Well anon, I think the trailer and the just released synopsis and photos for the first 6 eps look pretty good and I'm cautiously optimistic that the show will maintain the quality of S3 and if we're very lucky it may have some moments that come close to the excellence of S1.
I wish Disney would stick to the status quo and release the final eps weekly but it seems that their MO is now to burn off seasons of shows they've cancelled or have given up on (I wonder if they regret their decision with it likely that the actors and directors strike will last for many months). I'll be away from Meta Manor for a while so I don't know when I'll have time to watch S4; I won't do ep by ep reviews but I may do a season review in a few weeks. That being said, here are the main points I'll be grading S4 on, in no particular order:
Rina: I've never been a Rina shipper but I've long said that Rina's fate is inextricably tied with the show. So I want a great season for them, no pointless breakups, no pointless drama. Now in real life with Ricky graduating they wouldn't last but Tim needs to drop the realism and have a nice unambiguous Rina endgame. I'm hopeful that Gina's acting career plot will allow her to be with Ricky even after he graduates.
Big 3 Cameos: At least one of Zac, Vanessa, or Ashley must appear on screen for at least one scene or else the OG cast plot will be pointless. Especially since in universe they're doing a HSM 4 which Disney would not have green lit without at least one of the Big 3 starring. And I won't accept some too clever by half bullshit like Drew Seely shows up as Troy.
LGBTQ Rep: HSMTMTS has made huge strides with lgbtq rep on disney and I hope they can continue to make history in this final season.
Series Coherence: I think looking back that S2 will be the breaking point for a lot of future viewers who will give up after what turned out to be the longest and the worst season. The show isn't very coherent and I hope that S4 can meaningfully connect with S1 and we have more focus on the epic highs and lows of high school musical theatre. Enjoy the final season everyone. We're in the endgame now, wildcats.
Let it Go was a decent ending for S3 and charts a course for the rest of the series. Let’s dig in!
Well congrats Rina stans. I don’t ship them but the rest of the series is now intertwined with Rina so I hope they are well written. Given Tim’s track record with main couples the fact that Rina got together in 3x08 means they’ll have a breakup in S4. It’s noteworthy that all of Gina’s callbacks are from like two eps in S1; it’s time for a proper story line for them, no more love triangles or emotional cheating. I’ve always held that Tim shouldn’t do both Rina and Portwell but now that the damage is done it’s time to stick with Rina and move the show forward
As I said back when the Portwell off screen first kiss happened, it was done that way to deliberately undercut Portwell and not take away from Rina hence the show treating this much more like Gina’s first kiss
Well they allowed EJ a flash of realistic anger towards Ricky but then he calls him his brother which is just not how people, let alone teenagers, would act. Certainly Ricky has been a malign influence on EJ’s life the past year in universe. I hope no one reading this ever has a brother like Ricky!
Cash Caswell wins the coveted Lynne Bowen prize for worst parent of the season. At least Val was there to comfort EJ, god knows where Ashlyn’s been this season
Dara killed it as Elsa. Kourtney has come such a long way from Nini’s sassy black friend and I’m glad she’s getting the chance to shine. Her anxiety story line has been fairly well handled for a Disney show
Big Red being interviewed for some reason and coming out as bi felt like a fever dream. This season has certainly been a huge step forward for lgbtq rep on Disney. And to be honest it’s a wise move, Big Red was never believable as someone who was exclusively interested in the charms of women. This should set up some interesting story lines for Big Red and Ashlyn in S4
End of an era as Nini departs. It was poignant farewell to Olivia Rodrigo who was such a big reason why the show took off as it did. Her giving the lotto ticket to Ricky was a sweet touch and her farewell to Miss Jenn hit hard
It’s darkly funny that the casting directors did too good of a job of casting Ricky and Nini as they were the couple the series was built around and their chemistry turned out to be so good that Olivia and Joshua dated in real life which led to an extremely messy and bitter breakup which was the inspiration for the songs which launched Olivia into pop superstardom and irrevocably changed the course of the show
Looking Ahead:
One of the biggest flaws of this show is how little continuity there from season to season. Years from now when the series is long over I can’t imagine many people re-watching and making it all the way through since so much of what has happened in these first three seasons, in particular the first two seasons, has been rendered completely meaningless.
S2 in particular seems like a total fuck up and I think a lot of people in the future who might check out the series without knowing anything about it will tap out after S2.
It’s clear that Tim is trying to set up a Glee like route where younger kids like Emmy get introduced and we follow them through High School even as the original wildcats begin to depart. But that should have begun in S2 which is when characters like Jet and Maddox should have been introduce but instead all the new S2 characters were purged. On one level its simply a question of time, the first two seasons comprise 22 eps and the remaining two seasons the mains are contracted for will only amount to 16-18 eps depending on whether S4 is 8 or 10 eps. The first two seasons will likely be the bulk of the entire series yet they bear almost no resemblance to what the series has and will become
S3 marks the final end of the core 4 inasmuch as it even existed past S1. EJ seems to be recurring in S4 with Tim making it clear that he won’t be involved at East High though I suspect he’s involved in the HSM 4 production at some point. Sounds like Jet and Maddox don’t show up immediately at East High since Tim says they need to clear things up in California. Emmy seems likely to enroll as a freshman at East High as Tim hinted. He’s also made clear that he views Ricky, Gina, Kourtney, Ashlyn, and Carlos as the core characters so we should expect the rest of the series to have a heavy focus on them
They seem to have 8-10 eps for S4. If it’s 8 it’s going to be extremely difficult to balance all the new and old characters. Kylie Catrall joins and Big Red, Seb, and Miss Jenn are back as mains. Are Mike Bowen and Mazarra back? And whoever from the OG cast returns though without Zac and Vanessa it will be a flop imo
I’m not looking forward to the kids getting famous. This show was such a hit because it was always grounded. I also worry that they’re going to go way too meta in S4. At least Tim has promised that they’ll return to the acoustic songs that made S1 so fun
S4 is when the cast contracts end. Tim clearly wants to do more but how many seasons would Disney be willing to greenlight, just one more to bring the series to Ricky’s graduation? There’s a very good chance that Disney just calls it quits after S4. Did Tim fuck up the logical series ending point of Ricky, Big Red, and Kourtney graduating by having a summer season? He very well could have. Ending the series in December of Ricky’s senior year would be very lame but that’s what we might be facing. Certainly it’s bizarre to do HSM S3 as the winter musical when it’s so focused on graduation and it will extremely hard to top having an og cast reunion while the kids get famous from the frozen documentary
We’ll probably have to wait for spring 2023 for S4 to premiere. In the meantime there are quite a few good shows to watch. There’s Di4ries on Netflix, a very charming Italian show. Young Royals S2 comes out in the fall, the first of the Owl House ‘S3′ specials comes out in October with the remaining two airing sometime in 2023. The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers S2 comes out later this month and hopefully Doogie Kamealoha MD S2 comes out sometime this year. There’s also Chucky S2 coming out in October which I know will make Jevon stans very happy. Secrets of Sulphur Springs S3 likely comes out early in 2023 as well
For any American readers, I urge you to vote in November. The democrats at least have a good chance to hold the Senate and it’s vital that they control as much of the Federal government as possible for as long as possible if America is to stand any chance of warding off fascism or civil war
Stay safe out there Wildcats and I’ll see you next season
Camp Prom was a great ep for lgbtq rep but was dragged down by bad writing. Let’s dig in!
It’s amazing how far this show has come since Carlos and Seb’s first dance in 1x05. HSMTMTS has broken barrier after barrier when it comes to lgbtq representation on Disney and continues to do so tonight with Ashlyn’s bisexuality and Maddox and Madison’s relationship. It’s a legacy to be proud of and if this show is remembered for anything other than launching Olivia Rodrigo’s career it should be for the lgbtq rep. I think most of the credit goes to Tim Federle and his commitment to telling lgbtq story lines, doubtless informed by him being a gay man himself, is commendable
Carlos giving Ashlyn the pin was a sweet little moment. Odd of course that Ashlyn came out to him off screen but this is still Disney. Even on Riverdale it took them many seasons to use the word bisexual so it wouldn’t shock me if we never hear it on HSMTMTS
It was nice to see Maddox and Madison have their dance. Tim reached out to Jojo Siwa specifically to play Madison and I’m glad he did so especially since I’ve heard that Nickelodeon hasn’t treated her very well since she came out
Jet and Maddox’s duet was great and it continues to amuse me that musically speaking Jet has been the male lead for most of the season. Reader, I’ll admit that I had to fast forward most of Maddox’s speech because it was too cloying but I’m glad that she found her people and that her and Jet reconciled. Also good to know that her parents are just strict and not homophobic
Nice to see Seb again and we even got a kiss right out of the gate. Seb being dumb can be overdone but he was hilarious tonight especially when he burst in on EJ and Gina
Dara’s song was great and I’m glad the cast is still getting opportunities to write and sing original songs. Glad she overcame her fears. Carlos afraid of being shirtless was more just set up for a montage of the male cast members getting wet and shirtless which I doubt a lot of the audience will be complaining about
We got the inevitable Portwell break up which was even more poorly written than I expected. For Gina to say that their relationship didn’t even start is just completely false. We know they were dating happily for months in between the end of S2 and the beginning of S3 but Portwell needs to be torn down to build up Rina. I’m glad EJ finally mentioned Ricky’s part in this mess, true he’s not the only or even the biggest reason why Portwell has gown down in flames but he played a role and his flirting with Gina has been so blatant that EJ and others have noticed it
Gina’s right that they’re in different places right now and that EJ’s life is in flux and with the age gap between them it’s an extremely valid reason to break up. However, that will all equally apply in less than a year in universe once Ricky graduates but I’m not holding my breath that Rina sinks over it. Gina wanting someone reliable is very understandable and is part of why she fell for EJ in S2 as he was reliable while Ricky was not but Ricky can be reliable during this two week summer camp because he doesn’t have any responsibilities. Sure EJ has gone overboard with directing the show but anyone filling that role would have to dedicate most of their time to it. And yes their teenagers but the show is literally the next day, the huge drain on EJ’s time is literally done in 24 hours
Looking Ahead:
One thing that caught my attention was Ricky saying that he would have a long time to figure things out regarding his confession before the documentary would come out. Shortly after the S2 finale an account on reddit claiming to have connections to the production side of the show said that the show would stop filming on location in Salt Lake, that S3 would be set at a summer camp and would feature camp rock songs, and S4 would return to East High after a 6 month time jump for the final semester of Ricky, Big Red, and Kourtney’s senior year to wrap up the series. Most of that has come to pass and as Tim has said that the documentary will have a big impact on the kids lives it would make sense for the documentary to be coming out before or early on during S4
There’s no doubt that Gina will find out about Ricky’s confession one way or the other before the finale ends, even if we don’t see or hear her reaction. And yet as of now it doesn’t seem very dramatic, there’s no real obstacles between them at this moment. The only cheap drama I could think of is that EJ attempts to win back Gina or Gina agrees to give EJ a second chance before Ricky confesses or his confession gets played. It would be terrible but with Tim’s track record it might just happen
It’s weird that Carlos and Ashlyn are so blasé about Ricky flirting with Gina but it’s even odder that no one mentions that Ashlyn is currently dating Big Red. It’s great that she’s exploring her sexuality but she’s not a free agent at the moment. That little scene at the end implying Maddox likes Ashlyn wasn’t very well set up and it’s hard to see Disney letting a bisexual love triangle unfold even if that’s what Tim intended. Certainly it would be very weird to have Big Red show up in the finale only for Ashlyn to break up with him
Well let’s see how much of Frozen we actually get to see. Next week might be the final appearance of Nini and will in many ways determine the course of the rest of the series. Until next week, wildcats
Color War was the funniest ep of the season and set us up for the final arcs of the season. Let’s dig in!
The jokes were on fire tonight. Corbin telling Ricky his confession footage would be airing unless he praised Nickelodeon was my favourite line of the night. The sly bit about the colour war being so similar to the old Disney channel games was a close contender
It was wild to finally see the Camp Rock song they had released before the season premiered. It’s been quite odd how little they’ve used Meg Donnelly’s voice. One thing the song made clear is that someone on the writing staff realizes that Adrian Lyles has the strongest voice of the male cast; it really shines through tonight with the direct juxtaposition with Joshua Bassett’s voice
Nice to see Jet really get into the games to try and help fix things with Maddox but it’s realistic that she’s wary of how much he’s changed. Not really sure how Jet could have mistaken Maddison for a guys name but at least he’s not homophobic. Certainly Jet and Maddox have been much more well developed then any of the new characters introduced in S2 although it may not end up mattering at all if they don’t appear in S4. The only real plausible way to keep Jet around would be to have him transfer to East High since he could expelled but it’s pretty absurd to move two states over for high school and then what would be the excuse to send Maddox, who is presumably not expelled, to East High
The writers realized they went a little too far with Ricky and his feelings for Gina last ep so now he’s back to acting appropriately and for the moment not interfering with Portwell. Not to mention he continues to give Jet good advice to help fix things with Maddox but does so without overstepping. Seems obvious that his big idea is for Jet to bring Maddison back for the Prom so her and Maddox can set things aright
It’s always been extremely obvious when the writers are working backwards from a desired endpoint; they’ve never cared or been able to hide their plot contrivances. Clearly they’re working backwards from a Portwell breakup by the end of the season. And with proper set up and pacing they could have set it up. Instead we’re getting a rushed mess. Even for teenagers it just doesn’t make sense for a seemingly solid relationship to fall apart in a week or so. Certainly they have issues but they have less than a week left at camp which means the end of the major drain on EJ’s time and focus. And EJ does have a point that this documentary succeeding is probably his only chance to convince his dad to let him stay in Salt Lake which is also what Gina wants
But of course, the spark has to be gone because the plot demands it and Ricky is eagerly waiting in the wings. The no dates to prom rule is laughable. Just go as a couple! Who’s going to stop them? What even would be the consequences?
I was really happy to see the progress with Ashlyn’s story line tonight and her realization at the end that she has a crush on Val. Also neat to learn that Ashlyn is Jewish, must be from her mother’s side of the family
Wild that this is the second time someone was knocked out and had a fantasy musical sequence with an original High School Musical cast member before Carlos slaps them awake
Nice to see Miss Jenn again. Depending on how things shake out for EJ after this season, this may have been a final farewell between them
I actually thought Mike Bowen gifting Ricky a piece of moon rock was a sweet gift especially since he knows all about Ricky’s bucket list. Though I still don’t get how Ricky could be turning 18 before he even starts his 12th grade year. Here in the barren northlands the earliest you could turn 18 would be the January of your 12th grade year ie. well after it’s already started
Looking Ahead:
It’s interesting that they’ve gone the route of Ricky knowing that the confession was caught on camera rather than just having the audience know. I would assume that the confession ties into a cliffhanger of sorts at the end of S3. Since Ricky knows he was filmed there’s really only two ways to play it: Ricky confesses to Gina before the film would be played (or at least before he thinks it’s going to be played) or Ricky attempts to destroy the footage which backfires somehow and leads to Gina seeing it
Since it looks likely that Maddox and Maddison get back together at the Prom, there’s a good chance that the Prom is where Portwell breaks up or at least leads directly to it since the angst would be well balanced with joy
Jet helping Maddox with Maddison will probably do the trick the reconcile them which is also a way to wrap up their story arc in case they’re never seen again
I don’t think they’re gonna have Redlyn breakup since that would fall perilously close to the cheating bisexual trope but it should be an interesting conversation between them when he eventually shows up
As an aside, it’s interesting that the Rina leaker has had very accurate information about the events of the season but has been off on the timing a few times now. It suggests that they didn’t have direct access to the scripts or at least didn’t have direct access to all of them
The Real Campers of Shallow Lake was a funny ep that unfortunately showcased some of HSMTMTS’ biggest flaws. Let’s dig in!
The most important reveal tonight was Ricky admitting that he has a crush on Gina which was caught on camera and will no doubt come up again. I’m sure Rina shippers loved this ep and in fairness they did have great chemistry during their duet
Of course, we’re perilously close to an emotional cheating story line as Ricky has for the past several eps been toeing the line of appropriateness in his interactions with Gina, Gina is now using Ricky to get payback at EJ for his keeping secrets, and Ricky’s feelings are becoming so obvious that EJ has already noticed and other characters have started to notice
The Disney plus instagram account posted about the Rina/Portwell love triangle and while there were some comments supporting the ships the most liked comments were complaints about the love triangle being a recycled S1 plot and being unnecessary and poorly done. I think those kind of comments are closer to how the casual audience is reacting to this plot as compared to the more ship dominated discourse in the online fandom
And no one can deny that this is a recycled plot line. Hell even the Ricky and EJ slap scene was an almost beat for beat redo of their passing the basketball scene back in S1. Not to mention the fact that it’s obvious that this love triangle is going to end the exact same way with Ricky stealing EJ’s girlfriend for the second time in less than a year! It’s not surprising that most of the audience wouldn’t enjoy seeing this play out when it’s been done before and there’s no real suspense
At least back in S1 Ricky could somewhat justify his actions in that he had known and loved Nini for a long time and EJ was a pretty bad dude. Now though he has no excuse. He’s known Gina for less than a year, they never dated and were just flirting for a few weeks before Gina had to move, he got back together with Nini, had 5 eps of negative interactions with Gina to start off S2, didn’t talk to Gina during the final 7 eps of S2, broke up with Nini and a couple months later started dating Lily, broke up with Lily in 3x01, and only started his friendship anew with Gina in 3x02 which was less than a week ago in universe, and now here we are. Real the first time as tragedy the second time as farce vibes
When laid out it this story looks like an unplanned mess because it is an unplanned mess. It’s not Tim’s fault that the original couple this show was built around is now irrevocably gone but there’s no excuse for such sloppiness. As I’ve said before if Tim wanted to explore either Rina or Portwell then he should have just picked one and not done the other. If he was so desperate for a love triangle then he could have just introduced a new character for that purpose
I guess the only thing I’m hoping to see come from this debacle is someone, anyone, confronting Ricky and telling him he needs to back off. I doubt it will happen of course since even though Ricky and EJ are both main characters some main characters are more equal than others
I was chatting with a friend about EJ’s future and how they think it’s looking likely that he’ll be written off in S4 and I agree. At best he might appear for a few eps. It’s hard to see him and Gina having scenes after they inevitably break up this season, there’s no realistic way he’d still be friends with Ricky, and they already have a built in escape hatch with his dad’s St. Louis school
It looks like we were bamboozled by the D23 website listing EJ’s name as Eric James when it is unfortunately Elton John. It’s a very lame reveal and shatters what little realism is left in this show. There’s no way a rich white dude like Cash Caswell would wake up one day in Utah in George W Bush’s first term which was so Republican that they gave Bush 71% of the vote in 2004 which was his highest percentage in any state and name his son Elton John
Also it was depressing to see Carlos not knowing Cash’s name since he was one of the few characters actually there for his presentation back in S2. Whether the writers just forgot or didn’t care is for the reader to decide
We finally got the Jet and Maddox sibling reveal. It makes sense that Ricky is so shocked, they really look nothing alike and it’s surprising that the show decided to make them full siblings instead of step siblings. Still they’re an interesting duo and Adrian has the strongest voice of the male cast in my opinion. Very interesting that they’re hinting at homophobia with Jet having outed Maddox to their parents
Nice to see them exploring anxiety with Kourtney, it was part of EJ’s original character pitch before S1 but was dropped likely on Disney’s insistence
The Carlos and Ricky friendship is really quite lovely to see
Ricky and Jet are also nice to see as Ricky slowly chips away at Jet’s walls
That Rina leaker had claimed that a main female character would come out as Bi this ep which obviously didn’t happen. They’re clearly setting up something with Ashlyn and even had Maddox ineptly tell Ashlyn that she has a crush on Val. I hope that Disney doesn’t censor wherever Tim wants to take this story
Ricky’s line about being ready to be hated by America was darkly funny and meta and I wonder how Joshua felt when he first read that line
Looking Ahead:
I hope EJ called Miss Jenn to try and salvage things
Jet being expelled from his school is interesting in that could be a contrived set up to get him to East High but that seems like a stretch to send a kid two states over for high school. And we know that Tim is ruthless when it comes to disposing of characters
I’m glad to see such open rep with Maddox but I can’t help but wonder if they’re only able to go so far with her story as well as introduce heavier family issues and homophobia only because there’s no intention of her being seen again after S3. Perhaps most worryingly is that Seb basically being written off seems to have been the price for the new lgbtq characters in S3. We know he’s back for S4 and it seems that Ashlyn will come out as bisexual by the end of this season so that means S4 will have three lgbtq main characters. Will Disney allow a fourth?
They’re really upping the hints that the kids will get famous as a result of this documentary which is a disastrous idea. It’s odd to know that even as I’m typing these lines here in Meta Manor that the S4 scripts which very well could destroy the series are being written
My last question of the night is what exactly is Tim planning for the rest of the series. I’m sure he has lots of ideas but does he have any good ones left?
The jokes landed well tonight. This season has been campier (pun semi-intended) than the previous two and it works well. Carlos calling Lily a young Cersei Lannister was my favourite line of the night
The songs were great. For the First Time in Forever is a classic and always evokes such a warm feeling. It was nice to see so much of the cast shine. Gina’s song was good though the transition into it was too abrupt. Nini’s song was very poignant and a nice capstone to Nini’s story (which by this point is more Olivia’s story)
I’m glad we got to see more of Nini’s moms and of course, her biological father Marvin. Their scenes felt very true to life. It’s true we’ve never seen much of Nini’s family but it shouldn’t be forgotten how important it was that HSMTMTS started with their main character having two moms when that was vanishingly rare on Disney. Olivia Rodrigo has outgrown the show and it’s sad some of the rep will go with her. God knows Disney has had massive issues with their lgbtq rep and we’ve certainly seen that bleed into HSMTMTS but the show really has made huge strides. With Seb showing up at the end of the season, we’ll have 6 canon lgbtq characters on screen in an eight ep season: Carlos, Seb, Carol, Dana, Maddox, and JoJo Siwa’s character. It’s an impressive achievement for a Disney show and we’ll almost certainly look back at S3 as the high water mark of lgbtq rep on the series
Ricky was the most charming he’s been in a very long time. Him saying that he and EJ as Hans and Kristof could be playing friends, enemies, or lovers then office staring into the camera was hilarious and a nice little nod to those who want Ricky to be bisexual (which will never happen in canon). His budding mentorship of Jet is a promising story line and one that will go over a lot better than his pursuit of Gina
Portwell were very cute this ep but it’s likely going to be downhill from here. Val’s a red herring; the real person who will come between them is Ricky
Really not sure what Carlos thinks he’s going to accomplish by changing the cast list since Val would immediately know that it’s been tampered with
Maddox’s little séance or shrine or whatever that was is an odd way to end the ep. Her and Jet clearly have a history which I hope we’ll learn about sooner rather than later
So far the pacing is fine but I don’t know how long that will last with only 5 eps left and the musical not having started with like 12 days left in universe
There were hints tonight that the cast will get at least semi-famous from the Frozen documentary which fits with comments that Tim has made about S4 that imply that they’ll become celebrities of sorts. This is such an obviously bad idea that I’m stunned Tim is even considering it. The success of HSMTMTS is built upon it being a fairly grounded, realistic portrayal of a high school drama department with a dash of meta humor. Turning the students into celebrities will absolutely wreck the series. I’m not usually for executive interference but in this case somebody from Disney needs to tell Tim to stick to the status quo. If Tim still insists on making the kids famous then his career needs to be compromised to a permanent end
I’ll be away from Meta Manor for a few weeks so this will be the last review until late August. In the meantime I highly recommend watching Di4ries on Netflix. A very dramatic but charming Italian teen show that just might make you feel young again
Happy Campers was a very strong start to S3, which managed to resurrect some of the charm of S1. Let’s dig in!
Having S3 take place at Camp Shallow Lake was just the change of pace the series needed. The outdoor scenes and bright natural light are a huge step up from the often poorly lit indoor sets of S2
Camp Shallow Lake almost feels like a character itself. There’s a clear sense of history to it which also shines through in the camper’s friendships and traditions
Portwell was great tonight, really sweet and an improvement on their lacklustre ending in S2. Of course, it’s not gonna last as the show drops any pretense of subtlety and telegraphs that Ricky will come between them
They clearly weren’t planning to effectively write Lily off so soon but the actress landed a lead role in a CW show so it couldn’t be helped
Tim’s ruthless purge of the cast would make Joseph Stalin proud. All of the new characters introduced in S2 were disposed off, most of them off screen. And Big Red, Seb, Mazzara, and Miss Jenn have been downgraded to recurring. It reminds me of Ryan Murphy basically scrapping S4 and S5 of Glee and starting S6 afresh
In an interview Tim elaborated that with so many characters and only 8 eps they just couldn’t fit everyone which led to what he described as some difficult conversations. The flip side of that is that he’s introducing a bunch of new characters so the cast doesn’t actually shrink at all
Interestingly, he described his Disney executives as asking which new characters he’s gonna introduce that will draw in new viewers. That obsession with growing the audience is why Netflix is so famous for cancelling shows after 2 seasons, they found that most shows stopped bringing in new viewers by that point. I suspect it’s much the same with Disney + shows. There’s probably not many people who are just now stumbling upon HSMTMTS and deciding to watch and their focus would probably be better served on making sure they don’t lose any of their audience
Also the idea that new characters will draw in viewers seems flimsy. Unless they’re played by well known actors there’s little reason to think that an audience will tune in for a character until after they get to know them. Maddox and Jet and the other newbies seem fun but should we be getting attached to them? Are we ever gonna see them again after S3? Which ties into the big question looming over the entire season, how much of these new characters and settings and plots will end up mattering when the show moves back to East High for S4?
Nini going off to be Olivia Rodrigo isn’t that entertaining but it is what it is. Suprisngly last night Liv actually attended the S3 premiere and posted about it which is the most promo she’s done for the show in a very long time. And even more shockingly she actually took photos with Joshua Bassett and they seemed to be getting along. Wonders never cease
The songs were fun but Finally Free had way too much autotune
This Corbin Bleu stuff is so damn meta. It was hilarious that they made it seem like he was about to be whisked away on a helicopter
In late breaking news, we learned EJ’s full name from the D23 website. His real name is Eric James Caswell. He’d probably have a bit of a WASPier name or at least a biblically inspired name given that he’s from a family of rich white people born and raised in Utah. But I think they took the right route and didn’t try to make a big deal of the name. It never seemed to be any kind of secret in universe and dragging it out would just make the eventual reveal anti-climatic. Or worse they could have tried to surprise the audience or go a comedic route and give him a ridiculously embarrassing name even though that would be highly implausible and would end up making EJ seem more like a cartoon then a three dimensional character
have you seen the hsmtmts season 3 trailer? definitely looks interesting and i think the change of scenery is a great change for the show.
I agree anon, it really does look like changing up the location and doing a lot of outdoor scenes. S3 definitely looks better than S2 and I think it will end up being much better as well; something much closer to the charm and quality that S1 had. Of course, the question remains whether S3 will end up mattering very much in the long run and whether the quality and momentum of a much improved S3 can carry forward into S4.
As I said way back when it was confirmed that S3 would be a summer camp season with several characters being reduced to recurring and several new mains being introduced, I'm skeptical that Tim has much of a plan when it comes to making S3 feel connected to what came before and what comes after on the show. Especially with a probable 6 month time jump to the final semester of Ricky's senior year being likely for S4 and the show reverting back to East High (though this time largely filmed on soundstages in California rather than on location in Utah).
The trailer does make clear that those Rina leaks were largely correct which is deeply unfortunate and I hope that they don't happen again for S4. I had hoped that Tim would break up Portwell without having Ricky be the reason but it seems he's having Ricky pursue a girl EJ is in a relationship with yet again. I'm sure it will be among the worst parts of S3. As I've said before, a default Rina endgame is pretty much the only option for how Ricky's romantic arc ends when the series likely ends with S4.
The only other possibility is that because it’s so obvious that there are no other options and with the difficulty of Ricky graduating while Gina still has a year of school left that Tim decides to ‘subvert expectations’ and does an open or ambiguous ending. I’m no Rina shipper but even I think that would be a terrible idea that would really damage the show’s ending and legacy. I don’t think it’s at all likely but it can’t be dismissed out of hand because Tim just might be stupid enough to try and pull a stunt like that.
It’s funny how cynically Disney is using Olivia Rodrigo to promote the show when it’s likely the trailer shows like 80% of her total scenes. A bit boring to have Ricky be the male lead in the musical once more, it looks like he gets to be the lead for all 4 seasons then. Good on Sofia Wylie for becoming the new female lead of the series. With Gina the musical lead this season there’s a good chance Kourtney might get the lead in S4. Looks like Lily won’t be a very big part of the season at all. Not sure why they’re having S3 only take place within 2 weeks in universe. It seems that 8 episode seasons might be a new Disney thing; Love Victor, Secrets of Sulphur Springs, and Percy Jackson all have had recent or upcoming season orders of 8 eps only. Is it enough? Probably not with all the new and returning characters they’re packing in but there’s no way that HSMTMTS should be allowed 12 eps again.
There is positive news on the lgbtq rep front. Before it looked like Seb basically being written out of S3 would wipe out half the rep in S3 but it looks like one of the female characters will be bisexual and have a relationship develop with JoJo Siwa. It’s a huge step forward for representation on Disney and builds on the genuine progress Disney has made with their series and movies in recent months.
Although it is darkly ironic that Disney has finally gotten the balls to provide good rep just as lgbtq rights in the USA are under their greatest threat in decades. I do fear that we will end up looking back at these years as the high water mark of lgbtq rep in entertainment before things get much worse. It’s becoming painfully clear that Joe Biden is presiding over a new Weimar Republic and that democracy, women’s rights, lgbtq rights, and human rights in America could be lost for a generation. What comes next may not be Hitler’s Germany but it sure as hell could be Franco’s Spain. If nothing else, HSMTMTS as a fun escapist show is a useful distraction from an ever gloomier world.
do you think it’s possible that instead of nini, lily could end up being ricky’s endgame? i’ve started to consider it as a possibility given the writers likely wanting to avoid the irl drama and surrounding implications of putting ricky and nini as the actual endgame of the show the way it was almost certainly planned… plus ork’s been upped to a series regular, and she’s likely going back to east high imo if there’s a fourth season…
if they write it well i genuinely don’t think people would hate it as much as they think they do at the current moment, and while olivia rose keegan’s write up when she was announced called lily a freshman, in the show it’s never mentioned so that doesn’t have to be true for canon. plus ork is even a year older than josh, so there’s not the same age issue like with sofia that people have talked about with por.twell and such…
That would be a hell of a twist anon but even assuming that Olivia and Josh just refuse to act out romantic Rini scenes again I can't see Rily being endgame unless for some reason Sofia has left the show before the series finale. And if for some reason both a Rini and Rina endgame was not an option then I think it's much more likely that Ricky just ends the series single. I can't remember if Lily's age was ever mentioned in S2 but it's likely that there was a reason that she was written as a freshman and it will probably factor into the show in some way and that age gap would be a serious obstacle to them being endgame. Plus I think Tim knows that at least one combination of the core 4 needs to endgame in order for the series to have a satisfactory ending.
I do agree with you that the audience will probably come to like Rily. It's likely that a significant portion of Ricky's screen time in S3 will be with Lily, the likely secret romance tropes they'll be playing with are fun to watch if done right, and Ricky is always at his most charming when he's romancing someone who likes him back so I think there will be some very sweet Rily scenes before disaster inevitably strikes. And I do think that a lot of people aren't factoring in that Rily is likely together for most, if not nearly all, of S3. What exactly Lily's role would be after S3 is anyone's guess, Tim has referred to her as an agent of chaos which makes her the closest thing this show has to a Cheryl Blossom. She certainly brings some much needed Glee S1, 2, and 6 energy to HSMTMTS which is something the show could use more of so Tim could definitely keep around for the rest of the series in some capacity.
apparently larry, joe, and mark are missing from the HSMTMTS cast lineup
Looks like it anon. It's been a week but there's been no further clarification regarding them being in S3 and they haven't been spotted on set yet (nor are the new season regulars following them on insta when they do follow everyone else mentioned in the S3 cast list). It does make a certain amount of sense why there are two new season regulars and Lily apparently being promoted to regular if they’re replacing Seb, Big Red, and Mazzara. I do think it’s likely that we see them briefly, if just over facetime, but it will be jarring if they just vanish for a quarter of the series and then pop back up in S4. And of course, with Seb potentially being gone we lose the only same-sex relationship on the show and half of the lgbtq rep which would be a horrible step backwards from the very real progress the show made in S2. I’ll use this as a jumping off point to share some half baked thoughts I have about S3, in no particular order:
- Will the events of S3 end up mattering very much? Let’s say that S3 is just the change of pace the series needs and that the new characters are well received by the audience. Are we ever going to see any of the new regulars or guest stars after S3? Will they be able to keep any momentum going from S3 into S4 when there will be a six month time jump?
- If they have dropped Seb, Big Red, and Mazzara it’s much more likely that EJ does get dropped in S4, or at least that he only appears sporadically
- Val is obviously a foil for Gina. I don’t think EJ dumps Gina for Val but I do think Val being a college student will make Gina insecure and lead to Gina and EJ mutually breaking up near or at the end of S3 after agreeing that they’re in different stages of their lives. The most important thing about Val is that she keeps Ricky’s hands clean of any role in the Portwell breakup. There’s a slim chance that Val just ends up strengthening Portwell but Tim will easily sacrifice them so he can explore Rina
- A default Rina endgame is looking much more likely as it’s now clear that Olivia and Joshua are not even on speaking terms. The chances of one or both of them simply refusing to film a romantic Rini get back together in the S4/series finale is something that Tim will have to keep in mind. It also means that if there is a Rini endgame then it will be very last minute and probably fairly low key
- A lot of people were surprised that Olivia Rodrigo is back but it never made sense that Disney would let one of the most famous pop singers in the world just walk away from her 4 season contract. It’s also important to keep in mind that Disney doesn’t pay their stars all that well and that her salary would have been negotiated when she wasn’t very famous so Disney is getting quite the bargain of using her popularity to boost the show while paying her a pittance
- The show’s original flaw is that Tim wrote the core 4 as being in three different grades. It’s a flaw that has caused a lot damage and may yet end up wrecking the show. The basic problem is that the show was originally built around Ricky and Nini which is why they’re the same grade; the logical end for the show is them graduating and getting back together at the end of their senior year. But now with the personal drama between the actors the original plan may no longer be feasible. EJ was just meant to be a temporary obstacle to Rini which is why it didn’t matter that he was a year older. And Gina was just meant to be a minor obstacle to Rini which is why Tim was surprised that they had chemistry because he never expected or needed them to, so it didn’t matter that she was a year younger. Relatedly it was also the logical move to pair Portwell together after Rini got back together and they were no longer needed as plot devices.
Now though with EJ graduated the Portwell age gap is a big issue and Ricky and Nini may never be able to get back together due to the actors personal enmity. Which leaves Rina except that Gina will still be a junior when Ricky graduates which leaves them with the same life stages gap issue that Portwell has. I think Tim is aware that he needs at least some of the core 4 to end the series in a relationship otherwise the ending just won’t work. If Tim does decide or is forced to go with a Rina endgame then he should lay the groundwork in S3 and just retcon Gina’s age so that she will be a senior in S4 just like Ricky. That way he can just graft her onto the original last semester plan for Ricky and Nini.
- Are we getting new writers? Tim is ultimately to blame for the messy writing for S2 but since he won’t be fired is he at least going to make changes in his writer’s room?
- If Big Red isn’t in much of S3 that probably means that a fair bit of Ricky’s time is spent with Lily. I think they’ll inevitably be sunk by the end of S3 but I do think it’s likely that intentionally or not we’ll get some good development for Rily that will actually win over most of the audience
“Mrs. Barker comes into the cafe all the time. I can’t believe I never recognized her.”
“Why would you? I mean, Savannah’s, like, 70 now.”
“She’s still the same person, Griffin. Something should’ve seemed, you know, familiar.”
“Well, Savannah grew up. She got married, and she lived this whole life. I mean, it’d be crazy if she wasn’t any different. I mean, think about how much our parents changed from when they were kids.”
“That’s true.”
Secrets of Sulphur Springs (2021-), 2x08 - “Time Is Not On Our Side”
