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✦ EPISODES 4 - 6

episode four

no cause before this episode the season made me feel nothing

all the rini scenes in this one? wattpad perfection lmao

i think what was good about this episode was that it was just fresh?? like lmao the whole snowstorm brought out a different side to all the characters and the jokes were so on point

really loved gina in this one. she was struggling so much in the episode and not because of the dance but because of everything else. i think hsmtmts's short runtime does a good job in making us believe the wildcats are all "close friends" but episodes like this show that most of the time they aren't aware of each other's actual problems yk? it's realistic ofc, in a large friend group not everyone is going to be up to date with everyone's lives. but you can see why gina wanted to leave slc so badly because of this. literally no one knew what was going on in her head, not even ashlyn who at least noticed her strange behavior. 

i also loved nini's struggle because it's so important for younger audiences to know that they don't always have to dream big to be "worth it". nini was afraid of taking everything for granted; she got into her dream school but it wasn't all she thought it was. she needed someone to assure her that it was okay to step back. but i have to ask; when did everyone start seeing her as the "superstar" of the group? bc throughout the season everyone made comments like "you're totally gonna be belle!", "be the superstar you are", "our show would have been better with the rose song". and they put her on top of this pedestal but i'm not sure i understand why. coming off last season, she never played them any of her songs. all i want and out of the old were private, itiky was the only one they might have known about. i don't think her getting gabriella was it so what made everyone suddenly see her in a different light? it could be her getting into yac but i don't know.

mr. mazzara's new role this season is helping ej's arc lol ig it's better than nothing (it's very telling that ej told nini first out of everyone about failing duke but i want to go through that in another chapter)

highlight of the episode: gina and carlos's fight! the acting was great there.

episode five

episode 5 belongs to seblos.

(but it was also important for rini too lmaoo; here begins their eventual fall but what a lot of people ignore is how nini's problem the whole episode was feeling left out. why this is important should be obvious but i plan on having a whole chapter dissecting rini this season so more on that later)

seb's innocent persona is everything

gotta give credit to ricky's inconsistent haircut this season (he also wears the shirt seb wore last season during bop to the top)

gina: queen of subtle hints that no one in the show gets lmao

can we talk about how ej joined mr. mazzara's club when big red was the one hinted at joining the robotics club last season?

also portwell starts here but it comes off as a little random when ej paid no attention to gina at all in the past episodes; they should have had a scene together in ep3. that would have made the transition of their relationship better.

the performances were amazing

WE GOT A KISS

highlight: the climb. do i need to explain?

episode six

my favorite episode of the season? 

still annoyed that this is the last time rina interacts but it was still a big episode for them

north high changing musicals was completely uncalled for (i was hoping to see them do songs from little mermaid but ig i was asking for too much lmao); but knowing the ending of the season makes me think almost everything that happened with north high useless

nini and kourtney outsold in this episode; they were so funny 

i'm on the fence with ricky's problem about his dad and miss jenn dating. i agree with his realization later that he can't force them not to love each other but him being uncomfortable was a totally valid response. ngl his dad has no clue on what he's going through and theatre is where he can escape the home drama. but bc his drama teacher is part of it all, it endangers his safe space. but it is a little inconsistent bc last season he was totally okay with his dad calling miss jenn over. 

ashlyn excusing her behavior with "i'm still a caswell" sends me

the rose song is an amazing upgrade from all i want (how it fits into rini's problem is a different story; nini went from missing ricky to feeling trapped by him really quickly and the quick change is questionable; the rose song also makes no sense in beauty & the beast lol so idk why all the characters were praising it)

highlight of the episode: the rina flashback! i can't tell you how shaken i was by that scene the first time around. i still think it's the one of the best scenes in the season. it was so unexpected but beautiful. sofia wylie's acting was on point (and josh's too!). there was a heavy emotional weight to it that makes it even better. jokingly i can say it ruins the rini 'i love you' scene but when i say that i mean it in a good way? it's hard to explain lmao but all in all it was so well done