The Marvel of Trelsi (Part XIV)
The above montage is awesome!
We continue with our discussion of Trelsi today, and for the last two posts, I’ve been examining Kelsi’s romantic interests as demonstrated through her songs and through her canonical relationship with Jason Cross. As you can see, there is a massive gulf between the two. I’m currently writing notes for another Trelsi fic called “Illusions and Reality”, which I think is a great summary of the difference between Kelsi’s imagination and the truth of her situation. As she graduates from high school, the audience can only wonder about how she has evolved in her romantic viewpoints. Since the movies didn’t see fit to give us more information about her career pursuits, or her life in college, I can only speculate about these things. It’s very important to distinguish between reasonable speculation and headcanons that I devised for my Trelsi fics. One of the reasons for this is that I am not yet decided on certain things, like, for example, whether Kelsi became resentful of Martha after breaking up with Jason, or even who broke up with who. That stumped me when writing my Trelsi one-shot, Offstage, which you can find here.
You may notice that I haven’t discussed Troy and his romantic expectations, focusing more on the problems in his relationship. This will come a little later when explaining the high compatibility of Troy and Kelsi as a romantic couple.
Like I’ve said before, I’m adding questions to my original list as new angles occur to me. The first question I want to add and discuss today is:
Question: Why does Kelsi idealize Troyella, given the problems discussed?
One of the things that puzzles and frustrates me about Kelsi, who seems sage and capable of judging character, is why she latches onto Troyella with such blind fervour. This is based on the way that Troy and Gabriella perform her songs, which demonstrates that, at the very least, their voices blend well together and bring out the message that she wants. Now, I would argue that this is mainly due to Troy, given that it is he who draws on her for confidence during every major performance, and not Gabriella. But Kelsi quite clearly believes that since Troy and Gabriella have proved their ability to perform her songs, then they deserve the leads in all her musical ideas. During HSM II, she immediately tells the two that they “can sing the leads”, thus bypassing the many other singers in their group who might be just as talented or even more talented than Troy and Gabriella. I have a real problem with the movie series constantly presenting Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and Ryan as the only lead performer options out of a high school with surely over 1000 students.
At least during HSM III, Kelsi seems resigned to Sharpay singing the lead and at least does not vocally object to working with her as much as she did during HSM I. (Though not without glares, pouts and eyerolls! :D) In fact, she even tells Troy that “It will be fine,” despite Troy’s evident discomfort and discouragement when performing with Sharpay, whereas in HSM I, she called Sharpay (and Ryan) “two rats, neither of them named Darbus.” (That still cracks me up!) But it’s made abundantly clear that Troy and Gabriella somehow deserve the lead roles for Kelsi’s works, and she throws her full weight behind them in support, hence her adorably enthusiastic applause after the “I Just Wanna Be With You” rehearsal. Given that Sharpay tells us that Kelsi shows blatant bias in how she allocates songs to her fellow classmates, I must wonder whether some in the Drama Department, who had been working hard at their craft long before either Troy or Gabriella showed up, might have been resentful that Kelsi, clearly conducting/directing the musical side, did not give them such preferences. Yes, that is literally a headcanon that I thought up a couple of seconds before typing those sentences. And I don’t think it’s implausible. Sharpay is clearly bothered and frustrated by Kelsi’s bias, and were she not so manipulative and unpleasant towards others, I would find her attempts to seek the best songs to be quite understandable. Ryan was bothered by Kelsi’s bias in HSM I, and in HSM II, which is he why told Sharpay “Now, it’s an amazing song, but Kelsi didn’t write it for us.” By the end of HSM II and throughout HSM III, however, Ryan has joined the Biased School Musical FanClub.
(Although to be fair, Ryan does not bias his choreography work in Troyella’s favour. In “Night to Remember”, you can see this. And also when he gets everyone to to yoga moves before rehearsal, and then gets Jason to come act as an example. He is not territorial at all. Kelsi, on the other hand, is).
I have condensed Kelsi’s favouritism towards Troyella into three main reasons:
Reason #1- Troyella represents the idealism in her songs
Love that lasts “forever”? Love that cannot be beaten by distance? Meeting someone and instantly knowing that they’re the one? Sounds like Troyella! Thus, even though I don’t believe that Kelsi’s songs were written about Troyella, she definitely is able to adapt them for the pair and the way they perform her songs seems credible proof to her that were she fortunate enough to have a Troyella-esque relationship, this is precisely what it would look like. I think this reason is pretty much self-explanatory, and you can revert back to my 12th instalment on Kelsi’s songs for more information on this.
Reason #2- She wants to have a Troyella-esque relationship herself
Remember when I said that Kelsi’s relationship with Jason is nothing like the relationship that she wants in her songs? (My posts are between 3000 to 5000 words long, so don’t worry if you didn’t! :D) Remember how many times I have used the word “idealism” and variations thereof? Now, that you can’t forget. However, there is a distinctive contrast here; Kelsi clearly wants something like Troyella, which she views in a surprisingly superficial manner, but she also wants attributes that befit a healthy relationship. I discussed this in the 12th instalment here when looking at “I Just Wanna Be With You” in particular. So why does she not see that Troyella would not fit this category? The answer is that she never does see this.
I said a while back that Troy and Kelsi were not shown hanging out when not working on a musical or show, so she has no idea that offstage, things are less than golden in Paradise. I did complain in my “Questions for HSM III” Series that Kelsi took shots at Sharpay, but said nothing about Gabriella leaving without telling everyone well in advance, or even providing an apology for doing so. However, I think in retrospect that I was too harsh on Kelsi here. She had no idea that Gabriella was purposefully concealing information about her opportunity at Stanford, and only discovered this because Sharpay leaked the news. (Sharpay- “The whole school’s buzzing about it!”) And why should Kelsi object to Gabriella getting such an incredible academic opportunity? Why should she connect the dots and wonder why Gabriella hadn’t mentioned this beforehand? Furthermore, it is reasonable for Kelsi to not criticize Gabriella, given that without Gabriella’s support for the musical, she would have struggled to persuade anyone to do it at all. In fact, if she did criticize Gabriella, that would look like ingratitude. You will of course recall the almost near universal rejection of another musical until Gabriella intervened. So, in retrospect, I don’t think her saying, “If it wasn’t for Gabriella, this musical would have just been another “Sharpay Show”!” is either untrue or problematic. Of course, she was disappointed that Gabriella wouldn’t be there, but grateful that the show would go ahead in the meantime, hence why she told Troy “It will be fine.” In other words, she was willing to put her musical vision ahead of her blatant bias for once, which is actually commendable.
Kelsi never sees tense moments between Troy and Gabriella. She wasn’t there when Gabriella cut Troy to pieces for daring to be promoted at work, she never sees Gabriella’s snide and mocking comments towards Troy, her double standards, hypocrisy and willingness to manipulate him until he yields to what she wants. Not only this, but Troy never tells anyone about this. Now obviously, the easiest counter-argument is that the script never had him do so, since he is obviously a vassal used to promote Troyella propaganda. However, even if the scriptwriters weren’t so biased, I don’t think Troy would tell anyone about these moments. Why? Because Troy’s self-esteem gradually declines throughout the movie series, and the more he becomes dependent upon Gabriella to function properly, the more shame he feels whenever his relationship doesn’t work out. When Gabriella leaves him-- twice-- he feels like a complete failure. It’s all his fault. He can’t live up to her expectations, nor those of his school. Despite Troy’s open nature, I have said here that he can be quite reserved. And I think the canon supports this. When Gabriella dumps him over the summer, Troy’s response is to hide in his room for days on end. When Gabriella leaves for California in HSM III, Troy’s response is to wander around the school rooftops, alone. When she bails on him later, his response is to drive off alone into the wilderness. Even when Kelsi gave him that SQUEE-WORTHY hug in HSM III, he never discussed his difficulties with Gabriella’s absence. In fact, contrary to my previous statements, perhaps Troy wanted to be alone then? Perhaps the Wildcats are not to blame for not coming over to comfort him. I seem to be evolving in my opinions here. And even when Kelsi tried to point out that everyone was missing Gabriella, Troy never opened up about how he felt, instead choosing to blame HIMSELF for “messing up all the songs...”
Never does he seek help from anyone else. Neither does he accept help from anyone else, or even words of reason. That’s why Chad’s insensitive, but sensible advice in HSM III goes in one ear and out the other. Throughout that scene, Troy is staring at a picture of Gabriella, a testament to how he is nearly incapable of thinking for himself by this point. That gives me the impression that he feels it’s his mess, and he alone must fix it, or else be branded as a complete and utter failure. Thus, Kelsi is largely unaware of this internal torment that Gabriella causes, and mostly only privy to the stage version of Troyella, where everything is sweetness and light. If Troy seems unlikely to confide his relationship troubles to anyone, if he considers it shameful upon himself when Gabriella leaves him, then Kelsi cannot be blamed for being somewhat unable to provide all the support that he needs when trying to heal. No other character would be able to support him either, if Troy simply cannot open up and accept that relationship problems are fine and that Gabriella is the problem.
Another reason that Kelsi wants a Troyella-esque relationship is that she sees Troyella as fixing the deficiencies in her own relationship. The song “What I’ve Been Looking For”, as I said here, basically wants the ideal partner to make up for Kelsi’s own weaknesses. Likewise, if we take my assumptions regarding her feelings after breaking up with Jason as a theoretical basis, then it would appear that Kelsi saw Troyella’s relationship as an example of complete commitment. (Obviously, I don’t believe any of these things, but I have to see things from Kelsi’s point of view instead of just beating her over the head with my meta notes!)
Whilst in her own relationship, Jason’s increasing emotional infidelity made her feel inadequate, she would be inspired by how much Troy clearly adored Gabriella. Whilst Jason ran off with Martha (a cheerleader) into the sunset, she would be inspired by how Troy didn’t even bat an eyelid at the myriad of other girls (cheerleaders) clamouring for his attention. She would be inspired by the displays of affection between Troy and Gabriella, comparing this in a more favourable light to her occasional struggle to get Jason interested in her rather than Martha. She would be inspired by how Troy and Gabriella expressed their commitment in music, whereas Jason definitely was not centre-stage material. (I would be VERY interested to see how Kelsi sang her songs).
Troy in particular is charming and always says the right thing, Jason is clumsy and always says the wrong thing. Gabriella is very pretty and confident, whereas Kelsi’s own confidence has diminished slightly (I assume) since her breakup. Now, this does not contradict what I said in the last instalment; Kelsi did have strong feelings for Jason and her choosing him despite his obvious faults is very significant. She did not settle. But she clearly does have an ideal, and her relationship with Jason is not that ideal. She would be reminded of this, particularly given the way it ended. So rather than Kelsi appearing envious of Troy and Gabriella per se, she is more wistful with regards to what they represent. I tend to think that Kelsi must have been fantasizing about the ideal romantic couple for YEARS before she met Troy and Gabriella; we can infer this based on the music she has been writing throughout her school years. So if it wasn’t Troy and Gabriella, another couple would become the ideal. It doesn’t have to be them, but because of her friendship with Troy, people tend to focus on her attachment to Troyella as a result.
But neither of these two reasons are the most important reason.
Reason #3- Kelsi supports Troyella, because it is important to Troy.
This was a “Eureka!” moment when I realized this. In fact, I’m not particularly sure why I didn’t realize this before, given that this whole series is dedicated to Trelsi! :D
So what do I mean? I’m so glad you asked. Kelsi is significantly more attached to Troy than she is to Gabriella. I personally think that Troy and Kelsi would consider each other as one of their best friends, or at least that would have become apparent had they spent more time together/received more screentime. That notwithstanding, I certainly believe that Troy was Kelsi’s first real friend, and thus her relationship with him holds a very special value in her life. I consider Troy and Kelsi’s friendship to be unique out of all relationships in the movie series; as I have said before, they both need and value something in each other and their success and evolution are irrevocably entwined with their friendship and a direct consequence of the latter.
By contrast, Kelsi does not have such an attachment to Gabriella at all, which may sound like a contradiction, given how Kelsi idealizes Troyella. But it’s not. Actually this proves my earlier statement, that Kelsi idealizes Troyella because of what it represents relationships-wise, not because she has any particular admiration for Gabriella beyond simple friendship. Although I would add that Kelsi respects Gabriella a lot more than Gabriella respects her. That notwithstanding, Kelsi does not share the kind of affection with Gabriella that she does with Troy; this is mostly evident during HSM III when she goes out of her way to comfort Troy. Interestingly, she doesn’t ask how Gabriella is during those times. She must have assumed Gabriella was fine. Clearly, she believes that Troy is more in need of her support. (Which is true). For her, Troy is her hero, her best friend, the person who best understands her and the ideal person to perform her songs.
Because Kelsi is one of the few people who treats Troy’s opinions with respect, it follows that she supports Troyella based on its importance to Troy. She cannot bear to see Troy upset by problems and pitfalls in his relationship, so her reaction is to offer him (and not Gabriella) sympathy, and do anything she can to fix things. It is notable that although the reunion in HSM II was planned by Ryan and Kelsi, it is Kelsi who is entrusted with helping get a beleaguered and disillusioned Troy in shape to perform “Everyday”, even though the song might have been written by Ryan. Given how closely Troy stands next to Kelsi throughout the beginning of this performance, I assume that he wouldn’t have been motivated to sing without her. We see parallel evidence of this devotion in Troy’s other relationships. Earlier in HSM II, you can vaguely see Kelsi’s shocked face when Chad and Troy have a fight in the middle of the kitchens (here in Britain, you take things outside like gentlemen! :D). Later on, she is embarrassed, disappointed and upset when the Wildcats unilaterally decide to ignore him. So what does she do? Knowing that Chad is Troy’s best friend and like a brother to him (very important, since Troy is an only child), she persuades Chad to forgive him, as well as helping bring Troy and Gabriella back together. Hence her secret little fist pumps when things are going her way.
(Do not be fooled by Kelsi’s apparently unassuming presence; she likes things to go her way. She likes to control the show, if not necessarily desiring the centre-stage, which makes her constant mockery of Sharpay slightly hypocritical).
And in yet another parallel, when Kelsi sees how Troy is interested showing his singing/performing talents, she is fully committed to helping him get this shot, even though he is, by all accounts, largely untested in this area. His only experience is singing in the shower and one karaoke, whereas Sharpay and Ryan have been in 17 school productions, and I suppose other members of the Drama Club are also seasoned performers. A callback does not mean that you are star material, or that you should get the lead role. But as far as Kelsi is concerned, Troy should get it, and only Troy deserves it. (Obviously Gabriella is included, but if you compare her rehearsals with Troy and with Gabriella, you can see who inspires her more). The musical becomes even more important to her because it’s important to Troy.
So it makes complete sense to me that rather than Kelsi’s idealization of Troy and Gabriella being a frustrating crime, as I have often said beforehand, that really it is a demonstration of consideration, loyalty, respect and commitment to Troy himself. This is a more positive explanation, and I now consider it to be more plausible. It’s easy for an onlooker like myself to say, as I have said before, “Can’t she see X problem and Y problem?” She can’t, because she’s never there. And what’s more, Troy is the one who makes it abundantly clear that he wants Gabriella, that she makes him happy (even when, in fact, she doesn’t) and that he must be with her. So what choice does Kelsi have but to take him at his word? What choice does she have but to support the relationship that her best friend so clearly desires? In her mind, she’s doing this for Troy, and that is effort well-spent. Whether it’s writing her best songs for him, or interceding on his behalf, or sticking up for him when no one else will, the end goal is fine as long as it leads to Troy’s happiness. And even though we’re never shown a scene where Troy recognizes Kelsi’s role behind the scenes in helping him out with his friendships and relationships, I think Troy would deeply appreciate her support regardless. So in return, Kelsi would have no option but to feel that her support of Troyella made Troy happy, and would continue supporting them in any way she could. Remember, she is hugely inspired by Troy’s nickname for her: Playmaker. The one who makes everyone else look good. So she definitely believes that she has the power to make Troyella look good, and Troy does absolutely nothing to disabuse her of this notion. His faith in her is absolute, hence why he does things like allowing her to teach him a song in about an hour on show night and then performing it (unrealistically well). Yes, I think I’ve changed my mind somewhat. Or at least, I see where Kelsi is coming from now. I still consider her views mistaken, but far more well-intentioned than I had first believed.
What’s even more interesting here is that should Troy gradually become disinvested in his relationship (as I believe was actually happening, not that he dared admit this), then it would be interesting to see how Kelsi would react. If she wants to support him in any way possible, then I can’t see her continuing to support a relationship that he no longer desired. But I am fully aware that Troy would need a catalyst before coming to that realization. It is worth considering, nonetheless. Obviously, as a Trelsi shipper, I believe that the more time he spent with Kelsi, the more he would come to realize that she is a superior companion for him.
And that’s upcoming in the next part. :)