#hsmtmts asks

[laylakeating]

i don’t understand why portwell is rooted for so much. ive seen people say that she was happier with ej than with ricky. but i raise you this: gina’s happiness during 2b was a weird bubbly version of herself that came out of nowhere and honestly baffled me. good for her for moving on and easing the pain, but i triple dog dare you to compare the scenes, the dynamic with ricky vs ej. the happy buildup: with ej in 2b, she’s gina “2.0”. happy and sacrificing her goals, her aspirations, wants, and even the tough side of her personality for her friends and “crush” turned bf. however with ricky in 1b and somewhat a with the end of homecoming, it somehow feels a thousand times more real, authentic, passionate and mature. sofia herself told us the difference: acting as girlfriend-y as possible vs strictly platonic banter, and while that was probs for all of s3, it also applies here and of course, there. she’s happy, but it doesn’t feel over exaggerated, like she’s pushing for something to happen, like she’s not trying to fit in and be a sweeter version of herself with ricky, unlike ej. ive seen people comparing her facial expressions between her interactions with both boys but honestly? with ej she does giddy and bubbly. with ricky it’s edgy and real and serene and exciting and warm. she can banter with ricky, and not just the typical giggly flirty banter (which they have) but you can see her competitive side come through in episodes like 303. in that scene it’s not giggly and sweet, but it’s not mean, either. it feels more authentic, compared to the “race you there 🥰” moment that ej and gina have in 302. like idk im not sure how pws can possibly justify gina changing around ej however with ricky she looks the same as she did in s1. she has the balance.

hard agree on everything you've said here anon !!! i have nothing to add, but i will say this: lots of pws are former rinis. (former being the operative word) most of the time we're dealing with people who just don't want ricky and gina together bc of reasons OTHER than just not liking them as a couple.

also this set by @ginaricky perfectly encapsulates gina's growth !!! (which is tied to her relationships, esp her romantic ones) also in one gif nat managed to capture my hatred for 123 (ps read her tags she just GETS IT)

[torturedpoetskywalker]

pls send me some for any fandom !! :)

(made by @versegm)

[ginaporterr]

@rinacentral — EVENT 1: FAVORITES ♡ favorite song GINAPORTERR'S 1K CELEBRATION ♡ @glitterjuj asked: maybe this time or LOVE YOU FOREVER

[imjustavenuxwithaboomerang]

hsmtmts + text posts (pt 5)

(1 2 2.5 3 4)

[blues-valentine]

let’s talk about how gina compliments ricky’s love language so much and he was able to be himself in this relationship as opposed to nini

You know, I appreciate how much this season made emphasis on how both Nini and Gina react differently to Ricky's love gestures. Nini felt suffocated by him. Gina wanted him to fight for her and do those big gestures. And both reactions are valid. I made a post last season about how Ricky and Gina’s love languages complement each other and I love how the show proves me correct on how I interpret this characters. This is going to be a lengthy post.

Ricky is pretty much a huge gestures type of guy. He is unabashedly romantic when he wants to be. He is also incredible clingy and someone that needs reassurance and affirmations. He gives love by big gestures and likes to receive love by words of affirmation.

His relationship with Nini ever since the start of the series showed how incompatible they’ve become for each other. To start off, I think Nini was unable to understand Ricky’s family situation because hers is very different so it might have been because of this that she didn’t understand his reaction towards a public declaration of love (his parents probably didn’t do that anymore). She was unable to identify what he needed from her and he failed to communicate why he felt that way. It goes both ways. He needed to say the words when he felt he was ready to say it. And that's very imporant.

But also, the first thing we learn about their relationship is that Nini feels like she was able to shine over the summer and it’s hoping for new opportunities that she feels Ricky holds her back from. Ricky is resistant to this and tries out for the musical to get her back, an idea Nini is not happy about because she feels he is invading her space. During his audition, he performs a song for Nini to try and tell her he loves her. He thinks is a declaration of love but for Nini is not. But Gina is actually impressed by this. And so, even with the first episode, the show lists many reasons why they don’t seem to be compatible anymore. Nini doesn’t like Ricky’s easy going approach to things. And is absolutely fair. I think she needs someone that pushes her to be more ambitious and that shares the same desire for challenges.

Ricky confessing his love for Nini in an outburst at the end of Season 1 felt like he forced it out because he knew that’s what she needed to hear from him to get back together. He was afraid to lose that sense of familiarity. It’s what makes his love confession to Gina so different because it was intentional. He was so sure and so confident and he wanted to tell her that despite not knowing what the future holds.

Early on Season 2, it's made clear they have completely different ideas on what the other is willing to do for each other. Ricky relied too much on her to have some sense of stability because everything at his home keeps falling apart. Nini just wants to spread her wings and it’s willing to go far to pursue her dreams (“I resolve to follow my dreams however far away they take me”) which is why she felt so trapped and suffocated by him. Ricky’s abandonment issues made him clingier than usual. I also think she was a bit rude at times and had a hard time trying to understand him. Like, when he said he was told he had not profitable qualities on the aptitude test and she brush it off and told him she didn’t come back for him. It was pretty harsh. I don't think neither of them knew what the other needed emotionally anymore. It was a bit of a mess and Ricky didn’t even know what he was supposed to do. Ricky’s love language for her was quality time and gestures but I don’t think that was Nini’s vibe. It got to a point she wasn’t receptive of his attempts at fixing their relationship. And as I said, Ricky needs to feel that his attempts are at least appreciated. And Nini never really did a good job at lifting him up.

A lot of Ricky's issues with how it went down with Nini is that he was dealing with his mom abandonment issues and Nini wasn't putting the same efforts into staying with Ricky (long distance or otherwise) and she's valid for this. But seeing it from Ricky's perspective too is like another person is also choosing to leave him.

Now, Gina is someone that wants to feel wanted. She wants people to fight for her. This is probably due to her family and how they didn’t put her as a priority growing up. How her mom barely even validates what’s important for her. This is why she liked EJ at first, because he gave her the attention she needed at that time. And it’s fair to say Gina gives love by words of affirmation and gifts. And likes to receive love by gestures and quality time. Same as Ricky.

She was impressed by Ricky singing to Nini at auditions on the pilot. She told Ricky to sing the song to Nini by the phone on Valentine’s Day because “every girl [her] likes a sweet gesture”. She threw a big surprise party for Carlos when they weren't even that close yet. She likes huge gestures. And I don’t think it was a coincidence when Ricky asked her back in Season 2 *if they were dating* and he went behind her back but for a good reason (and the whole thing about asking Miss Jenn if she can add Nini to the show last minute) if she’d like it. Gina answers that she would be flattered. Ricky took Gina's words without considering that this is not something Nini would want. For Ricky, it’s so they can spent more time together (and Gina sees it that way too) but Nini does not. She sees it as an added pressure. And you see how much Ricky's midset has been altered by his relationship with Nini that on Season 4 he thinks Gina would be relieved by Dani taking her place as Gabriella because she's been too busy with the movie despite him wanting them to spend time together. And Gina isn’t happy. For her, the the show is also a thing for them.

The season actually makes a lot of parallels to this. It also parallels this especifit moment from Season 2 when Ricky wants to send a *dumb* text to Nini that says something about "he is happy she's following her dreams but also he wishes he was her dream. And wants her to turn aroud and come back here. I believe the word he used was forever." And we know Nini would've felt pressured by that text. And that’s understandable. But the writers are so funny because on 408 during Gina's confessional she says she hasn't made a decision about the movie yet and wishes Ricky would fight for her a little more. And in Ricky's confessional he says he once told a girl (Nini) to stay home and it didn’t end too well so he doesn't want to make the same mistake. But Gina wants for Ricky to be Ricky and go all and beyond. But he has grown too much to be selfish. But he does end up doing what Gina wants by singing to her about forever fully expecting her to follow her dreams away from him without even knowing Gina had already decided to follow her dreams and be with him too. We truly love a full circle.

Moving to Season 3, it’s clear Gina likes the feeling of sharing things with a partner, and she saw how EJ was unable to give her that or even make space for her to be a priority but I do think there’s a lot of growth on Gina about understating the needs of her partner too. For example, Gina was able to give Ricky space after the whole Halloween situation. Ricky called her asking her for space and she allowed. It wasn't a break up, just mutual understanding that everyone needs a minute to take it all in and it's not because they don’t want to face it.

On Season 4, right off the bat, it shows us Gina embraces Ricky’s dorky and clingy side a lot. She likes his unexpected visits and ideas. She likes when Ricky plans stuffs and sneaks into her trailer. She likes when Ricky texts her a lot. Gina wants to feel that love because she lacked a lot of that growing up. Unlike Nini, who wanted to be free and get new experiences. Gina likes the stability Ricky provides her. And another thing Sofia said on a interview is that Gina likes how Ricky is very easy going because Gina is already too perfectionist. But mostly, I think you can appreciate how Gina encourages Ricky to be a little more ambitious while Ricky encourages Gina to be more relaxed. To be more giddy and bring down her walls. Nini felt like she coulnd't be truly herself around Ricky while Gina is the total opposite, she feels seen and understood with him because he is able to give her that with the way he is. And Gina does it to Ricky in return by making him feel wanted and appreciated for who he is. I do hope Nini finds someone (preferentially a girl) that makes her feel that way too. Seen and understood.

And also, let's point out how both Ricky and Gina's love language is also physical touch because they are unable to stop touching each other even if by friendly little shoulder touches. They’re unable to stop kissing each other. Gina can’t stop cupping Ricky’s cheeks. Or holding hands. In conclusion, Ricky and Gina are perfect and love each other so much. And their love story is so well written and for the books.

[kadhal]

hi u posted about hsmtmts and that invoked osmething ancient in me. i was a rina. runs away!

AMELIE

[rosesradio]

i know you did him already for this ask game but ej caswell: 2, 6, 9, 23, and 26 :)))

dude i could talk about my babygirl ej all day it’s fiiine

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

honestly just how selfless he is. despite everything he’s gone through he doesn’t want to take shortcuts or use his privilege, he wants to pave his own way & break generational cycles. & all the while he’s so sweet & understanding & willing to drop everything for his friends!! i just have a lot of feelings about him 🥺

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

i think just…perfectionism. overdoing & stressing over things to a fault ;-;

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

i think so !! i think he’d do a good job covering his part of rent & bills & then some, as well as his part of chores (even if he’s clueless at first). i might get annoyed at the singing & instruments, but that could be talked through lol

(also would i come home from the club & drunkenly hook up with him? yes. I’d be rushing the roommates to lovers arc 1000% 🧍)

23. Favorite picture of this character?

i can’t pick a fave, but have some portwell propaganda because this moment was just too cute 💌

26. What's something the character has done you can't get over? Be it something funny, bad, good, serious, whatever?

i think just his entire arc of getting cut off & working four jobs to support himself through school—like that’s a really intense arc to bring into the show & I’m ofc disappointed it didn’t get more screen time.

oh!! and!! this made me mad but i can’t blame it on ej, it’s the writers fault. not accepting gina’s promposal because it’s “against camp rules”?? bullshit, honestly. i understand that he thinks very highly of camp but elton john “screw it I’ll give a girl food poisoning and steal my girlfriend’s phone” caswell would Never. i get that he had an arc of “being better”, but breaking a small rule like that isn’t bad at all. the ej i know & love would’ve 100% broke the rule for gina, but i know it was just another page in the World’s Greatest Show Writing, etc 🚬

[bigredsartt]

Hey!

How's the Madlyn WIP doodle coming along?

(No pressure, just curious...)

haiiii !

um. so i actually have not worked on it since i posted the sketch because i look at it and my eyes literally melt off from how anatomically incorrect it is and then my brain melts at the thought of fixing it so long story short, i’m lazy but TRUST ME i WILL finish it sometime. or maybe i’ll just leave it as it is and force the madlyn nation to like it /j

but i feel bad so here’s a madlyn cuddles thing i drew back for valentine’s day !!

[whatever-color-of-the-rainbow]

Ricky: Hey, what’s Winnie the Pooh’s favorite color?

Maddox: Yellow!

EJ: No? It’s red because of his shirt.

Maddox: No, it’s yellow because he loves honey!

EJ: You have no idea what you’re talking about.

Maddox: (pulls out a Winnie the Pooh book out of fucking nowhere and starts reading it) “Then Pooh says, ‘Yellow. Like honey. That’s my favorite color.’

Carlos: Things heating up at the Winnie the Pooh fandom.

[haven-of-dusk]

It's still funny and sad to me that in the same episode we had an 18-19 year old who is working four jobs to like...live, and a 17 year old whose family is wealthy enough that he can consistently wear expensive brand clothes (I think, I don't know clothing that well) and they can send him and his boyfriend on a globe-trotting, multi-week vacation without really worrying about it.

And no one, including Ricky (the only Wildcat who definitely, undisputedly knows about EJ's situation) says anything about it.

I get it's a fun, campy, musical show that probably doesn't want to interrogate the wealth gap and the woes of capitalism, but those two situations placed so directly next to each other makes things kind of uncomfortable.

[laylakeating]

idk if you still stan hsmtmts but i gotta ask this: is it just me or is ej just not a very engaging and watchable love interest? like both ejnini and portwell are excruciating watches as ships compared to rini and rina. whenever ricky told the girls he loved them i believed it. you could see it in his eyes and feel it in his words and tone of voice. when ej expressed his feelings or talks about the girls it feels like a lifeless joke. yeah like yeah ily nini :)) gina’s… so great :)))) i like her a lot :)))) i don’t believe a word he says, it feels like he’s been through this before (and he has) and he’s just gonna repeat the things he did from one girl onto the next. the calling both girls a star, word for word. the uplifting them from ricky turmoil. it’s so fake and lifeless and copycat-ish.

and like yeah rini are kinda boring, but they at least had a story, and some chemistry. rina as well obvi. what the hell did portwell have 😭 mf asked a normal bare minimum question to his hurting friend one minute and was staring at her the next yet people have the audacity and the 3 depleted brain cells to say “rina is so forced it came out of nowhere and it makes no sense 🤓” the call is coming from inside the house 😭

like he should have had just a minor love interest and had the majority of his story be about finding who he wants to be instead of wasting his time trying to uplift and inspire and chase brokehearted girls.

i will alwaysssss stan hsmtmts have no doubt !!! and i'm always happy to talk abt it :D

i have to be SOOO real with you i actually like ej as a character shjshjs (shocking i know) and while i do find portwell to be like. terrible. i like ejnini and find them to be fairly engaging !! (but that might just be bc i think they're hilarious who knows)

as for rini. hmm. i kind of do genuinely hate them lmaoooo i have actually only ever watched their love confession once and it scarred me for life i wish i was joking. i also think they have negative chemistry and while i enjoy what their relationship does for their specific character arcs (ricky's more than nini's) for what it is i find it extremely trite and boring !! conceptually it's fine and it works but i think they had a lot of trouble translating that to screen and i found it reallyyyyyyy difficult to root for them in any capacity (now that i'm thinking abt it a lot of the issues i have with rini the relationship are the same issues i have with nini the character)

i do think all the relationships had sufficient (??) build up but i definitely agree with finding portwell's lacking 😭 it kind of took a sharp turn mid s2 to being a romantic dynamic instead of a platonic one and i think that could've played out a little bit more smoothly !!!

unfortunately the most interesting parts of ej (everything outside of his love life lmaoooo) are the parts that are ignored bc ultimately he was written to be a love interest !! rip. elton john i still love you 🫶

[easthighseblos]

Fav seblos moment?

ahhhh, this is so difficult cause i love every moment they have

but for me, 1x05 was when i KNEW i was gunna fall in love with their characters

specifically the moment seb walks in and then when carlos spots him are just so pure 🥹

[ginaporterr]

RICKY & GINA High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-2023)

[daphnebowen]

hsmtmts headcanons :)? also what show would you have them do if there were a s5 :D

oh my goodness yes hsmtmts headcanons! I have some that I’ve been thinking about so apologies if this is a horrific mess that jumps all over the place :) also this is going to be very very long so apologies 🥰

after the whole “Romeo and Juliet announcement” for Christmas they get twin golden retriever puppies, one for each of them, and name them Romeo and Juliet. Juliet belongs to Ricky and Romeo belongs to Gina. Romeo is affectionately known as ro or romey and Juliet is affectionately known as ju or juju. (pretty sure this one has been said by people already but I LOVE the idea of it and i had to add Juliet)

furthermore on the Romeo and Juliet topic after Mack leaves Quinn asks Ricky to step in 😍

this is more down the line but I have a vision for in the future when Ashlyn and Maddox want kids. they want to adopt though, and as soon as they find the perfect little red haired munchkin Maddox immediately goes to the hardware store and buys tons of paint and they redo an entire room in their cute little cottage for their kid. idk why but that just came to me in the middle of the night, I had an image in my head of Maddie FaceTiming jet covered in paint laughing/crying as they finish up the room.

jet asks Kourtney out at the big New Year’s Eve party at Ashlyn’s. Enough said. she giggles and accepts and the two become a power couple and a force to be reckoned with.

ricky and Gina continue to meet in the secret stairwell and he continues to climb up through her window even after their relationship goes public

We don’t know what ej is majoring in (at least I don’t remember) so during the middle of his freshmen year he switches it to education. he becomes a teacher and goes somewhere else (somewhere in the Midwest maybe?) to teach middle school sports.

ricky pursues music through college and ends up becoming a famous singer/songwriter/music producer similar to nini but he ends up writing a lot of the songs and soundtracks for Gina’s movies.

Gina pursues her acting career and ends up becoming a total rockstar but she never changed her values and who she is. her and Ricky attend every premiere together

when Dewey gets too old to run camp shallow lake anymore, guess who he asks to take over? Maddox. she happily accepts and moves her and Ashlyn and their red haired baby (ash and Maddie are not married yet btw - can you adopt and still not be married? Dumb question maybe lol) over to California. and one day as they’re going through each of the cabins seeing what shape everything is in, they stop by the honeycomb bunk. Lo and behold as they walk in is a magnificent beautiful romantic picture before Maddox, with a huge framed picture of her and Ashlyn and tons of wild flowers and all her favorite guitars and things. She turns around… and there’s ash with a ring. Ashlyn doesn’t even get to pop the question until Maddox screams and tackles her, laughing and saying “I have to show you something!” She pulls ash behind her over to the theater barn and there is almost an identical setup on the stage, except all of Ashlyn’s favorite things. and now Maddox has a ring. You can guess how it ends. (sorry this one was super long but once I got started I couldn’t stop)

ricky has always enjoyed doing public things for Gina, as we’ve seen. He’s always shouting about his love for her in public, serenading her randomly as they walk through town, etc. well his proposal is exactly the same. They’re on the red carpet for a movie Gina had been kicking butt in (literally, it’s an action movie). (like everyone else has said, they got married young. You decide what age you want specifically) Ricky had been acting a bit nervous and Gina didn’t know why. once they got on the red carpet, in the very center of all those cameras and fans, Ricky took her hand and got down on one knee. Gina’s jaw dropped as Ricky gave the most beautiful profound speech in the world since “I love you forever” and immediately Gina started crying as she said “yes yes infinity times yes!” and everyone cheered and Ricky gave her the biggest hug of his life and spun her around did not let go of her for the rest of the night. *side note: when a reporter asked Ricky if he was nervous about proposing to Gina since it’s very public and what if she says no, Ricky replied with a “that’s not why I was nervous at all. No, I wasn’t nervous that Gina would reject me. We’ve been dating for so long, it’s just- we just get each other. We complete each other. I promised her forever and I’m never going back on that promise. because I do love her forever. No, the only reason I was nervous is because it’s so loud here and I didn’t know if she would hear the things I was saying. I was speaking from the heart! and because I’m on tv being recorded, obviously, what if I mess up and do something stupid? but no, I wasn’t worried at all that Gina would say no.” 🩷 (this one was also extremely long sorry!)

Saw some other rina headcanons (sorry this post might be a lot about them bc I’m in love with them so yeah) but one of them was Ricky gets Gina mystery childcare’s every Valentine’s Day and she literally knows who they’re from but plays along anyway because he’s adorable

Carlos and Seb continue to be a little on again off again through college but eventually settle down in a far-style version of glamping with a huge fancy central house and then a rusty old barn for Seb to do this thing with the cows and such

they have both boys and girls and Carlos insists on having a quince for every one of them (I’m thinking big family…)

all of the respective couples when they have kids name miss Jenn as the godmother 🥹

kourtney is a cat person. idk why. but you cannot change my mind. she’s gonna be a crazy old fashionista grandma with tons of cats telling her grandkids stories while her is half asleep next to her waking up every so often to say “and then I…” and then falling back to sleep

speaking of jetney, jet needs 60 million pep talks before he proposes to kourt - it takes a LOOOOOOOONNGGGG time

i imagine their proposal to be somewhere like iconic. idk I don’t have any ideas where - maybe somewhere overseas?? Kourtney makes her Sharpay dreams come true

Kourtney becomes a world renowned fashion designer and jet is just along for the ride. they have twin boys and a girl and he raises them while working some boring 9-5 job but he loves raising his kids and teaching them all about music and their mama since she’s gone a lot. But they FaceTime every day after school whenever Kourtney’s away for her job, it’s the best part of any day

jenn and mazzy love New Zealand so much that they end up moving there once miss Jenn retires (don’t worry, it’s not for a long time) and when everyone goes for a big reunion party to celebrate the 25th anniversary of hsm4

mike and Lynn don’t actually get back together… do they actually get back together in canon? Or are they just like more friendly towards each other and not so standoffish? Because I dunno, a divorce is very final and then getting back together just offsets the whole change thing Ricky’s gone through. But anyways, that’s just me

nini goes on tour Ricky and Kourtney’s freshmen year in college and Kourtney comes back from Lewis to see her perform in Salt Lake City. nini gets everyone prime seating - even Emmy and jet and Ricky - and they all go and have the best time ever. Ricky and nini don’t kill each other on sight and turns out nini is the biggest die hard rina fan ever and ends up writing a song for them on their wedding day. her and Ricky go back to being better friends and things aren’t so tense after they have a huge raging private concert between them too where they sing all of the thoughts they’ve ever had about each other and just let it all out. It’s very therapeutic for them and helps them understand each other a bit more (same vibe as portwells lil thing in season four where Gina apologizes to ej)

and I’m out of characters soooo more hc and what show they do on the way!! Hope you enjoy!

[blues-valentine]

idk if i’m the only one to notice this but as the show goes on ricky’s curls slowly come back, and i just love the idea of gina being the one to help him with his hair 😭😭☹️

This is so cute, anon! I totally believe this. He started using Gina’s hair products and she helps him with his hair to be so curly again. 🥲🥲 I do think there’s some fics about this too.

[27emailsicantsend]

You know what I just realized when Ricky told Gina that she was super busy with the movie filming and barely had no time to make to to rehearsal not with her tight schedule on Halloween episode so you know what Gina did. She took care of issue next day when she told Quinn that she could film all day with Mack as that was most of her filming schedule with him so that she would have all the time to do HSM3 with Ricky. So she did something about it and made sure she would have time for Ricky and the drama club, unlike EJ. When EJ was so overwhelmed last summer with all of tasks and he didn't even ask Val for help or anyone as well to take some of burdens so he would have some time to spend with Gina so this really shows that Gina was truly committed to Ricky and drama club because she actually cared about them and they were very important to her more than anything else and didn't want to put them off or ignore it just because she was too busy. EJ thought the problem would go away itself and everything would be okay and the problems would keep increasing to the point that Gina just had it with him and had to end it. I find it very interesting that when you are truly commit to something, you do everything in your power to make sure you get what you want. If you don't care much about something, why bother to put all the efforts into it. Gina showed her commitment to the drama club and her time with Ricky and she proved it. EJ didn't bother to do all that so that really shows that he wasn't really committed to Gina at all. She wasn't first thing on his mind and not even his first priority and never was. It was all about impressing his father. So if he was really committed to Gina, his actions would have showed differently. This is not that hard. If you care about someone, you show it through your actions. Like he had many jobs and college courses and more and yet he made time to talk to Val on the phone says a lot about who he is truly committed to.

Yes! You expressed this perfectly, anon! I am sort of parroting you here, but truly everything EJ did s3 was self-serving. He wanted to impress his dad because it benefitted him not going to that college. If he didn't go to that college, it benefitted him so he could be with his girlfriend. I always felt so icky the way he twisted the narrative to make it look like he was doing it all for Gina.

I think it was actually crucial we got that scene of Gina apologizing to EJ, because if you were team EJ season 3, then watched that scene you might have went "now wait a minute, why is gina apologizing?" And then you would also wonder why her apologizing caught you off guard in the first place. Because the way gina and ej handled everything was not equal. Maybe the premise was the same, but the reactions were not. And that is all the difference you need in seeing where true intentions were.

Now, I'm going to give EJ some credit here: season 4 I genuinely felt like he was actually doing things for other people. Episode 5 is the biggest proof of that. He dropped everything to help his ex's new boyfriend basically get back with her. He said so himself he was not totally loving hearing ricky talk about gina, but he still pushed ricky to fight for her. Then we also got the scene of ashlyn telling maddox EJ had been rooting for them since the beginning. We see him tell ashlyn that he thinks maddox has feelings for her. Then we see EJ hear Gina out and own up to his behavior season 3, not trying to fight to win her back. His intentions became unselfish again and it was clear in his characterization season 4. You could genuinely see his growth and I found myself liking him again!

Joshua Bassett said it (I'm summarizing): Ricky and Gina represent a healthy relationship and posts like this prove why.