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✦ EPISODE 3

this one was rly entertaining LMAO

i won't do initial reaction and after rewatch bc my thoughts are the same 😭

+ carlos not wanting to be olaf is SENDING ME i cannot this episode was a blast comedically ((also liked how they handled that situation,, we're in a new location,, ofc the characters can't easily do what they want and be successful))

+ no bc did anyone hear the RINI music when ej gave gina the flowers? istg it was either the ily music or the first breakup music. that took me by surprise,,,

+ maddox is interesting. they revealed a lot about her and jet's relationship,,, but there's more to it fr. i'm excited to see her development !!

+ in love with this new jet and ricky duo. idk why jet suddenly decided to open up lmao after being so cold,,, but them being instant friends is cute

+ ashlyn's story was rly great. she was a background character fr in s1 but she was always an overachiever. it makes sense why she feels bummed. she finally got a lead
in theatre last season and felt like she totally deserves big roles like that all the time,,, or that she is capable of always getting those big roles. ensemble rly destroyed her expectations of herself,,, it explains her behavior in episode 2 while she was calling gina "gina 1.0". she was saying that to ignore how she wants the lead role just as badly,, and that she thinks she should get a lead role bc,,, she already proved herself to be capable before.

+ i love where rina is at rn :,). i miss rina's friendship !! imo they work best as buddies. 

this brings me to how everyone's reacting to them lmao,, i think both sides are taking it too seriously 😭

i've seen those who don't like rina act like all their interactions in this episode were illegal and wrong,,, to me they weren't flirting tho? their chemistry rn is giving off friends only. i like that the show isn't pushing too hard on the romance yet. there was no hint or sign or intense staring that implied smth was going on between them. ((gina staring at ricky in episode 2 was weird,,, glad we didn't have more of that this time!))). also,,, rina had a close friendship in s1 so idk why anyone would think they wouldn't have scenes together even if it wasn't going to become romantic. rina healing is important for ricky's "letting go" arc.

but the rinas making everything they do a big deal are not any better LMAO,,, like not everything they do has to be romantic,,, not everything they do means they're in love or smth CALM DOWN.

but rina romance being implied by the end of the season isn't surprising ((seeing the pace we're at,, i don't think they're getting together at the end nor do i think portwell is breaking up bc that's too quick. i think there WILL be foreshadowing to these things happening in s4 tho by episode 8)),,, and i have one comment about that...

 what i don't like about it is they're recycling tropes introduced by rini.

friends to lovers,, yeah. second chances,,, yeah. leads in the play,,, yeah. even the little details hsmtmts twt is pointing out. ricky putting a "spotlight" on gina (which was ENTIRELY friendly),, supportive ricky,,, c'mon.

rini had a strong charge and take on these tropes in s1 that what they're doing rn with rina is a little stale (again,, romantically. platonically they're doing amazing). i love they're not making anything too angsty in these first three episodes bc it would be unnecessary. but in the endgame,, how they're reusing these tropes isn't strong. or maybe i don't see rina's romantic chemistry to be as strong as rini. idk let's see the rest of the season,, maybe things will start being different. ((ngl if rina remained friends,, that would make a bigger impact imo. it would be cool to see a platonic boy-girl friendship that was once drenched in romantic drama come out stronger than ever. this could have been where rini went but bc they dealt with nini poorly,, we're not having it.)

+ ej being stressed is so real and idk why this is supposed to be "wrong". i like that gina understands this tho. ((ej is going to make a big mistake sooner or later and i'm nervous ??))

prediction: ej will start to be insecure and think there's smth going on with rina,,, BUT this won't end like it did in s1 bc he's not the same ej as he was,, even when a few old habits come back. i think this is going to be a big test for ej's character to see how far he has gone,,, i'm rly hoping they don't make ej "the bad guy" again

+ ricky wanting to have fun is totally normal too??? look at his arc. it makes sense for him to want to loosen up,,, he's in no way trying to be disrespectful to ej. he wanted to invite ej in on the fun.

+ RISING IS SO GOOD

totally excited for next episode bc episode 4 is always where things start picking up!