EJ CASWELL in HSMTMTS — “Let It Go”

I have theory about Portwell in Season 4. In every season so far at some point EJ shows up at Gina’s front door or where ever she is staying at the time. My theory is since Portwell are most likely going to be neighbors at some point Portell will have a door scene in Season 4 where EJ shows up at Gina’s front door when he is having a bad day because he got into a fight with his father and needs to talk to someone about so he goes to Gina who comforts him by being a good friend to him.

no, anon, don't do this. don't fill me with hope for a good season for portwell?? you'll be personally responsible for me when i have a breakdown because they didn't get together again as friends or otherwise. /j

in all seriousness though, i really really hope you're right, but i'm afraid to believe theories at this point because my gut tells me they're writing EJ out of the show. Considering that Matt wasn't on set much when they were filming season 4, it's hard to imagine what they're doing with him. I do hope that he'll have good moments with Gina (and overall good moments), but I'm so wounded now for what they did in season 3 that I can't believe anything anymore.

To me, season 3 being treated as the best season out of the 3 is insane??? It made absolutely no sense what they did with EJ, and I don't mean that as someone who stans the guy, I mean it as someone who spent the entire season as the embodiment of this meme:

But i digress. I hope your theory is right! I really do, but you can't blame me for losing my confidence 🥲

Only 8 rehearsals…

Rehearsals are mostly 3 hours each…

3 music rehearsals…

2 blocking rehearsals…

0 choreography rehearsals…

3 run-throughs…

1 performance…(call is at 3:00 and the show is over by 8:00? Are they performing at 5:00?!?! WTF?!)

a total of 27 hours of rehearsals before performing…

and EJ is the only one freaking out?!

and they’re finding time to do anything but constantly be rehearsing on their own in their free time?!

SURE, JAN!

When you are the classier guy and your ex knows it 

JUSTICE FOR EJ CASWELL

They really put him through hell this season. I don’t care how, but the man needs to be happy. Where does Val go to college? EJ needs a friend in his life who actually cares about his mental well-being. If that means he’s written off the show, so be it. With Matt/EJ off the show, I won’t have reasons to watch the fourth season and I’m fine with that.

They did my boy EJ so dirty

Sigh....if we didn't have the mess that was Rina season 2 with Gina feeling like a second choice to Ricky behind Nini and the beautiful slow but natural build-up to Portwell that made Gina and E.J. feel like each other's first priorities then MAYBE I would be more excited about Rina in the s3 finale.

Rina have chemistry and potential, they do. I just hate that we had to literally backtrack all of Portwells development right as they were just getting started? If they wanted to do Rina, that's fine, that would've been great, but they should've handled them better since last season. S1 Rina was great and really had something going for them....then what I liked about s1 Rina came through so much stronger and better in Portwell but then...........EJ just gets shoved to the side, again???

I wondered why this season felt so rushed and then I realized its cuz there are only 8 episodes. I literally learned that the finale was the finale in the MIDDLE of watching since the previous two seasons were 10-12 episodes. No wonder everything felt so disjointed with the main ships.

I think I just don't know what to think or feel at this point lmao..... justice for EJ honestly.

Right, hear me out... I know EJ deserved better this season in terms of all the hits the narrative dealt him. BUT. I think this could be a real growth opportunity for his character in s4.

I remember someone saying about Steve Harrington's arc on Stranger Things that one of the best things about it is that good things don't have to happen to him for him to become a better person. He takes blow after blow, and yet still has managed to become a character that is universally beloved and who the narrative has seen grow from a boy to a man.

I really feel that with the PW stuff this season, and the convo with his dad (that scene was actually perfect, can't lie, that shot with val holding him... too real. too painful. too brilliant), and even in his comment to Rina at the end - the EJ / Steve Harrington era is coming.

He is gonna work out who he is on his own. No relationship. No parental support now. He's been thrown in the deep end for a trial by fire, and honestly, I'm so excited to see where Tim and the team take him next season. As long as it isn't to be Miss Jenn's assistant xoxoxo

If EJ Caswell won't get to sing SCREAM from HSM3: Senior Year, then...what's even the point of all that bullshit they maked him go through

this is a rina blog first and foremost but i really like character analysis so i’m gonna talk about ej! he is was one of my favorite characters in s1 but he fell off for me in s2 bc i think his development was shoehorned into developing his relationship with gina, making it fall flat (for me!). while i’m still iffy on him, I think 303 did a great job of setting up his arc for the season. I think the ej scenes were attempting to show the differences in levels of maturity between him and the others. in 209 we see him get the kiddie treatment to make pw more palatable but in this episode, he is stressed about the work he has to do and it directly contrasts all the others enjoying their time at camp. more than creating angst for pw, I think that scene is showing ej finally taking on responsibility and how that cannot coincide with the dynamic he’s had with the others before. he never really had to face growing up in reality because he turned down duke but taking on the director role means that he is being thrust into the responsibility he was running away from. if ej truly wants to please his dad, this is a burden he must take on and him not being able to balance everything is something he’ll have to address. of course there are concerns about him handling this alone, but we also know that he struggles with asking for help, and sharing this burden is definitely something he could do, which is why I appreciated val stepping in last ep. ej comes into the season hyperfixated on having the perfect summer, with little nod to his future goals. I think being director will allow him to look past these two weeks and finally acknowledge what he actually wants to do with his future.

The only kind of love triangle I'll be accepting from EJ Gina and Ricky this season is Gina and Ricky rebuilding their FRIENDSHIP and EJ misunderstanding, so that Gina and EJ can have good open communication and come out of it with their relationship stronger

my not-so-lil rant

disclaimer—this is no hate to any of the characters or actors. just me ranting about the writing of this show.

*sigh*

hi friends. it me.

i know i’m probably the 100th post you’ve seen today discussing the finale, but i just gotta get some things off my chest. 

first, i will say this. i love this show with my whole heart. and y’all know how much i love portwell. i’ve been in this ship since s1. 

but... (i’m gritting my teeth as i type this) i will gladly go into s4 excited to see rina’s story unfold like i have all the rest. if a new chapter is ahead for both of these characters, then i’ll welcome it with open arms.

but i just have an issue with how it all went down.

in what world could no one, except val, (bless you val, we love you), be there for ej when his world was upside down. 

imagine planning on spending this last summer before adulthood with your childhood friends. dreaming of summer nights at a summer camp you’d been dying to show them and the chance to just being a kid one last time.

but then, you’re not asked, but you’re literally backed into a corner and obligated to throw that all out the window and direct a full-length musical production.

imagine for a second what it would feel like to lead an entire group of distract-able, dramatic teenagers. but more than that, they’re your best friends. and you don’t want to let them down or do a mediocre job.

imagine that you only had fourteen DAYS to make sure lines were memorized, costumes were ready, sets were prepped, and musical numbers were rehearsed. 

imagine if you had a father who decided for HIMSELF what YOUR future was going to be. because for him you would be a failure doing anything else. never said he was proud of you. never asked where you wanted to go to school. never asked what your dream was. nope. it was all HIS decision and you had to live with that. sorry!

imagine finally opening your heart up again to someone new in your life. and this summer was going to be your time together, away from the drama of high school. away from the drama of home. just you two, finally being the leads and spending the whole summer together.

but too bad, the lead goes to the guy who stole your ex. and has his eyes now on your girlfriend.

then imagine that in your head, the only real hope of you ever staying with your girlfriend, your friends, your literal chosen family, was dependent on how successful this play was. you were doing it for their success and for yours.

oh and just imagine that ALL of it was going to air on TV. FOR THE WORLD TO WATCH AND JUDGE.

so yeah maybe i’d be stressed out of my mind. yeah maybe my world would probably be upside down too. maybe i’d feel every minute of my time was valuable. yeah maybe i’d be terrified out of my mind to show my girlfriend a letter determining my fate, my fate that i MYSELF wasn’t even ready or willing to accept.

but who cares right? you’re the villain. you’ve got to “take it down a notch” cause you’re ignoring your friends, you’re not allowed to try and be in two places at once, you’re lame for skipping out on hikes in the woods, you’re missing bucket-list shenanigans, you’re just too stressed.

and all your efforts were for nothing. because guess who didn’t show up for you? everyone you’re doing this for. your dad. your ex-girlfriend. your cousin. your friends. 

because apparently people think it’s justifiable to give up on others during the span of two weeks when they’re going through anxiety. pressure they didn’t ask for. stress they were trying to cope with so that you could all be successful and be TOGETHER.

oh but you’re just being your 1.0 self.

again—no hate to any characters. i just hate the way ej’s story unfolded. it boils down to the almost universal lack of support he got, and i just can’t wrap my head around it.

i just—UGH.

i find it so sad how in s2 when ej was falling for gina he was scared to make a move with her bc he had a fear of being rejected like he had been with nini and the whole “i wonder if he’ll ever learn to love anyone after belle” yet he decided to take the risk and ask gina out.

and then in s3 he does get rejected again and in pretty much the same way with gina running to ricky just like nini did. LIKE THATS SO HEARTBREAKING?!?!? 😭

anyways i’ve said it once and i will say it again JUSTICE FOR EJ CASWELL.

I’m just gonna say it: I don’t know exactly when I got to this point but…I’m realizing I hope EJ is done after this season.

I would absolutely HATE that this is what they did for his last season, however I truly would rather head canon wonderful things for him than trust that this show won’t ignore him or ruin him even more or treat him even worse.

And honestly, I get the feeling after all Gina said to him and him saying his night was ‘confusing’ that he’s going to be thinking about all she said and that he can’t stay in SLC or at East High in some capacity. I feel like that set him up for making a decision to move on and move forward with his life.

Especially when his biggest motivation for it all was to stay with Gina, and he’s just lost her.

I have felt all season that they were not setting this all up for him to win his dad over in the end. Just never the vibe I got. I will be genuinely shocked if I’m wrong on that.

What happens then, who knows. But…I think what they’ve done to him this season has pushed me to a point I hope they leave him be and let him move on rather than worrying about how much worse they’ll treat him.

And honestly, I don’t wish on EJ having to be back at East, watching his girlfriend move on with the guy he was worried she’d move on with, and who he lost his last ex to. That would suck for him. He doesn’t deserve that.

And after the “uno reverse” as someone referred to it from S2 to S3 (between Portwell’s buildup as a second chance at love for him and him growing as a person to only ruin both to serve the newest narrative) I don’t trust at all that if this show had him growing yet again or finding a new love interest that it would pay off this time after what they’ve done this season. I can’t invest in it after I did so much in S2 just for them to be like “JUST KIDDING!”

Free EJ.

+Bonus

I read this as, “EJ gets the crappy ending because Nini got the happy one.” The lack of care for EJ, especially with Matt’s screen time and role reduced next season, is so disappointing and disheartening.

What was his something better? What did he learn? That his father is still toxic and manipulative? That he’s second choice to Ricky—again? That the girl he deeply cares for essentially only saw him as an alternative? That his mental and emotional well-being don’t matter? Or that he needs new friends because the “wildcats” ain’t it. Tell me I’m wrong.