boxes doesn’t matter to him right now. For him to quickly get out of that relationship for something else doesn't fit the arc they've drawn for him. We saw him take a “step back” in his development when he pulled back from Gina when he thought she didn’t feel the same, and we ALSO got to see how upsetting and disappointing it was to him to do that. It just doesn’t feel authentic to the progress he’s made so far to walk that back.

We also saw that it took a LOT for EJ to be able to put himself out there despite how he felt about GIna because of all the rejection he’s faced in the last year. Him “not getting what he wants all the time” (to quote Ashlyn from S1) is the thing that propelled most of his S2 storyline. To have him return to a sort of brash, just go after a new relationship place wouldn’t read as growth, it would read as regression. The more natural progression is him getting more comfortable putting himself out there IN the relationship that he’s already put in the work to build, and taken the risk for (ie, a love confession or commitment to work through a hard transition together).                                                          

Not to mention the speed with which he'd need to fall for her, decide that means he needs to end things with Gina, and then actually be with her doesn't fit with the fact that Val is a guest starring role. Guest stars are often catalysts of SOMETHING, but using Val to break them up without then actually entering a relationship with EJ seems like a waste of a character, not to mention setting in motion having to deal with the fallout across multiple relationships in the show (Ashlyn and Gina, Ashlyn and EJ) without there being any personal payoff for EJ. And unless they establish that Val is going to be at the same college as EJ (which they might, but seems less likely given the way they’ve positioned camp in California and the only college we know EJ got into is in Utah, to say nothing of the fact that this is a guest role, not a permanent ensemble member), ending an established relationship for a summer fling that would face the same distance challenges doesn’t fit. 

And let’s just put it out there… Another love triangle for EJ is kinda boring! I did enjoy that the show sort of turned the original one on its head a bit by breaking EJ and Nini up without it being about Nini choosing Ricky “over” EJ. (I won’t even go there with the Redlyn/Antoine situation.) But love triangle narratives are fundamentally about who’s getting together with who… I’m more interested at this point in EJ’s story about how he stays in a relationship and grows as a partner, moving beyond the mistakes he made with Nini. That feels more consistent and compelling with how they’ve written him so far.

Again, I think the more consistent and interesting arc is EJ seeing this “perfect on paper” person, and knowing that it’s NOT actually what he wants, and finding ways to assure a potentially insecure Gina that she IS, is just more in line with the way the story has been developed so far. I’m open to the writers changing my mind, and honestly, I want a well written, well acted season more than any predestined ship outcome. I just see better stories right now if they stay the course on the development the writers have committed to so far. 

[pluviophile-bookworm]

HSMTMTS 2x11: Let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents... the reason for my next mental breakdown

I can't believe myself, honestly. Oversleeping on the one day of the week that I've got something exciting to wake up for? Oh well, I'm up now and I'd better go ahead and do this before my dashboard has showered me with spoilers. I mean, I have never really minded spoilers, but when it comes to this, somehow I do. Though I do wish something had forewarned me about last week's snap ending (get it, 'snap'... I'll see myself out). I'd better dive in already.

Yes, Mr Mazzara, that's what I've been saying for a while! Ok, maybe I haven't been very vocal about it, but it was in the foreground of my mind that they should have asked for Mr Mazzara's help re: transformation! I'm just glad he pointed it out. Not that he could have done much while he was busy playing therapist for his beloved Miss Jenn. Oh well.

Were those Ash and Ricky doing actual paired-up warmups? That is what they should have been doing for weeks now. That and having actual off-stage interactions, too. But I still subscribe to the theory that the gang had some good rehearsals off-screen — otherwise there's no way they could have been this good on stage as we saw in the previews. I said it last time and I'll say it again — not everything is for us to see.

Wow. The one time our leads are in unison, and it is about both being injured. The East High drama club must be cursed — they can't have one production run smoothly and without what can only be described as pure unbridled chaos.

They don't have any understudies? That explains some things... but also how? But also, I'm so happy Ashlyn is going on. No way she would have missed her first (first of many, right?) chance of being the lead because of some 'minor' injury.

Ricky and Nini still can't talk to each other properly. Oh well. Take your time. It's not like I care about this pairing anymore.

Did EJ just use the word 'dig'? Boy, the boy's got it baaaaaad. Also, what is it going to take for these two to realise they're in love? For all we know, they might have that big kiss we're all dreaming of and still be like 'nah, it's nothing, we're buddies'... give me a break! But I mean, at this point they might just be turning into Redlyn 2.0, where even a kiss doesn't define things. But hey, if they do follow in Redlyn's footsteps, that only means good things in their future, right?

What did that fake French git do to my boy Carlos? He's not supposed to look this inanimate until right before the climax of the play! Well, I mean, at least Seb serving as his interpreter means that Seb gets more lines for a bit. Too bad he can't go on for someone with more lines in the play.

Miss Jenn's 'words of inspiration' were less than inspired... yeah, this show's going down. Or it would, if it depended solely on her. Let's hope the kids do better. I mean, I know for a fact they will... at least for about 5 minutes of the thing. There is still room for things to go wrong and I'm scared.

Oh, my sweet boy... I wish I could jump in there and do something to help him feel less nervous. Thing is, if I were there, I'd probably be the most nervous of them all, even if I were playing Townsfolk #3 or something, and everyone's nervousness would rub off on me, and I would be making things worse instead of helping. So yeah, I'm kind of glad I'm not there.

Ahhhh who called it? @redlyncentral was it you? Ash got flowers for her Biggie! And there's a card whose contents we've yet to see. But that doesn't seem to be helping either. My sweet, sweet Reddy... I hope and pray he'll be alright.

Well this is awkward! Who told Mike to show up and shake everything up right now? Miss Jenn is literally on the brink of exploding, and now she's stuck in this completely unnecessary love triangle. She needs some space. And a quiet place to breathe, thanks Mr M for suggesting it.

'Did we forget to build a mote around the school or...' Yeah, you tell her, Rick! That girl whose name I never want to pronounce (because it makes me think of much nicer people and she's making me hate it) has no business being there. She's not... being given a redemption arc, is she now? Some people just don't deserve it. And if hating her is an unpopular opinion now, well, I never did care much about having popular opinions. I can live with that.

'Lily, scram!' Yes, thank you, Natalie! I've always wanted someone who would voice my thoughts in a way that the characters can hear them. Make this girl a main next season, won't you? (Just so we're crystal clear, I mean Natalie, not the other one.)

OMG Mr M is in the play! In a way... I love that!

I love, love, love the way they did the prologue. 'Repulsed [the prince makes an over-the-top gesture of repulsion] by her haggard appearance [the witch shows off her face to the audience]...' I love this. I would pay a lot for a chance to see their entire play, you know?

Oh dear, somebody give my boy Reddy some sort of... medical aid against all the throwing up! I've got a nice pill that helps me with my bad cases of motion sickness. Hey, so maybe I could have helped if I were there after all. Great, now I feel bad. But also, is all the throwing up an excuse on the writers' part to keep my boy off-screen for the majority of this episode? Because it's a really lame excuse.

Gina's 'Many questions' continues to be a mood. What exactly is Miss Jenn expecting from the kids? Last-minute adjustments? No way. This spells disaster.

Was Carlos on vocal rest or something? Because he shines like the star he is... despite all the very obvious nervousness backstage. I mean, I wouldn't have it any other way, but... oh well, I wouldn't say it's unrealistic. In my personal performing experience, the most nervous ones perform the best. (So... what is that saying for my boy Reddy? Good things only.)

I've already had the opportunity to geek out about Be Our Guest yesterday, but... I mean, just look at them! Carlos doesn't need actual candles to be on fire, Ashlyn is stealing the scene without any lines in it, Gina is absolutely gorgeous, and don't even get me started on EJ and Big Red looking at their girls in absolute awe! This is everything!

Aww, look at them! Gina and Ashlyn dancing together, I mean. They're sisters and it really shows. And I love them both so much.

Kourtney is an absolute show-stealer! I'm still upset about some casting choices (one of them is in this scene, doing his absolute best with the crumbs he has been given), but she is absolutely perfect. I think I'll rewind and watch this entire scene again before moving on with the rest of the episode.

I'd just like to point out that Frankie's voice in his lower register is everything!

'You absolutely dusted that stage'... Not EJ making a pun so punny even I could not have thought of it... boy is absolutely smitten!

Not me tearing up when Jordan Fisher appeared as Gina's brother... like, I knew it was happening — I knew it even before it was announced. And I still teared up because, well, it's emotional in-universe and out.

Awww, my boy Reddy is so in love with Ashlyn... I mean, who wouldn't be... but — not Ricky saying Lily might not be as mean as they thought. Especially not to Big Red of all people. To him, she was just as mean as they thought.

'Side hustle project in the south hallway'? Ooh, what is it, I want to know now!

Why do I feel like things are a bit too awkward between Kourtney and Howie? Not that I'm too invested in their relationship, but if it bothered me, imagine how it must feel for the stans.

No, Ash, you absolutely do not need to add any fancy riffs to the song! Especially not just because L... well, that girl did it. You're unique and lovely and a literal Disney princess inside and out. That girl? She's just a wolf in a sparkling golden dress.

Awww... Big Red literally lowers Ash's blood pressure! Those two are such an amazing couple! (Full disclosure, though, he kind of does the same for me too; the other night I had this horrible nightmare, and I woke up in cold sweat in the middle of the night, and then... ok, getting too personal there.) The point is, if even the fantasy of a Big Red hug makes me feel better, imagine what his actual presence would do for Ash at that moment. Where is my boy? Everyone seems to be looking for him.

Oh... guess they took my advice to give the poor boy something for his vomiting issue. Good for whoever thought of it.

And we're back to the Porter siblings... forgive me if I still can't wrap my head around calling Gina's brother Jamie. I don't know about you guys, but thanks to my lovely new friend Paz he will always be Theodore to me. I guess we can headcanon that as his middle name. Anyway, I love it that they made a joke about the hilarious height difference between him and Gina because, well, it's the only thing I can think about when I look at the two of them. It reminds me of me and my little cousin who has been taller than me since she was 10, and is still growing taller now at 13. But, I mean, it's not very hard to be taller than me, since I'm so, so short... ok, this is not about me. Moving on.

Was I the only one who actually laughed out loud at Ricky drinking from the bowl as the Beast? I mean, that part has always made me laugh in the original movie, but something about Ricky's take on it makes it even funnier.

Meanwhile, my girl Ash is absolutely killing it as Belle. Not me having the very same expression as Big Red while watching her... gosh, I love both of them so much! Also, no offence to the rest of the cast, but Julia really is the best vocalist out there. Out of all of them. I said what I said.

My apologies to Ricky, but his voice is just not it when it comes to playing the Beast. Still, with the other option being him putting on that fake deep voice from the audition, I'm glad he didn't.

Ahhhh Portwell nation you ok guys? Since we didn't get them singing Something There, this is very much the next best thing... and boy, is it good!

Those glances between Kourtney and Howie, on the other hand... what on Earth is happening there?

Ok, so you all know just how strongly I feel about Seb's casting as Chip, and yet... boy had one line and absolutely ate it up! Give him an actual singing role next time, Miss Jenn!

EJ being starstruck by Jamie not because he's a big music producer, but because he's Gina's brother... excuse me while I sob!

Excuse me, what!!!! 'A big brother figure'? Boy, this didn't turn out the way I thought it would... now I'm scared.

Way to ruin things, Jamie! And I don't even mean the fact that his name is not Theodore. It doesn't matter what his name is anymore. He might just have put a spanner in the works of Portwell, and they were just doing so well! Ugh, I'm so frustrated. I wish I'd never boarded — what did I call it — 'the majestic S.S. Portwell'. What if it doesn't set sail now?

And there goes another disappointment... Carlos' 'the orchestra hasn't vamped this much since Bop to the Top' line had nothing to do with Seblos, and everything to do with what might still be the downfall of this show. I am not ready.

No. Miss Jenn did not just say that. She did not just tell Ricky — who, may I remind you, not that anyone's forgotten, just fell off of a high place last episode — to 'jump off of something high'. I realise she's under all the pressure, but that is not an excuse. Well, at least she heard herself.

Oh my gods... Nini — well, Nina, actually — did not just call him 'Richard', did she? That's it, that's the point of no return. And well, I kind of wanted them to reach it.

Told you, didn't I? I told you that-girl-who-must-not-be-named was evil! I always follow my intuition and it has not once deceived me. Redeem that, if you can! Guess what? You can't. We've just reached another point of no return.

Wait, a bloody cliffhanger? I cannot handle this. I physically cannot handle this. If you need me, I'll be sitting on my bed in shock, trying to process everything that happened. I'll need a while to get a grip on myself.

[myworldisfictional]

AAAHHH IM SO EXCITED! I have high hopes for this episode so I hope it meets my expectations. Anyway here are my episode 8 thoughts/reactions:

Oh no “a lots about to change”

THEY NEED TO TALK

Can this please be the last episode with rini drama

Aaaahhh I love them

Why do the writers hate all the couples

AAAHHH I LOVE THIS SONG

EJ is literally the PERFECT Gaston

EJ juggling is so hot and idk why

Amazing

Loved that performance

AAHHH THE GROWTH

The “emotional connection”

Awe Seb

NINA

I’m not here for the name change

Oh snap

Gina is GORGEOUS. Absolutely love her hair and outfit this episode

AAAAAAHHHHHHH

IM LITERALLY SCREAMING

I LOVE THEM

EJ’s dad gives me even bigger Gaston vibes

But he seemed happy with his test results

Oh so now we’re introducing parents

I still love howie

Bad place for this conversation

But that’s not what he wants

AWE BIG RED IS SO SWEET

HE DESERVES THE WORLD

wow this is fancy

Awe when did mr. mazzara get so sweet

They’re so cute

He wants you (jk (not really))

AAAHHHH

The treehouse parallels to hsm 3

At least he sees it

They’re trying

Noooo

NOOOOOO THE NECKLACE

IM GONNA CRY

Roman has such a beautiful voice

AAAHHHHH THE DUKE SWEATER

AAAAHHHHHH ASHER IN THE PROMO

OKAY I AM COMPLETELY FREAKING OUT! First of all, all of the Portwell content is the episode was A+. Like complete perfection. They’re just so cute together and they see the best in each other. AND EJ PUTTING HIS DUKE SWEATER OVER HER!!! Like that was EVERYTHING

The Redlyn drama was handled well I think. Big Red’s dreams were so wholesome and it may not have been big but you can tell it makes him happy. I’m glad that Ashlyn eventually saw that and they worked that out

I’m kind of torn about the Rini break up. Because like I saw it coming and it was kind of necessary but also once they sat down and talked about it they were able to admit what their issues were and I feel like the could have given themselves another chance together. Having acknowledged their issues they could have just tried better/harder. I still ship them so I’m rooting for them to get back together *ONCE THEY HAVE DONE THE WORK ON THEMSELVES INDIVIDUALLY. I just hope if they do get back together it’s for good because I really hate the on and off, especially when there’s already so little time in the show

And just some extra thoughts. I’m not sure how to feel about mr. mazzara and miss jenn. Like I think they both deserve to be happy but like idk. I don’t really see the chemistry and I preferred her with mike. As well there was definitely some drama with Seblos when they were painting the sets and like can’t they just have one couple that is solid. Like these writers are just stirring up all the drama for couples. I much rather see one/both people in the paring go through an issue and they help each other through it instead of having the issue be between them (idk if that makes sense. It’s late). But I feel like that’s setting up for whatever Carlos is going to need the song for. And I am happy he’s finally getting a solo.

And lastly, ASHER IN THE PROMO FOR NEXT WEEK!!! And he says gina looks familiar!! AAAHHHHH!

[gracestone]

Given the fact that the show has narratively written PW as the opposite of Rini in a number of ways, do you think its likely the writers will follow more of a Redlyn/Seblos path in the way they tell PWs story in S3? There are a few parallels, or similarities at least, between the 3 ships and it makes me wonder if PW will continue being a foil pairing to Rini since thats how Gina and EJ were set up against Nini and Ricky in S1. Obvs they've changed for the better but still are foils to Rini s/t.

Before I get into your question, I first wanna talk about narrative foils. Because I don't think Portwell, or any of the other East High ships, are foils for Rini. But Mike/Lynne and Zack/Jennifer are.

This got long so I'm putting it under a read more.

Rini and Narrative Foils

Let's look at the definition of a narrative foil:

"In any narrative, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character; typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist."

Portwell doesn't fit that definition, because their character arcs complement each other and they help each other become better people, just like Rini do. The problem with Rini right now is that Ricky is holding himself back from growing, because he's still stuck in his fear of change. But as I just wrote about here, Nini is the reason for most of his character growth and the one person who makes him not afraid of change. Portwell scenes don't contrast with Rini or highlight any issues Rini have. If Portwell and Rini were narrative foils, it'd mean that the narrative is telling us that Rini will never work out while Portwell will. But that's simply not the case. Because Rini can and will eventually work out. Once they work through their individual insecurities in regards to change and staying true to themselves while in a relationship.

An example of how Portwell and Rini are actually shown as similar would be their back to back scenes in 2x07 and 2x08. In 2x07, we first get Ricky asking Nini if The Rose Song is about him. She denies this because she's still in denial within herself that it's about him. They don't communicate clearly. Then we get EJ saying that he guesses he and Gina are not boyfriend and girlfriend anymore in a tone that suggests that he wishes that weren't the case. Gina doesn't catch this and just reaffirms it, saying they're back to just being co-anchors. Again, no clear communication of how they feel. In 2x08, we first get the Portwell couch scene, in which they do communicate clearly. We see how deeply they understand and care about each other. That scene is followed by the Rini break up, in which they also communicate clearly and show their love for each other by letting each other go. These ships aren't narrative foils, but narrative mirrors. Just because Rini are in a different stage of their relationship as Portwell doesn't mean that we're meant to see them as narrative foils.

The actual foils to Rini are Mike/Lynne and Zack/Jennifer. Two couples that we've been told and shown shouldn't be together.

Ricky can't help but compare his relationship with Nini to his relationship with his parents, because those have always been the most present romantic relationships in his life. It's only natural for a child to base his definition of what love looks like on the love between his parents. So it makes sense that when Nini tells Ricky she loves him just before she's set to leave for a while, he's reminded of how his parents used to tell each other they loved each other before his mom went away to Chicago and they stopped saying that, and he pulls away from Nini. He's protecting himself from getting hurt the same way his father got hurt. But by doing so, he's the reason why his relationship with Nini ends. By making a different choice than his parents did, he ends their relationship, which shows us that Ricky and Nini aren't like Mike and Lynne.

Throughout season 1, Ricky and Nini's on-stage romance makes Ricky feel like they're getting back to how they used to be. When he sees his parents hugging on opening night, he gets that same feeling. And for a moment, he believes that they can get back to how they used to be, just how he and Nini are getting back to that point. But then he sees his mother with her new boyfriend, and his world falls apart. Because if he was wrong about his parents getting back to normal, surely that means he's also wrong about him and Nini getting back to normal, right? When he talks to his mother about this, he keeps it only to her relationship with his dad and her new boyfriend. When he tells her how he felt seeing Lynne and Mike hug, she tells him that "Not all couples are meant to be together. Sometimes people change." Which Ricky fears is also true for himself and Nini. Did her change lead her away from him? Is she now more similar to EJ than him? Ricky has already stepped back as Troy and now Nini's ex is filling in for him. He initially doesn't watch the show because he's afraid that he'll see EJ and Nini fall for each other all over again. But that's not what happens. We see a very different progression between Mike/Lynne/boyfriend and EJ/Nini/Ricky:

Note the clear difference in intimacy. Nini isn't responsive to EJ's more romantic touch, and he leaves the stage while giving her a friendly shoulder pat. When Ricky is on stage with Nini, she's the one holding his face, and with both hands this time, while his hands are around her. It's intimate and romantic. Similarly, Mike and Lynne give each other a friendly hug, while she and her boyfriend then sit with their arms around each other. Again, a clear difference in intimacy.

And when Ricky tells Nini that he loves her, that he never outgrew her and that he wants their relationship to be real again, instead of just a showmance, she's responsive. Because Nini didn't outgrow him either. Unlike how Lynne outgrew Mike.

In season 2, Lynne tells Ricky that sometimes the best thing you can do for someone you love is to let them go. She's basing that advice on her own experience with Mike. In her case, letting go means never going back to him and letting him find happiness elsewhere. Because she outgrew him and stopped loving him. But the thing is: neither Ricky nor Nini stopped loving each other. Their break up happened because they love each other too much to allow the other to become a worse version of themselves and to hold them back from growing as people. So I'm sure that we'll eventually see another contrast between Mike/Lynne and Rini when Ricky letting Nini go leads to Nini finding her way back to him.

Zack/Jennifer have been compared to Rini by the narrative too, even as soon as we were introduced to Zack:

They even have similar nicknames for each other: Jennifer calls Zack "Zacky" while Nini calls Richard "Ricky", Zack calls Jennifer "Jennie" while Ricky calls Nina "Nini". Both Jennifer and Nini are the reason Zack and Ricky joined their high school theater groups. While Zack/Jennifer say they want to be together and have great chemistry on stage/while singing, just like Rini, they also always make each other worse and only feed into each other's insecurities. That's why they're so competitive. He even deliberately undermines her show, something he knows she deeply cares about. And she's always been jealous of his succes post-graduation.

Contrast all of that with Rini. Ricky feels less insecure about his own talents when he's around Nini, because she makes him feel good about trying new things. And he's never jealous of her achievements, but always tries to support her in following her dreams, even if it also hurts him to be away from her. The only time he did act unsupportive was after he started fearing that Nini was pulling away from him and that she'd eventually stop loving him and leave him, just like his mother left his father. His fear didn't stem from something Nini did, but rather from an external factor that feeds his internal insecurities. Zack/Jennifer helps highlight that difference by showing us what a couple who make each other insecure looks like. And what we see is that it looks nothing like Rini.

Portwell Speculation

So your real question is: do I think that Portwell will become a stable ship whose story is about them navigating through life together, just like Seblos and Redlyn are doing? The answer to that is simple and short: yes.

As I keep saying, Portwell's arcs complement each other. They inspire and help each other become the best versions of themselves. So it only makes sense for them to stay together, because that's the best way for them to keep doing this for each other. The reason why Rini can't be together right now is because they still need to work through some internal issues that made their relationship not work in season 2. Portwell already worked through those issues before getting together, which is why there's nothing standing between them anymore. So while I think there could be some issues between Portwell from external factors that could lead to them considering breaking up (most notably EJ potentially going to a school out of state and Gina not wanting to do long distance because it's already hard enough to be far away from her mom and brother), I don't think they'll ever actually break up. Because they worked on their internal issues and are now strong enough to face any external issues together.

[retvenkos]

anyways i guess i'm a portwell stan now (enemies to lovers/best friends brother/make each other better trope & troy and gabriella parallels my beloved)

and i'm also exasperated at the writers at ricky's path this season. and the writers in general.

i just. want miss jenn and mr mazzara to get together this season and ej and gina to be happy, if that's too much to ask for.

AND WHY DOES THERE HAVE TO BE SO MANY LOVE TRIANGLES????

nobody wants it, they're not needed- all this season has been about romance, with a few crumbs of musical theatre, and it's not what i signed up for! i want more friendship moments between kourtney and seb, and i want more of the dorky improv games.

let the kids be kids.

the north high rivalry is getting unrealistically annoying. if anything, the theatre community is supportive of each other (i'm in a performing arts school, i should know lmbo)

ricky's parents' divorce plot was completely thrown out the window.

nobody wanted the redlyn angst.

why is carlos being kinda mean?

this whole has season has been a mess, and the only people carrying the show on their backs now is ej, gina, mr. mazzara and howie's rendition of "if i can't love her".

i'm so sorry for vomiting this all over you, i just felt this show is going downhill- kinda like glee.

dfghjdsfghjhgfdsdfghjhgfd,,, i haven't watched glee but i know enough about it to know that was a sick burn, cass. i love it.

and omg,,,,, do i have thoughts™. let's unpack them, shall we?

i agree that this season has been..... a lot™. it’s just a cluster of half-baked plot points that are strung together really losely. i feel like they should have scaled back on some of their ambitions.

namely, the north high rivalry is really bland and unnecessary. the only good things to come out of it is howie, the song around you, and the stunning location (i mean, art deco ogden high? count me in). you could take out the menkies entirely and so little would change to the overall story. i’d argue the story could have been even better without it because.... big shock..... we could focus on the characters.

because, truly, they’re trying to tackle too many things at once. whatever angst is happening with carlos and seb is the worst developed plot point we’ve had to suffer through. carlos says “does chip have any big scenes?” and it’s the catalyst for a fight? then we have them split for spring break and it’s just snippets of them fighting? literally, there’s zero reason for seb and carlos to fight - their dynamic is cute but it’s background chatter when you have whatever the hell is happening with ricky, nini, ej, and gina front and center. there was no reason to make then fight and it doesn’t add to their development, it isn’t well executed, and it isn’t particularly interesting. just let them be happy?

and i feel like that’s such a running theme for all of the side relationships? like you said - redlyn didn’t really need angst? i feel like the whole “career day” arc was well done and was compelling (but maybe that’s just because i had a friend who went through the same thing as red, so i’m sympathetic to it), but whatever went on with antoine and ashlyn was just.... really unnecessary? it didn’t add anything? maybe they’ll be revisiting the plot point, but as it stands right now, it was just really random to add in, and perhaps if i were more invested with north high, i would appreciate it more. but they’re.... so inconsequential.

and now we get to talk about one of my biggest gripes,,,,,,, ricky’s parents’ divorce. listen, i thought it was well developed in season one. it had importance. it affected ricky. it affected the plot. it raised the stakes. now it’s just underdeveloped. we’ve barely seen ricky’s homelife, given the sheer amount of plot points the show is juggling, and since ricky has mainly had negative scenes through the totality of the season, viewers aren’t really interested in seeing how the crumbs of his tumultuous homelife are affecting his behavior (which is kind of important, seeing as it accounts for the degradation of his character). 

ricky is going through a lot this season, and i feel like the main reason why people are so upset with him is because the writers leaned into his sad boi™ status. maybe it’s because the screentime is so divided and the stakes are higher, or because the writers really just got rid of all of ricky’s personality, but ricky has had two personality traits this season - sad clingy boi and bitter, passive aggressive boi. 

now, these personality appeared in season one - quite a lot, actually - but because it was framed  between light hearted moments and exploration of his conflicts, it was palatable and understandable. viewers understood why ricky was so desperately clinging onto the past and resisted change so much. we saw the tempest he was in! we had moments where friends like big red or even gina mentioned it. his reactions had merit because the viewer saw the buildup! 

this season, we have not had that. we see ricky’s dad trying to do his best with moving out, and with trying to move on, and we see ricky’s mom trying to do the same, and this is all strong for them, but when ricky can’t move on, and we see less of the struggle that ricky feels, we become disenchanted. ricky has stagnated, and we see everyone else moving on, and we do not focus on hat influences ricky to stop dead in his tracks. 

what’s worse is that the writers have ricky blow up so much more than last season, when we see less reasoning, and when he mentions how his parent’s divorce is a main reason for his angst, we really have no basis for that - except for what we saw in season 1. season 1 isn’t enough anymore, though, because ricky’s dad has moved on! so has ricky’s mom! 

i’m just scREAMING because ricky’s story is important and it was done well in season 1 and now the writers are losing ricky in the crossfire and pulling out the most degraded, negative traits of his character and running with them.

where is the ricky bowen i love and miss????

and lol, i’ve spoken so much about north high already, but i agree 10000% that it’s just getting out of hand. it’s just so not realistic. the rivalries aren’t like this,,,, someone please make it stop. they north high kids are also just so underdeveloped? the only exception is howie, and we didn’t even know he was a north high kid for half of the show,,,,,, (which, imo, should have been built up much better. kourtney said they never hung out with his friends, but we should have seen that so the mystery was more fulfilling. we should have also gotten hints he was in theatre - maybe kourtney hears him sing beauty and the beast, and she thinks it’s vvv cute, and she asks him he didn’t try out, and howie has to do some mental gymnastics to come up with a decent lie.) 

there’s so much poor or just underdeveloped writing in this season,,,, i’m crying.

even gina (my beloved) is the subject of poor writing because literally what happened between her and ricky? she was so emotionally involved she was about to leave, and then she suddenly decides to stay? and she suddenly just ignores ricky? girl worked through all of that off camera and while it’s not bad per se, it’s just lazy. they just underdeveloped that entire story.

the only one who has really shined this season is ej, and that’s just... really out of left field, but i’m not complaining.

and, i mean, i could talk about my earlier gripes with nini, but i see that they’re making narrative sense, now that the show has progressed a little further. i just wish she had stayed at yac longer, or we had seen more of her, there, so that when she says “she liked who she was [at yac],” we would have more basis for that. and i kinda wish we saw more of her sans boy drama, but i’m sure that’s coming.

and the love triangles,,,,, don’t get me started. rina didn’t have to be angsty or happen at all,,,, they could have just been friends and it would have had the same effect. don’t believe me? they’re friends and they lean on each other, but then nini comes into the picture and ricky just wants to be with nini all the time. he starts to really blow gina off and gina wonders if they were ever friends at all, or if she was just a cardboard cut out that ricky projected nini onto. the angst happens, gina realizes she has friends with carlos, she has that moment with ashlyn that gets fixed, then gina gets close to ej,,,,, literally no difference.

and lol, mr. mazzara. i think he and miss jenn are vvv cute together - definitely my favorite out of the miss jenn romances. i love a good slow burn, so i’m willing to wait for an eternity to have it. i just think they’re neat.

[lillymidnight]

So I binged watched High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Hsmtmts) season 1 about a month back. Now I'm watching season 2. As many, I was surprised to semi like this show. I'm impressed with how unique it is. I won't lie some things have irritated me or disappointed me, but honestly it's better than I thought. A little too much about relationship drama in season 2, but the moments about other stuff is really good. Holy heck all the kids are so talented, they all have such great voices. Can't wait to watch more. That aside I feel like season 2 is getting better, cannot wait to see the next episode. 2x09 looks really good in the promo which prompted me to think about how I feel about each character or couple. I loved that they brought back pretty much the same 6 background 'chorus dancers' in season 2. I know there's more, but actually including them like thed New years party, Improve, and the Quinceanero.

I know I may be hated for this, however I do not ship any of the four 'main' at the moment, they all have so much to work on. But my hsmtmts weird venting of feelings rant. Sorry in advance.

🚨SPOILERS AHEAD🚨

Nini & Ricky - First and for most I never shipped them after the first break up and the slow burn throughout the rehearsals for hsm. Not sure what exactly it was but they just didn't work for me. Communication was such a big problem for them right from the flashbacks, and I know it's a Disney show but a whole year to say 'I love you' felt strange when later we practically see them eating each other blah. Something did not work for me. Their chemistry died part way through season 2. Falling in love with your first love and bestfriend is really precious, but also so heartbreaking at the same time especially if things don't work. Because you never want to lose the friendship. Ricky was becoming too much and treating her terribly, which she absolutely did not deserve. Nini deserves to be independent, she is very talented I won't deny that, but I feel sad because she seems too disconnected from the group even with her bestfriend Kourt despite them placing the two together the last two episodes, something just seems off. (Now this may be just my bias of usually hating main characters when there's a larger cast trickling in) She's still amazing and I hope they can write her independent growth and connection to her friends a bit better, and give us something to look forward to for her character. She needs to learn how to communicate and not hide behind songs or running away. Also proud that she said she wasn't returning from Yac completely for Rocky, which would have been stupid. I would not want to see her give up her dream because he wanted her to. Now I will say their second break up was so mature and beautifully done though and glad she has her fans and music to help her get through. I want to see Nini lean on her mom's for support. Hope she gets an interesting storyline that can showcase how super talented Olivia is with that incredible voice, can't wait to hear more💖

Ricky, well dang this boy needs therapy. He has so many problems he needs to work through. He seriously needs the support of his parents and friends to help him through his break up and abandonment issues. He was becoming pretty scary during season 2, it was making me so uncomfortable. He doesn't like change and yes that's hard to get through but yikes he was almost becoming toxic in some ways. I also know it's very hard to break trauma engraved feelings. Ricky was so insecure that he had to delete a comment from Nini's insta, honestly felt kind of out of character(felt like it was reverting back to season 1 with Ej being jealous, and I did not like it). He's a great character and I hope they show him getting help and working on his issues. I know they showed him with his Mom, Lynn in the 2x09 promo(which is so hard because I don't like her) so I hope it works out and she can help him or that they can have a genuine heart to heart conversation about her actions and how they impacted him. Still don't forgive her for everything so put Ricky through in the first season. He looks so sad and I hope they focus on his mental health and concerns before even thinking about any other relationship drama(wishful thinking...). So happy Ricky had Big Red, those scenes in the montage were so precious and heartwrenching. Big Red just knew Ricky needed him. I want to see more of that friendship grow because it felt slightly lacked in season 2 but that could because he was too focused on Nini and that the rest of the group was growing. I hope they do not let Ricky and Lily happen, that would be such a mistake. Josh is crazy talented can't wait to hear more🧡

Gina - Gosh this girl just needs a big ass hug. I feel so sad and constantly worried about her. That would be so hard constantly moving around never feeling grounded anywhere. I really liked that Ashlyn tried to help with developing a 'home' for Gina. Gina being so independently powerful and strong-willed is a great attribute to who she is and I loved her fierceness in season 1, but I feel like I haven't seen much of that this season, still like her a lot. It just seems she's sadly always putting on a brace face, which makes me feel awful for her. Her pining of Ricky is my least favorite thing about her. I get feelings can develop and with how she fell for him in season 1 and he chose Nini in the end was really sad. But I must say I felt disheartened when she thought Ricky was the one to send her the chocolates on valentines day and was mortified they turned that miscommunication into a joke. Nope, that was not something I liked at all, it felt forced. Yes, they work/see each other in the musical, but with the confused feelings they both shared they really should have backed away from each other to figure things out until both know exactly what they want. It's not fair to each other or Nini and Ej. I don't ship Rina though. Gina in episode 2x05 had me so sad for her, she deserves the world and I was so sad she was internally saying goodbye to everyone. I hope we see her and he mom work on things that will be the best to support Gina. I 100% do not want to see Gina and Jack be a thing, I know they're actors but nope that would be too strange after watching Sofia and Asher as tweens on Andi Mack. Also they really went there with the 'I feel like I know you' seem familiar scene, why? I cringed, I know it's a nod to Andi Mack fans who most probably now watch hsmtmts. I hope we continue to see her friendships grow with everyone. Sofia is so dang talented💚

Ej - I just want to say he went from being hated, to one of the favorite characters in season 2. He became so likeable. Carlos' comment about emotion in the song Gaston was big progress from the scene in season one between the pair, it was nice honestly. I really like Ej's relationship with Mr. Mazzara and hope that he continues to support Ej. I think that can be very good. I also love Ashlyn and Ej's relationship. I hope we eventually see a apology scene or talking scene between Nini and Ej. I really do not like Portwell and I'm so sorry to the fans. But I just don't ship it. I would love them to be good friends and be supportive of each other, their conversation was nice in the 2x08. I hope we see more of his interactions with different characters and continue to see his relationships develop. Ej and Duke well that is a whole other thing. Him acknowledging his privilege and how he didn't earn it was great character progress and very interesting to see. I did feel super sad for Ej, because the boy clearly works so hard with all the clubs and teams he's on, his high gpa, as well as his many other extra curriculars. His Dad, Cash making calls was ridiculous and I'm so proud of Ej telling him he's not going to Duke. I hope we get to see Ej grow independently. However, the promo for 2x09 shows Ej either packing or unpacking boxes with Ashlyn in the room during the zoom call. So I'm worried it's either him helping Gina move out, or the more likely option. Cash Caswell kicked Ej out over him saying he did not want to go to Duke at the end of 2x08. Ej has so much pressure on him. Gah please let Matt sing more, his voice is incredible💛

Ashlyn & Big Red - Redlyn is really sweet and I hope things work out between them regarding them not going through more jealously and relationship drama. I do wish the writers would have explored Ashlyn's insecurities a bit more and with more than just Big Red. I did not like the using her insecurities as comedy in some scenes. Ashlyn being a Disney princess is amazing and such a good thing to showcase. I liked the way they went with Big Red and the career stuff. I see absolutely nothing wrong with him wanting to continue his families legacy and proud that he said that to Ash. Also was happy to see them working that out and her understanding and accepting that. When she finally agreed I was very happy. I don't hate Antoine, but I def don't want to see some weird love triangle glad they said they were working through that. I really want to see more of them together and separate as they're a really cute couple and I think could survive their relationship with independent plot lines. The valentines moments were too sweet. I want to see more scenes with Ashlyn and Ej as I feel they have lacked this season. So, I definitely want to see more of them together as besides drama club, they are part of very different circles so I was shocked to see them so close. However, the more we learned about the Caswells, it appears they grew up alone and only with each other, neither of their parents being home. With her throwing all the parties and him being at her house often and correct me if I'm wrong he sleeps in the spare room quite a bit after parties or in general at her house. Although he did just knock/ring the doorbell in 2x08 which I don't think we've seen before. And his mind else where with Duke and probably his crush nerves somehow forgot Gina was living with Ashlyn. Julia's voice is fantastic that high note in the mob song was just wow. Larry can really sing so well dang, glad he got to sing more in season 2. I cannot wait to hear more from them❤

Carlos & Seb - Seblos is absolutely adorable, that might be biased though because of Joe and Frankie! Even though they are playing characters I feel like there's a little of them that slips through sometimes and I find myself smiling. I hope this fight that keeps being spoken about can be resolved easily. I'll be really sad if not. My heart feels for Seb, as I get Miss Jen doesn't see him as a leading man but she broke barriers once with him being Sharpay which was awesome, he was amazing. So, I hope Seb gets a bigger part in the next musical, and that he and Carlos can work through their relationship dynamic and problems. Really sad to constantly see Seb be told no and disregarded. I want that to change and see him stand up for himself. I don't like that they're portraying him as 'dumb' honestly. Always hate those characters in shows. Sure they say funny things but it's weird. Carlos looks like he's overworking himself and being there for everyone that isn't Seb. Carlos does need to focus on himself a bit and find time for him. Gah I was so happy to see some of Frankie's own heritage represented in the show in 2x05. Carlos' relationship with Miss Jen definitely weirded me out initially😅 I thought the plant growing with them was adorable and the meaning behind the Climb was great, just too cute. I've saw someone mention they think Ricky is going to be going through too many personal problems and be unable to perform and that Seb would take over, which I honestly agree this will happen. Hope to see so much more with them. Definitely hope to hear more singing!!! Gah Frankie and Joe's voices are incredible. They both need to sing way more💜

Kourtney - I still cannot believe she was only meant to be a one or two episode character, she's incredible and I'm so happy they made her more than just Nini's bestfriend who the main character whines to. I loved how they incorporated her as an asset and fashion/costume designer. She's headstrong and so very talented. Really glad they added Kourtney as a cast member to the musical. I mean her step in scene as Taylor was funny, but it's nice to see her break out of her box a little. I hope her relationship does not deter her future and headstrong nature. I really really want to see her relationship grow with other characters that aren't Nini as they were starting to before she came back. Seb and Kourt were great. I'm still indifferent about Howie and Kourtney after everything that has happened with North High. The Harry Potter references were too great though. Can't wait to see where else they go with her character and even Howie. Dara and Roman have such amazing and jaw dropping voices. Dang I want to hear more singing from them both💙

So that was a long winded explanation of how I've been feeling. The show is amazing with such young and talented actors playing awesome characters can't wait to see where else they go with them. Definitely need more singing and dancing.

[dancedance-resolution]

what i want in season two:

seblos:

d e v e l o p m e n t !!

more screen time

a fleshed out origin story

light angst :)

more of seb’s family

a kiss

more of seb singing

more hand holding/general tenderness

comforting each other

a whole episode that revolves around just them. ideally a really sweet and fluffy holiday episode.

no more queer baiting, no more cut scenes, no more using pics in promos for scenes that were cut !!

ricky’s family:

ricky and his mom need to sit down and have an open conversation that humanizes his mother

his mother needs to learn and respect his feelings

and apologize for bringing her bf to the show without warning.

but ricky also needs to hear out his mother and respect her feelings, accepting that she is allowed to find happiness even if it isn’t with his father.

rini:

nini needs to go to the conservatory

and i think it’d be interesting to see how they make it work long distance.

but honestly?? yes that last scene was amazing and iconic but i still ship rina much more.

but i don’t want rini to break up at least in season 2, mainly bc that last scene was too good to just throw away but also bc i could use a break from rini drama and more focus on seblos and other characters/ships.

gina:

more screen time

sleepovers galore with her theatre friends :)

growing deep friendships with the theatre gang

disney. please. do not. try to put ej. and gina. together. i would love a friendship but please, nothing more.

redlyn:

okay unpopular opinion??? i don’t ship redlyn.

i think they are incredibly cute platonically

((but. ya know. both characters are gay.))

in an ideal world, i’d hope that after the kiss they can both recognize that they’re better as just friends and amicably and mutually decide to return to just a platonic relationship.

more realistically, i think it’d be cute to see their collaboration in robotics club.

kourtney:

more screen time

more personality

i want kourtney to be more than just the sassy black side kick who belts a song every episode or two.

other:

holiday episode(s)