Everyone is so focused on EJ being jealous of Ricky because of everything with Nini in S1 and Gina in S2 and it makes me sad that his character has been reduced to that. yes, Ricky "stealing" the girls from EJ (or however you look at it) is an important part of EJ's character build up and it plays into his insecurities but I don't think that's the biggest/only reason for the tension between them, there's a big chunk of the show's storyline for EJ that I feel like everyone is overlooking: It was EJ's senior year, the last high school musical productions he'd ever get to be in, and Ricky got the leading male parts in all three shows (also EJ didn't really get to audition for Frozen bc he has to direct it).

In season 1, he was soooo excited for HSM and he had spent a lot of time preparing to audition for Troy, his heart was set on that part and he even talked about how he thought he was the perfect Troy, and he was so confident about it. And then Ricky swoops in, not knowing anything about musicals, having never even seen the movie and having no understanding of the character, only auditioning to impress Nini, and he gets the part EJ wanted so badly. EJ has to be content with being the understudy and then he ended up reading Miss Jenn's casting paper to see why she didn't think he was good enough to play Troy and it was kinda mean tbh (and remember, after he read it he started really trying to be better) and I feel like everyone kind of put him down that season. He was so happy when he got the chance to go out as Troy on opening night but then he ended up supporting Ricky, building him up and telling him he was "the better Troy" and that he deserved the part. In season 2, it's the spring musical and the last musical of EJ's high school career! and we know from season 1 he really wants the lead part, and we find out about his dad's expectations so I think it's fair to say he also wanted to impress his dad and show him how talented he is, but at the same time, I feel like he just wants his moment in the spotlight that the others have gotten, he wants that validation that he is capable of playing the leading man and get it right and just that validation and confidence....but again, Ricky gets the lead, and EJ has to play the villain (don't get me wrong he was the perfect Gaston and I am not mad about that). In season 3, he's so excited to have all his Wildcats at camp with him, and have a great last summer; he and Gina talk about how they hope to be the leads together and it's EJ's last chance to have that spotlight leading role moment bc this is the last theater production for him to be in unless he gets onto Broadway or goes to a performing arts college. And EJ can't even properly audition for it bc he's been forced into directing it, and Ricky got the lead again, as Gina's love interest no less- and Ricky doesn't know the show well again and he casually jokes about it to EJ. And throughout all the seasons, EJ just puts on a happy face and supports everyone else and lifts them all up and helps them out; he's happy for Ashlyn when she got the lead, he's happy for Gina when she got it, he's even happy for Ricky. Even though the girls get to be upset when they don't get the parts they wanted, EJ is expected to just accept that he's not a leading man.

I mean...just think about it. EJ puts in all of this effort into being his best, he spends so much time understanding the character and rehearsing and preparing to be the best he can possibly be and Ricky, who puts in very little effort, doesn't know the character or even story/what the damn show is about, and doesn't really know that much about theater or acting just waltzes in and gets the lead three times in a row. (this also applies to the love triangles as sort of a metaphor in a way) Nini, Ashlyn and now Gina and Kourtney all get their time to shine in the lead roles they always dreamed of but didn't think they'd ever be good enough for but EJ has to suck it up and be happy for them and cope with the fact that this is his last show and he never got that big moment he wanted (despite the fact that he's basically a cookie cutter of the perfect leading man).

edited to add: yes, I do realize season 2 EJ chose not to pursue being the Beast bc he felt he was too busy with preparing for college and pls excuse my mistakes in this post/incorrect facts, it's been sooo long since I've watched the first two seasons so I went off what I thought I remembered when I was writing this post (so yeah, I'm a clown & I'll be the first to admit it but everyone who follows my blog already knows that lol). My mistake aside, my point is still the same. EJ has put in a lot of effort throughout all three seasons- with Nini, with Gina, with auditions, with all the shows, and he also went out of his way to atone for his past selfish actions (even tho he stepped back in s2 and worked on himself) and Ricky swooped in having no idea what he's doing and has effortlessly (if you're looking at it from EJ's POV- not trying to villainize Ricky cause I actually adore him) gotten everything EJ has been working hard for handed to him. In the present season it's not just that EJ is noticing the clear romantic tension between Rina, it's that Ricky is having the summer that EJ wanted to have- having fun, spending quality time with Gina and the other Wildcats, playing the leading male part alongside Gina in the show, enjoying EJ's camp friends (and becoming friends with all of them), participating fully in all the fun traditional camp activities and doing all of this with a carefree, Hakuna Matata attitude while EJ is literally about to combust from stress. It's as if Ricky has replaced him. (again, looking at this from EJ's POV). this is just a thought I had that I wanted to share bc I have seen so many posts about the love triangle and nothing about the other stuff so I apologize if I haven't articulated it in a way that makes sense but hopefully this clears some things up. I still think he should get his time to shine though bc he hasn't really gotten that in the show yet.

Also even though EJ was initially presented as being overly confident and kind of cocky, I always personally thought they've made it obvious he, like the other characters, has a lot of insecurities about himself and the cocky attitude is kind of a façade to hide that from everyone else. And considering how hard his dad is on him with all of his high expectations, I think EJ has probably spent his whole life putting in maximum effort to be the best at everything and acting confident and cocky bc it's how his dad wants him to be.