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ayankun · 3 years ago

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I s2g I was being a good little nerd and trying to get my excellent sleep on, but then traitor brain served up hsmtmts analysis so here it is. I will not be held accountable for the turbulence in the presentation of the following trains of thought

I've been gnawing inarticulately on why Jack was so compelling as a potential love interest for Gina even though Portwell was simmering happily on the slow burner. (Yikes you guys, that ep only aired like 48 hours ago, I feel like I've been thinking about it for way longer than that yo)

Like, for SURE Portwell is endgame, and what with how charmingly that arc has been paced this season, I guess I was a little surprised at first that Jack as a character was seemingly introduced to throw all that solid groundwork out the window. Because of the context of Gina's lack of clarity over the EJ situation, as well as the opportunity to pass the time with someone who obviously had something to offer her in that scenario, I felt that the narrative was earnestly telling us that Jack had a shot.

And the idea that Jack also earnestly thought he had a shot is still so,,,,,

(Unrelated: I've almost decided to re-rewatch S1, but I'm not sure if the earnest:zany ratio being utterly flipped from what it is this season will be prohibitively off-putting. ☹)

But then it turns out, Gina has standards! Articulated standards. As cute and compelling and situationally-appropriate as Jack is, he's not a person she can commit to any further than she already has. She's able to look past the "wow, looks great on paper!" instant connection that they've made, and recognize that the connection is fundamentally opportunistic, ultimately not capable of surviving beyond its inciting circumstances.

Which is such a cool revelation for her to express, this no-frills internalized cognizance of her needs, because the whole S1 Ricky thing was exactly Jack. A cute and compelling and situationally-appropriate diversion with a ticking clock hanging over its head. She had needed that grounding connection back then, as had Ricky, but it was always doomed to be this temporary thing because he was still hung up on someone else.

She hadn't known that fully at the time, though, thinking that her leaving Salt Lake was the artificial cut off to whatever was going on between them, and that under different circumstances, she wouldn't have given up on it. But know she just knows, intrinsically, that right-place-right-time connections don't have to be pursued on principle, or just because they were really really nice to have in that place-time. She's ready to start forging connections that aren't hung entirely on situational need and won't expire at a pre-determined moment.

And the best part is, the romantic type of connection we're discussing here is just one she's going to add to the connections she already has! She has a home, metaphorically and literally, with Ashlyn; she has her People in Carlos and the other theatre kids -- and these were both connections she's tried to artificially sever due to how the Ricky situation has been affecting her. She just needs to keep being told that she doesn't have to fly away from everything she's built at East High, that she can seek and find and maintain real relationships, that she doesn't need to settle for those opportunistic, time-locked flings. Her concept of what she wanted from Ricky needs to be recalibrated, so she can see it as a good thing for what it was, let it go, and then continue to focus on the kind of relationships that will actually meet her needs.

Love also that even though Jack was expressing a kind of echo to Gina's S1 "never gonna give you up" vibes, she doesn't give into it. There's something really beautiful that's being said here, which I'm interpreting as, "you can fall in love (be mutually emotionally available during a high school musical production and/or have a cute and compelling and situationally-appropriate evening in an airport) with someone, but not having anything more than that does not negate the beautiful and worthwhile thing you had while it lasted." Not every meaningful encounter is an endgame origin story, and that's okay! Oh my GOD teens and every person needs to hear this!!!!!

In conclusion, this season Gina is not Sharpay but Gabriella. Likewise, EJ is not Gaston but the Beast. Mr. Federle you didn't think I would notice but I did!!!!!

#hsmtmts #spoilers #2x09 #my brain came up with these thoughts not me #i was asleep the whole time I swear #aya's hyperfixated #HSMTMTS:The Analysis #Gina Porter

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hsmtmtsnet · 4 years ago

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It's time to get'cha head in the holiday game with High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

EW has your exclusive first look at Disney+'s meta High School Musical show as it dishes out some Christmas/Hanukkah/nondenominational winter cheer in an upcoming holiday special, as well as some season 2 sneak peeks. The special, titled High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special, reunites the cast for a 45-minute episode featuring performances of their favorite Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's songs along with their childhood holiday memories, stories about their best and most embarrassing presents, their family traditions, photos, and New Year's resolutions. And the special came about simply because showrunner Tim Federle missed everyone during the extended coronavirus shutdown.

"I was like, I miss the cast, I could use a little Christmas, let's make a holiday special," Federle tells EW. "And I still kind of can't believe we made it. It was a lot of Google spreadsheets and Zoom meetings." The showrunner admits he already was feeling his own Zoom fatigue but still wanted to deliver something "fresh yet also old-fashioned" when it came to TV produced during the pandemic as well as holiday specials.

"I want the audience experience to be escaping into this holiday merriment, as opposed to thinking too hard about how did they shoot this during this unprecedented time," he says. "We had four different crews in four different cities. Sofia Wylie, she was up at 4 in the morning and she was shooting in the Arizona desert during a heatwave, and I was directing it over a speakerphone attached to a microphone on set. My Snapple fun fact is that we shot the L.A. portion at the Bachelor house literally in Malibu because we were right down to the wire trying to figure out locations and a lot of locations weren’t available [at the height of the shutdown]. It just makes me laugh because it is all part of the ABC family."

Once Federle figured out how to pull it off, he had to work out exactly what he wanted the holiday special to be. "I grew up such a fan of shows like So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol and these kind of programs that are unscripted where you get to learn a little bit about the contestant and then they perform," Federle says. "Knowing that the cast would be separated and in their own hometowns, I thought, let's just use this as an opportunity to learn who they actually are, not as their characters. Mark St. Cyr is so different from the uptight teacher Mr. Mazzara and Matt Cornett has such a different life story than who E.J. is, so knowing who they are as people just makes them more lovable for what they're able to pull off as characters."

Joshua Bassett, who plays lead heartthrob Ricky, tells EW that "it was really special that we were able to make this happen during such a crazy time," before laughing at his unintentional use of the word special. "I'm just excited for everyone to get to know the cast a little bit better on a more personal level than maybe they did by watching the show," he adds.

"Before shooting this, all of us were in quarantine for like five months or something, and so to get to be on a set with these people who you had missed for so long and to finally get to see them in person was just amazing," Olivia Rodrigo, who plays Nini, tells EW. "The joy of having that experience shows through on camera."

The special also features a sneak peek at season 2, with a brand-new song written and performed by Bassett. "The first episode of season 2 picks up right where season 1 left off," Federle says. "It's a very holiday-themed episode. I said to Josh, 'What if you wrote a new Christmas song from Ricky's point of view?' It's a really great Joshua Bassett original. It's a really sweet moment in the episode."

"I was so honored that they asked me to perform it in the special," Bassett says. "The key element of the song is that Ricky is trying to get a gift for someone and he doesn't really have much money, and so it's like, 'I can't afford a gift so instead I'm going to write you a song.'"

It's a sentiment Bassett related to on a personal level. "Christmas was always much more about the quality family time for me and my family than it was about getting fancy gifts, given that I had five sisters, and so we weren't really big on gift giving," he says. "So that really resonated with me and it made writing the song a pretty seamless process."

That's not the only new song written by a cast member that fans will hear in season 2. "We each wrote a new song for season 2, which was absolutely insane," Rodrigo reveals. "I am so grateful to Tim Federle and everyone who's created the show for letting us teenagers have that much responsibility in creating something for such a wonderful project. The show is very much about teenagers and portraying a teenager's issues in a realistic way, and so the fact that some of the songs are written by teenagers is just an extension of how authentic I think the show is."

Plus, fans will get to see one of the first musical performances of season 2 in the holiday special featuring the entire ensemble. "What I can tease about the first look at season 2 is that I think it embraces the best of East High as a location, and also really announces this entire cast with a giant group song that sets the standard for tone and energy and joy and dancing for the season," Federle says. "Season 1, so many of the performances by design were extremely acoustic, it was like Josh with a guitar. And I love those performances and we do those in season 2 too but I feel like we're the only show on television with the word musical in its title twice, and so we wanted to open season 2 with a bang."

#articles

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multimetaverse · 5 years ago

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HSMTMTS 1x04 Review

Blocking was a very emotional ep that featured some strong performances. Let’s dig in!

Very strong work from Joshua Bassett tonight. We can see throughout the ep how Ricky is desperately trying to keep it together; ending the ep with Ricky hugging a pillow holding back tears was quite the gut punch. Not a lot of shows oriented to a youngish audience actually tackle divorce itself, usually we see the aftermath, and I think it’s great that HSMTMTS is actually delving into the early stages of a divorce when things are at their worst.

Ricky’s actions tonight were right in line with what a real 16 year old boy would likely do so kudos to the writers for that. And of course it helps that Joshua is a teenager and looks like one. Case in point was Ricky sincerely believing that his parents could still work things out; obviously an adult would have realized that Mrs. Bowen moving halfway across the country months ago was the point of no return for that marriage. It’s in character for Ricky that his first instinct is to run but we do see some growth when he ultimately realizes that he does need to go home.

I really liked the writing for Ricky’s parents and Carol in this ep. I liked that the Bowen's were trying their best to make sure Ricky knew that none of this was his fault and that they loved him; they clearly had gone over what they should say with their therapist but once their plans went awry they scrambled and as most people would, they did a bad job of improvising. On the flip side their plan to spring the news on Ricky at a restaurant was a horrible choice; it makes some sense if they thought a neutral location would be less fraught but a heavy conversation like that should have been done in the privacy of their own home. It’s a nice little touch of imperfection. Very telling that Mrs. Bowen didn’t let Mr. Bowen know that she caught an earlier flight, for most people it would be routine to let their spouse know they’d be home early but it’s a sign that she no longer thinks of him as her husband. I liked that Carol was gentle but firm with Nini in telling her that her day wasn’t as bad as Ricky’s and I liked that she called Mr. Bowen after Ricky showed up which is what most parents would have done.

Great ep for Nicky shippers. Their conversation at Nini’s was the most emotionally vulnerable moment we’ve seen on the show so far. It was nice to see Ricky open up to Nini and tell her that it’s only with her that he feels comfortable talking about this stuff and their embrace was very sweet; you can really tell how much they still mean to each other. As awkward as it was I did like that aborted kiss. It wasn’t the right time but they did have a real moment. We know Miss Jenn added a kiss to the end of the musical which is likely where we’ll see them kiss but I wonder if we’ll see Nini initiate it rather than Ricky, especially since we’re clearly building towards Ricky telling Nini that he loves her. I’m also curious to see if Nini can in fact recover Ricky’s voicemail.

Olivia Rodrigo did so great writing and singing All I Want. Wise for Tim Federle to ask her to write a song for the show and I can’t wait to hear the song that her and Joshua co-wrote later in the season. As Nini said, the song is still about Ricky but he needs to meet her halfway if they’re going to work. And she did a great job with What I’ve Been Looking For, I’ve never heard such a passive aggressive performance, I was chuckling the whole time.

It does look like NJ is broken up, though I hope we get explicit confirmation in the next ep. EJ giving a girl good poisoning so Nini could have the lead role in the summer camp musical was a great twist. It really paints his behaviour in the past 3 eps in a whole new light, knowing that he was both that ruthless and that dedicated to Nini. Obviously Nini has the talent to be the lead as she showed with her vocal theatrics at the end of What I’ve Been Looking For but would she have had the confidence to audition for Gabriella if she hadn’t won the lead at camp thanks to EJ’s plotting? Good on Nini for blocking EJ’s number. EJ really needs a wake up call, stealing Nini’s phone and deleting deleting Ricky’s voicemail was bad enough but giving a girl food poisoning? That crosses a ton of lines.

Really not sure what Gina’s grand plan is. Presumably she wants her and EJ to win homecoming king and queen which is supposed to make Nini jealous and spur her to try and get back with EJ? But Gina’s goal is to be Gabriella so it’s not in her best interest to push Nini back with either EJ or Ricky. Gina’s home is small, presumably her family isn’t well off.

Did not expect to see a flashback to Nini and EJ kissing alone in a tent at night. Pretty spicy for Disney.

Loved Ricky wearing Carol’s Salt Lake Pride shirt. Even a little thing like that would never have been allowed on Disney Channel.

Lots of little funny moments this ep. The whole emotional support hamster thing was funny as was Miss Jenn threatening to bring in her emotional support coyote. Seb’s facial expressions during Nini and EJ’s duet were funny and I chuckled at his line about the hamster being easy to find if he was smiling.

Not sure if Miss Jenn’s family backstory will ever be relevant but interesting to learn that she never knew her biological father. I also liked the little reminder of her poverty when she said that protein bar was her dinner.

Big Red was funny this ep with him not understanding theatre lingo. If Natalie is back is he still stage manager?

Kourtney gets some fleshing out this ep. It’s still obvious that her character having an expanded role past the pilot was a late addition to the show but I wonder what the writers would have done without her as Nini would have needed some sort of confidant.

We also got a date for the dance on the poster, October 9th, which fits with the timeline so far and puts opening night in around 6 weeks from then. I always like when shows actually put effort into their timelines. Far too many shows mess up their timelines and its always a sign of sloppy writers and often shows contempt for their audiences.

Looking Ahead:

Seblos starts next week, I’m pleasantly surprised they’re showing it in the next ep promo. I don’t know if we’ve seen Seb in any of the clips of Carlos’ big homecoming dance routine so we’ll see if he actually attends. It will be very interesting to see what happens with Seblos this season and over the course of the rest of the series.

Really hope that they won’t make EJ and Gina a thing, that age gap between the actors is even worse than the one between EJ and Nini.

We know Ricky goes with Big Red and that Miss Jenn and Nini and Kourtney go out for a girls night and Miss Jenn runs into Mr. Bowen at the bowling alley. Hopefully nothing romantic comes of that.

There’s an actress credited as Sharpay’s mom for 1x05 and I’ve always been confused just what exactly that means. Is she Seb’s mom? Is she the in universe actress who had some minor role as Sharpay’s mom in the movies?

Matt has said that EJ and Carlos have some important scenes together and the dance might be where some of those happen. Maybe EJ encourages Carlos to dance like everyone’s watching? Mr. Mazzara is chaperoning so I could see Carlos wanting to stick it to him.

Until next week wildcats

#HSMTMTS #Ricky Bowen #Nini Salazar-Roberts #Ricky x Nini #EJ Caswell #Nicky #Rini #NJ #Seblos #Gina Porter #HSMTMTS Reviews

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ramblingsrantsreviews · 5 years ago

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SEASON REVIEW: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Disney+, 2019)

I’ve been a Wildcat since 2006. High School Musical was a national event in my house. I went to the High School Musical on Stage! show in my Limited Too outfit. I saw High School Musical 3: Senior Year in theaters on opening day. And I cried when Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens ended their real-life relationship. #RIPZanessa.

When High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was announced I was a little bit skeptical. It wasn’t my High School Musical and none of the original creators were tied to the series. Then, I attended the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California in 2019 and got to see the cast perform and introduce us to their characters. I’m not gonna lie, hearing “We’re All In This Together” made tear up but I was still skeptical.

I mean how on earth could a show called High School Musical: The Musical: The Series be any good if they couldn’t have even come up with a creative title? Well, let me tell you, I was wrong. Not about the lame name (I’m still not a fan of that) but the show quickly became a must-see for me.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was created by Tim Federle and airs on Disney+. HSMTMTS, as fans have abbreviated it, follows a group of East High drama kids as they put on a production of High School Musical, chosen by East High’s new drama teacher. The show is a mockumentary and juggles the teenagers’ lives outside of school with the crazy world of high school theater. It features a mix of High School Musical songs and original songs written for the series.

The show features Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett who play Nini and Ricky our new leading couple. Along with them are our “wonderstudies” Matt Cornett who plays E.J. and Sofia Wylie who plays Gina. Larry Saperstein (Big Red), Julia Lester (Ashlyn), Dara Reneé (Kourtney), and Frankie Rodriguez (Carlos) round out our main high school cast. Of course, a show set in high school needs some teachers. That’s where Kate Reinders who portrays Miss Jenn, the new East High drama teacher and former background dancer in the original High School Musical and Mark St. Cyr who plays Mr. Benjamin Mazzara, the STEM teacher who is anti Arts come in.

Now that the series has officially aired its final episode for the season, it’s time for my review.

As always, spoilers are ahead. You’ve been warned.

Favorite Episode: 1×08 – “The Tech Rehearsal”

Picking my favorite episode proved to be insanely difficult but after much deliberation, I decided that “The Tech Rehearsal” is my favorite episode.

“The Tech Rehearsal” centers around the tech rehearsal, obviously. The cast shows up to the East High theater for tech rehearsal only to find that their beloved theater has been set on fire and deemed unsafe by the fire department. As the popular saying goes, “the show must go on!” Thanks to Carlos’s uncle they are able to move the production to the abandoned El Ray theater downtown, much to Miss Jenn’s dismay.

Once they arrive at the theater disasters continue to strike. E.J. gets his hands on Miss Jenn’s audition notes and discovers that he didn’t get the part of Troy Bolton because he has difficulty connecting to the material. Nini and Ricky are banished to the attic of the theater to rehearse a scene but end up reminiscing about their friendship. And the crew scrambles to get the theater for their production. Oh yeah, and Lucas Gabreel (aka Ryan Evans) guest stars during Miss Jenn’s dream.

So, yeah, a lot is going on in this episode.

The reason why it’s my favorite is because of the dialogue and the connections the characters have with each other.

I’m not even slightly embarrassed to admit that I am a 23-year-old who squealed in delight watching Big Red and Ashlyn flirt with each other. Their one-liners were honestly the cutest thing ever. Hallmark movie-level cheesy? Yes. But, oh so amazing regardless.

Another reason I love this episode is the scene with Nini and Ricky when they realize unlike their characters, they do have a history with each other. Nini is rehearsing Gabriela’s line where she tells Troy that singing with him felt like kindergarten where it was so easy to be friends with someone because you could be yourself. The line reminds Ricky of his past with Nini and the fact they actually did meet in kindergarten.

The two go on to reminisce about their early friendship and it becomes clear that these two kids are so not over each other. It’s the classic best friends to lovers to exes troupe and I love it.

It’s also a really authentic scene. Their reminiscing happens organically. When they first start remembering it’s playful and fun but as they continue it quickly turns to remorse as they realize that they miss each other, in more ways than they thought.

“The Tech Rehearsal” also lets Kourtney take center stage as she belts out a song on stage while Big Red tries to work out the lighting kinks. Kourtney’s “fifteen minutes of fame” moment causes her to realize why Nini is so passionate about theater.

I do have one complaint with this episode and that’s that I wanted more of a technical aspect to it. Yes, there was some with the crew trying to figure out how to work everything in the decrepit theater but it didn’t feel like a tech rehearsal. It’s a really knit-picky critique but I needed to say it.

Least Favorite Episode: 1×01 – “The Auditions”

Thankfully I have a policy to never judge a show by its pilot episode. If I didn’t have this policy, I would have stopped watching High School Musical: The Musical: The Series immediately after the first episode.

“The Audition” is set at the start of the school year. Ricky returns to school to find that his ex-girlfriend Nini (they were on a break) has come back from summer theater camp with a new boyfriend, senior “it” boy, E.J. Things are awkward as expected. The students all enter the gym where they are introduced to the new drama teacher, Miss Jenn, who announces that East High will be putting on High School Musical as their fall production. Nini, of course, decides to audition for Gabriela and E.J. plans to be Troy. Determined to win Nini back, Ricky, who’s been anti-musical his entire life, decides he’s also going to audition. The drama unfolds and the episode ends with the cast list being posted — Nini and Ricky have been cast as the leads.

As I said, going into the first episode I was skeptical. High School Musical was my childhood and I didn’t want that to be ruined. I was afraid HSMTMTS was going to be too gimmicky and rely on nostalgia to gain its fan base.

Unfortunately, my worries were confirmed when the first episode aired.

I felt that it relied too much on nostalgia. It was super cringy. And I couldn’t accept the fact that someone else was singing High School Musical songs. Obviously, I got over those initial concerns but that doesn’t change my opinion about the first episode.

It’s honestly not a bad episode. It does what a pilot is supposed to do. It sets the tone, introduces us to the characters, and lets us know what the series will be about. I just wasn’t ready for all those questions to be answered when I watched the pilot.

Favorite Character: Ricky Bowen

Ricky Bowen stole the show and my heart.

Ricky got off on the wrong foot in the first episode. He’s pretty self-entitled and jealous when he finds out that Nini found someone else while she was at theater camp. Ricky feels like they weren’t supposed to see other people despite being on a break — sounds like Ross Geller to me.

Thankfully, over the course of the season, Ricky works through his feelings and sheds that Ross Geller, self-entitled attitude. Though he’s sad that Nini has moved on from him, he’s more upset that he’s lost her as a friend since the two have been inseparable since kindergarten.

He really goes through a huge character development transformation. Sure, he tried out for the musical in the hopes of winning back Nini but by the end of the season, he’s cultivated a new love for theater.

He found a home away from home and true friends who will be there for him no matter what. Plus, he gets to have Nini back in his life which is the ultimate win for Ricky.

One of the things I really loved about Ricky is his ability to be vulnerable. He’s definitely a character who wears his heart on his sleeve. It’s easy to tell when he’s angry, upset, and happy. We see him cry when he finds out that his parents are getting a divorce. We see him struggle to come to terms with the fact that his mother has moved on so quickly.

And he’s not only vulnerable in the safety of his house but, he’s also vulnerable in public. In episode nine, we see him visibly upset when he discovers that his mom has invited her new boyfriend to his opening night without telling Ricky.

Another reason I love Ricky is that he’s not afraid to confide in others or ask for help. He shares his feelings and frustrations about Nini to Big Red who listens to his endless rants and doesn’t complain. He confides in Gina when he learns that his parents are splitting up. And when everything is going wrong in the middle of the production, he reaches out to Nini because she’s the only one who will make him feel okay.

Ricky is what every teenage boy (fictitious and real) should aspire to be.

Least Favorite Character: E.J. Caswell

E.J.’s character is really interesting. He’s described as being a “jock-type theater enthusiast” which is basically Troy Bolton. Given this and the fact he’s just finished a summer at theater camp where he played the lead, he feels like he’s a shoo-in for the lead role. Of course, that doesn’t happen and E.J. spends the rest of the season being #bitter.

He’s upset that he didn’t get cast as the lead and instead is cast as Chad and he’s worried that Ricky is going to steal Nini from him. Of course, no one can steal a person from another person but E.J.’s behavior makes it pretty easy for Nini to realize that he’s not the one for her.

E.J. is a typical jealous-paranoid boyfriend. He’s so worried about losing Nini that instead of showing her all the reasons why she should stay with him, he instead drives a wedge between them by being manipulative.

Ricky may start off as the Ross Geller, but E.J. quickly takes over that title.

E.J. does begin to evolve over the season but it’s a more gradual and cringeworthy transformation than Ricky’s is. E.J. apologizes to Nini for what he’s done to her and telling the truth gives him such a rush that he begins confessing to every little thing he’s done wrong through social media posts. This causes his social media followers to plummet and makes him severely insecure. How Gen-Z of him.

With his self-esteem already in the dumps, E.J. makes things worse for himself when he snoops in Miss Jenn’s binder and learns why he wasn’t cast as Troy Bolton. E.J. then tries to prove her wrong which doesn’t go well either.

Honestly, E.J. only has two redeeming qualities at the end of the season. One, he did eventually leave Nini alone. That’s a pretty big one considering fictional and real-life men tend to continue to pursue a woman even when they’ve said no a hundred times. I appreciate E.J. for respecting Nini’s wishes and backing off.

The other thing I really did love about E.J. was that he was (most likely) the one responsible for getting Gina back to East High for the opening night. This is one of the first times we see him be truly selfless. There’s nothing in it for him. Gina’s presence doesn’t affect him or his performance. And yet, he knows that his cast is missing Gina — and he probably is too.

When E.J. flies Gina out for opening night, we finally see him embrace the “We’re All In This Together” motto.

My hope for E.J. going forward is that we continue to see him mature and grow into a generous person instead of one that is so caught up with his own issues that he doesn’t care about anyone else.

Favorite Pairing: Ashlyn and Big Red

Bet you weren’t expecting that one.

Listen, I love Nini and Ricky. They’re my favorite troupe come true (childhood friends to lovers), they understand each other on a deep level, they’re always there for each other, and they’re just downright adorable.

It’s hard for me to say they’re my second favorite couple because I really do love ‘Rini,’ but Ashlyn and Big Red really won me over.

To me, Ashlyn and Big Red embody what a high school love story should be. They’re innocent and playful. Half the time they’re unsure of if they’re flirting with each other or just being friendly.

Honestly, their dialogue is what really sealed the deal for me that they were my favorite pairing. They’re always so sweet together. They make the most subtle compliments sound like true poetry.

Big Red: “How do you light up an entire room?”

Ashlyn: “You walk into it.”

I mean, come on! How cute are they!

Sure, Nini and Ricky got each other cute and heartfelt gifts but Big Red got Ashlyn a giant bouquet of flowers! And they weren’t even a thing!!!

And then there’s the end credit scene during episode 10 that completely sealed the deal.

Big Red and Ashlyn understand each other. They’re both the underdogs of the series.

Ashlyn’s outgoing and talented but she’s never even talked about in regards to being the lead. She’s constantly in the shadows of her cousin E.J. who jeopardizes her friendship with Nini and the rest of the cast. And she doesn’t really mind. She stays in her lane, writers her music, does her thing, and really, is just happy to be involved.

Big Red ended up on the crew for the production because he had no other place to be. Ricky is his best (and only) friend and the only way the two of them could spend time together after Ricky gets cast was to join the production. It’s not what he thought he would be doing but he learns to love it — just like Ricky does. Big Red excels and ends up coming out of the production with a group of friends who truly love and care about him. I also love that through his character we got to see some of the tech side of high school theater. As a former high school technical theater kid, I loved that about the show.

Even though Big Red and Ashlyn aren’t an official thing yet, I ship them 110%. I can’t wait to see them develop and hopefully explore a relationship in season 2.

Complaints

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series really took me by surprise because I fully expected to hate it. I’m glad I didn’t. Given this, I really don’t have many complaints — they’re more knit-picky things.

I was sort of disappointed that we didn’t get a dress rehearsal episode. After the disaster that was the tech rehearsal, it would have been nice to see them get to practice one time through in the gym where opening night would be. If they would have done a dress rehearsal it would have given us a chance to see more of the High School Musical production. Or, if the creative team didn’t want to make the series longer, the dress rehearsal could have even been just the first act and then the second act could have been the opening night episode. I just feel that a dress rehearsal is an important part of theater and it was a shame we didn’t get to see this cast go through the dress rehearsal struggle.

I was really sad the characters Kelsey and Ryan didn’t get attention in this production. Kelsey’s role was completely nonexistent in this production. On one hand, I understand that the cast was already huge and adding a Kelsey would have made it larger. But I still missed her. It’s also worth noting that Ashlyn’s character is very similar to who Kelsey was in the film. Perhaps, the creators felt that they didn’t need to cast a pretend Kelsey because the show already had a Kelsey-like presence with Ashlyn.

If Ashlyn embodied Kelsey, then Carlos embodies Ryan. Carlos was the choreographer and Miss Jenn’s right-hand man. Ryan is very into choreography and is always willing to help Miss. Darbus in the originals. Plus, in High School Musical 2, he acts as the choreographer for the talent show.

Unlike Kelsey, who was nonexistent in the production, there was someone playing Ryan but we never learn anything about him. I think it would have been fun, fresh, and interesting if Seb would have played both Sharpay and Ryan. Truthfully, that’s what I thought was happening since he sang both parts of “Bop to the Top.” They could have split him and had one side of his wardrobe/make-up Sharpay inspired and the other side Ryan inspired. A missed opportunity if you ask me.

I wanted more character development for some of our characters. Ashlyn is so interesting and she mentions she does all these other things outside of just theater but we never get to see her beyond the walls of the theater. I hope we get to learn more about her home life and her other hobbies in season 2.

I also wanted more development when it comes to Seb and Carlos’s relationship. Yes, I am ecstatic that Disney went there and made a same-sex couple canon (something the original films were never able to do) but it’s not just enough for them to exist. They need screen time. They need a story. I want Seb and Carlos’s relationship to be just as important as Nini/Ricky and Ashlyn/Big Red. Fingers cross season 2 redeems themselves.

Another knit-pick, I wasn’t a fan of the changed “We’re All In This Together” choreography. The dance in the original is so iconic. I can still do it 14 years later! I felt betrayed when they didn’t do the exact choreography. I appreciate the show wanting to bring a new take to the production but this was one thing that shouldn’t have been changed.

My biggest critique isn’t about the plot of the series but the title as a whole. Even though I love saying High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, it’s the dumbest name ever. It’s clear that they were trying to cash in on the original High School Musical pandemonium. I’m sure it worked, but I also think it narrowed the reach the series could have had.

Not to mention it’s going to complicate season two. The series title makes sense for season one because they are putting on a production of High School Musical: The Musical but what happens when they are not putting on a High School Musical production? Tim Federle, the creator, already confirmed that season 2 won’t be about the beloved franchise. So now what?

Personally, I think the show should have been called East High Drama or something like that. It would have resonated with High School Musical fans but also wouldn’t have put the show in such a box.

I’m interested to see if the series will be renamed ahead of the second season. Or if it’ll be named something like High School Musical: (INSERT NEW MUSICAL NAME): The Series instead.

Praise

Obviously, there were a lot of things I loved about the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. I could probably go one for days, so I’m gonna try to keep this list reserved for the highlights.

I absolutely loved the fact that the show was able to distinguish itself from the original films. I loved that they included original music and I loved it, even more, when I found out that Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett got to write “Just for a Moment.”

Another thing I was really excited about is that they didn’t really drag on the “love triangle” too much. It was there in the first few episodes but after E.J. betrays Nini, she breaks up with him and that’s that. Sure, both boys are still actively pursuing her but she’s not pursuing either of them. It’s still a love triangle I guess, but it doesn’t feel like a cliche one.

I loved that they allowed Seb to play Sharpay. I thought that was genius and amazing. It’s a shame that they’re not going to do High School Musical 2 because he would have killed “Fabulous.”

I applaud the show’s attempt to be diverse and inclusive. The characters are diverse in race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation but they’re also not defined by identities. I do think they could have done a bit more in terms of the LGBT inclusion but I applaud the moves they did make. The Homecoming scene between Seb and Carlos was everything.

I mentioned above that I liked that they included a technical aspect to the show. It could have played a bigger part but I’m glad it was mention to some extent.

One of my favorite moments of the entire series was the “Breaking Free” performance at the end. It’s such an iconic moment in the original film and I was worried it was going to fall flat in the series. It did not! Having the roles switch was genius. Instead of our Gabriela being the timid one on stage, our Troy is. Gabriela must coax him into joining her onstage. I think this move really embodies the series. We’re meant to believe that Nini = Gabriela and Ricky = Troy but they’re both more complex than that. I also felt it was very reminiscent of the “This Is Us/Gotta Find You” moment from the DCOM Camp Rock. Regardless, I loved it!

Oh, and I can’t forget Ms. Darbus’s original number. Though I did feel it was oddly placed, I thought it was an amazing song and a wonderful moment for Ashlyn to shine.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. I am definitely a fan of this new era of Wildcats and can’t wait for season 2. Speaking of season 2, Disney+ announced that High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will return with new episodes in Fall 2020!

For now, you can stream the first season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney+.

What did you think of the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series? What was your favorite and least favorite episode? Who do you ship? Will you be watching season 2? Let me know in the comments or by tweeting me @3RsBlog.

Want more posts like this follow me here or on wordpress.

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #reviews #nini #ricky #rini #seb #carlos #seblos #ashlyn #big red #kourtney #ej #gina #disney +#hsm

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char27martin · 7 years ago

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6 Pitfalls to Avoid When Writing LGBTQI+ Characters in Teen Fiction

Before you embark on writing a queer character for Young Adult, answer this question: Is there something about his/her/their queerness that is essential to your story, or are you trying to check off one of your agent’s items on a diversity list? If it’s the latter, stop right now. Close your computer. Walk away from the burning building. Do not move forward. Can I stress this more emphatically?

I believe that regardless of your faith, sexual orientation, or race, you can create characters of any type, if you’re willing to do so authentically. Today’s Middle-Grade and Young-Adult readers are savvy and awake; you will not be able to borrow from any preconceived ideas you might have. This also applies to my fellow LGBTQI+ writers. These kids are watching and will hold you accountable. That’s what makes writing this genre so exciting. I hope you reach beyond what you know to accept the challenge of exploring and examining your own fears, moral hang-ups, and prejudices. It may be fiction, but you’re going to learn a lot about yourself and I’m going help you get there.

Lisa Freeman is an author, actress, and teacher best known for her novels HONEY GIRL (2015; Sky Pony Press) and RIPTIDE SUMMER (2017; Sky Pony Press). She grew up amidst the Hollywood scene and emerged as an actress in such films as Back to the Future, Back to the Future II, and Mr. Mom. She earned her MFA and Pedagogy in the Art of Writing degrees from Antioch University and now resides in Santa Monica, California, only miles down the road from State Beach, where her Honey Girls novels take place. You can visit her at Lisa-Freeman.com.

1. Don’t be invasive in your writing and research.

It’s never okay to out somebody. Under no circumstances should you ever violate the privacy of a teen’s life to create your narrative. Do not eavesdrop, follow, or presume it’s okay to open a discussion with someone who doesn’t want to have it. I implore you to take this under serious consideration, even though your writing teacher may have said it’s okay to be aggressive when searching for a story. Sexuality is deeply personal, as is coming out, gender identification, or transition, so a writer must show restraint. Never invade queer space for your own needs.

Find resources that are public. Personas such as the actress Amandla Stenberg and YouTubers Ingrid Nilsen and Tyler Oakley are wonderful examples of influencers who have shared their coming out processes and lives online. It is their choice to have an open discussion with their followers.

2. Avoid stereotypes.

Teen readers must be able to see themselves in your story. This is a common thread that YA authors are aware of, but how one does this with a LGBTQI+ character is through avoiding stereotypes. For example, if you have a boy with a high-pitched voice who is melodramatic and being called a “sissy,” that’s a red flag. Also, not all queer characters hate themselves or struggle in coming out. That might not be their conflict. You’ll have to take into consideration many things to make the stakes high. Here are some suggestions: Consider setting, body image, and, most importantly, what s/he wants. How can you reveal your character through events? What are the conflicts that motivate them forward? If you can set goals through obstacles that are not fixated on their sexuality, you’re heading in the right direction. But if relationships don’t stick, if the tension and pace become repetitive, go back to the question of, “Am I caught in some preconceived notion of what gay is, gay does?” Ask yourself, how does s/he fit in the world? Are they defiant or loyal? What consequences are created by their actions? In my novels, I answer these questions through relationships. It is the most effective way to show when a character is accepting their flaws or getting caught up in them, which leads me to…

3. Don’t be afraid to create an emotional connection with your character.

If you grew up as a queer teen, this is a wonderful opportunity to use some of the feelings, emotions, and fears you had or have, but remember, you are not writing a memoir. If this wasn’t your experience, you may be wondering how a writer who is not gay creates emotional connection with a queer character. Are you willing to examine the complicated and sometimes unexplainable truth of young people who identify as queer? Not sure? Well try this: Wear a shirt that says “Queer.” Even if you’re out, try it. Wear the shirt to work, the bank, the market, whatever a normal day entails. See if you can really live with committing yourself to these fabulous kids. Then, start writing. If you don’t feel safe doing this because you live in a community that is traditional, do not, under any circumstances, explore this experiment. But do explore your own internal reaction to it. This will also help connect you to a queer voice, assuming that you are not a lesbian or gay man, or that you do not identify as genderqueer, transgender, or bisexual.

If you’re thinking of doing a LGBTQI+ media binge starting with Birdcage or the original La Cage aux Folles, this will be entertaining but not necessarily productive, unless you are writing historical fiction and it fits in with your story. There are other queer-conscious resources via the screen. I encourage you to have some fun, watch RuPaul’s Drag Race, and other shows on Logo. If you want a laugh, Kids in the Hall or Portlandia. For beautiful, well-acted performances, see Carol, Blue is the Warmest Color, and Maurice. There are also classics like Personal Best and High Art.

Some literary examples include wonderful books like Tim Federle’s Better Nate than Ever, I Am J by Cris Beam, Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth, Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For and Fun Home, and my favorite, Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle.

The biggest literary agent database anywhere is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the most recent updated edition online at a discount.

4. Don’t try to protect your queer darlings.

Force your characters out of their comfort zones as quickly as possible. What I’m suggesting goes for all MG, YA, and New Adult characters. Don’t protect these fictional teens from the inevitable challenges of growing up. There will be no transformation if you do. Allow for life on life’s terms. The good and the bad, let them fly for themselves.

5. Don’t make everything about sexual identity.

We queers are more than our sexual preferences. No character is 100 percent anything. Just like any teen character, yours can be hero or victim, offensive or sweet, compassionate or vindictive … the list goes on. Regardless of their salvation or damnation, you must illuminate how they coexist in the world and what makes them unique without fixating on their sexuality. And since the verbal landscape and narrative of gay consciousness is changing rapidly, it might be a good time to take a crash course in the terminology of the LGBTQI+ community.

Do you know what LGBTQI+ means? Pansexual? Do you know the difference between genderqueer and non-binary? Do you know that people with different-sex partners also sometimes identify as queer, as well as bisexual? When I speak with students, I am always schooled about new terms and have learned how some teens hate labels and refuse to identify as anything because it’s absolutely passé to them. When I say I’m a lesbian, sometimes they look at me like I’m a dinosaur for using what they consider an old-fashioned word. This has always opened up a dialogue that I find amazing, but, in order to get there, I’ve had to learn not to be judgmental of how queer youth see themselves. Hopefully it has made me a better writer.

Often people get stuck in the “sex” of an LGBTQI+ character. If you’re writing MG, this really won’t be a problem since novels for 8-12 year olds do not reveal explicit sexuality. YA, on the other hand, also abides to certain boundaries, but allows the transformative experience to be a bit more graphic, if not only from an internal perspective.

6. Don’t skimp on the back story.

Back story is pivotal for all characters, but especially queer ones. Even if they’re only 15, your character has lived a full life before coming to a certain realization about their sexuality. If s/he is coming out, you have to know the history that led to this moment. If they aren’t coming out, the same. If they are pursuing love for the first time, what motivated them to finally take action?

Even if 95 percent does not hit the page, this character you are creating must have a strong undercurrent that fuels their actions forward at all times. This way you won’t have to rely on dialogue. In my first novel, Honey Girl, anything queer-related was always spoken of in code. It was gestured, suggested, implied, but never actually said. This was all established through back story.

I hope these suggestions will help you create a well-crafted story and unforgettable teen characters with worthy goals and riveting transformations that appeal to your readers. To my fellow LGBTQI+ writers, let’s remember we are letting our young queers know that we see them and that they matter. And we all, regardless of our own identity, can help them make sense of this world through our stories.

If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at [email protected].

The post 6 Pitfalls to Avoid When Writing LGBTQI+ Characters in Teen Fiction appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/guest-columns/6-pitfalls-writing-lgbtqi-characters-teen-fiction

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multimetaverse · 5 years ago

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HSMTMTS 1x05 Review

Homecoming was a historic ep that was a giant leap forwards for rep on Disney and an overall delightful ep. Let’s dig in!

I was blown away by Seblos this ep, I never expected Disney to go this far this soon but what great scenes we got. It was so refreshing to see Carlos and Seb acting like normal teens, just like any straight couple. They have good chemistry and Frankie played Carlos’ nerves when asking Seb to the dance perfectly and his celebration after Seb said yes. I liked when Seb mentioned that homecoming would mean dancing together in front of all the non theatre kids, a little reminder of how much of a safe space the theatre can be. Really powerful to see Carlos tell Mr. Mazzara that he thought he made a mistake asking him to dance with him publicly and to see Carlos be brave enough to go dance on his own. And then when Seb arrived we got the shot we see in every teen movie where the love interest arrives at the big dance and sees the main character and smiles, it’s amazing that we saw that with two guys on a Disney show. Also impressive that Seb apologizing to Carlos was done in just one take as Tim revealed on instagram

Tim Federle has done an amazing job so far and good for him for going right into text. He’s said in interviews that no one from Disney ever asked him to cut any scenes or shy away from certain topics, which doesn’t mean much since he’d be saying that regardless of how much he was being censored, but we can see with our own eyes that he really is telling the truth. Now I do want more development for Carlos and Seb as characters as well as Seblos as a ship and I do think we’ll get that especially since Joe Serafini has been promoted to a series regular for S2, which is a very good sign that Disney is all in with Tim Federle’s plans. What an exciting time, there will soon be two main gay characters on a Disney show played by openly gay actors on a show created by an openly gay man. Tim has spoken of how Disney + is in some ways an open frontier and that he’s willing to take big jumps and I can’t wait to see what the rest of S1 and S2 has in store for us

Things have changed a lot since the High School Musical movies came out. It’s well known that Ryan was meant to be gay even though he could never actually be gay. Lucas Grabeel has spoken of how Kenny Ortega told him that Ryan was a lot like his High School self. In an interview with EW, Tim Federle was asked about the censorship of Ryan’s character and he noted that he wasn’t there for the movies and doesn’t view what he’s now doing on HSMTMTS as making up for anything that the original movies weren’t able to do. Which is fair but regardless in some ways tonight's ep does make up for the censorship of the movies

While reading an article on HSMTMTS I came upon a link to a story from October 2008 about Ryan and how he was clearly being coded as gay that featured some revealing quotes from Gary Marsh, from an interview conducted in summer 2008:

Regarding the fact that there are boyfriend-girlfriend relationships in the HSM movies, Marsh interjected, “Yeah, but that’s not about sex,” as though having two boyfriends equals full-tilt boogie. And as to why there can be boyfriend and girlfriends but not two boyfriends, he could only note, “It’s just not something that we’ve ever had the opportunity to portray. It hasn’t been a place we’ve gone.”

If someone, like Gary Marsh, believes that lgbtq relationships are inherently sexual then that means they don’t believe they’re appropriate for children. It’s no surprise then that it wouldn’t be until 2014 that Disney Channel had two lesbian moms appear on Good Luck Charlie and it wouldn’t be until 2017 that Cyrus came out to Buffy. Clearly Gary has for whatever reasons evolved in his views or there wouldn’t have been any rep on Disney Channel in the past 11 years nor do I think that he would make a comment like that publicly today but he probably does still believe that to an extent and I’d imagine other senior Disney executives do as well

A few things are helping Disney + push boundaries, being more of a PG than a G rated service, not being exclusively targeted towards children, and being a curated service so parents can easily avoid showing their kids shows with lgbtq rep. And perhaps most importantly, the cold hard reality that if Disney + is to become financially viable then it has to appeal to a broad audience and provide the same quality or better than people could find on Netflix or other streaming services so the kind of censorship we see on Disney Channel just can’t fly

There’s been a lot of discourse regarding Seblos and Tyrus and HSMTMTS and Andi Mack and I’ll take the time to say my piece now. It’s not entirely fair to compare the ships and shows since they’re taking place under very different circumstances. Tyrus was a heavily censored ship that was only given permission to canon when the series finale was written whereas Seblos is already canon in the 5th ep. It’s true that TJ was written in a way to subvert gay stereotypes which was important but it’s also true that for most of the audience they didn’t know that he was gay until the bench scene itself so there wasn’t that much trope subversion going on. And who knows how he would have been written if they were actually allowed to have him be openly gay before the series finale

Carlos and Seb may fall into some stereotypes but Tim Federle has spoken of how when he was in High School he would have loved to play a character like Sharpay but wouldn’t have had the confidence to do so and he wrote Seb wanting to play a female role with his own past experiences in mind. He’s also spoken about how Carlos was based off of a close friend of his and he put some of himself into Carlos as well with Carlos telling Mr. Mazzara that he was meant to be on Broadway being something Tim told one of his own teachers in High School. Frankie and Joe have talked about how they see a lot of their own experiences in Carlos and Seb as characters and in Seblos as a relationship. Tim has spoken a lot about how important authenticity is to him and while Carlos and Seb may be stereotypical to some people it shouldn’t be discounted that others can see their lived experiences in those characters

For Andi Mack it’s important to separate Cyrus’ story from the Tyrus story line. It’s unlikely HSMTMTS could have pulled off Cyrus’ coming out story line, the shows are just too different. We’re almost certainly not going to see a One in a Minyan style ep on HSMTMTS but would we have seen such an ep on Andi Mack if they didn’t need to pack all of Cyrus’ S3 story line into one ep? We also can’t forget that 3x11 was written shortly after the cancellation and it was written as a potential end to the gay story line since they didn’t know until months later if they could go with canon Tyrus or not. Even with the limits it faced Andi Mack did a great job with Cyrus’ coming out story line and I think eps like 2x01 and 2x13 and 3x11 will be fondly remembered and will stand the test of time

When it comes to Tyrus though it’s fair to say that the bench scene was a historic and important moment but also an underwhelming one. Andi Mack didn’t live up to the promise that Cyrus was no different but it was never going to be able to with Disney’s restrictions, they were willing to focus on Cyrus as a gay character but not Cyrus as an actively gay character. One thing that will make Seblos go down a lot better than Tyrus is that we aren’t going to see Carlos bearding himself like Cyrus did. It won’t age well at all that Cyrus got to go on dates with Iris and kiss her twice and refer to her as a his girlfriend and even come up with a mashup name for them but Terri probably would have done things very differently if she had known that all Cyrus would be able to do with a boy was hold hands in the series finale. We can also tell that HSMTMTS won’t be facing an increase in censorship later on since Seb will be a main in S2 whereas Disney cracked down hard after S2 for Andi Mack, probably because the story was shifting from Cyrus having a hopeless crush on a straight guy to a reciprocated crush on a gay guy

Since Seblos is textual from the start it will be much easier to write and also much easier to fix things when the writers inevitably make mistakes. I think a lot of the defensiveness coming from certain corners of the Andi Mack fandom is because deep down people know that the bench scene wasn’t enough pay off for the long dragged out Tyrus no burn we got; especially with all of the drama and angst they had. Development is important but it doesn’t take two thirds of the series to set up a silent handhold. I think it’s very unlikely that for HSMTMTS we’ll see the drastic decline in quality that Andi Mack had for most story lines after 3x11. The bench scene would have been better if we hadn’t gotten the worst writing of the series for TJ and Cyrus as characters that did a real disservice to them and to Tyrus as a ship in the eps before the finale. The Tyrus story line was never going to get a great ending with Disney’s restrictions but it is also true that Terri’s choices made things a lot worse than they had to be

It’s insane that they introduced Kira as a homophobic character who was manipulating TJ but also was clearly into him; how do professional writers come up with that? It’s just not a mistake Tim Federle is going to make. Trying to do an external homophobia story line was an obviously bad idea but so was giving TJ an out of nowhere internalized homophobia plot in 3x13 and 3x15 before dropping it in 3x18. Cyrus’ coming out story line helped a lot of people because it showed the correct way for friends to react when someone comes out to you but for TJ they never did anything to help people dealing with internalized or external homophobia, the message was effectively ‘’deal with it on your own kids’’, which is sharp contrast with how openly his dyscalculia plot was handled. I don’t think HSMTMTS would be effectively able to deal with homophobia either but I think Tim probably realizes that and won’t attempt it

There were a lot of little things Terri could have changed that would have helped. Don’t insert Kira into their plot. Don’t have Amber kiss Jonah or say she’s love him so at least she could have pointed to another character who never got to kiss a guy or talk about feelings. Put the Jandi bracelet scene in between the Muffy and Tyrus confession scenes so we don’t go straight from a Muffy kiss and handhold and verbal confession to the bench scene. And just write the bench scene better so it’s more in line with the Tyrus dynamic like how the Muffy and Jandi scenes did a good job capturing their own dynamics. Of course, we’re not going to see Seblos end so subtly so all these problems just won’t arise

Tyrus was important because it happened and may well be the only lgbtq rep we see for middle school characters played by actual teenagers for a very long time. But it’s also true that Andi Mack’s legacy will probably rest a lot more with Cyrus specifically, especially him saying the word gay, whereas HSMTMTS will be remembered more for normalizing lgbtq relationships with Seblos. I’m glad Tyrus happened but I’m also glad that Seblos will be a much smoother story line and will break boundaries for years to come. Anyways that’s my two cents

I really liked the Gina development this ep. Her doesn’t do cash line was interesting, hinting at financial problems? Moving 5 schools in 7 years is rough and I’d like to hear more about that. I’m glad that we got confirmation that she didn’t have an actual plan and was just winging it because her actions really did not make much sense. Tim Federle had said that love triangles will become love squares and it does make more sense to have Gina be into Ricky than EJ since there’s no real drama if she’s into EJ because Nini is totally over him. I do think Gina was being sincere in the scene with Ricky in the car (which Tim said was Big Red’s car that he lent Ricky and that Joshua and Sofia did that scene in just two takes). I also think that she needs Ricky as a friend not a lover and Ricky would not be happy if he ever found out that she was the one who initially stole Nini’s phone

Miss Jenn and Mike Bowen and Benjamin Mazzara love triangle? We do know that Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzara spend Thanksgiving trapped together which is obvious set up for feelings to develop. We also got Mr. Mazzara doing a 180 and being nice to Carlos this ep which seems like a ploy to get him on the audiences good side

Loved the friendship moments we got this ep. Big Red and Kourtney are great friends. Ricky taking Big Red to his first dance was sweet and I love that Big Red showed up in a old man suit jacket that looks like it was from the 70s. Ngl I thought Ricky was wearing pajama pants for most of the ep. Glad we got a glimpse into Kourtney and Nini’s past, they’ve been friends at least since the 7th grade. I hope Kourtney stands up to the mean costume designer senior

I liked seeing Nini grappling with her self confidence after finding out that she got the lead role at summer camp because EJ poisoned the original lead. She does have the talent but that kind of revelation would leave most people shook

Glad that Ricky and his dad had a honest convo this ep. It’s just the two of them now so they need to stick by each other

Ashlyn has been an unexpected delight so far, I liked that she was the only one to go and support Carlos and she was rocking that suit

Ricky’s office stare after Gina dumped punch on EJ’s head was too funny

Born to be brave was a great song and the choreography blew me away, such a talented cast and crew they have

All of the costumes looked great this ep, kudos to the costume designers

RIP Seb’s cow

Looking Ahead:

Miss Jenn faces her tribunal, I’m curious to see how much she faked on her resume

We get photos of Seb comforting Carlos which I think comes after he finds out that Miss Jenn is suspended. In the medley trailer there was a clip of Carlos hugging Miss Jenn at a coffee shop so maybe that’s next ep since there’s no need to meet at a coffee shop if she’s not suspended

The cast has talked about how we the audience we’ll be going back and forth on team Ricky vs team EJ all season long which at this point seems like a lie. I’m sure EJ’s redemption arc starts soon and if he’s still going to panic attacks I’d imagine that will soon be brought up but Nini is totally over him and I can’t see her being torn about her feelings for EJ in the final 5 eps of the season

With Seb being a main in S2 that will make things more difficult for the writers to juggle and I hope they are thinking about how to balance the different characters. I also wonder what the long term plan for EJ is since he’s the only senior and if S2 takes place spring semester of his senior year then what are they gonna do with him in S3?

We know that in 1x10 breaking free has EJ, Nini, and Ricky so I wonder if EJ starts off playing Troy for whatever reason before Ricky shows up. Since Ricky thinks Nini is over him I don’t think we’ll be seeing him make a move unless he gets some kind of signal from Nini

Wonder what was up with that Sharpay’s mom credit on imdb, just some random imdb troll? If so, what a coincidence that she picked what happened to be a big Seb ep

I don’t know if this will have impact on the show going forward but this marks the point that Tim Federle took over as showrunner after original showrunner Oliver Goldsmith departed. Oliver wanted to take the show in a more mature direction but Tim disagreed and Disney sided with him over Oliver

Until next week Wildcats

#HSMTMTS #Seblos #Carlos #seb mathew-smith #Ricky Bowen #Gina Porter #Nini Salazar-Roberts #Kourtney #Big Red #Ashlyn #EJ Caswell #Mike Bowen #Miss Jenn #Benjamin Mazzara #HSMTMTS Reviews

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