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.

no but why did I legit think caswen were gonna get together...... like I got butterflies at the end of the ep,, it actually felt POSSIBLE my clown makeup is clinically attached

Right, I'm dropping some HSMTMTS opinions, because honestly, looking through the tag, I feel like i'm watching a different show to some of you???

For context, I have loved Rina since 1x05, but I also properly hopped on the Portwell bandwagon in s2, and genuinely enjoy both ships as written. In fact, other than Ricky/Lily, there are v few canon relationships on this show that I haven't enjoyed at some point.

Anyway, a few thoughts on the love triangle that I may get shot for, but oh well.

1) Gina is not emotionally cheating on EJ. Like yeah, her and Ricky have got their friendship back, and the nature of their friendship can come across as flirty, but Gina rn is fully invested in her relationship with EJ. Her and Ricky being close (especially given he was her first friend in Salt Lake) isn't a crime. Even in WDYKAL, she is fully in character to piss off EJ. She is not suddenly over EJ and back into Ricky.

2) Ricky is not trying to get in the way of Portwell. Yeah, he was being a bit of a dick with that comment about EJ stealing Gina because we all know that's not true. But other than that, he has respected their relationship. He had no intentions of telling Gina that these feelings have resurfaced for him, evident from the fact he swears Carlos to secrecy and is devastated when Channing catches it on camera. And he also makes a point of asking "did it show?", demonstrating that he is trying to keep his feelings under wraps. He allowed Gina to talk about EJ without getting defensive, he even answered EJ's question of why Gina was mad at him without a sarcastic comment. Saying Ricky is purposely getting in the way of PW is character assassination for no good reason. The boy has feelings, yeah, but he hasn't acted on them and the narrative has shown nothing to suggest he would while Gina is with EJ.

3) EJ is being a bit of a tool this season, but honestly, I don't think this is the wasted character development y'all think it is. I don't know about all of your own lives, but something I've found in mine is that growth is very rarely linear. Yes, EJ learnt and grew a lot in s2, and there are times it feels he has forgotten that in s3. But also, he is an incredible stressed 18 year old: flaring up in the form of your former self isn't bad writing, that's just what happens when you're a kid going through shit. I am not worried about what they're doing with EJ at all, and I think by the end of the season, he will have developed in a way that is in line with what the writers did for him last season.

4) I completely agree that they should have slowed their horses when it came to reintroducing the triangle dynamic. Especially because it does feel like PW only got a few eps without drama. But also, this is a teen drama, that's kind of how it works? Also, based on the current writing (and I know I'm in the minority here), I genuinely still think PW will be together at the end of this season. Or at the v least, they won't break up until right at the end, and it won't have anything to do with Ricky.

5) I genuinely don't think the Rina storyline is fan service. Maybe WDYKAL was a *little* bit but I loved every second so I'm not complaining. Tim has said right from the start that Rina was born out of them seeing Josh and Sofia's chemistry in 1x05, and the team feeling that they needed to write towards that. And so they did. Similarly, I feel that the PW stuff in season 2 was so great because it felt that the writers saw something v natural between these characters, and just wrote towards it in a way that felt organic with the story. Given how much of a mess 2b was, I still think Portwell is one of the best written parts of it. However , in s2, there was only closure for Rina on Gina's side, so to say it was a 'done storyline' when we've actually never seen Ricky's POV, isn't fair either? Like idk, there are plenty of things I would have done differently when it comes to the love triangle, but also I don't think that any of their dynamic this season has felt out of pocket, like it all seems to follow the tone and prev writing?

Anyway, long controversial venting over. Please don't come for me xoxo

portwell & rina: lost in japan - shawn mendes

spc: 1ove4logoless on ig

minor flash warning & also a reminder for no ship wars in the comments/reblogs pls <3

Ricky and EJ dating with Gina as their supportive bestie is honestly my dream dynamic

lyrical analysis of love you forever

or, breaking down ricky's love (confession) for gina

we're a little under three months out from the series finale of high school musical: the musical: the series. I've spent those months freaking out over rina and appreciating the beautiful arc they got in s4 that closed out their story over the course of the series. there are a million special moments that rina has in s4 (I mean, a rain kiss? can I have this dance? a duet together about their commitment to each other despite uncertainty? we really got it all) but one definitely stands out among the rest. love you forever is ricky's declaration of love for gina that he sings to her at her press conference for her new movie that, as far as he knows, is about to send her across the world. this post is gonna be a line by line analysis of the lyrics, as well as talking about everything that brought them to that moment and that made it special. enjoy <33

I've been wishing on a falling star for too long

this line opens the song and is such a beautiful callback to when there was me and you, the song ricky all but serenades gina with in 1.06 (the lines it references: I thought you were my fairy tale / A dream when I'm not sleeping / A wish upon a star / That's coming true). wtwmay is a song that gabriella sings after troy's betrayal in hsm and when ricky sings this line, to me, it represents a callback to his past relationship with nini. he was holding on to nini and that relationship too tight, wishing on a falling star. as gabriella says, wishes on stars just "don't come true" and for ricky, this relationship ultimately ended in failure. however, as much as this line signifies the crash and burn nature of that relationship, it's also a reference to the start of his relationship with gina in that bunker room as he strummed on a guitar, in a similar fashion to love you forever, to these lyrics.

I've been running, I don't know what from

this line references the conversation that ricky had with ej in 4.05 when ej forces ricky to reckon with the fact that he runs away from those he loves when faced with hard realities and that this tendency hurts both those around him, but also hurts him. it's incredibly full circle when you pair this with the fact that ricky is singing the song on the guitar ej gave him after they sang speak out, where ej tells him that "you'll probably get more use outta this than me" (4.05). i think it's really cool that this line also references gina's similar character flaw of running when things get hard, which she also sings about in second chance (Maybe I'm safer when I'm on the run / No time to open up my heart / Maybe I'll hide behind my walls again / Instead of tearing them apart) (also important to note that second chance is non-digetic and ricky has never heard gina sing these lyrics). so fascinating that ricky and gina have the same habit of running, with ricky running back to things that are familiar and gina pushing forward to leave things in the past before they can hurt her.

But you and I've become a sacred kinda home

this is one of my favorite lines of the song, especially because this theme of finding a home is such a critical cornerstone for both ricky and gina's arcs throughout the show. ricky's home life in s1 turns on its head when he discovers that his parents are separating. pairing this with his breakup with nini nearly sends him into a spiral, but he finds a new home of sorts in the theater program, telling gina "it's just nice to have somewhere to go after school every day, y'know" (1.05), which she herself resonates with, affirming his feelings.

of course, at the beginning of s2, we find out that ricky and his dad are moving to an apartment after his mom moves out. this drastic shift, the loss of his childhood home, is again disorienting, and again paired with changes with nini, what with her moving to denver. in 2.02, he tells nini that she is his home, which is really interesting, placing that kind of pressure on her. but what's even more interesting is that he knows he's moving, knows from the beginning of 2.01, and yet nini does not find out about his new home until 2.03 on valentine's day, months later. this is juxtaposed to gina showing up to his apartment that same episode. it's especially special that ricky is placed in the same situation that gina typically faces, the unpacking and getting accustomed to a new space. it is those undertones that serve as the undercurrent for their conversation. the apartment is in disarray when gina arrives, and remains that way for much of the season. gina, however, is endeared by the messy environment of the apartment and jokes along with ricky to put him at ease. by the time we return to it in s4, it's (naturally) much more lived in, with clothes strewn about, pictures of gina, and aptly placed posters lining the wall of ricky's room.

as I mentioned earlier, ricky calls nini his home in s2. this line says that he and gina together have become a home of sorts for each other. singing this to gina is important for ricky, but it also speaks to the unpredictable nature of gina's childhood, where she moved from city to city, never staying in one place for more than a few months, which she tells ricky in 1.05. by the end of s1, we think that she has to move again, something that's harder for her now that she's made connections with the wildcats, namely with ricky. as we see in the flashback scene in 2.06, she tells ricky that she wouldn't quit on them if not for her move, that they would essentially remain close if she weren't leaving salt lake. of course, she doesn't leave and instead moves in with ashlyn. it's her first taste of stability that she can really remember, but as she tells carlos in 2.04, she feels out of place living in a house she doesn't own and with a family that isn't hers. these feelings culminate in gina wanting to leave, a subplot we see primarily in 2.05 and 2.06. after revealing to ashlyn what she said to ricky opening night of hsm, ashlyn sings home from beauty and the beast to gina, telling her that she has a home with ashlyn, not just physically, but within their friendship. there is so much symbolism in that one scene that we don't have time to get into but this moment definitely shifts gina's perception of what a home can look like. in s3, we learn that her mom is moving back to salt lake city where she'll be staying long-term to allow gina to complete her time at east high. in fact, it's in this very house that we get our first scene of rina in s4, with ricky sneaking into her window. one's room is a reflection of oneself, and ricky and gina are all over each other's rooms, both literally and figuratively, throughout the season. combining this with the connection between the two that only strengthens over the course of the season, it comes as no surprise that ricky sees his and gina's relationship as a sacred home.

I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love and I know it / No net, no fear, right here in this moment

my twitter account was littered with theories and thoughts and hopes for ricky's love confession to gina, but whether it was public or private, planned or spontaneous, the one thing that I knew I wanted was for ricky to say that he is in love with gina. so on august 9th when ricky got to the chorus of love you forever, tears started pooling in my eyes because the confession, which was already literally perfect, delivered my biggest wish. one of my favorite aspects of the song is how much it reflects their journey because these are all the words that ricky would tell gina in some big speech, evidenced by him practicing all throughout 4.07. but when it comes down to it, after references to moments between them and beautiful metaphors, it builds to him telling gina not only does he love her, but that he's in love with her. there's no doubt in his mind of this fact. the sky is blue, the sun shines, and ricky bowen loves gina porter. so much of ricky's love for nini was tied to fear, especially a fear of change. that his love for gina transcends fear, that he is confident in what he tells her both shows his growth in romantic relationships but also in how much gina has redefined what it means to love someone for him.

I've never been more sure of what I got, yeah / Cause this is so much more than puppy love, so

continuing with the theme of confidence, ricky tells gina that he's never been more sure of what he's got in their relationship. I know I'm bringing rini up a lot but that relationship is a perfect frame of reference for how much ricky has changed when it comes to love. both his singing of I think I kinda you know in 1.01 and his love confession to nini in 1.10, while genuine, are riddled with stuttering and uncertainty ("I think", "I don't know", etc.). when you compare the ricky of 1.01 and the ricky of 4.08 and how he attempts to use song to profess his love, the differences are stark, and that's the point. as he all but said in 3.08, everything he's known about love has been changed by gina and that is reflected in love you forever. I love the puppy love nod and think it's narratively important for so many reasons. for one, it's a reference to their first date, as well as to gina's childhood. in that vein, it seems to mirror what gina tells ricky in 4.02, that mack was a crush of her childhood. calling what they have "more than puppy love" also nods to their growth, not just over the course of the series, but even throughout the season. from dealing with scrutiny in the fallout of the documentary to gina's increasingly busy schedule to their temporary pause to gina nearly moving across the world, they've been faced with many problems, and while they didn't handle all of them perfectly, they handled them together and came out that much stronger.

I'll say it first, no matter what the cost / Here I am full heart, full stop / I love you

in 3.05, ricky talks to jet following the fallout of the real campers of shallow lake drama. he asks jet what he's running from and tells him that sometimes when feelings are hard to articulate, it helps to sing instead. with love you forever, we see ricky taking his own advice. I love that ricky is insistent that he tells gina "I love you" first, both because he wants to rectify mistakes from his last relationship, but also because gina says, in a talking head, that she doesn't want to be the first to say "I love you," (4.06) further cementing the connection that rina has. it also affirms that there is no doubt in either of their minds that they love each other and want to say it to each other. it's also important to note that ricky understands the risk of singing this song at this point in time. for all he knows, gina is about to board a plane that will be taking her to the other side of the world for six months. however, he sings this song, affirms his love for her, no matter the cost, because he just wants her to know. he loves her in salt lake, he loves her in new zealand, and he loves her forever. ricky sings that he is there with a full heart, full stop I love you. in an interview after s3's finale, tim federle, the showrunner, states that while nini will always have a small part of ricky's heart, gina has a way of making hearts race. this line, to me, symbolizes the notion that gina is his heart, that his love for her encompasses it. there's a beautiful analysis of ricky being gina's heart canonically that I think helps tie all of this together, establishing that gina is ricky's heart, just like he is hers.

of course, I would be remiss to not talk about the full stop of it all. as we see in a flashback in 4.06, ricky opens up to gina in their first meeting about how he struggled saying I love you to nini, his ex. after hearing this, gina presents him with a possibility you can tell he's never considered: "maybe you just don't love her, full stop." ricky stutters in response, but doesn't fully negate gina's statement, in fact telling her that he's "kinda" planning on telling nini through song later that night outside her window (ironic that this plan doesn't pan out for him twice in the show, both here and in 2.03). that he brings up this notion of full stop, where there's no room for doubt, in his confession for gina further proves how deep and real and true their love is for each other. super small thing before I move on but I love how "I love you" gets its own special moment of pause in the song to fully communicate the gravity of such a statement.

I never knew that I could feel so sure and so strong /How can three old words feel so brand new?

Again, this idea of being sure comes up again in this second verse/buildup to the chorus. ricky has done the love confession before. he's been in love before. but again, with gina, it's different. it's deeper, more strong, more secure. and so when he says these words, in a situation that mirrors his audition for hsm, of course it feels different. in that auditon, he was singing nini's words back to her. love you forever, in contrast, is all ricky. those three words do feel new because now he's singing them to gina and for gina, where previously he sang them for himself. also a really cool note about the parallels between ricky's audition and love you forever is that tim federle released the initial script for love you forever, and one of the descriptions writes that ricky "launches into the audition of a lifetime." this song, this confession, is the start of his forever with gina. of course these words feel new.

Mm, so rare, so real right here in this moment / And I'm starin' at the only thing I want, so

I tear up hearing ricky say that the love that he has for gina is both rare and real. both ricky and gina, at different points throughout the show, cast doubt on love. ricky says in a talking head in 1.01 that love is dead (fun fact: ricky is wearing the same denim jacket from that talking head during love you forever teehee). gina, in the 4.06 flashback, calls love lame. their faith in love ebbs and flows throughout the show, but once they are together, there's no question. it's why ricky encourages the seblos reconciliation in 4.06 or why gina tells jet to confess his feelings for kourtney in 4.08. if they've found this beautiful love in each other, where they got a second chance on love in every sense of the words, why wouldn't they want that for everyone else, for the people that they love?

the second half of this lyric, of ricky "staring at the only thing he wants," is my absolute favorite line of love you forever. ricky's eyes are naturally drawn to gina in nearly every episode of the show, whether she's looking at him or not, whether they're speaking or not. even before he recognized those feelings in himself, we could see it because she was always the apple of his eye. this rings especially true during love you forever, where ricky does not take his eyes off of gina the entire song, except when miss jenn turns the lights on. gina is the center of his universe and who he has been drawn to since she entered his life. there was a tweet after s4 aired that stated that ricky looks at gina as though he's falling deeper in love with her every time and this line captures that.

I wanna finish what we started in the stairwell where we met

the bridge opens with this line and it's so fitting. to suggest that committing to loving each other forever is finishing what they started when they had that first conversation in the stairwell is so insane and will always make me spiral when I think about it. this line all but confirms that ricky and gina began to fall for each other in that moment. that their conversation in the stairwell is what catalyzed their respective character arcs also all but confirms that they're soulmates, that there was an invisible string that connected them, inexplicably tying their fates together forever.

I wanna live like I have never even heard the word regret

both ricky and gina have instances that they look back on and wish they had done things differently. gina says so explicitly in 2.05 when speaking to kourtney. she alludes to her goodbye to ricky after hsm's opening night, stating that it was something she wishes she could take back. in 3.06, ricky tells jet that he wishes that he didn't let color war gina slip through his fingers, suggesting that he would've done things differently if he were more cognizant of his feelings for her. ricky never wants to feel like that again, that he's missed his chance with gina due to fear. he wholeheartedly embraces his love for her because he knows what it was like to live without it and doesn't want to live in a world where gina isn't his reality.

I wanna scream what's in my heart and I won't ever take it back

ricky and ej's duet in 4.05 is about speaking your truth and speaking even when it's hard. the song even has a line about "screaming out." where in speak out, screaming out solicits no sound, ricky singing this line in love you forever is him being able to vocalize the feelings in his heart. he also commits to never taking these words back. his feelings for gina are eternal and everlasting. this is important for gina to hear because words have always been unreliable to her. people that she cares about, whether her mom or jamie or even e.j., have made verbal commitments to her at one point or another, and each one of them has later reneged on that commitment, whether intentionally or not. ricky can say these words, can say "I love you" to gina, because he's been saying it through his actions the entire show. gina doesn't always trust words, but she trusts actions. ricky has more than proven his love for her, and it's this continued declaration through his works that allows these words to ring true for her.

'Cause I love you feels a lot like high school and forever after that

I made this observation a couple weeks ago but this line is so fascinating. when the season first dropped and I heard the line, I was a tad confused. what does it mean for love to feel like high school? I was listening to the hsm3 soundtrack when it all clicked for me. in high school musical, the final song they sing in hsm3, the last line is "I want the rest of my life to feel just like a / High school musical" with this line, ricky is basically saying that he will love gina for the rest of his life. throwing in a hsm reference is also incredibly fitting given that they've just completed the first night of their run as troyella, further cementing their legacy as the troyella of the show. i love that, even when the bridge is repeated, ricky and gina are the only ones to sing these lines. when the bridge is sung for the third and final time, ricky and gina are now together on stage singing the words "I"m in love, I'm in love, I'm in love" to each other in between the lines of the bridge. the song closes with ricky singing "I love you feels a lot like high school" with gina singing "and forever after that." I love this ending for two reasons: ending the song with rina singing together re-emphasizes that they're in love, and in love together (for the first time), as tim mentions in an interview. I also love it because even as the wildcats join to sing the bridge near the end of the song, ricky and gina are the only people to sing the lines "I'm in love x3" and "I love you feels a lot like high school." even though their friends step in to sing some lines, ultimately, the song is a love song for gina, about gina, and that's why it ends with her. as tim (love how much I'm referencing him) mentioned in an interview, rina is the beating heart of the romance of the show, and their friends coming in to sing along to ricky's love song for gina fully solidifies this.

HSMTMTS Final Season Spoilers:

Ricky and Gina’s first relationships (Nini/EJ) prepared them for their own trials this season.

The thing about Ricky and Gina going thought similar situations as PW and Rini is to showcase not just why they’re different but that they’ve learned from their previous relationships too.

Because that’s the whole point.

Ricky’s relationship with Nini failed not just because they outgrew each other but because Nini wanted bigger things for herself and didn’t feel like she needed Ricky to get that anymore. She herself said on the pilot that being away from Ricky actually made her come out of her shell and pursue leading roles. And Ricky wasn’t ready to accept that change so in order to protect that relationship he started to become too attached and making Nini feel pressured about balancing YAC and Ricky. He thought he had to put Nini’s dream on hold only to realize not only did it made him selfish but not a version of himself he wanted to be. This is why he corrected all of those mistakes with Gina when presented with the same issues. Not just this final season but last season as well. (X)

It was stablished last season, Ricky’s love for Gina changed what he thought he knew about love. Gina is the representation of change.

For Ricky, the idea of Gina and him growing apart and walking different directions terrified him — he has seen this before and it didn’t end with people choosing him. But he wasn’t going to be the old Ricky that would delete Instagram posts and be like “I want you to leave the movie and stay here with me” and that’s because he now knows that’s not how you love. And he isn’t going to make Gina feel guilty about living her dreams. And that’s why he was the most supportive and attentive boyfriend she could’ve asked for. And Ricky knows it could cost him losing Gina but he is ready to deal with that as long as Gina is doing what she’s meant to do.

For Gina, she was living her dreams but Ricky is also part of her dreams. Gina’s arc has never been just about finding success but finding a place to belong and she found that (with Ricky, with East High). By holding the whole movie offer from Ricky, she understood why EJ did what he did last season and I think it was a very good learning experience for her and closure for the two of them. Gina was very naive and new in her relationship with EJ and going thought that allowed her to understand other points. I feel like if she hadn’t been in a relationship with EJ first she wouldn’t have known how to handle this issue with Ricky. But as opposed to Nini, who basically told Ricky she didn’t come back for him. Gina would fight for Ricky. Because she wants both the fame and him and I’m glad they didn’t have her compromise on either of those.

The contrasts and differences in all of those relationships needed to happen. It would’ve been too easy if Ricky and Gina were just in a perfectly honey moon stage even with all of those circumstances. And I would say they handled it gracefully and better than others would have (including PW and Nini). The thing about Ricky and Gina is not just that they both give the other something they need (stability, propose, ambition, understanding) is that PW and Rini gave up on each other too easy. Maybe because they just weren’t the right person. And if anything the season shows is that whatever happens next Ricky and Gina will find a way to make it work together and unlike Troyella (“who are not a real couple”) Ricky and Gina are.

Admittedly, I'm using my babies to segue into a related topic, but ah, HSMTMTS did not have a love triangle. In fact, unless you're willing to canonize headcannons like EJ being gay and down bad for Ricky like I am, it never did in all four seasons. A love triangle implies three sides. Even at its maximum number of points in the shape, HSMTMTS had a love...constellation? I think? Ricky and EJ both had arrows pointing to Nini, who had an arrow pointing to Ricky, and Ricky had an additional arrow of Gina pointing to him. At most, if you wanted to argue EJ also pointing an arrow to Gina, then it would become a love diamond. However...

Once Nini left, it was a love...corner. At least according to what the show told us, Ricky and EJ were both pointed at Gina, and Gina's arrow just pivoted from one to the other by the end of the season. A true love TRIANGLE would be if at least one of the boys was in love with the other, and Gina happened to be in love with that point of the trio.

Is this semantic complaining? Maybe, but especially with teases like the GIF above, can you blame me for being peeved at Tim just expecting the world to see Ricky and EJ as straight men with the one love interest? He dangled a golden opportunity to buck decades of stereotypes and standards in front of his own nose, and then chose to ignore it in favor of a bog standard plotline.

And that's not even getting into the really concerning possibly biphobic elements of him writing the two out bisexual cast members to be the two characters that cheated on their partners, immediately after confirming one of those characters was also bi. Or the way we brush past Maddox the neurodivergent lesbian to focus on her boring as dirt, straight brother. Or the fact that we brush past EJ being HOMELESS AND DISOWNED AND NONE OF HIS FRIENDS SEEM CONCERNED ABOUT GETTING HIM HELP.

But you know, we really needed to focus on the love triangle that was really just a corner. That was much more important.

If HSMTMTS gets a spinoff, I hope they change the showrunner to someone who'll actually appreciate the arcs they've been given rather than putting all the eggs in one boring basket.

"I feel so seen, so understood, and so known"

There are so many great and iconic quotes between Ricky and Gina, but the one that I think encapsulates their relationship perfectly is "But with you, I feel so seen, so understood, and so known." I think you Rinas already know why, but it's worth exploring anyway (maybe there'll be some rogue non-shipper who reads this and gets it).

Ricky was the first and only character to see Gina as more than the scary new girl when she first started at EHS. Even before connecting with her in the car (1x05), he still didn't see her intensity and drive as something to be intimidated by, as everyone else did. In fact, he sees her as exceptionally talented and that her confidence is warranted, as shown in 1x06 when he says she's good at "everything else" (he also becomes her "wow" guy throughout the rest of the series). Even though he acknowledged that others thought she was scary, he never describes her as such in his own words. When he calls her out at Homecoming, he comments that everyone else believes these things about her, but he didn't include himself in that category beforehand. I also think that comment itself is showing that he sees through her half-baked ploy and that she's more than this front she's putting on. Then, their connection really takes root in the coat check scene and they both realize how much they have in common. Throughout the rest of the season and into S2, we see these glimmers of Ricky just getting Gina - when he understands that she tends to push herself beyond her limits, and when he tenderly encourages her to be vulnerable when she's getting emotional in the S2 flashback. Even in S3, we see Ricky give Gina the support and encouragement she was wanting as the lead when the rest of the cast was wrapped up in their own issues. S4 has Gina (and the audience) reflect on how Ricky was the first person who made SLC feel like home to Gina, all through him not only seeing her as she really is, but celebrating the parts of her that she was ashamed of or others found unsavory. He saw and celebrated both the edgier and softer parts of her, and when she found a healthy balance of these qualities, she let herself finally be Gina.

Likewise, Gina served as the character who saw and understood Ricky when no one else did. We see all throughout S1 that Gina was the one character who could not only empathize with what he was going through, but also is capable of helping him work through his feelings in a positive way. An incredible example of this is 1x10, when he's in the hallway and tells her about Todd. Rather than shame him for walking off stage, she successfully encourages to go back to watch the show and support the cast, even if seeing EJ as Troy is understandably bothersome. Also, a really interesting moment of understanding Ricky and Gina share in S2 is Valentine's day that I want to highlight. In 2x01, Ricky opens his gift from Nini (a skateboard), and he has a rather withdrawn response, since it reminds him of his first gift from his mom and that she's not there for Christmas. Nini clearly has sympathy for him, but she doesn't really know what to say so he quickly changes the subject. Contrast this with his scene with Gina in 2x03, where she brings up that she's missing her mom on their special holiday, reminding Ricky that the person who does understand exactly what he's experiencing with his mom is Gina. As it pertained to theater, where Ricky felt inadequate or ashamed of his inexperience, Gina saw someone who could make the show truly special because he was new to it.

This is what makes Ricky and Gina such a special and well written ship, in my opinion. Their stories are so beautifully tied to each other and they help each other become better, and they also see and celebrate the best parts of each other. There's mutual respect, understanding, and an abundance of love and appreciation for who the other truly is.

I am completely obsessed with all of these amazing Ricky and EJ scenes in Admissions omg! EJ is so mature and so sweet and wise, and he’s being such an amazing friend. And oh my gosh his big speech to Ricky about how people care about him and he has to stop running from that. And now they’re both crying and they hugged and they even said they love each other! God I love their growth and their relationship SO much!

my hsmtmts hot takes:

(im going to be stoned for this i know it)

i did not care about rina in the slightest until season 4

seblos (as a ship/couple) is just sort of...there for me. i have no big feelings towards or against them. they're definitely cute, they just don't stay on my mind

though i loved the fashion upgrade that came with it, i hated the way kourtney was written in season 4

i don't care about madlyn that much. (i also don't like call it what you want all that much)

season 4's hsm3 songs were not done well (save for can i have this dance, high school musical (the finale) and dani's high school musical, and now or never (auditions) the mixing was bad, they had dara sing too high for i want it all and the singing itself just wasn't that good

^i loved most of the original songs tho

they should've never brought in any of the original hsm actors (save for kaycee and lucas in s1) they made a corbin a twisted version of himself in s3 and the rest of the actors in s4 were so overhyped just for them to barely be there

i actually liked portwell together. they both seemed so happy and i will never forgive the writers for building them up just to ruin them in s3

^speaking of s3 portwell, i will also never forgive this fandom for treating ej like he was some old man preying on a child and treating him like the villain (this is a rant by itself so we'll tackle that some other time)

i've never liked nini (or rini)

the rina hat only works because they got together in the end. imagine if a friend put a secret love confession in a gift for you and you find it after both of you get with someone else. i just find it weird to do that sort of thing when you don't even know if there's mutual feelings

i was on ricky's side during most of the rini discourse (save for him going behind nini's back and getting her a part when she didn't want one)

while i love both jennzzara and jetney, both of them were quickly thrown together at the end with hints that there were crushes in the air for both of them

i will forever hate that they chose frozen as s3's musical. the only songs i liked were what do you know about love and love is an open door

for a show about students putting on a musical, they really just did not show a lot of the musicals

^for s2, i've been giving them a pass because it was during the first year of covid so they were probably limiting how long people could be dancing around without masks (but i was still robbed of belle's yellow dress on ashlyn and ej and biggie playing gaston and lefou)

and finally, this show pairs people up so fast with no real development for either the people or the couple itself. the show really could've benefited from growing their characters without a relationship being the driving force and then worked on building romantic relationships once they figured out what to do with each character

“Rina copied pw/rini scenes”

I’ve seen this and “Gina is like the new nini.” all over my TikTok fyp from rinis and pws and it’s simply put not true. There are parallels yes, there are some with madlyn and rina too, doesn’t mean they copied but there are huge and important differences.

Gina is canonically ambitious, her mom wants her to have a successful career. Gina canonically has always wanted to make her mark. It’s not ‘copying’ nini because she’s finally found a chance to do so. It’s not copying nini that she finally got gabriella because Gina parallels gabriella more, they’ve both moved a lot in their lives and were outsides to east high. The most important difference is that gina actually made a compromise to stay. She wanted to stay in salt lake but she also wanted to become a movie star so she found a way to be with ricky, stay in salt lake and still get this incredible opportunity. Nini didn’t make a compromise.

Rina canonically parallels Troyella with the outsider to east-high and outsider to theatre trope, except rina doesn’t need couples therapy in 15 years but you grt the jist. Ricky was extremely giddy and in love with gina for the entirety of season 4 he spent around her. Ricky was so supportive of her when she took over the role of bailey, hr decorated her trailer and recited her confession back to her when he saw that she was nervous, I don’t think he ever wrote a duet with with nini for which he provided the music and she the lyrics, and then told her that he wants to hear everything she has to say or that he never forgot a thing she said. Neither pw nor rini ever had a puppy date or secret dating trope that lasted half the season. They didn’t get a rain kiss and GINA SIGNED UP FOR THE MUSICAL BECAUSE OF RICKY. He ‘had a vibe’ and she ‘had an instinct’. Even in the final two episodes, rina get backstage and onstage kisses which neither rini nor pw got. He literally practiced his “i love you” speech to gina because he wanted it to be perfect, he didn’t for nini. One very important difference and parallel is the potential moving away, Ricky was so supportive once he found out FROM GINA’S MOTHER NONETHELESS and she wanted to tell him from the beginning once they went to meet up in the dressing room. (quinn had to ruin that.) And other that nini, who had already come back when ricky told her to stay and still made a fuzz about it, Gina wanted ricky to ask her to stay and stayed without ricky asking her. Gina never told ej that he “made her feel seen, and known, and understood.” while crying hysterically before she’s about to leave him. Another very obvious and important parallel is the i love you song and once again that was handled a million times better, Ricky was saying “i love you” first. It was not a hail mary or trying to fix what’s already broken like it was when he sang itikyk for nini where he wasn’t actually able to speak out the words. Every single line in that song was how ricky felt and how rina felt about each other. Ricky was actually able to say i love you and not even that but that he was also in love with Gina and that they’re love was forever.

Stay mad that your ship sunk but don’t make-up stuff to feel better and stop saying that sofia wylie only became the main character because olivia left. Just say you don’t want black girl representation and move on. Ricky and gina are gonna adopt a bunch of puppies and get married in 10 years no matter how many times y’all say that they copied your ships scenes and that it only happened because liv left because “their love feels a lot like high school and forever after that.”

i would like to point out to the rinis that claim if nini (no hate to liv) was still there ricky would’ve ended up with her, and that he settled for gina. are we watching the same show??? the boy who feared change of course is going to go back to what is familiar to him. i’m not minimizing his love for nini. cause of course he loved her that was his first love.

but as soon as gina stepped into his life that didn’t matter. his feelings for gina have ALWAYS been there but when gina was going to move he pushed them down and ignored them. he resorted back to his old habits. him getting back with nini was him settling. he wanted something to remain the same and nini was his one constant. so the argument that he settled for gina is null and void.

in season 2 we see how incompatible rini is as a couple. we see how ricky is not his best self while with her and how nini feels suffocated by him. when nini doesn’t fit the narrative of being the same and has all these new opportunities her way, ricky gets upset. ricky isn’t truly supportive. the most selfless thing ricky ever did for nini was breakup with her.

in turn with gina he’s loving her selflessly. he wants her happy. in season 3 where we watch ricky come to terms and accept change and his feelings for gina, instead of trying to sabotage portwell he’s supportive. helping her set up a promposal, not accepting gina’s invite to dance after she’s rejected by ej, not jumping at the opportunity to tell her how he feels when portwell breaks up, apologizing after wdykal because he felt his feelings were too obvious and overwhelming, hell even at the premier his biggest priority was making sure they could stop the trailer because he knew it made gina look bad. he’s always been supportive of gina. made her a priority. gina always understood ricky. made him feel wanted. the fact of the matter is season 1 rina was not ready for one another. they both needed to grow. but they were inevitable. rini and portwell were both of them settling.

“Gina giving the speech was unrealistic.” “Ricky still doesn’t love Gina as much as she loves him.”

Walk with me.

Gina SAYING how she feels explicitly after all they’ve been through (Gina moving then coming back, Rini getting back together, her ‘confession’ in season 1, Ricky being blinded by his fear of change to see how he’s UNINTENTIONALLY hurting Gina, Rina drifting apart after 2x05, Portwell getting together and Rina’s reconciliation in S3) proves that she gets him. Ricky has always needed people to use words to show how they feel about him because HE never has the words. His love language is words of affirmation and a bit of quality time, he prefers to receive love in those ways and he gives his in quality time and acts of service.

He had to HEAR that after all they went through, Gina still loved him and she knew that. Because they get each other. Remember she’s the one who vocalized how he felt about his mother and Todd in season one episode seven: “just when you get used to things changing, they change again. Am I close?” “…maybe”

Gina not getting the big speech doesn’t mean Ricky’s feelings aren’t as strong, it means he understands her because Gina might have always heard pretty words (from her mother, her brother, EJ this summer) but no one has STOOD BY HER. No one has shown up and stayed for her until Ricky. EJ showed up when things were easy (before he graduated and had to face real life) but Ricky stayed throughout a pretty life changing time for both of them (her first summer camp, her first real friendships, her first basketball triumph, her first ‘big’ lead, his turning eighteen) he walked beside her through this and she knows it.

She knows Ricky loves her because while he barely showed up last season when they were both in turbulent times in their lives and had drifted apart, he’s now here, unmoving. She had to SEE him after all they went through and he knew she deserved someone by her side because remember in season one episode five: “I don’t do dates. Try moving five schools in seven years.” “And how’s that working out for you?”

She’s never had stability and he knows it. Gina’s love language is quality time and acts of service. And she gives her love with acts of service and words of affirmation. Ricky gave his all for this musical because it meant a lot to Gina, he helped her plan the surprise for Elton and he was by her side through the woman in the woods and colour war and defended her from Channing and even after Portwell’s break up, he was there and they were only apart after SHE left him in the coat check. Hell, HE went to find HER after she missed HIS birthday surprise.

She recognizes what he was saying all summer without using words and gave her love in the form of words of affirmation.

A trait they share is they NEED physical touch. Ricky and Gina relish in feeling the other person. They (playfully) hold hands, Ricky places her hand over his heart, they hug, they lean into one another when they stand next to each other as if to remind themselves and the other person that they are there.

The kiss was perfectly placed because all that needed to be said or shown over the summer had been. Gina placed all her cards on the table at the theater and Ricky had shown his all summer. They kissed to show the other that what they always had was always real.

Gina deserves the big romantic moments and she will absolutely get them from Ricky but not only in words, but in gestures. In time together. In showing up and staying.

TL: DR: Rina works because they understand who the other is NOW. Gina SAYING how she feels is on parr with Ricky SHOWING how he feels.

in honor of people saying that gina doesn’t deserve to be gabriella because they aren’t similar, I’m gonna do a post celebrating gina + showing exactly why she’s fit to play her. I wanna say that these arguments are pointless because it doesn’t matter if gina is like gabriella or not because at the end of the day she's acting. however, gina and gabriella are cut from the same cloth so onwards!

starting with the obvious, at the beginning of hsm and s1 respectively, gabriella and gina are new girls who have moved to east high. not only that, but they've moved schools several times with their single mother, never staying in one place for too long

gabriella encourages troy to do musical theater. after singing with him on new year's eve and then coming to east high, she sees troy's potential and passion for the theater and pushes him to do it. with gina, though her intentions are initially cunning, it's her words that keep ricky in the theater club, not his desire to win back nini.

gabriella is pretty resistant to forging close relationships because of being used to moving all the time, but meeting troy helps her to get out of her shell. the same happens with gina and ricky

both gabriella and gina have incredibly impressive accolades in their past (gabriella with scholastic decathlon and gina starring in annie as a child)

people often say that gabriella is very sweet and almost passive, the latter of which does not describe gina at all. however, gabriella never allows anyone to walk over her. additionally, gina is very sweet and I would argue is the kindest character on the show. below are just some examples of that.

the way that gina is with ricky deserves a whole post on its own, but the way she encourages his talent constantly throughout the series, supports him and helps him process his feelings surrounding his mom, and is generally one of his biggest supporters is so sweet I love their love :’)

her baking gluten-free cupcakes for the theater kids at ashlyn's thanksgiving party and for opening night, despite flying across the country in the latter scenario <333

speaking of s1 opening night, stepping into the role of taylor to help kourt's anxiety despite not being an east high student anymore

constantly affirming ashlyn when she cast doubt on her casting as belle

joining kourt and ashlyn to audition to counter lily's bullying, even when she could've auditioned alone and accepted lily's words that didn't disparage her. also her defending all of her friends!

helping to calm everyone down during the storm and organizing their response to ensure that they'd be okay

this one is kinda sad, but putting her hopes and dreams aside (starring in the musical, living with her mom, choreographing the show, her feelings for ricky) to make her friends and loved ones happy

planning carlos's quince for him and choreographing a whole dance as a gift for him

helping ej with the morning show thingie + encouraging him about himself post-duke

connecting nini with her music producer brother to help her friend with her music career

the grace she extended ej during their relationship throughout s3 (and with the whole date scenario in the s2 finale), including organizing a camp prom-posal for him

the mentorship role she kinda fills for emmy

supporting ashlyn throughout her ensemble crisis

changing the camp movie night to kourt's favorite film to soothe her anxieties and homesickness, helping to fix the stuff backstage for let it go after channing messed with it, and just really all of kourtgina's friendship

there are probably a bunch of other examples but gina is an angel and I'm sick of people acting like she's some awful person for the couple of things she did in the first half of season 1, things that were no worse than all the other main characters' actions. wrapping this up by saying that gina deserves to play gabriella because she's incredibly talented and will knock the role out of the park.

HSMTMTS: Ricky’s story arc as told by his songs. From I Think I Kinda You Know to Love You Forever (Part 1).

I’ve been thinking about how every song Ricky has performed on the show (my focus will be mostly on the original songs) tell us what his journey has been in the course of the show.

Ricky’s journey has been about changes and the future, leaving his childhood behind, how his parents relationship affects his own as well as the ability to be emotionally open. How he viewed love at the start of the show vs how he views love now. About new starts. About how happiness is a process and something he also needs to create for himself. And his songs reflect this journey very well. For this post. I'll focus on Season 1 and Season 2 for Part 1.

I’ve made countless of posts about Ricky’s growth over the course of the show and there’s some points I won’t be focusing too hard on but check them out for context: (X) (X) (X) (X)

Let’s start with the first song we hear from him on the show: I Think I Kinda, You Know. When we start the show, one of the things we learn is that the reason Ricky and Nini broke up is because she made a post on Instagram singing him this very song and telling him she loves him. She was expecting him to say it back but he freaks out and runs away. Then, the first day of school, he expects things to get back to normal with Nini but she’s dating again, has flourished (Nini’s words) and wants to audition for the lead at the school musical. Ricky decides to join too and sings this song to her during auditions in hopes of getting her back. He mentions during his little monologue that the reason he didn’t say it back is because his parents don’t say those words to each other anymore. Ricky’s parents relationship and divorce did affect the way he viewed his own romantic relationships.

Some lyrics: “It’s just three little words, yeah, it’s not a big deal, it’s not like I can’t help felling all that I feel and by now I’m sure you’re thinking it’s too obvious but just in case it’s not what I’m saying it’s I think I kinda, you know” and he closes with “guess I’m saying I don’t not love you.” He does not directly acknowledges that he loves her in front of people. He feels unsure. Nini doesn’t take this as a good sign.

Ricky gets the role of Troy. Nini gets the role of Gabriella. Still, Nini isn’t convinced that Ricky is serious and calls him out for invading her space and taking the opportunity from others. In the next episodes, Ricky tries to be a good Troy to prove Nini he is being serious but she isn’t impressed. Nini breaks up with EJ due to his jealousy (and that he food poisoned someone). Ricky takes Nini’s words about not belonging on stage, thinks he is making it worst with her and wants to drop out of the musical. But later, a conversation with Gina about how he has his own style makes him change his mind. In his family unit, everything is a mess. He finds out his parents are getting a divorce and his mom might be leaving SLC for good. He goes to talk to Nini and they share a nice moment where they agreed to still be there for each other as friends despite the chaos around the musical. He tells her about how different everything is and how scared that makes him feel. In Ricky’s mind, he wishes everything would go back to normal (and that includes Nini as his girlfriend).

I don’t even need to explain how much Ricky hates changes. It’s a statement he drops every episode until he has to overcome it full on.

By the homecoming episode, he is convinced him and Nini are over because she friend-zoned him. He goes to the dance with Big Red. In this episode, he is unreasonable annoyed that Gina brought EJ as her date (and can’t even understand why) and after a bit of a setback with Gina, he goes to apologize and their first connection occurs. Both of them have some family drama so she can relate to his situation. After, when he drives her home, he discovers a new side of Gina and confesses the reason he stayed on the show is because of her. The school musical, Troy, and having that space has allowed him to cope with his family issues and so her encouragement is something he needed. Ricky becomes the first person that gives Gina another chance instead of thinking she’s the bad seed, which brings up another song: When There Was Me And You.

I always wondered why they’d give this song to Ricky when is a Gabriella song so it must mean something for his arc. And does. On 106, Ricky offers an acoustic idea of the song which gets rejected by the drama club, except for Gina who asks to hear it. You’d think it doesn’t mean much but the song implies a lot of things with the camera blocking. It subtly implies that the idea of his relationship with Nini is related to his internal issues. We first have Ricky singing the first lines to Gina as: “I thought you were my fairy tale. My dream when I'm not sleeping. A wish upon a star that's coming true. And everybody else could tell. That I confused my feelings with the truth. When there was me and you” all of this while Nini is outside. And just when Nini enters the frame, here comes the lyrics: “I'm only left with used-to-be's and once upon a song. Now I know you're not a fairy tale. And dreams are meant for sleeping. And wishes on a star just don't come true.” Back to Ricky and Gina: “'Cause now, even I can tell…” and then frame changes on Nini leaving: “That I confused my feelings with the truth” and lastly, back to Ricky looking at Gina: “because I liked the view when there was me and you”. It subtly implies what the show keeps telling you. He feels like he needs to be with Nini because it’s the status quo in his life. Gina represents different and new and that’s scary. Nini feels steady…safe.

By 107, Ricky and Gina have become closer and their connection is very apparent. Ricky learns his mom has a new boyfriend and doesn’t know how to deal with the situation. He thinks about calling Nini since he thinks she’s the only one able to ease his mind. Just for Gina to show up and be what he needed, by understanding him and encouraging him. At this point on the show, he is very focused on his friendship with Gina, not on getting back with Nini, even when he knows she’s single now. Thanksgiving ends badly when Gina gets a call from her mom telling her they have to move again. In Ricky’s perspective, the one person that has helped him and encourage him is leaving him too. And in a way, this validates his biggest fear: Good things won’t last and changes aren’t positive.

The next episode, Gina had already left. She’s not even in this episode. Ricky is insistent and keeps texting her despite Gina not responding. In Gina’s absent, he bonds with Nini over their childhood memories and when his parents were together. They almost kiss (after Gina finally texts him she’s gone). And he is then basically back to normal now. Nini still likes him. Everything will be fine. He is back to status quo. This is when Ricky and Nini’s most important duet comes: Just For A Moment.

This song isn’t featured on the show (just on the soundtrack) but it’s acknowledged on 109. Ricky’s singing the first verse of the song to Big Red and it says: “I feel in love with the only girl that knows what I’m about…” but then Big Red thinks is about Gina. And I just think it’s funny the first and only time this song is mentioned, it’s used to remind the audience of Ricky and Gina's situationship. And the song itself is self explanatory, it’s about two people that still have feelings for each other but the most important thing is that the song talks about momentary feelings. Not long lasting. It goes: “When we're underneath the lights my heart's no longer broken. For a moment, just for a moment. When we're singing side by side there's so much left unspoken. For a moment, just for a moment. A moment in love. A moment in love. But is a moment enough?”. That’s the question. The song also talks about giving it another try in a better place and a better time. It’s basically about Season 2 and their second attempt.

The season finale has some moments such as Ricky singing Get'cha Head in the Game and getting distracted over his mom bringing her new boyfriend. This causes Ricky to drop out on the second act and seeking Nini from advice, only for that to be Gina (a recurrent theme). During intermission, his mom tells him not all couples are meant to be together and some people change. This is foreshadowing to Ricky and Nini. And just when he thought he was ready to step back and just watch, Nini is singing Breaking Free with him. Everything in Ricky’s life is changing but Nini is a constant. And you’d think him finally saying i love you on the finale is a full circle moment but is it, truly? I’ve said this, Ricky blurting out the words was more of a desperate attempt to hold onto something safe (X) since everything else in his life was changing. Gina came back only for one night (or so he thought). His mom has a new boyfriend and a new life in Chicago. He said the words Nini wanted to hear and talks about childhood (the thing he won’t let go of). Everything about Ricky’s confession feels a bit fearful and unsure. Just like that very first song.

Ricky ends Season 1 in denial about himself. He went backwards because he thinks getting back with Nini is what will make his life right again. He said “Maybe I’m just who I’ve always been” but that’s not true. He changed. He met Gina. His parents are not together anymore. And he cannot cling to Nini (who’s changing too) to achieve that desired normalcy/safety.

Season 2 is the lowest point emotionally for Ricky. He is back again with Nini but despite saying the big 3 words their relationship just proves to be out of sync. Does not help that his abandonment issues (because his mom thinks getting a divorce is running from your child) makes him clingier and paranoid while Nini wants to try new things. It doesn’t help that his life keeps changing and he can’t find a sense of fulfillment. Or the fact that Gina is back and he knows their relationship is still a big question.

Season 2 starts with Ricky and Nini’s second chance at their relationship. Everything seems to be perfect. The first song Ricky sings for the season is “Perfect Gift” which is a very cliche Christmas song. But it foreshadows one of their issues thought out the season. The lyrics are: “The perfect gift that I could give to the perfect gift (…) You were a home for me when I had no one there. I promise you that I’m not going anywhere…” and continues: “When seasons change and I’ve lost my way it’ll be okay with you by my side”. This sentiment later explodes with the song Nini wrote about the Beast (Ricky): The Rose Song. Nini felt like the Rose, trapped inside a glass. Ricky views her as this perfect girl. She feels like a something and not someone with deep layers. Ricky is holding onto Nini to maintain some sense of normalcy and this makes her feel trapped which leads to their communication issues. Ricky learns two things in 201: Gina is back at SLC for good and Nini is leaving for a music school in Denver.

Side note but I spoke about how funny it is that the same episode Ricky calls Nini “home” in his childhood home, he finds out he has to move. Talk about symbolism. So, for the following episodes, Ricky and Nini’s relationship is not compatible. It doesn’t seem like either of them know what the other wants or needs. Ricky is trying really hard to hold onto the remaining of Nini while he keeps falling apart and looking for a sense of happiness that he isn’t getting. This season, especially the first half, it feels like he cannot connect with the drama club and Gina, who used the only person to motivate him to exist in that space it’s not speaking to him. And I won’t try to repeat myself too much, I’ve said this before, Season 2 Ricky wasn’t trying to be insensitive on propose. I feel like Ricky didn’t think he had that much of an impact on Gina, probably due to his own insecurities. He had a girlfriend. He was scared and in denial. Ricky was not emotionally ready to be with Gina. And he tried really hard to avoid their situation and ultimately accepted her choice to be distanced.

On the Valentine’s Day episode, we get that very nuanced scene between Ricky and Gina that I’ve explained before (X). During this day, Ricky has been trying to sing a song for Nini but he does not find the motivation to do so since they have been out of sync the whole day. It’s Gina who gives him the idea of singing it to her over the phone. I don’t know if I could say “Even When/Best Part” is an important song because lyric wise it tells us what we already know about him clinging to her but I love the fact they sing the songs separately and they never manage to sing it together. It represents their relationship at this point extremely well.

This season actually draws a lot of parallels between Ricky and The Beast. He spends the majority of the first half kind of isolated and you can see he isn’t trying to connect with anyone except for Nini. He laches out constantly and isn’t putting effort on his own happiness but relaying on Nini. He even makes that comment to Miss Jenn. They were metaphorically The Beast and The Rose. And Gina’s arc was in a way also paralleling The Beauty/Belle (X) and this is reflected in how “Home” a song for Belle is used to point out Ricky and Gina issues from Gina’s view. So, in the next 5 episodes we don’t get Ricky related songs but emphasis on Ricky and Nini’s deteriorating relationship. We get songs like Granted and The Rose Song that are basically reflections of Nini’s desire to branch out and be herself. It all reaches the climax for Ricky’s arc on 108 when he decides to break up with Nini. He points out what we’ve been saying: he wants to protect what feels safe and by doing so he isn’t a better person. All of this takes form with Let You Go. It’s a song Ricky needed to sing to close off this part of his arc.

As the song says, he is letting go of Nini and the fantasy because their romantic relationship is broken and there’s not way to fix it without further hurting each other. Some lyrics that are key: “Tear the treehouse down, give up the fantasy”. The treehouse that represented their childhood, what was keeping their relationship alive. And “I'm pickin' up pieces left and right. Now that our hearts are both untied. It'll take time. No one can say we didn't try”. I’ve said that it was important for Ricky to have the reassurance that he at least tried to safe their relationship which is why he needed to get back with Nini on Season 1 so they could discover for themselves that they were not longer compatible and it wasn’t helping them.

Funny enough, the next episode after that it’s titled “The Transformation” making reference to The Beast “transforming” into the Prince. They even rehears this very scene. After Ricky breaks up with Nini, there’s notable differences. It’s like as he sings, picking up the pieces of his life. He helps Carlos make a song for Seb and opens up. He fully commits to the show and it’s actively taking part in it. He apologizes to Miss Jenn and accepts her relationship with his dad. The only relationship that seems to still be at odds is his relationship with Gina. And I feel a huge part of that has to do with the fact he learns EJ had a crush on her and wants to take her on a date and he might’ve thought he was doing Gina a favor by keeping the distance. It’s important to understand here that Ricky was respecting her choice to put boundaries w him.

The songs that Ricky sings as The Beast, aren’t particularly expressing something about him but I think the fact he managed to fully finish the play in the second act speaks about him understanding that he made a commitment to the group and I think it was important for him. Lastly, Ricky’s very complicated Season 2 arc ends with “Second Chance”. A song that is not just meaningful for Ricky’s arc but the others as well. For Ricky’s arc, it’s all about starting over.

In the last episode, Ricky speaks to Miss Jenn about how difficult everything has been for him and how he still isn’t sure about what he is, he came as a skater and is leaving with his second opening act as part of the drama club. He says he isn’t happy yet but it’s getting there. At this point, he is looking to move on and be a better person for himself now that his chapter with Nini is over. Ricky is finally accepting changes are impossible to avoid and that he needs to go along with it and embrace new opportunities. His part for Second Chance is very especifit: “Who knew that love could be so bittersweet when it finally meets the end? But there is somethin' in this summer wind. A moment to begin again” check notes: summer with Gina. And it continues with Ricky repeating “begin again, begin again” and another thing I think is interesting is how at the end of the full version there’s a question Ricky and Gina seem to be the only ones to sing about “what can make the fire burn? what can make the tide turn?” And you hear Ricky’s voice asking “what does it take?” As I said, Second Chance is Rina coded.

Ricky’s journey to self improving and embracing new chances starts on Season 3. I will tackle Season 3 and Season 4 in Part 2. Sorry if this was too long. If you like this please reblog, it took me so long to gather all of this.