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asongcanmeaneverything · 2 years

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WHY RINA RESONATES

I was a Rina from the very moment Gina encouraged Ricky at the skatepark. Yes, at the time she had ulterior motives, but like any true antagonist, she was using the truth in service of lies. The truth being that she really saw Ricky at a time where he had been almost universally written off. Ricky would later return this favor on Homecoming night.

Much is made about Rina’s domineering attitude in the HSMTMTS fandom. I’m not here to excuse all toxic behaviors that have been displayed under Rina’s banner, of which there has been quite a bit, but for a materially starved ship to last this loud, this long, is by itself admirable. Following this week’s recent announcements there was an instantaneous, impressive, and clockwork outpouring of Rina takes and content. While this by itself isn’t new, it feels more prominent now than ever before, so I’ve decided to think more about why Rina resonates.

Maybe Rina’s primacy in this fandom suggests something a bit deeper than just a ship, or rather the thing which really anchors one.

It’s yet unclear if Rina was something that caught on and stuck longer than was intended, or if in fact we were directed to pull at these threads of romantic conspiracy.

Whether we got here by mistake or not, we arrived suddenly, and solidified even faster.

Why?

Rina captures effortlessly upon our fear of a close call. The anxiety that we “just missed” a meaningful connection. That creeping doubt that we can’t see the forest for the trees. That the obvious solution, eternal joy, and happy ending aren’t impossible, difficult, or unrealistic— it’s that they are just so slightly and cruelly out of our reach. We could blink, and true love pass us by. It reminds us of the fragility of all things.

It tugs at our sense of security, and reveals how often we’re skating by on luck, that we’re a lot closer to the edge than we’d like to admit. Worse still, one mistake… choosing the wrong person… moving away at the wrong time… could end the story forever.

Ricky and Gina, what’s between them, and what hasn’t been able to be, is unlike every other coupling on this show that has fully crossed the line into a romantic relationship.

Rina is the almost, someday, maybe.

We invest in it because it’s dramatic, its gaps offer us prime real estate to build our own conceptions. Make our own meanings. It forces us to face the dreadful uncertainty of never seeing our dreams come true, and perhaps urgently reminds us not to fear what’s unclear, to look deeper, take the leap, and maybe even play for a slow burn long game.

If we had gotten Rina by season 1, who knows how we’d feel? But we didn’t, so there’s still a chance here; a chance to be devastated upon learning this thing we believed in was all a plot device taken too seriously, and a chance that we can still steer this sinking ship back home.

We often operate under the assumption that we’re running out of time. It’s terrifyingly beautiful and we don’t even know if it’s true. And yet for Rina’s, it’s not too late. There’s still time. Still a cause for hope.

Rina represents those very slender threads on which hope hangs, and in a world which day by day seems to have fewer odds in its favor, the hope which Rina evokes will not be sunken so easily.

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friday-iam-in-love · 1 year

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HSMTMTS: Season 3 - How I Wish It Was.

A while back, after watching the third season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which was a little frustrating for me, I decided to write down how I wish the third season, and honestly the entire series, had been conducted. Here are some loose ideas for Season 3:

First, some important points:

The entire storyline of a Disney+ documentary doesn't exist;

Val and Maddox were made into one character;

Kourtney will have a similar but deeper storyline that is not described below, but involves Howie;

The character Emmy, who appeared in the third season, had her storyline completely changed;

I would still like to write more about Miss Jenn and Nini (in a narrative where Olivia Rodrigo was still part of the main cast of the series).

The timeline is not complete (some scenes like the beginning of the season, before camp, and the day of the presentation are not in this piece)

Hope you like it. And sorry if you find any grammatical errors, English is not my first language.

Ricky is conflicted about which camp activity he should choose. He tells Carlos that he feels he only joined East High's drama club because of Nini and he can't see himself doing a musical without her. Ricky states that he will focus on what he has always loved to do and, on the first day of activities, he chooses to join the campers in the skating club.

EJ introduces the campers to the musical that will be staged that summer: “Camp Rock: The Musical”. Everyone is extremely excited about the announcement and EJ asks everyone to prepare for the next day's auditions. At the end of the first rehearsal, EJ and Val talk and the boy confesses that he is afraid of appearing biased since his girlfriend is in the cast. Val comforts him, saying that EJ is now a camp trainee counselor and must know how to separate his personal life from his professional life.

Seeing the joy in Carlos, Ashlyn, Gina and Kourtney's eyes with the musical, Ricky remembers the good times he spent with that group in the productions of “High School Musical” and “Beauty and the Beast”. He confesses to Carlos that he is afraid of joining a musical without Nini and Carlos says that he needs to do what he wants, regardless of who will be with him.

The next day, the campers are ready to audition for the musical and EJ announces that the group audition will be with the song “We Rock” and then the individual auditions will begin. As per tradition, Ricky, at the last minute, decides to audition, claiming that he remembers seeing "Camp Rock" once.

After the group audition, Ashlyn, Kourtney, Emmy and Gina audition for the role of “Mitchie” while Ricky and Carlos compete for the role of “Shane”. Almost at the end of the auditions, Jet appears and surprises everyone with his voice when he sings “Gotta Find You”.

That night, older campers are taken to a clearing where they will tell traditional camp stories and sleep in tents for the night. Val is the counselor in charge of telling a traditional story through song, but she has a hard time getting everyone's attention when Jet interrupts her with continuous jokes. Embarrassed and frustrated, Val ends her song and asks another counselor to follow up with the activities around the campfire.

At one of the activities, Gina and Ricky are teamed up, which makes EJ uncomfortable. The two seem to be very in tune during the activity and end up developing a friendship that, until then, they thought unlikely. Gina claims that Ricky has changed a lot since the end of the school year and breaking up with Nini.

While everyone else is busy with the campfire, Carlos sneaks into the theater to find out about the cast. He finds Val's clipboard and sees Kourtney as "Mitchie", Ricky as "Shane", Emmy as "Caitlyn", Gina as "Tess", him as "Nate", Jet as "Brown" and Ashlyn as a member of the ensemble. Angered by Ricky being cast as the lead again, he erases the boy's name and swaps his role with his.

At that moment, Val enters the theater and questions what Carlos is doing with the list. She sees that Carlos tried to swap his and Ricky's roles and says that this situation should be brought up to EJ and Dewey. Dewey leaves it up to EJ and Val to decide whether Carlos should stay in the musical or not. Both argue and EJ has the final say, stating that Carlos must publicly apologize to the cast.

As Val and Carlos leave Dewey's office, the camp manager asks EJ to stay behind to discuss something important. He claims that, at the request of the camp's board of directors, Emmy should be the lead in the play. EJ argues that the cast is already chosen, but without elaborating, Dewey won't budge.

Ricky and Jet end up sleeping in the same tent, but Ricky is uncomfortable after seeing how much Jet has hurt Val. Ricky argues that Val is one of the biggest worshipers of Camp Shallow Lake and that something special to her, like campfire night, was ruined by Jet. Jet claims that he didn't want to be there and that his parents forced him to go. Ricky then says that he shouldn't be there either, but he saw the camp as a place to start over after a troubled year and, like him, Jet should give the new experience a chance.

The next day, EJ and Val are ready to announce the casting and Dewey stands at the back of the theater, watching. EJ swallows hard at the memory of Dewey's order, but decides to go with his intuition. They distribute the roles (with Kourtney playing the lead) and, at the end of the rehearsal, Carlos confesses to everyone that he tried to change his and Ricky's roles and that he feels sorry.

Ricky asks Carlos why he tried to switch roles. Carlos vents, stating that Ricky is not committed to the show, but always ends up being cast as the protagonist while he, who breathes musical theater, ends up being the character with just over three lines. Carlos, in a jealous rage, confesses that he was completely against casting Ricky as "Troy" and "Beast" in past productions. The two are distant for the next few days.

Ashlyn isn't happy with her part either. After having played “Belle” in “Beauty and the Beast” and having won the Alan Menken Award for Best Actress, she hoped that her next work would also be as a leading lady. She tries to hide her displeasure, but lets her heartache show when she arrives at the cabin by not congratulating either Gina or Kourtney on their parts.

When the mail arrives the next morning, Gina receives a letter from her mother letting her know that she is moving to Salt Lake City for good and that Gina won't have to leave East High. The news is received with great joy by Kourtney. EJ also receives a letter from his father where he says that now that EJ is in his last year of high school and has given up a guaranteed place at Duke University, he will have to prove his competence to his father who will no longer help him in any matter from then on. The man still writes harsh lines disapproving of his son's new girlfriend.

EJ confides in Val and shows her his father's letter. He says he doesn't have the heart to tell Gina anything since her father doesn't approve of her.

It's Color War Day, the most traditional activity at the camp, where campers are divided into four teams (blue, yellow, red and green) and compete in different sports. In private, Val asks Jet not to screw up like he did on bonfire day, as this is the most important day for her. Jet, embarrassed, decides to prove to her sister that he has changed.

Jet ends up on the yellow team, with Kourtney and Carlos under the leadership of Val. On the blue team, Ricky, Ashlyn and Gina compete together under EJ's leadership. The entire camp joins singing “It’s On.” On their lunch break, EJ calls Ms. Jenn for theater directing advice, but the teacher senses that something lurks beneath EJ's cheerful facade, and soon the boy opens up. At the end of the conversation, EJ invites Ms. Jenn to see the performance of “Camp Rock: The Musical” at the end of the summer.

Jet guides Ricky to the clearing where they became friends on the first night of camp. Jet picks up his guitar and says he prepared a song for Ricky and sings “Introducing Me”. At the end of the performance, Jet tries to kiss Ricky, but Ricky backs off and, confused, he flies into a rage, humiliating Jet and leaving him alone in the clearing.

Carlos sees Jet crying and sees an angry Ricky running away. Carlos approaches Jet and asks if everything is okay and Jet tells him what just happened. Carlos tries to talk to Ricky, but the boy is rude to Carlos and asks to be left alone.

It's the day of the performance of "Camp Rock: The Musical" and Ricky's 18th birthday.

EJ asks all the actors to get together so he can give them last warnings before the performance. Jet asks for the floor and publicly apologizes to Val, saying that he finally understands why she loves Shallow Lake so much, a place that truly transforms lives. As he says this, he glances at Ricky, who quickly looks away from him.

After the successful performance, Dewey catches up with EJ and congratulates him, but questions why his orders weren't followed. EJ claims that Kourtney deserved to be cast in the role of "Mitchie" and that he doesn't regret his decision. Dewey says casting the lead role was something bigger than EJ and put the camp's future in jeopardy. Dewey claims that Emmy's mother is one of the board directors of Camp Shallow Lake and that it had been a special request from her to cast her daughter in the lead role, which EJ did not comply with. Furthermore, Dewey says that a formal complaint from Mr. and Mrs. Pratt, parents of former camper Emily, reached the board after the family found out that EJ had been hired as an trainee counselor. Emily told her parents about EJ and how he fed her rotten devil eggs to get her out of last summer's musical. Thus, the camp management decided not to promote EJ as a full-time counselor and was dismissing him. EJ argues that his lifelong dream has always been to become camp counselor, but Dewey's hands are tied and he asks EJ to leave camp right after the Farewell Ball.

Carlos finds Ricky sitting on the porch of the cabin and Carlos dryly congratulates him on his performance. Ricky, wanting to seal the peace between the two, asks him to sit next to him and the two talk. Ricky says he's scared to come out as bisexual and Carlos comforts him, stating that everyone has their own story, but that he should apologize to Jet. The two make up with a hug.

So as not to cause too much of a commotion, EJ prepares to quietly leave camp right after the ball. Val is the only one who notices EJ's crestfallen behavior and confronts him. He tells her of Dewey's decision to fire him. The two hug, and for the first time in years, EJ cries. Gina, who was looking for EJ, watches from afar the two hugging and assumes that they are finally together, just as she predicted.

Ricky accepts his feelings for Jet and decides to make a grand gesture of apology.

During Farewell Ball, all the counselors come together to honor another successful season at Shallow Lake with the song "Hasta La Vista." Everyone watches with emotion a retrospective video of the best moments of that vacation with the song “Play My Music (Acoustic)”.

EJ calls Jet onstage, stating that the boy has something to say. Jet says that, like him, his sister also always liked grand gestures. Jet sings "Wouldn't Change A Thing" and Val joins in. The two put their past differences aside and hug under a round of applause.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ricky goes on stage and, with a beautiful self-acceptance speech, sings “This Is Me”. Jet joins the boy in a duet and the two are greeted by applause from all the campers and counselors.

Moved by Ricky's gesture, Gina confronts EJ. She vents about feeling left out all summer. EJ argues that he, as a camp counselor, could not show any romantic relationship with Gina, a camper, as it would be professionally unethical. Gina doesn't want to admit she's wrong and EJ goes back to his cabin to finish packing.

Ricky and Jet walk back to the cabin and Ricky formally apologizes. Ricky says that what he is feeling is something he has never felt before and that for a moment he was in denial, but now he sees clearly what he really wants. Jet accepts the apology and the two share a kiss. They smile and Ricky tells how Camp Shallow Lake really changes lives.

After the Ball, EJ leaves camp without telling anyone. The boys are confused when they return to the cabin and do not find their counselor. Gina bumps into Val, who asks if Gina is okay. Defensive, Gina shares that she saw her and EJ together and Val explains why EJ left. Gina realizes how unfair she has been to EJ over the summer and decides to confront Dewey.

Dewey explains that EJ has suffered the consequences of his actions and nothing can be done, after all, summer vacation ends on the next day.

Summer ends with a bittersweet feeling, everyone transformed by their experiences at camp. Ricky and Jet say goodbye to each other, and the promise of a more serious relationship hangs in the air. The distance, however, is a challenge they must face.

Ricky grows closer to Carlos, who encourages him to come out to his family and to the other students at East High when he's ready and not under pressure. Carlos, on the other hand, is even more ambitious about the winter musical, and as soon as he gets home, he calls Ms. Jenn stating that he will forgo his assignments as an assistant director to focus on being cast in the lead role.

Hearing about the vacancy for an assistant director, Ashlyn offers to fill it.

EJ, arriving home, contemplates his losses: camp, college, and his dad and girlfriend's trust. Later, Gina knocks on her door, but is Mr. Caswell who answers and say EJ doesn't want to see her and suggests the girl stay away for good. Devastated, Gina calls Ricky.