The Marvel of Trelsi (Part X)
So in The Marvel of Trelsi Part VIII, I discussed the foundational problems in Troy and Gabriella’s relationship (no shared passion and nothing in common); in Part IX, I provided two further foundational problems (a lack of respect and a lack of love). Now, on second thoughts, I might have shuffled these around to begin with 1)- a lack of love, 2)- no shared passion, 3)- a lack of respect and 4)- nothing in common, as that provides a more logical order. Still, hindsight is always 20/20. There are still some key issues within their relationship that I want to dissect, as I think it’s essential have a full understanding of canon before promoting a non-canonical relationship.
Though I will examine the superiority of Trelsi in later posts, I think it is worth mentioning the following areas where they (Troy and Kelsi) show a far stronger relationship, whether platonically or romantically. Do they have a shared passion? Yes-- music and performing. Do they have things in common? Yes-- music, performing, as well as a sense of humour, and shared values of kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity. They are also mature beyond their years. Do they respect each other? Absolutely: just look at the above picture. Were they one of the canonical couples, would they actually love each other? Yes, based on the interaction they show in canon, which is full of effortless affection and based upon the uniqueness of their relationship. As I have said before, there is nothing in Troy and Gabriella’s relationship which is unique, because there is simply no basis for their relationship whatsoever.
Here are more reasons why Troyella is deficient:
5- Troy and Gabriella’s relationship is fundamentally unequal
I am forever astonished at the claim that Troyella represents “Relationship Goals”. It seems to me that the hashtag “Relationship Goals” is used by people with a poor grasp of what a relationship should entail. One of the major ingredients that accompanies respect is equality of persons within the relationship; it is supposed to be a partnership, with each person supporting and raising the other. We rarely ever see this in Troy and Gabriella’s relationship; the inequality stares us in the face throughout most of each film. I would roughly split the evidence of their inequality into two forms: fundamental inequality, which has already been discussed. Troy and Gabriella do not have the same passions, the same interests, share an equal level of respect and are not actually in love. The superficial forms of inequality are what interest me for this part.
It’s astonishing that even daily interactions between Troy and Gabriella show consistent inequality. Most of my examples come from HSM II and HSM III; both these films demonstrate the numerous times where Troy take great pains to please Gabriella and receives next to nothing in return. Let’s look at dates. Of all the dates that are proposed in HSM II: 1)- movie dates, 2)- presumably a date to teach Gabriella the twisted flip on a skateboard, 3)- the picnic date on Lava Springs’ golf course, 4)- the dinner date and illegal swim, 5)- the proposition of a ride in Troy’s new truck and a movie, all were proposed by Troy Bolton with not even the slightest input from Gabriella. For example, Gabriella could have proposed bringing some food along to the after hours dinner date, perhaps to help Troy out, given how exhausted he looked from running after and away from Sharpay all the time. Instead, she just sits there and waits for him to turn up. (In her defence, it was commendable of her to wait up even though he was extremely late for this date. She also defended him against Taylor’s attempt to discredit Troy as suffering from “boy disease”, whatever the hell that is. Later on, she also appears to be carrying two food boxes- was one of those for Troy?). Later on, instead of speaking to him with staggering rudeness over his promotions, she could have accepted his offer to go watch a movie, and asked what film he might like. But I’m guessing that Troy mostly lets Gabriella choose and then sits through the entire thing without ever complaining-- even if he can barely keep his eyes open or is bored to tears. (I bet he buys the popcorn and drinks too).
The only indication that Gabriella might have proposed a date for Troy comes through indirect dialogue: [Ryan] “Her mom makes the best brownies--”/[Troy] ”--Yeah, I know. I’ve had ‘em.”. How ironic that the only indication we get of Gabriella’s benevolence comes smack bang in the middle of when she’s humiliating him! So yes, we can assume that Gabriella must have invited him round on several occasions, because later in HSM III, we see that it’s normal for them to be both sitting in her garden, perhaps doing homework, and for Mrs. Montez to offer them snacks. But equally, we can be reasonably sure that when it comes to the biggest gestures, Troy is not only the one to propose their dates, but he’s the one who pays for them as well. Movies and dinner cost money, after all. Remember at the beginning of HSM II, that Troy buys Gabriella a necklace (a T pendant at the end of a chain), entirely at his own expense, only to have it dropped back in into his hands during Gabriella’s dramatic exit.* We are not given any indication as to Troy’s source of funds for this expensive gift, but given his later surprise at earning $500 a week, his earnings must have been modest. More on this in a bit. Clearly, Troy is the one who works harder at maintaining the faint spark in their relationship, the one who is obviously putting himself under pressure to think of ways to keep her entertained, and the one who is happy to dig into his own pocket each time.
On the issue of transport, once again Troy is always the one who offers it. Despite the fact that his truck is unreliable and has engine problems, and despite the fact that Gabriella could well afford to get a car loan (or avail herself of her mother’s own car, which magically appears whenever Gabriella leaves), he is the one chauffeuring his girlfriend around throughout HSM III. Again, we can assume that this is on a regular basis during the school semesters. Gabriella is shown taking the school bus (a more reliable option than Troy’s truck, to be sure) near the beginning of the film, but later, rides home in Troy’s truck. Laughing as his truck comes to a shuddering halt outside her house is how she expresses gratitude for this. She offers no word of thanks when he (inexplicably) opens the truck door for her, and instead proceeds to scold him for not admitting that he loves performing. Later on, after he brought her pizza and chocolate-covered strawberries, he leaves her house only to discover his truck has completely broken down. Does she assist him in finding replacement transport for his own safety, not to mention convenience? No. The selfishness is staggering, given that the free picnic she received came in spite of news that SHE didn’t tell him about her acceptance to Stanford. And then we arrive at the most absurd demonstration of Troy’s dedication to his “relationship”; driving 1 053 miles to Stanford, California in that same truck that couldn’t make it back from 1)- school to his house, 2)- school to Gabriella’s house, 3)- Gabriella’s house to his house without either throwing both passengers through the windshield (2), or breaking down completely (1) & (3). I have theorized many times that Gabriella was of no assistance when driving back; we are not given sufficient information, but it seems that Gabriella did not offer Troy a different (and faster!) form of transport to get back from California to Albuquerque in time for the musical. We can assume this because Troy texts Jimmie to say that he’s been “driving all night”.
It should be fairly clear by now that Gabriella not only does not contribute whatsoever to her relationship, but she also feels no obligation to do so. In her mind, Troy must be there when she needs him, and if he fails, she’s out. It doesn’t matter how good his explanations are, or how many times he offers to atone for his mistakes. Watching the staggering evidence of her indifference towards his generosity makes one convinced that she doesn’t even acknowledge the effort he puts into keeping her happy and satisfied. She doesn’t see the sacrifices going on to make that next dinner, that next movie date. Worse, she doesn’t want to see them, if her indifference to his struggles in HSM II are anything to go by. When Troy pleads with her that he’s “working on the scholarship thing”, her reaction is one of derision and impatience, with Gabriella pointing to fictional crimes he has committed. And again, we see a link to Troy’s lack of self-respect, in that he rarely ever asks Gabriella to put in effort and commitment to their relationship. You always see Troy dashing left, right and centre, trying to keep his commitments to Gabriella. On the contrary, she can simply decide whether she wants to follow through, and if not (the more frequent decision), she will either 1)- stop speaking with him (HSM I), 2)- let him down by surprise (HSM II), 3)- let him down over the phone (HSM III). In all three occasions, Gabriella NEVER apologizes for this complete lack of decency. Consider in HSM I-- did Troy have something to apologize for? Yes, what he said was mean. However, could not Gabriella have apologized for refusing to speak with him, thus hurting his feelings (he tried to say hello to her in the cafeteria, and she turned her head away from him IN FRONT OF EVERYONE) without giving him a chance to defend himself? Apparently not. In HSM II, could she not have apologized for quitting the job he secured on her behalf, or for flirting with Ryan to his face, or for being shockingly rude to him for no reason? No. In HSM III, does she ever offer an apology for her many sins, not least dumping him over the phone? Does she apologize when she realizes that he’s still willing to go the extra mile (LITERALLY) to save their “relationship”? You bet not. On the contrary, it’s like “sorry” is the only word in Troy’s vocabulary when it comes to Gabriella-- that and several other desperate pleas that invariably fall upon deaf ears. These all prove that quite apart from material inequality, Troy and Gabriella’s relationship suffers from emotional inequality, as Gabriella is simply unable and unwilling to comprehend how much effort and energy Troy pours into their relationship. Troy in turn is so overburdened by the effort required to keep Gabriella happy, that, like I said in the last post, his relationship becomes a chore.
No sane person would stay in love with someone who makes them work without pay, so to speak. ThoughtCatalog has a list of 10 signs that a relationship isn’t worth it. Here are several signs that apply to Troy Bolton:
1- “You rationalize their bad behaviour”- In Troy’s head, it is NEVER Gabriella’s fault, no matter how badly she hurts him.
3- “You try to buy their affection”- Troy’s constant attempts to atone for missing dates in HSM II have less to do with love and more to do with trying to stay in her favour because her anger hurts him and makes him feel like a failure.
6- “You feel powerless and needy”- I already explored Troy’s emotional dependency in the last post, and his facial expressions during HSM II and HSM III are indicative of how little say he has in his relationship, how dependent he is upon Gabriella’s approval. He craves affection, and loses the will to care about whether it’s genuine or not. This is because of how insecure and sensitive he is, which I discussed in my analysis of Troy Bolton.
7- “You’re ready to drop anything to spend time with them”- Basically the plot of HSM II. :D
8- “You’re fully in an “I’d do anything for love” mode”- As evidenced by the sheer folly of driving 1 053 miles for someone who’d just dumped him over the phone. And again, Troy’s motivations are not borne from love, but desperation and fear.
9- “When they pull away from you (real or imagined), it throws you into a spiral.”- As evidenced by Troy eating lunch alone on the rooftop after Gabriella ignores him outright, Troy lying in bed for several days (according to his father) after Gabriella dumped him, Troy sitting despondently in the auditorium after Gabriella leaves him without saying goodbye.
10- “You think more about securing ‘a commitment’ from them than you do about how the relationship is going awesome.”- And Troy can’t even secure ONE commitment from Gabriella, as evidenced by her brusque and detached announcement that she won’t be coming back to Albuquerque at all, despite having promised to make prom and so on.
That’s 7 out of 10 signs, folks. Think about what this means. More importantly, think about the devastating effect this would have over time on Troy, whom, as we have already established, is sensitive to other people’s disappointment and disapproval. (Hyperlink from BoltonEvans). Each time Gabriella drops the axe on his neck, she is inflicting even more anxiety and fear upon him, and his sense of self withers more and more.
The final inequality was brought up by BoltonEvans here, and I quote:
“Gabriella seems unable to commiserate with Troy’s financial woes, and, indeed, never expresses a single concern about how she’s going to afford her own college tuition- another disparity.”
Financial inequality in a relationship is often used for creating several popular tropes like the poor man and his rich woman lover, or vice versa. The truth is that financial disparities can often have a negative effect upon a relationship, as financial struggles lead to high levels of stress, frustration, isolation and resentment. Out of the following emotions, Troy only displays three (stress, frustration and isolation), but never does he take this out on anyone else. For some background context, I would place Troy’s wealth status as being lower middle-class. His family can clearly afford a few niceties like ski holidays in the winter, but if HSM II is anything to go by, Troy may have only taken one holiday per year. I notice he wasn’t planning on jetting off anywhere during the summer, but decided to stay home (or had no choice but to stay home) so he could earn money for college prior to Senior Year. We know that his parents are struggling with tuition costs, and thus he takes on the responsibility of providing for himself. Unlike spiteful and deceitful interpretations of his actions during HSM II, Troy does not believe in taking shortcuts and cheats to success; his conscience will not allow it. Everything he has achieved, from his Italian golf shoes to the fame and adulation he receives, was earned through hard work. Having his father as Coach motivates him to work harder, despite the implication of nepotism some might have seen there. (Besides, his father treats all the players equally, and puts more pressure on Troy to deliver).
Gabriella by contrast is quite well-off. Her mother’s company transfers her around the country, and Mrs. Montez is clearly able to buy substantial property wherever she lives. We don’t know what job Mrs. Montez holds, although I wonder whether it is based with a law-firm or corporation of some kind, given her eagerness for Gabriella to attend Stanford. As a result, Gabriella might lack stability, but she is not lacking in financial means. She’s definitely not as rich as the Evans’ twins, but she is significantly better off than Troy. We know this as she is never worried about tuition for college, and her mother is never said to be struggling with those, or indeed any costs. In fact, Gabriella rarely struggles with anything during the entire movie franchise, when clearly there are some elements of her past and her character that would have offered her relatable struggles (the presumed death of her father, her lack of stability).
Of course, it is not Gabriella’s fault that she is well-off. But the fact that she not only never expresses financial concerns, but seems to have no concern when Troy expresses them is troubling. Why? Because Troy puts forward a SUBSTANTIAL amount of MONEY towards non-essential things for her like dates, and she, who probably receives sufficient funds from her mother (since we are told she was struggling to find work), puts forward almost nothing towards the relationship. In fact, Troy receives more from Mrs. Montez** (her brownies and other unspecified snacks, as well as a great deal more respect) than he does from Gabriella. I’m not saying Gabriella should give him money (I very much doubt he’d take it), but it’s downright inexplicable that she would watch him shell out so much cash on her behalf when she could well afford to shoulder some costs herself. Let’s take a look at how much cash Troy reasonably spends on Gabriella throughout the movies. We can assume they began dating shortly after the Winter Musical, so we can assume that they have dates maybe once or twice a week. They’d have dinner at a nice restaurant (somehow, I can see Gabriella picking expensive places and Troy always paying) for two, then a movie (plus the snacks). The dates in HSM II largely involved resources from Lava Springs, although he would have spent money on 1)- maintaining his truck so he could drive Gabriella around town, 2)- fuel money, 3)- dinner at a restaurant, 4)- the aforementioned movie. We of course have the necklace, of an unspecified value. Gabriella could well afford to pay for dinner sometimes, and pay for movie tickets. We continue with the fuel money for HSM III; Gabriella may have been aware him saving up for a new fuel pump. Notice that she never shows any interest in the maintenance of his truck, let alone helps him out when fixing stuff. As a scientist, she could have been of use. You know what would have reduced my anger with their relationship? Gabriella buys him a new fuel pump! :D Anyway, later on, Gabriella bails on him, and thus Troy decides to spend an unspecified but no doubt horrible sum of money on fuel to and from California (2 106 miles in total), with no stated compensation from Gabriella at all. According to Google Maps, the drive is about 15 hours each way. So they’d need food, which Troy would no doubt be expected to provide. I base this on Gabriella’s ridiculous request that he get her “one of everything” during the afterparty at the beginning. (Troy disappointingly decides to heed this request and presumably didn’t get any food). All the while, Gabriella could have 1)- booked the flight, thus paying for it herself, 2)- helped pay for fuel (I am assuming she didn’t, but with good reason), 3)- helped pay for food, 4)- asked after the state of his truck once he arrived in California instead of staring at him like he’s a fool for trying when she couldn’t even lift a finger to do the same.
It’s not just unfair that Gabriella refuses to put some of her financial resources towards maintaining their relationship; it’s approaching immoral. She knows that he has limited resources, and she still expects him to go all out on her behalf. I shudder to think of how many sleepless nights Troy spends thinking about how to wow her on Christmas and her birthday. It’s just as well their shambolic relationship cannot seriously last long enough in the future for him to find out.
I have a couple more reasons for despising Troyella, which will be continued soon.
(*FOOTNOTE-- Prior to Troy giving Gabriella the necklace, Gabriella makes him promise that they’ll be together whatever happens. A couple of weeks later, she breaks up with him! :D You cannot make this up!)
(**FOOTNOTE-- Given that Mrs. Montez is such a kind, polite, encouraging and welcoming woman, it’s difficult to understand where Gabriella got all her troubling and infuriating character flaws from. Even from the outset, Mrs. Montez likes Troy, treats him with respect, invites him into her home, offers him snacks/food, and presumably approves of him. (As any sane parent would). She sees Troy as a complete gentleman, and was clearly unwilling to turn him away in HSM I when he came to apologize to Gabriella. You can see that she was impressed with his demeanour. I refuse to believe that she didn’t know about Troy’s nocturnal visits; he parked outside her house! But she never has an unkind word to say about him, and is deeply touched when Troy makes his tragic decision to follow Gabriella to college. Where did it all go so wrong? Gabriella is almost nothing like her mother: spoiled, ungrateful, rude, hypocritical and even cruel. I weep).