#but like idk i can only see ricky and nini as friends

[magicwithineleteo]

Bestie you like Rina right? What's your favorite moment of them from each season? 💖

hi twin!!!

yes i love love love rina i’d say it’s my favorite ship from hsmtmts and honestly maybe top 10 ships in general <3

this is gonna be really hard bc i love their overall journey so much and i can’t name just one moment from every season so i’m gonna name a few per season bc i cannot choose lmao

also there are countless parallels i left out bc i forgot them

season 1:

- character introductions

okay this technically is an honorable mention but i still think it’s important, in the character introductions video, when asked if he’s intimidated by gina, ricky says…

No, actually. Can’t say she does.

i love this line bc everyone was intimidated by gina. she was new, a triple threat, an ultimate bad b who was confident in herself. and that scared the other kids. but ricky was the only one who wasn’t.

when asked about ricky, gina says…

Ricky intrigues me…and I don’t get intrigued.

AHHH??? sorry that just is so AHHHH

- skatepark scene

this scene, i’d say is arguably one of the most important scenes in the whole show. ricky is basically done w the show because he thinks that he’s ruining the show and if he stays in the show, nini will leave and she needs to be the lead, so he unofficially quits. he’s just been scolded(?) or idk nini ranted about how he’s ruining it and how he sinks. he goes to the skatepark and who does he see? gina. now i know her intentions weren’t the best at the time, and she at the time just wanted nini out, but that conversation is what kept ricky in the show, as he confirms a few episodes later. she literally was the only reason he stayed with the show, he was literally about to drop out for nini. she reassured him after him already doubting himself and not knowing what he was doing and nini being rude to him in front of everyone.

That’s why I was stoked when she casted you. Outsiders keep everyone else on their toes. I mean it. You kept us real.

It’s probably better to have someone up there who can actually keep time. That 5 and 6 stuff?

You don’t need Carlos to tell you how to move. He bites other people’s styles. You have your own.

- homecoming car scene

this scene is monumental in the shows history bc this is where rina was officially born i’d say. this scene literally changed the trajectory of the show. firstly, the rina cue was born. he once again says that gina isn’t scary or intimidating.

Let me guess, you pictured a raw iron gate and a bunch of gargoyles?

Kinda. You’re not that scary.

then he confirms that he stayed in the show solely bc of her

I kinda owe you a thank you, actually.

For what?

You’re the reason I stayed with the show. That night at the skatepark? You set me straight, and it’s been a big deal for me, the Troy thing.

Well it suits you.

[…]

You know I…I meant what I said…at the skatepark about you having your own style. I don’t even think I knew how much I meant it when I said it.

and then in the next episode he says that he can’t forget anything that happened at homecoming. WHEN SHE SAID ALL THAT AND THEN KISSED HIS CHEEK

- when there was me and you

gina was the only one who supported his acoustic idea and he played it for her and SERENADED HER. the entire season and show people have been rude to ricky (nini, ej, his parents, miss jenn) and gina is the only one who consistently supports him <3

not only does gina like ricky but he’s also her first friend at east high, the first person she broke her walls around.

at this point, ricky isn’t chasing after nini anymore. and gina isn’t chasing after the lead anymore. they’re both free to just be.

ricky only starts to pursue nini romantically again after gina leaves. because what was he gonna do about his feelings when gina was leaving forever ?? and he was focused on gina too, constantly texting her and trying to talk to her after she stopped showing up to school. he only started liking nini again or focusing on his old feelings because gina was out of the picture and they didn’t think they’d ever meet again. which is why the next section is :O

- stick to the status quo

this was a BIG deal because ricky really thought he’d never see gina again and to see her onstage , performing , was a big shock. she kept re emphasizing how this was her last time seeing them and how it’s one night only.

Don’t blink, you’ll miss me.

The disappearing Gina act.

One night only!

ricky knew she wouldn’t be back so there was no point to do anything with his feelings, because he buried them down after thinking he’d never see her again. what was the point of confessing to her that he likes her if she wasn’t gonna be in his life anymore? she pretty much cut communication with him after she left so there was no point. so he focused on nini and confessed to her.

we later learn there’s more that happened that night.

but now, ricky is with nini and gina gets a surprise offer by ashlyn to stay with her for the next semester.

BOOM SEASON 1 ENDED

season 2:

- valentine’s day conversation

god this scene is so packed .

ricky and gina’s relationship is based on understanding. they say things in this scene like

Valentine’s day is kinda hard for me this year, and I thought of all people, you would understand.

You did?

Yeah well..my mom’s been my valentine every year since I was 4. I guess I thought she would send me a stuffed bear as kind of our tradition. Um, but I just got off the phone with her, and it sounds like she forgot. But she works crazy hard hours. So…

Yeah, I…I get that. Um, missing your mom.

I knew you would. Sorry, there’s just some things I tell you that I don’t really tell anyone else.

Yeah, no, I think we do that for each other.

this conversation reminds me of the one they had in thanksgiving which is also a direct parallel of gina coming to ricky’s home and them understanding each other like no one else where this happened…

Is everything okay?

Yeah, yup…okay, no. I guess my mom has a new boyfriend and it’s just a lot. Sorry, I hate to be a downer.

Look, I…I get it.

No offense, but I’m not sure you do.

Let me guess, you’re mad that everyone and everything because just when you’re getting used to things changing, they change again. Am I close?

A little bit.

[…]

Do what makes you happy.

ricky and gina are incredible because he’s the boy who hates change and she’s the girl whose world is always changing, and they find solace in each other.

- opening night flashback scene

this scene also is so pivotal!! we see gina confess to ricky that she would’ve pursued him had she not moved away. this scene is so beautiful. we also see ricky later regret not stopping her.

You were amazing out there, Ricky. I mean, Breaking Free?

Um, guess so.

Trust me, I’m a theatre person. You guys made some magic.

Yeah, it was actually good to get something right, for once. I guess you have that feeling all the time.

I don’t do anything right the first time, Ricky. My thing is that I just keep pushing. And I never quit.

I know you don’t.

So, I guess I just wanna say that…um…sorry this is so stupid, I don’t know why I’m crying.

Say it.

I wouldn’t quit on us if I wasn’t moving away…So now, I’m gonna give you a really tight hug, and then I’m gonna walk away with my head held high. Okay?

Okay.

AH THIS SCENE IS SO PACKED

firstly, gina supporting ricky again, telling him what a great job he did.

gina says here that she doesn’t do anything right for the first time. this quote itself foreshadows her romantic ending. because in season 3, she has her summers of firsts. first boyfriend, first kiss, etc. this was her first confession too. and it didn’t go the way she wanted it to.

ricky was so gentle w her and is always so gentle when she’s crying :’)

but this scene explains why ricky and gina don’t really speak much. gina confesses to him as the plane was crashing and is staying away from him for herself and out of respect for him and nini’s relationship.

ricky knows that gina likes him, but just got with nini. he doesn’t know what to do, especially since gina is staying now. he pushes down his feelings for her now to focus on nini. he tries to keep their relationship the same by going to her for advice, but she sets the boundary of not confiding in her about nini. he respects her wishes and really doesn’t speak to her for the entire season. and by the time he is single again, even if he wanted to pursue gina, she was already having a thing with ej. there would’ve been no point. he was stuck with his feelings, trying to juggle his dying relationship with nini, repressed feelings for gina, his dad and miss jenn dating and his mom and todd dating.

they both were going through a lot this season. gina literally almost leaves salt lake because she’s so heartbroken.

- second chance

skipping to the end of the season, the entire song of second chance is just so rina coded.

ricky sings

But there is something in this summer wind, a moment to begin again.

and reiterates in this song

Begin again, begin again, begin again.

they all sing

What can make the tide turn? What can make the fire burn? A second chance is all.

they’re saying that the thing that can change the tide and ignite the fire is a second chance.

(also insert the lamp between rina thing here)

ricky also says

Here’s to second chances.

season 3:

- start over

ricky literally says before he goes to camp

This summer is all about second chances.

and then gina says this to him

Can we just start over?

Yes, definitely.

[…]

We’re in a new place, we’re different people now. We can start fresh. No drama, no chocolates. Summer’s supposed to be fun, right?

Yes, totally agree. Summer of fun!

this was so important.

obviously gina is currently happy with ej and even though she has lingering feelings for ricky, she’s excited to have her friend back and is focused on her relationship with ej. ricky is being finally free and is just enjoying himself. no thoughts in his head whatsoever <3

- what do you know about love?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

so earlier ricky was appointed to play gina’s jilted ex who still has feelings for her, and he actually does have feelings for her. gina is currently mad at ej and has old feelings for ricky too. when asked to perform this song and “have fun torturing ej”, this masterpiece was born.

the chemistry is insane the tension is there ricky is WHIPPED gina is swinging him around 10/10

then after, val describes ricky as heartsick and gives her psychological analysis on him

and then later ricky confesses that he wasn’t completely acting when pretending to be in love with gina

- color war events

1. firstly they spent the day together and had lots of fun

2. ricky helped gina set up the little promposal for ej and i think this scene really shows how far ricky’s grown.

in season 1, ricky, while i love him infinitely, purposefully sabotaged nini and ej’s relationship because he loved her. he tried to split them apart and then eventually stopped. in season 3, ricky is in love with gina, however he wants to see her happy and recognizes that currently, ej makes her happy. so he helps her set up this canoe thing for her and watches her surprise ej. he just wants to see her happy, whether it’s with him or without.

then he goes to his bunk and cries

I can’t believe I let color war slip out of my fingers.

You mean Gina?

he’s upset that he didn’t pursue her, that he shouldn’t have let her just leave. he regrets what he did.

this also parallels the quinceñero episode when gina cries seeing ricky and nini.

also both of them saying “you’re the best”

honorable mention- the coat check scene being a direct parallel of homecoming and showing ricky being gentle with gina again after she broke up with ej and ricky being gagged when he sees gina

- kristoff lullaby

this song is so them<3 and lucaya

every single word applies to them.

What do I know about love? Everything I thought I did, you’ve gone and changed it kid. You’re what I know about love.

ricky looks at gina as he sings this part.

AHHHH

it’s perfect for them because she did change his idea of love. like i said earlier, she’s helped him grow. he went from loving nini selfishly, holding onto her desperately because she was his only constant and he would do anything to keep her with him, to loving gina selflessly and purely wanting her to be happy and to thrive, with or without him. he learned to be able to let go because of nini. he had to let her go because he loved her. now he loves gina with no pressure or anything.

it’s him finally letting his feelings out, he’s repressed them the entire time, whether it be because he was with nini or because she was with ej. but now, under the character of kristoff, he’s letting his love be.

and i think that’s so beautiful.

- you’re a yes

gina’s whole confession was so so important and everything about it was perfect to me.

a lot of people thought that ricky should’ve been the one to make a speech but gina making it makes sense. she didn’t confess right the last time (because she doesn’t do anything right the first time) as well as the fact that she was the one who was in a relationship and ricky was respectful of it. he didn’t want to say anything to her because he didn’t know if it was too soon for her to move on or not. it had only been a month since she and ej broke up. gina had to make that choice herself. not him.

i’m gonna go into depth about her confession:

He’s wrong.

Sorry? Who?

EJ. He said we all saw this coming. But I didn’t. Not that night in your car after homecoming, or when I made you that hat at Thanksgiving and the floppy little ears looked so dumb, but..it was honestly one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. God, Ricky Bowen, you have been a surprise since the day we met. You weren’t the plan, you were never the plan. Plans change. And, if you want me to shut up, I’ll shut up but, I don’t have maybe feelings for you. You aren’t a maybe. You’re a yes. And I like to know where people stand with me so now you know where you stand with me. And so, I’m going to walk out of here with my head held high, and I’m never gonna look back again. Unless you stop me.

Wait.

[They kiss]

okay so now we’re gonna go line by line bc this is genius lyrics

obviously the parallels in the beginning, gina references season 1

You weren’t the plan, you were never the plan. Plans change.

this references 2 things, #1 being ej and gina’s conversation in season 1

What happened to the plan? I think I’m missing it because I’m still the understudy, and you seem pretty happy, so what changed?

Nothing…everything? I don’t know.

So you care about Ricky?

And what if I do?

and also tim’s feelings about rina

And, if you want me to shut up, I’ll shut up but, I don’t have maybe feelings for you. You aren’t a maybe. You’re a yes.

this directly references gina’s breakup with ej, because she says that maybe isn’t good enough for her right now.

And so, I’m going to walk out of here with my head held high, and I’m never gonna look back again. Unless you stop me.

Wait.

directly references her first confession

So now, I’m gonna give you a really tight hug, and then I’m gonna walk away with my head held high. Okay?

Okay.

last time, ricky let her walk away, but this time he didn’t repeat his mistake. and he stops her and he kisses her <3

the end! that was my very long unnecessary post <3 i love rina thank u for asking twin ilysm

[frostluvrs]

Idk but to me Ricky and nini always seemed a little forced. I really appreciate the subtlety of hsmtmts! Like Jets feelings for Kourtney are noticeable when you rewatch and same with Maddox and Ash. Hsmtmts has always thrives on a mix between subtlety and blatantly showing the audience, like the duet with Ej and Gina as Hans and Anna pretty blatantly showed they weren’t gonna work out. It made it hard to find nini and Ricky interesting when everything about them was always shoved in there somehow, like every confessional and every scene they would just describe how they were feeling and what was happening in this very unnatural way that people do not do.

But Ricky and Gina showed off Tims mix of subtlety and showing instead of telling the audience. We don’t hear about Ricky’s feelings THAT much but we can SEE his totally hopeless pining (side note Joshua basset put his whole SOUL into that unrequited longing) and not to be mean (even though it’s totally fair game at this point) it just makes the portwell and rini shippers look not very clever at this point. At the very least they should be able to admit that rina was gonna happen at some point but pretending to not see it AT ALL, makes them look either blind or just petty.

i agree they always seemed forced! i enjoy rina madlyn and jetney for the same reasons you listed. even with redlyn they showed why their relationship worked instead of JUST telling us. for portwell and rini the only time they showed us something about their relationship instead of telling us is showing they didn’t work.

i think a large part of the problem is all of their development was off screen and so was their first relationship besides the s1 flashback. there’s definitely a way to show exes to lover’s relationship and/or a relationship that has history pre show and make it interesting but for rini that just didn’t happen. they just simply tell us they had this loving relationship and that they know each other so well but they don’t show it all. if anything it seemed like they didn’t know each other well. and that’s funny considering they shoehorned in them being childhood best friends. which is still funny to me because they don’t feel like childhood best friends at all. it’s very similar to dawson and joey where they’re telling us they’re best friends and are each others person when the only evidence of them on screen (tho they attempted with dawson and joey but failed in my opinion) is the characters saying it. we don’t actually get to see their bond ☠️☠️. it’s one of my biggest problems with the best friends to lovers trope in general despite me loving it - the fact half the time the ships with it don’t actually feel like they’ve known each other for that long or have history.

with rini it’s funny to me because going with the idea they’re childhood friends to me they just feel like that relationship that only got together because everyone expected them to. like i don’t think we even actually know why ricky and nini liked each other besides ricky holding onto her for comfort 😭😭

i actually said before (here x) that i think one of the reasons some people don’t get rina is because it’s not being told to you it’s being SHOWN to you and they called rina forced in s3 bc their relationship became fully text in s3 instead of subtext (even though s1 and esp s2 was obvious enough but i digress). portwell and rini was in your face from the beginning they started to both of them ending but their stans missed the fact they would eventually break up bc the show was SHOWING you instead of telling you the reasons they would eventually not work out (besides in s2b for rini and s3 for portwell where the underlying reasons their relationships would fail started becoming obvious …. in which then their stans said it’s forced ….)

your second paragraph !!!! i said the same thing here. i just don’t understand how they can see them having no closure and the rina relationship just constantly being put on hold instead of being put to rest and think nothing was ever going to happen or get addressed. sure i started to think rina was never happening but not because it made sense that their story is over. i just thought the writers were bad at writing 😭😭 but like i said in the post they refused to see them as romantic in s1 and then said it was one sided in s2 and that the flashback was closure and ricky never liked her and then one sided on ricky’s end in s3 and now say s3 and their feelings don’t make sense …. they want to talk about bad writing so much but leaving rina open and never closing their book would have been the bad writing.

[thekrawra]

Ricky, Nini, and Gina: POST EPISODE 8 DEBRIEF - plantonic vs romantic

okay so ricky and gina have stolen my heart and soul apparently and in light of the new episode here i am, talking about it again.

so first and foremost i do want to say that i think ricky and nini have potential to be a good ship, and i’m not blind to say they have no chemistry.

however - the show’s writing is painting ricky and gina in a more favourable light than ricky and nini. this was extremely evident in episode 8.

ricky and nini’s relationship has been endlessly painted in negatives for both of them. we get confirmation this episode that they were very close friends, nini was ricky’s first crush, and then they started to date. after ricky didn’t say “i love you”, they took a break, broke up, and then their friendship kinda fell with it. this is the friendliest we see nini and ricky being with each other all season, and even then it was surrounded with an awkward tension... that to me at least did read as good.

and the writing was clever for that entire part: things were awkward, uncomfortable, then ricky starts reminiscing on their past friendship starting in kindergarten and it gets less awkward and more natural and they are friendly, then ricky brings up the big “i love you” issue and it gets awkward again.

then ricky gets the message from gina, who he’s been worried about. and while being an easy prompt to lead into the next subject also reminds us that this other person ricky is very close to and potentially growing romantically closer to is still present and a factor in this situation. to fully commit to ricky and nini, it would have been more helpful to leave gina out of the conversation entirely — and it would have been easy to slip in the gina leaving a day early comment at the beginning of the ep. they didn’t HAVE to include it during the nini and ricky conversation: in doing so they allowed for a more direct comparison between the characters.

so then nini and ricky continue to talk and nini mentions the school in denver and ricky’s response is interesting because he’s happy and supportive of her. again: heavily open to interpretation, but with everything going on with his parents and with the fact that last time nini went away (during the summer) she came back with a new boyfriend, you’d think he’d at least have a mixed reaction — because yes he would want to support her, but her leaving not only a) completely ruins his chances with her and b) wrecks his support system. that being said he didn’t hesitate in supporting her.

here’s where this piece gets subjective based on my interpretation: this to me, based on what i know and understand of ricky’s character, reads as ricky has moved past nini. to an extent that i don’t think he’s consciously realized. he’s okay with her going, he doesn’t NEED her as he once did.

the entire conversation is lead by ricky reminiscing on their friendship (nini too but ricky initiated the conversation). it’s also important to note that it only gets awkward and uncomfortable when ricky brings up elements of their romantic relationship (even something with a positive connotation like having a crush on her) but they click very naturally as friends.

yes they almost kiss, but a) they don’t and b) neither seemed all that happy about it after the fact. ricky seemed almost iritated or confused - he wanted to leave as quickly as possible. and nini outright said it wouldn’t happen again. if both were still interested in getting back together in anyway, it’s a strange reaction to have.

this episode showed us a ricky and nini happy as friends, and also made sure to showcase that the romance for them just doesn’t help their relationship, in fact instead only hurts it. every time something romantic came up, they both became uncomfortable, and awkward, and could barely look at each other afterwards.

where does gina fit in? sure her or ricky haven’t really engaged in anything explicitly romantic yet, but they’ve had happy moments, and ricky spent some key moments in this episode worried about her. in an episode based around ricky and nini reminiscing on their relationship, sure she wasn’t present, but she definitely lingered as a contrast.

ricky and nini’s romantic relationship, in the writing of this series, has yet to be posed as anything but negative for the two of them. it messed up their friendship, and sure some feelings might linger but the two just have hardcore friend energy. in many technical elements of the writing: there’s not much that really pushes forward hope for a positive romantic relationship between the two of them, and it almost seems like both of them are starting to acknowledge it.

if they were just going to write gina out to have ricky and nini, they wouldn’t have mentioned gina and they wouldn’t have had ever time ricky and nini begin any sort of romantic dialogue or action have their comfort levels with each other fall entirely.

this is pretty rambly but to me, this entire episode read as very focused on proving that nini and ricky are better friends than they are romantic partners.

also that ricky is very concerned about gina and is moving past nini. she still one of his best friends, but he doesn’t read as in love with her anymore. he didn’t react positively to almost kissing her, even though she’s not dating anyone anymore, and even though she seemed to want to kiss him in the moment this time.

in fact, he lingers on their past and honestly the only interjection about the future of them is when he supports her about leaving, which inherently puts them as not together.

so you know, who knows, but a) i hope that the writing remains consistent and they continue alluding to what it seems they are alluding to. ricky and nini getting back together just doesn’t seem natural, with how negatively the idea of them being back together seems to be implied (the show hasn’t really given a reason why they should be back together other than the insulated plot arc established in episode one — but there’s no justified character reason since we haven’t seen them romantically together in a positive light and the only times they’ve been friendly have been effectively ruined by the insertion of a romantic element). as someone who has ruined friendships because of romantic feelings that didn’t play out — i’d really love to see ricky and nini realize that they are better friends than lovers before it’s too late.

and b) we’ve seen ricky and gina grow close and build up and develop around each other, each pushing the other further into their development. a romantic relationship serves to in some way help the two of them, and there’s no underlying negative connotation to the two of them being romantically linked. no friendships ruined, no disaster mistakes threatening both of their opinions and ideals concerning the relationship. gina staying and leaving the option of a potential relationship between ricky and gina leaves room for stuff in season two but also doesn’t feel like we are being forced into any relationship. id love to see gina and ricky together officially but more than anything i just want to see them happy and they seem happiest with each other.

sure a lot of this is personal interpretation, but i’d hope the the writing remains consistent and continues to defy expectation. a ricky and nini endgame just feels cheap and inconsistent at that point when so far the series has pointed to almost anything else in its implications.

[james-beaufort]

I dont feel bad for EJ either 😭 idk why but like he keeps going after girls insecure or hurting after some mess with ricky. And then puts them through the ringer in a worse relationship. Like my boy. Stop being in relationships 2k forever.

100% agree with every thing you said 😭😭😭

This is going to turn into a little bit of a rant so read at your own risk lol.

Literally EJ keeps going after girls after they feel rejected by Ricky and they are in vulnerable places (e.g. Nini after Ricky didn't say I love you and Gina feeling like her feelings weren't reciprocated). It's like he swoops in for them and I don't think its intentional but I do think it's weird that his two main relationships in the show started that way.

Also it's like he is so desperate to be in a relationship (Jason Earles I'm talking to you when I say this), but he is the one who goes from girl to girl. Let's not forget Valentine's Day when he literally said he had never spent a Valentine's Day without a girlfriend. Maybe instead of jumping into a relationship with Gina he should have worked on himself. Because this 'character development' that pw fans keep talking about I just don't see it.

Another thing that really is bothering me about EJ is that he continually snipes at Ricky about the woods thing (which they invited him to 😵‍💫) but also continually asks Ricky for advice about Gina. Now that part is just unbelievable to me - he is seriously going to keep asking the person who slapped him over Gina for relationship advice... instead of you know talking to Gina.

Plus while I get that directing the camp musical is stressful there is really no excuse for the way he has been treating Gina this season. And honestly, in my opinion, the relationship is all about EJ - especially with fans of the ship. Example - their only meaningful conversation (and I'm being generous calling it meaningful) in season 2 was all about EJ and Gina lifting EJ up when he didn't want to go to Duke. Then, in the season 2 finale EJ makes her feel horrible and undeserving of love by rejecting her. This scene has always made my blood boil because he cut her out as soon as he didn't think he would get what he wants from her.

Fast forward to s3 and every conversation the two have he makes about himself - Gina wants to talk about getting Anna and being excited, well no can't talk about that we have to talk about how he is freaking out about being director. Gina wants to spend time with EJ in the woods - no he's too busy, but not busy enough to embarrass her in front of all their friends and make out she's doing something wrong with Ricky. Gina specifically tells him she doesn't want to talk about the future and EJ goes on a rant about how the play needs to be successful for his future. Then finally, despite EJ being the one who should be grovelling, Gina (with the help of Ricky 😢) sets up an elaborate promposal and what does he do? He rejects her. Literally don't even understand this rule - why couldn't he just go there separately with her? Plus - if Maddox and Madison broke up at the prom last year, I would presume they went together. In which case - is this even a rule?

Honestly, the way that his fans treat Gina frankly disgusts me - like yesterday I went to the tag for a few minutes and saw someone saying that 'Gina didn't receive anything EJ said to her' - putting all the blame on her, when from where I sit (val voice) Gina has done nothing wrong. I think that most pws are Gina haters - do you know how many people I see who say they like Gina... but only in 2B? It's insane because 2B is the worst for me as a Gina fan - she lost her agency and spunk and she was basically a shell of herself who existed to try and prop up EJ.

My last point is that pws love to try and say that EJ shows up for Gina and my question to them is - when? Because the only time I can think of is the stupid granola bar (which is just a weird scene imo). If I really stretch I could say the fake dating part, but to me that's a no - because Gina didn't need to be saved. When she isn't around EJ she is perfectly capable of handling herself and she could have simply said 'no' to the random North High guy. It's always Gina who is doing the work in the relationship. Gina being his sounding board. Gina doing the morning show with him because no one else agreed. It is always Gina showing up for EJ and he never bothers to do so for her.

[insomniactalks]

Any thoughts on what Ricky and EJ’s relationship will be like this season after the first two episodes? I feel like we might see some of EJ’s insecurities around Ricky come out when it comes to the musical and with Gina but idk for sure 🤔 Regardless, both of those boys deserve the world and I’m really hoping we can see their friendship grow this season!

You can tell in 3.02 that Ricky is immediately joking around with EJ and seemingly wants to genuinely be friends with him. I agree with you anon, that it's only a matter of time before we start to see EJ's insecurities rise in regards to Gina and Ricky getting closer this season (probably around 3.04/3.05). I don't believe the narrative is aiming to punish EJ by having his insecurities come true (like in S1). He saw Ricky and Nini play the leads and eventually become something more. I doubt they're trying to do a repeat of that with Ricky and Gina playing the leads this time. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we get a true Ricky and EJ heart to heart by seasons end. Nini and Gina had that in S1 and S2 finales, and the boys got close to this in 2.10, but not quite there. I absolutely agree with you and I hope we get to see more of their friendship grow this season as well!

[rinisbowen]

how do you feel about tim posting the script that shows that ricky did get those chocolates for gina because it’s making me kinda sad? like fine rini is dead and buried but it just feels wrong that ricky would do that while dating nini.

so...

the anon asked me how i felt about it. this is how i personally feel about it. (and tbh i can't see anything in the tag rn for some reason, so idk if this will show up in the tag or not, so maybe i Don't have to be afraid of sharing my opinions for once this time around lol). r i guess the one thing i have to say off the bat though is that calling ricky a cheater for this is genuinely just incorrect.

--

i'll start with this- it's not canon. maybe the chocolates will become canon next season, maybe they won't, and only time will tell, but for now- the chocolates are not canon. tim went with a very different ending scene to accomplish his goal. i have lots of thoughts on said scene, but everyone treating the dialogue here as canon when tim calls it a first draft is just- not the right way to go about this. even if they went with doing it this way, ricky giving the speech, this is the First Draft. a lot could've changed between that draft and the final cut. but anyway... none of that was said in the show. it's not canon to the show.

--

was this idea a wise choice by tim? no. no it wasn't. why? to me the biggest reason this was not just a bad choice but also kind of a stupid choice is because it takes away the most important part of the whole chocolates thing to begin with. that gina's mom remembered their tradition and sent her something for valentines day because how could she forget her daughter? she remembers every year, no matter how busy it gets. why would this year be any different? that is IMPORTANT.

i do also definitely think it's a possibility that tim didn't actually plan this during season 2... and was inspired by... everything... and maybe that's why he's choosing to ignore this aspect of it... (it goes with the s3 spirit of ignoring a lot of s2) but that's neither here nor there.

--

that said- to take what we got at surface value, and interpret it as though it were a part of the canon timeline of the show, the details are important too.

starting with the fact that ricky says that he got her mom to get them for her.

ricky reached out to gina's mom, to make sure that gina got something from her mom on valentines day.

that is what actually happened, if we take this script as canon.

is making sure his friend, who came to him because she thought he could relate to missing his mom when she's away, gets something from her mom, a problem? (and yes this is of course something ricky can indeed relate to... given he feels abandoned by his own mom)

i see everyone saying 'it's valentines chocolates'- and that's why it's not okay he got them for her while being with nini... but it's not even like ricky actually got her a valentine. ricky made sure her mom got her a valentine.

that isn't even close to cheating. (which is what everyone's saying right now, that ricky's a cheater). and i think people need to keep in mind too that tim has said himself this show would never have a cheating plot because this isn't that kind of show. i'll add as well- cheating requires intent. regardless of how people feel about ricky, which isn't positively in general, prior to this as well as obviously now... he doesn't have the intent factor going on here. (which the whole intent thing is also why i dislike a lot of people's takes on ricky in s3, but that's neither here nor there)

should he have told nini about what he did for gina? that's a whole separate conversation. it probably would've been smart, but i don't think him not doing so is inherently problematic so much as just... dumb. considering what the gesture itself actually was. ricky didn't actually get her the chocolates. (also yes i read the line where he says the chocolates were from him, it's just not... accurate to what he spells out. so yeah.)

but the point remains that the chocolates weren't about ricky, the chocolates were about gina and her mom. while ricky having to remind her mom about getting something for gina does cheapen that, because it means gina's mom forgot to get gina something to begin with, the whole point is that they're from gina's mom. they're a reminder to gina that her mom loves her. which is something she really needs.

it's a sweet gesture on his part. (reference not actually intended) but it's not inherently indicative of him cheating on nini- emotionally or otherwise. i don't think regardless of what we may or may not have confirmed at any point later on that ricky knew he liked gina, even if it is confirmed he did in fact like her at this point (which it isn't as of now).

he was in love with nini. he wanted nini to be the one at his door. he wrote her a song and took an eleven hour bus ride to denver to play it for her for valentines day. (after which point he would've presumably had to get right back on the bus overnight to get back for school in the morning). he wanted to be with her forever. ricky didn't cheat on nini.

i'll also add for everyone saying gina knew he moved before nini did- that's not canon. what's canon is that the show used a comedic beat of nini showing up at his old house the night before valentines day, not knowing he'd already moved to the new place, which chances are... had happened within the last few days since there's literally next to nothing unpacked chances are they talked about this that night. gina canonically knows about it after school the next day. it's possible gina found out he moved first, but the chances are pretty high that she only found out that day at school... with everyone else, and nini knew from the night before.

[burnwithtears]

I WATCHED IT! And I remember vivid how you were one of the only rinas with hope after the mess of 2x12 WE DID IT! At first I had mixed feelings to be 100% honest but after read the interviews I feel at peace. How do you feel?

oooh tell me more about the mixed feelings!!!

overall, it's my second favorite episode of the season (3x5 forever number 1 in my heart), but the kiss scene is definitely my favorite scene of the whole show. it was just so damn beautiful. Gina's speech? Ricky's expression? boy couldn't believe his luck. the damn ORCHESTRA that begun to play like a breathe of fresh air because finally, FINALLY they're on the same page?? that was their fireworks exploding for the 10th time this season.

Rina this season was just IT. there's no denying their chemistry, their feelings, how WELL they work together. and, given the interviews, they're here to stay. their troyella era is coming!!!!!!

i would make a few changes in the episode, though. Emmy's solo was beautiful, and she's definitely coming back to season 4, but i would totally give "This is me" to Kourt before the play, maybe make her conversation with Alex happen a bit earlier, given that we've been following Kourt's storyline for longer, and she deserves all the solos.

i also wanted to see Kourt and Gina singing together as Elsa and Anna! just a small bit, could be like 30 seconds of "For the first time in forever (reprise)", idk. i understand Gina's solos happened before the finale because her storyline this season parallels Anna's, but ughhhhhh i wanted a hour-long episode jsjdkskdks

ALSO, a tiny bit of "Fixer upper", after Ricky almost punched Channing (as he should), right before "Kristoff's Lullaby". And after "Kristoff's Lullaby" i wanted to see Olaf's dialogue of "love is putting someone else's needs above your own", because we KNOW this whole section of the play was the moment it hit for Gina that she never got over Ricky, and that he's been there the whole time for her because he feels the same. don't get me wrong, i LOVED how it happened during Kristoff's Lullaby, but we can always wish for more, no? 🥹 (I'll have to write a fanfic about it)

and that's literally it??? i have no other additions. OH, NO, i would also bring Seb back, what the hell, the dance was the previous night hahahahah

i cried my eyes out during Nini's last scenes. it was such a beautiful goodbye, even though she only saw Kourt and Miss Jenn, feels like a full circle (a callback to 1x5, even, with "Born to be brave" playing in the background). her closure with Ricky, helping him finish his bucket list, and now they can grow up in separate ways as good friends. (although I'm sus... how did she know this was the last remaining item? and Gina's face watching him? chocolate truthers are you with me? okay now I'm being delusional perhaps. OR NOT.)

also: the queerness this season. absolutely GOLD. Carlos, Seb, Maddox and Madison are very clear, and then we have Ash, Big Red and Ricky (yes, RICKY, don't fight me on this). How delicately they dealt with Ash's coming out, without relying on the "cheating" plot twist, so associated with bisexuality. she's dating someone, but she also has a crush on other people, and that's okay. she's not acting on it. she's just feeling it, and she still loves her boyfriend. her face when she said "I'll call big red" was just so !"?'!!$!'!"!$ like she's so happy they're on the same boat.

Big Red coming out publicly almost like an afterthought, almost like he thought all his friends and girlfriend already knew it!!!! this was so personal to me!!!!! and then we have a bi-coded Ricky, with actions and words that tell the audience what we need to know without having to spell out "I'm bi".

not everyone is gonna have a big coming out moment. a bi person doesn't need to date someone of the same sex to validate their queerness. of course, do we want that? hell yes, i am totally on board for Ash x Maddox, for example. but this season, I'm so glad they were able to explore the characters' sexuality and still keep their romance intact, no cheating, no heartbreak, just happiness to discover something about themselves that's shared with the other. save the drama for the next season!!!

also, even though his stans are whining about it, i LOVED EJs plot this season. he finally got a compelling storyline. and yeah, it was painful to see him in pain, but also it was something so personal to me, because i relate to him A LOT. perfectionist, doesn't want to burden anyone, snaps at people when overwhelmed, would totally deny help if someone offers, and it's incapable of asking for it because feels like he has to deal with everything alone? yup. YUP. that's the syndrome of the "perfect child" right there. i might elaborate this later, though. it's long. (ps: i can't wait to see what the success of this documentary will do to him. hopefully make him richer than daddy.)

OOF THAT WAS LONG, SORRY ANON. i hope you loved this episode and season as much as I did. and the hope we've been harboring for Rina since 2019??? it paid off. now it's our moment!!!!!!! WE SHALL THRIVE.

[meiishu]

thoughts on hsmtmts season 3  finale under the cut

ok going into it i was very skeptical because they have so much to cover in one episode. like whats going to get ignored??

first off i wish kourtney got more screen time this season over the love triangle dramatics. her struggles with anxiety being more central, especially since she plays ELSA, would have been so much better for the plot. instead we get... more love triangle drama

also... portwell nation how we feeling... LMAO.... yeah im crying with you rn

look i like gina and ricky and i thought that their kiss was really sweet at the end of the episode (although i wish ricky had been the one to give gina s dramatic speech after his confession was on the trailer). actually focusing on them rn, WHY WASNT THE CONFESSION IN THE TRAILER? the trailer framed it like gina was the one pursing ricky. when in actuality, it should have been RICKYs feelings being revealed, and then HE should have had to explain himself to GINA, and then GINA got to decide where to go with their relationship. not the other way around. bad writing choice, IG. 

as much as i am upset for portwell.... gotta say the me who loved gina/ricky in season 2 is very happy. i hope they stay together into the next season instead of bringing MORE love triangle back. they could have a really cute relationship, plus the actors have really good chemistry together, so i’m excited to see where they go even if i am sad for EJ

i was worried that ricky was going to go right back to pining for nini lmao. im glad hes not. but the thing about all of that that bothers me is that, the way the show is written, i definitely think they always wanted rini to be endgame. but with olivia leaving, they re-wrote it so that rather that nini, ricky’s with gina. idk. they built up portwell so well last season, only to tear them apart so easily this season. guarantee if olivia had stuck around, rini would still be a thing. (maybe thats a big part of why she wanted to leave... no more romance scenes with joshua lmfao). 

i do like the idea of gina and ricky together. i think they suit each other. i just hope that they don’t get done dirty the way portwell was done this season in season 4, because that’s how i was feeling about portwell at the end of last season. 

BIG RED BI REVEAL!!! also can we talk about big red not even being in the show but getting his “hi im ashlyns boyfriend and im bi!!!!” moment because what a KING!!!! 

also honestly??? when big red first appeared did anyone else notice jet’s little friend-jealousy he had over ricky??? it was precious LMAO. i love big red and ashlyn so much but if the ships were to somehow shift next season, and like, ashlyn and maddox wound up happening... just hear me out guys... jet and big red. i have a vision, OK??? although it seems maybe kourtney/jet might happen next season and... ok??? no objections ig but i have no real opinion on it rn since they’ve barely interacted. 

buuuuut I LOVE the idea of maddox and ashlyn so much!!! i feel like even though i didnt get jet/ricky maddox/ashlyn potential is making up for it. im so glad that it seems like maddox’s crush will come into play next season. like, i feel like the documentary is going to really hone in on it, and ashlyn will be in major denial of it, but maddox is going to be going THROUGH it because the documentary is going to make her realize how down bad she was. 

elton john... ELTON JOHN.... MY HEART IS BREAKING FOR HIM TBH. the writers did him SO dirty. not only did he feel betrayed by some of his closest friends, he’s never heard his father say he’s proud of him. all this effort he goes through to impress his father and stay in salt lake, only for it to blow up in his face, for him to not genuinely trust any of his friends to be there for him during that call, and for him to lose his girlfriend because of being so stressed about performing good for the show??? only for his father to NOT SHOW UP to the show AND HANG UP ON HIM DURING INTERMISSION WHEN HE CONFRONTED HIM??? 

fuck you cash caswell, i’m ej’s father now. i hope miss jenn punches cash caswell in the face next season.

val being the only person to support ej with that phone call broke my heart. like he didnt trust anyone else to be there for him in his time of need.

MISS JENN MISS JENN MISS JENN!!!! 

God, her appearance again this episode was a breath of fresh air. it really reminded me how much i miss this show having supportive adults who care about the students. like, i love them all, but i love seeing how with just showing up miss jenn gives them support. miss jenn was the FIRST PERSON to pull out her phone to support kourtney when that asshole cut the power. she immediately saw little anna struggling and gave her advice. she assured nini that if she chose to stay, she’d be valued at east high, but also assured her that if she wanted to go out west she’d have her support, too. i LOVE miss jenn and what she does for the kids in this series and i really, really miss her (and mr. mazzara!!!!) supporting them instead of having adults like channing who tear them down and corbin who literally mixed up their names and didn’t give a shit about them personally all summer.

also... i was confused by corbin? like, did he not know what channing was doing to stir up drama...? i thought he was in on it? i guess not? corbin was just genuinely busy? he was sweet in the last episode but it was so jarring, because that’s not the corbin we saw throughout the season at all. 

all in all, i felt like the last episode was so rushed. i wish that they had one episode fully devoted to the opening night and performance, and then one episode devoted to the ‘one month later’ primer of the show. (also ricky just saying where he lived on national television i was like RICKY PLEASE NO). like i loved seeing all the characters in their outfits (CARLOS’ OUTFIT WAS E V E R Y T H I N G). the season, in general, was rushed. i wish they had one or two more episodes to really tie everything in together. we didn’t get to see a lot, anyone’s reaction to ricky’s confession, ej’s reaction to ricky/gina getting together, closure for maddox and maddison, theres a lot that couldve been done.

also. ALSO. i love her don’t get me wrong, but why did the girl who played little anna (who’s name i don’t remember, she wasn’t that important a character) get a musical solo and all elton john got was that campfire song??? SERIOUSLY?? HE SHOULD HAVE SUNG SCREAM. HE DESERVED IT. like please don’t misunderstand, it was a really sweet number and i love this is me, but why did she get an emotional solo this season over EJ? i just dont understand. 

AND I JUST NEED TO SAY... at that highly emotional moment, when ej saw the tension between gina and ricky, and was going to leave, and then corbin stopped ej from leaving by starting to sing i FUCKING LOST IT. I WAS LAUGHING SO FUCKING HARD. THE TIMING OF IT AND EJ JUST NOT LEAVING AND GOING BACK TO THE CIRCLE HAD ME IN STITCHES 

so, my predictions for the next season is that we’ll be back at east high (i hope jet and maddox come to east high as well) and the primer of the disney+ show will be taking place over the course of the season. it seems like they’re setting up for some possible miscommunications that will be in the directory that will cause drama for the main characters, possibly as they’re performing their fall musical at east high? like the editing and framework makes it look like certain characters have beef with another and the characters have to deal with that as the episodes primer weekly (maybe to correspond with weekly updates on season 4). it also  seems like maybe maddox’s feelings for ashlyn will be a focal point. not that i WANT another love triangle, but i’d be more interested in seeing one for maddox, ashlyn, and big red than ricky, gina, and ej. at LEAST make the love triangle feature new characters. just let ricky and gina be happy and have some development that doesn’t end in a dramatic breakup.... please. 

also... the possibility of jet and kourtney... i’m listening. i’m not entirely on board yet, but i’m listening. 

[organic-guacamole]

HSMTMTS SEASON 3 EPISODE 6 REACTION

fully sleep deprived rn let's go

these cameramen snooping around in children's bunks is so fun!

sorry but like, the caswen moment of hugging Ricky from behind to keep him from jumping on Corbin Bleu's head 😍

jet is cute.

the same Kourtney who was scared to leave the tent is running around at night to claim the mental health status of Corbin. love that for her tbh.

"you just have to commit to one side" 🤨🤨🤨🤨

ooo brother trauma share

EJ's sweatpants

they were gonna canoe in a pool? huh??

I love portwell again !

"unless you praise Nickelodeon, it's going in the doc" SEE THESE ONE LINERS SHOUKD NOT BE AS FUNNY AS THEY ARE

dude how am I supposed to believe that Ricky and EJ aren't friends.

woah they actually explained why the other campers don't get any important parts... good for them though, I'm not letting chad film me in the woods for weeks either.

imagine fighting to win sweaty sports to get back your phone....*slips on headband*

at what point did Ashlyn realise that she likes Val? has she yet? why is she running??

I'm still trying to figured out which one is older, Maddox or Jet. what he said about "why does she get to date when I'm not allowed to" implies that she's younger than him? but idk maybe they're really close in age?

the way Ricky talks about joining the show to make her happy as if Nini was not extremely pissed at him for that.

no they did not put that in as a throwaway line

"THERES A THIRD OPTION WHERE THEY BURN THE RESULTS IN A PIZZA OVEN" GIRL WHAT

is she... okay

"EJ my tallest child"

🧍🏻‍♂️"...I've missed you"

the horror part of the season starts now.

I love the part where she says "the local shopkeeper, Susan. Fine selection..."

SUSAN FINE

I actually desperately need sleep

the horror continues, Gina is the first to die.

why is the audio like that-

this is really... Sofia's voice is nice but like, the song and cinematography is not it imo

girlie pops she was just knocked out, take her to the hospital, why are we making her shoot a basketball now?

this EJ and miss Jenn montage is actually the funniest part of the episode I think

"don't use Carlos, Carlos is mommy's" see! funny! (if we ignore the implications)

what is this timing? was the miss Jenn/Nini scene in ep1 like before camp? otherwise how was she back from the cruise?

WHY DID EVERYONE TURN TO JET WHEN HE CHEERED ON KOURTNEY HELP MY HEART

love how miss jenn shuts up a bunch of strangers just by saying "mommy's talking" like this is all really weird, isn't it?

still not convinced Miss Jenn isn't like, a witch of some kind

what kinda hacky sacky wrapping paper wad is that present? it better be something good in there Michael Bowen.

"they're so good" dewey, darling.

the blue team kid with the tutu on is so... scary? horror #2, revenge murder?

portwell what is going on with yall?

the tears in ashlyn's eyes when she realises and the fireworks and everything omg its so beautiful

nice idea for the moon rock but like, anything else? for your only child's 18th birthday??

ricky can you rest for like, a second

I can't believe there are only 2 more episodes. i feel like nothing is happening but also, everything is happening and i don't like 60% of it.

still love the show obviously, for some reason.

[portwellmakesmeweep]

FULL PORTWELL COMMENTARY (on the finale)

let’s just start with-

@portwell shippers all around the world

but anyway,

when i first watched the episode i was actually angry. we didn’t get a portwell kiss and i’d really convinced myself we were going to get one. now, i’ve rewatched the entire episode and have decided...

i absolutely fucking love this portwell ending.

hear me out, not only was it rom com worthy but we now can say PORTWELL IS CANON! r*nas literally back tf away.

this was the perfect way to end their storyline this season. portwell, since 1x01 has been THE SLOWBURN of the show. portwell is the jacey (dawson’s creek). portwell is the monica x chandler (friends). portwell is the luke x lorelai (gilmore girls). portwell is the schmidt x cece (new girl). i could go on and on for days with other examples of amazing slow burn relationships but i’ll stop there.

and the main thing that has me screaming about portwell is this.

disney shows don’t usually have that many seasons. (4-5? i could see hsmtmts MAYBE having 6). the writers wouldn’t have TWO SEASONS of development, hint (or not even hint, basically confirm) they will be canonically dating in season three, and make SUCH A BIG DEAL OUT OF ONE LITTLE KISS for portwell to be a fling.

PORTWELL IS ENDGAME. portwell is THAT COUPLE that will be together from beginning to end. will they maybe break up randomly for like 5 seconds, maybe? but ultimately, they will get their happily ever after. that’s just good writing.

now for my season 3 portwell predictions:

• start the season with a portwell kiss (maybe gina does the previously on?) i’m pretty sure sofia will be 18 by the time they are filming so i’m 99% sure about this.

• cute portwell moments just EVERYWHERE

• the first few episodes won’t have any angst surrounding them and they’ll just be all happy while other things happen (nini and jamie stuff, lily and ricky stuff, etc.)

•now i think the angst of the season isn’t going to be miscommunication based or love triangle based. i think that kourtney didn’t actually burn that envelope and looked in it (bc girl, i would) and she saw ej got nominated for that scholarship. IF the season picks up right where we left off i think there might be a possibility of ej getting offered a scholarship and him struggling to choose between ny and staying in salt lake. idk tho.

anyway i’m gonna go read portwell fanfic and cry, thank you for listening.

[seriestrash]

Okay, I’m in two minds about the flashback.

1) Ricky honestly could have interpreted Gina’s ‘confession’ as her saying she wouldn’t quit on their friendship.

Gina made it clear in season one that she didn’t want friends and pushed people away with her attitude to protect herself. I think that was obvious. However, Ricky unintentionally broke through that barrier with Gina and they were forming something deeper than a surface level friendship.

I mean you have friends and then you have friends. Like an episode before thanksgiving Ricky was talking to Nini about his parents separating and he says something along the lines of being able to talk to only her about it. Then an episode later Gina manages to get Ricky to open up even after he resisted. Gina really was becoming his confidant, someone who understands what he was going through.

And when Gina is leaving Ashlyn’s thanksgiving party, Ricky days he will call her and Gina says something like, “I don’t think there’s a point in calling anymore.” Meaning why bother continuing whatever they were anymore.

So I think when Gina says she would quit us, it’s not a stretch to believe That Ricky took that us their friendship.

Ricky had tunnel vision for Nini, he wanted Nini back and Gina knew that. It’s not wrong for Ricky to think his relationship with Gina is friendly and be unable to recognise it’s different for her (and himself if he opened up to it)

2) but I can also see him acknowledging that Gina was admitting to feelings.

From the little FaceTime clips on Instagram, he was worried she wouldn’t come back.

Then she does end up coming back and Ricky looks to actively be trying to be friendly but Gina pretty much ghosts him until Valentine’s Day.

Which is not at all surprising why Ricky was so confused as to why she’s there at his house.

He’s being kind when he says she’ll get her sweet gesture too. If he did buy her chocolates that would have been more cruel.

I think the jokes are an awkward coping mechanism for both teens.

And during the Storm Ricky tried to stop Big Red from pulling her into the text Drama with what he wants to send to Nini but Gina affirms it’s okay and was happy to help… so as much as I don’t like it, Ricky could think Gina is okay with it.

Then after she makes it clear she’s not at Carlos’ party he’s fully trying to over compensate at rehearsals.

He’s next to her for the noodle exercise and tried to partner up with her even using a nickname. She rejects him and he even says “got it” out loud so he knows he’s messed up.

After the rejection he spends the rest of the rehearsal being a wounded puppy. He’s off to the side texting and continues to slowly unravel.

So idk how I feel about this. It will be interesting to see how it’s handled from here.

[strawberryshortcakegirl]

Guac and Evie Rewatch: 1.02 of HSMTMTS

Hi!! Went on vacation for a while but the rewatch blogs are back!

Why is it that all I remember from the Read-Through episode was chaos

I love how Big Red simply acknowledges that EJ is basically a Hollister model and then you see EJ's promo pic for Season 3 and it all makes sense

Okay so right now Nini is talking about if you look in the background there's like some tickets and flyers for musicals and things hung up in her room. And we all know Nini's phone case is a Playbill phone case too. I just feel like Season 2 Nini kinda ditched her love of musicals way too fast

So I just searched up Throb and realized that it's not an actual smell/perfume or whatever. My whole life is a lie.

OKAY BUT IMAGINE SOMEONE JUST COMES UP TO YOU AT A MALL AND SPRAYS PERFUME ON YOU-

EJ calling Ashlyn the bomb proves that this was filmed in 2019

Time for mental health time with Evie! Okay we see that EJ says that he's only pretending to be happy about playing Chad on his Insta story because inside he's a "bucket of sadness." It's obvious that his goal on Instagram is to seem like a person who has his life figured out and gets whatever he wants. Therefore, he says "blessed to be playing Chad" as if that's the part he wanted all along and he was expecting it.

Idk why they are so amazed by the rehearsal room

How does Miss Jenn not know that Natalie Bagley is the stage manager lol

This has bothered me since day one: Miss Jenn goes from Gb major to F major when singing We're All in This Together. Still the high note was amazing and I relate to Gina mouthing "yessss" after hearing it

"Abysmal read through, a brilliant opening night" I think a more accurate quote from my experience would be "Abysmal rehearsal, a mediocre opening night" but whatever

Big Red I mean if you took the SATs every week you would get better at it and then you could turn in your actual highest score... 😏

SEB IS SO CUTE WHEN HE SAYS I JUST WANNA RAISE THE ROOF GAHHH

Carlos and Miss Jenn just scrolling through Zac Efron's Instagram while they wait for the blocking rehearsal to start is a mood

Shouldn't Miss Jenn be reported for making two exes kiss? Especially since one of them specifically states that she doesn't want to

DATING HER DOESN'T MEAN YOU OWN HER ASHLYN QUEEN I'm currently trying to get my friend to learn that CRUSHING on her doesn't mean you own her -_-

Carlos and Gina knowing the Big Book of Broadway kinda predicts their friendship in Season 2 which is pretty cool

Honestly the dancers in this show are legendary

I think when I first watched the series, I always hated Ricky and him being all desperate until he talked about his parents going through some trouble. I like how they added that in early. It gives more depth to Ricky's character than him just chasing after Nini

How come Nini's room is twice the size of my room T_T

You can tell Gina is just talking to Ricky so she can get Gabriella but eventually later in the conversation, she gets much more real and genuine

Ricky dancing to HSM at midnight hit too close to home

Ashlyn just playing piano in the empty auditorium is somehow kinda majestic. Idk why. And she was so unpopular in Season 1. When she saw Nini, she immediately said she could leave immediately. And then in Season 2 she was the lead <3

TODAY I LEARNED THAT MISS JENN SAID BATHS KEEP ME SANE NOT BATS

Yeah I would kill for an autograph from Andrew Lloyd Weber so I'm not judging

WONDERING IS THE BEST SONG OF SEASON 1 AND I WILL FOREVER STAND BY THAT. It's so raw because it's live. Tim has wrecked that now with the autotune in Season 2 and 3. Bring back the quality from Wondering Tim

The whole gigantic package just to hold Vanessa Hudgen's (V-Hudge's... O_o") phone though

Haha Portwell was so different back then

I do think it's truly excellent that the two villains of Season 1 became two of the most beloved characters of the show.

Welp that's the end!! Btw these are now called Guac and Evie rewatches :)

[wondereternity]

I could be wrong about this but, I think Portwell will most likely be the series endgame (if Matt and Sofia never leave the show). Even if Rini never gets back together I don’t think that automatically means Rina will be the series endgame. I mean don’t get me wrong I see the romantic chemistry with Rina I just don’t it romantically. According to Tim he said in a interview after S2 finale “Ricky’s endgame is TBD” I don’t know if he is telling the truth about this or lying about it. Part 1/2

Even if Tim already had Ricky’s endgame already plan he wouldn’t tell us who he is going to end up with or that will spoil the surprise. I think EJ won’t leave the show after season 3 like some people say I think he will still be on show if we get a season 4 and will probably be going to college at the University of Utah. If EJ ends up with any girl it will probably be with Gina b/c how PW is one of the most well developed relationships on the show that the writers focus on a lot. 2/2

i honestly do think (hope?) portwell will be endgame. but im obviously biased lmao. idk to me portwell doesnt feel like a non-endgame couple yk? like no one spends a whole season developing a relationship (even more if u count them going from enemies to friends in s1) just to drop it all of a sudden.

i still dont have any ideas on rickys endgame tbh, could be anything at this point. and r*na would have a chance of being endgame, but that was before. now its like why does lily exist then? They could've easily kept her in the role of mean girl but they didnt. and i have no idea where they plan to take her character but ngl im kinda intrigued also wouldnt mind if ricky were bi

i highly doubt ej will leave the show, not only is he a main character but also apart of the core four. i agree that i can only see him ending up with gina, not only bc of how developed their relationship is. but he also hasn't hand any other love interests (besides nini ofc) up to this point.

so yeah portwell endgame, bi ricky and nini being nina

[youranxiousnerd]

Second Chances Thoughts

bc what

spoilers below

i have...thoughts

ah no chaotic intro, f in the chat

it’s still a nice intro, tho

IM SORRY ARE THEY NOT SHOWING THE TRANSFORMATION?!?!

WHAT

THIS IS A HATE CRIME /j

i used the thingy

no bows either?!?!

this is called high school musical: the musical: the series not high school musical: the backstage drama: the series

wow they got changed fast

“Passable!” 

I’ll be the judge of that oh wait i cant bc they didnt show us

YES QUEEN ASHLYN GETTING THE LOVE SHE DESERVES

ashlyn is such a queen

the perfect belle, stunning

“A couple letters, actually” it’s a sign (literally)

flower touch

AWWW REDLYN

STOP THEY’RE ADORABLE

they love each other so much

east high kids be snooping

not me thinking about carlos’ hand on seb’s back we were robbed im taking what i can get

“You were the perfect Belle tonight. I was really proud”

“Evil genius”

they’re so happy

AWWW A REDLYN KISS WHOOP WHOOP

kourt and howie are so awkward 

“drumroll?”

howie and seb would get along

weird little playoff, maybe he is lying?

they’re cute, tho

sad that they didn’t really get any build-up

“happy now?” “yes”

“If it’s with you, always” MY HEART

just like a fanfic

kourtney just invited north highs beast to east highs cast party

OH MY GOD MAZZARA IS ACTUALLY GETTING A STORY ABOUT HIM

i was not expecting that okay

ej and mazzara are the best

gina is so happy too bad it wont last

gina is an actress 

gahhhh portwell drama

oh god rini let the drama begin

that was very calm, did someone possess nini and ricky?

i really like them as best friends. i was a hardcore rini shipper last season but with all their constant conflict i realized how much fun they are as friends

“we are literally on the same page” 

“just for a moment” I LOST MY SHIT

miss jenn no

oooo seblos please be good

Seb calling Miss. Jenn out on her bullshit since idk when

“That’s a hard never mind now” okay wow

Miss. Jenn is Carlos’ godmother 

This is theatre, not football

CRYING GINA

gini

GINA SUPPORT DAY IS A THING PEOPLE!!!!!

oh wow a plot line actually being addressed

season 1 callback im not ready

gina and nini people!!! 

very sweet scene

ahha jamie callback we all knew it

i would really like to see miss jenns batb audition notes

“I’m in a great place, mentally” if you were you wouldn’t be saying that

OMFG IS SHE NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE!?!?!

like that was a big deal, a big effing deal and then nothing?

you told a kid to jump off something high and you can’t even say “sorry”?!?!

back to the miss jenn love triangle

“I think I’m happy, or gettin’ there”

ricky you don’t have to be there yet it’s okay

that line hit

SEASON 1 OUTFITS

CORE 4 SONG

killer harmonies

sofia giving us that alto rep!!

portwell duet! audition outfits

very good, very very good. this song kinda screams autotune but it still sounds very good. 

last song of the season NOOO but very fitting

Is it just me or does “Second Chance” look like a music video they show in Justice (the teen store) in 2014?

cast bonding yay!

PAUSE THE ONLY SEBLOS MOMENT WE GOT THIS EPISODE WAS A WRIST HOLD?!?!!

DISNEY WTF

LIKE EVERY COUPLE GOT THEIR MOMENT AND ALL THEY GET IS A WRIST HOLD

BFBLBFIWGFSDMBF

shit why does my favorite ship have to be the gay one on a disney show?

east high booing the lily and french boi has me on the floor

“Big Red, you were also in it” BEST LINE OF THE FINALE OMFG

i missed antoine 

sorry carlos has glitter on his face

seb’s smile and wave at north high why am i laughing?

off topic but i have unintentionally started doing the seb wave (you know the one) (with the fingers) in real life.

also gay chair sit

e.j is also doing the gay chair sit 

lily what

you have had like one conversation

ew

she says she likes his face but not his personality? 

im calling bullcrap

pause didn’t lily steal the harness? are we just going to forget about that

probably, the writers did forgot to develop seblos

Let Ricky be single challenge

ANTOINE MY LOVE

REDLYN I LOVE YOU

SHUSH EJ’S SPEECH TIME TO SOB

ummmm

so this season has been for nothing?

all the shit they went through (the self-doubt, relationship problems, the injuries, the death threats) is for nothing?!?

since when does Miss. Jenn not care anymore about the Menkies?!?!

I actually get the kids side of this, but not Miss. Jenn’s. 

I was surprised they took this route with the Menkies, didn’t even cross my mind 

“It was five”

Big Red x medicine 

bet your ass ashlyn would have gotten a nomination best actress

“We got a pizza oven” THE EAST HIGH KIDS ARE COMMITTING ARSON

is mazzara staying for miss jenn? they could do long distance but it doesnt have the best rep in this show

gini

ashlyn is the captain of the portwell ship and nini is her right hand man (or whatever second best is called in sailing)

NINI MAKIN THE DEALS

RICKY WHY ARE YOU CALLING HER

WHYYYYYY

“Will you be my first kiss” smiles

OH MY GOD

WAIT NOTHING

WHAT

OMFG THEY CUT IT LMAO

“this summer is about to get hot” SUMMER SEASON 3?!?!

ANTOINE

OMFG HE BETTER COME BACK

I LOVE ABF

WAIT THATS IT

FWBEGLEWG

THATS IT

hey they ended with andrew barth feldman what more can you ask for?

Thats...it?

Oh wait some cast stuff...brb ima cry. The ending has some very series finale energy...I’m scared. Natalie wouldn’t have done the “buckle up wildcats” if there wasn’t a season 3, right? But the bloopers at the end...

The cast ending was great. “You are the Music in Me” was so heartfelt and I’m a sucker for bloopers.

Wait so no Lily home? It was probably a cut scene. 

If we got Lily home, can we get an album with the cast singing all the BATB songs? 

I have so many mixed feelings about this episode. Here is the thing, if you love the core 4 then this was your episode. If you’re like me and prefer the side leads then this was probably a little disappointing since we barely saw them. This episode felt rushed and a little messy, but there were some great moments. Season 2′s writing has felt a little weird. This season lacked the chaotic theater kid energy season 1 had. It was one of the reasons I fell in love with the show. If/when we get a season 3 I really hope the writers find that energy again.

Let’s all give a round of applause for the cast and crew who filmed majority of the season during a global pandemic. That could not have been easy. They gave us a pretty good season under crazy conditions. They definitely had to change some things to fit the current climate. Overall, hats off the the cast and crew because you guys killed it. 

I’m really going to miss this show, hopefully it gets renewed. It has become a comfort show these past several weeks. My sanity says “no, don’t go” but my sleep schedule says “leave.”

To second chances!!

[rinisbowen]

would love to hear what the trailer has changed about what you thought would happen this season and what the trailer has enforced for you

hi anon! thanks for the ask. this is the last one before i'm done clearing out my inbox which is cool i suppose. if anyone has more questions (trailer related or not) feel free to send them in!

so what the trailer has changed for me... well a LOT has changed in the last few months for me in terms of what's happening in the season. but for the trailer specifically...

no phones aka no facetiming- (or texting) this is one of the bigger ones, honestly. i was expecting them to use facetime a lot this season, given the fact that seb, big red, and nini, (and lily, but she's less of a priority there), are all not going to be at camp, and i assumed that this would be how they connected them the most. but at this point it's just letters- they can't even text each other. i hope to see some letter writing or receiving going on. a good letter can be a great time. but i mean seb's at prom, so maybe big red is too. we shall see. and at least i'd anticipate the two of them to come see frozen at the end of the season. we'll see. the phone thing surprised me a LOT, bc they'd facetimed a lot in season 2, so it made sense to me it would carry into this season particularly with the main cast in a different location.

ej is the DIRECTOR. listen- i was expecting him to be a counselor since we got the first look. the promo photo(s) have since affirmed that, now it's confirmed. but- the DIRECTOR? not exactly something i anticipated whatsoever. he's just graduated high school- why is he going to be the first person to direct frozen at a summer camp ever? this is probably the biggest piece of news we received from that trailer. i have complicated feelings about this- but it's pretty cool for him! so go ej truly.

maddox is a counselor- i assumed she'd be a camper from her description (i think everyone did), but well- her badge says "c.i.t." aka counselor-in-training. so she's a counselor. idk if ej and val are counselors or cit's themselves, but truly it doesn't matter much from where i'm standing. i'm kinda shocked. this doesn't influence much for me? but it was for sure a surprise when she came out to collect everyone's electronics and snacks (truly this reminds me so much of when i went to science camp, no electronic devices and no outside food once we got off the bus.)

nini isn't working with jamie (at least not during this season, and if she is, it's not happening on screen at all, or they would've shown a clip of her there imo). i feel like maybe- the jamie thing fell through, hence what she says to miss jenn about feeling like something big is coming, and her family friend marvin promising her that the best is yet to come... this could lead to some family stuff for gina too- the fact that her brother potentially flaked again... even though she loves him, and knows he loves her, that could be hard. i think nini will choose to chase her dream regardless- with or without jamie. she gets reassurance from miss jenn and marvin that she should do so.

what the trailer has reaffirmed that i already anticipated:

ricky's late to camp. he does arrive in episode 1, based off the instagram trailer "group hug" shot of him, given ej and gina's outfits there, but probably not until the end. like- maybe it's the last shot (or second to last shot, last shot being the reaction) of the episode even. it could be a "ricky i'm moving to denver" type of moment from 2.01. if this happens- i called it on july 1st, 2022 lol. only 26 days until i find out if i'm right lol. (i don't think this is necessarily the case- but after "ricky i'm moving to denver- i think it totally could be).

lily doesn't have as much of a presence as my initial thoughts- but those haven't been affirmed by anything so i changed my mind about this a while before we got this trailer, so it's affirmed that she's really not going to have much of any influence on the season. my guess is maybe we see her with ricky in 2.01, and maybe in the finale seeing the musical or something. we'll see. i thought maybe she'd facetime ricky- but that's impossible now bc no phones.

ej and gina are exploring their new relationship, we knew that was coming. we'll see what happens by the end of the season, given almost all their good moments in the trailer are from episode 1. i'm shocked they didn't mention ej's future even once, but him directing the musical can lead into that stuff, and his being stressed talking to gina in the window sorta affirms that well- he's going through some stuff. whether this has to do with directing or his future- maybe the latter and maybe both, but we shall see.

[klausalvatores]

Do you feel like Gina already resolved her feelings for Ricky? We see her comfortably talking in a group with Ricky, EJ, and Big Red at the pizza shop in the beginning of the episode. In the end, she can giggle during the transformation scene with EJ. I think they implied that she's already worked through the embarrassment and can be pals with Ricky again. I think Gina's only question now is how to become friends with Nini. Any who that's what I think but would love to know what you think.

Yes, I just rewatched the episode because I only paid attention to Portwell the first time around so I always have to rewatch a second time to focus on everyone else lol.

There’s no awkward tension between Ricky and Gina like at the beginning of the season, so there’s definitely no bad blood between them anymore but I don’t know how their next one-on-one scene would go? Like it’s just been too long since they interacted together, and in group scenes they’re perfectly normal around each other so if they were somehow still awkward alone it wouldn’t make much sense? IDK that’s just what I think.

Ricky and EJ are cool with each other now. There’s absolutely zero conflict with them, so it’ll be nice to finally see Gina and Nini being on the same level soon.