Ricky and Nini | Second Chance / Second Chances Meta
“here’s to second acts” - nini reading ricky’s card.
“and new beginnings” - ricky reading nini’s card.
the two don’t directly quote the song / episode title, but i think it’s obvious enough what’s going on here at the close of the card scene. she signs it “love nini” and we saw visually that his is signed “love ricky”, but this is them doubling down on their decision in the treehouse.
this is their chance at a new beginning, a second chance.
(quick note/warning: this is image heavy, and long, lots of paragraphs. there should be more second chance related meta analysis coming soon!)
for ricky and nini, this here is opportunity to try to live for themselves and not one another, for what’s probably one of the first times in their lives. and like, that’s a big deal.
the difference will be who’s ready to step into that part of their journey, and the answer is very clearly, not ricky. he knows he can’t live for nini at this point, but as we’ve seen with ricky’s arc, he thinks love is the answer. so he’s probably going to try living for someone else, see where that gets him. (spoiler alert, it won’t end well. and then ricky can have his self worth / personal growth era)
i know nini’s gotten this arc before, of living for herself, and this is another chance for her at truly doing it, but ricky hasn’t quite been able to do it at all yet. hopefully the latter portion of season 3 he will, but he’s clearly still not ready yet. it’s a complicated balancing act because ricky needs both to learn to open up to other people more and to live for himself as an individual more.
nini’s good with her connection to others more or less, she’s at her best when she’s supporting other people and sharing nice moments with them. what she’s in pursuit of is her own voice. and while she’s been walking this road to different extents in both previous seasons, i think this time it’s going to have to stick, particularly given her reduced screentime as she potentially gets written off the show. like i know they’ve tried the ‘nini seeing herself through the eyes of boys’ thing, but i think she’s very clearly past that. ricky doesn’t really even do that to her at this point either, but regardless, it’s time for her to set out for herself. be her own person. not depend on others, because she doesn’t want to. she doesn’t want to be safe, and familiarity is safety.
nini’s ahead in her journey, and its why she’s able to sort of let go faster in 2.08, though it’s obvious from later scenes she’s not like- done with him necessarily... just- taking steps. she gets her feelings out immediately as she cries in ricky’s arms, then looks at something she’s made for herself (as superficial as it is to see her scrolling through instagram comments after the breakup as ricky sobs in big red’s basement, it’s something that’s about her, and that’s nini’s journey, finding what’s hers), and then sets on forward. maybe one day ricky can be part of what’s hers, but right now, what’s hers has to be different from him, and she can’t be projecting from him, as he projects from her. the big thing with nini’s framing in second chance is that nini has hope. nini’s music is her big opportunity this season, and after trying to find a way to embrace her individuality, this may just fit the bill.
and that’s kind of where ricky falls short. he holds himself together for nini, like he did at the start of the season when she went to yac, which- shows what progress he’s made. like... we hear him say “i’ve got you” to her. and while we see the pain in his face, in his eyes especially, i truly love joshua bassett’s acting, ricky doesn’t let himself start to cry until he gets to big red. he’s holding nini up. and she doesn’t want to be sheltered anymore, as she says about yac. but then, there, in this place that’s theirs, she takes that comfort from him, that safety, for what’s at least for the moment, their last time. ricky doesn’t have the same hope of something that’s his own. the only thing that he really feels he can rely on in his moment of grief is big red. and we love ashlyn, but even big red isn’t his alone right now. ricky interrupts their movie night. (which obviously this whole situation isn’t an issue in any way, but it’s something worth pointing out imo bc it plays a role in what i think is ricky’s potential isolation for the future season).
ricky still doesn’t see himself as a theatre kid in 2.12, he’s really a lost soul in a lot of ways, and without nini as his tether to theater (and honestly to the broader friend group too), it’s not a surprise to me that he’s clinging to lily, a person who also represents this theater interest, but also largely represents someone who goes after what she wants, whether that be him or her other ambitions. my hope is that she can help him find something that’s his. whether it be theatre or not, i think it could go either way, because maybe it’s just a ricky struggling to accept himself in general thing, but i think it would make a lot of sense if theatre just isn’t his thing and music is.
--
when nini’s in a place where she can be comfortable and firm in her own individuality, which she’s gained a lot of strength in, and ricky gets to that same place, they’d likely be very apt to be good for one another.
this couple works best reuniting when they no longer need one another (nini’s pretty much there, ricky less so), but they still do want one another.
ricky and nini make a lot of sense to be each other’s long game down the road, but they don’t make sense right now. they have to wait until they are truly ready for one another before they do get back together. because they will move in the same direction. they both are people who need to leave the comfort and safety of home, grow and explore, live for themselves, and additionally they share a common passion for music, which nini’s allowed herself to embrace and i hope ricky will too. their paths should by all means intertwine again one day, when they’re prepared for it.
--
what’s kind of cool about the way ricky and nini are framed in 2.12 is that both in their second chance entrances (when he walks in down the stairs and when she walks in through the door, please enjoy my photoshop skills), and when they make their respective phone calls for their second chances, lily / second chance at love & jamie (music) / second chance at finding her passion with a new opportunity, they’re crossing each other. the two of them are heading in different directions, and while they visibly cross already in their second chance entrance, they’re just angled oppositely when they make their phone calls. they’re going different ways, but maybe one day their paths can still intersect. i think i’ve mentioned before that ricky and nini’s overall stories can be read in parallel, but that he’s fallen behind... and i do believe that. they’re eventually going to sail their ships in the same direction again, but right now they’re going on different journeys as he sidesteps himself as an individual and chooses romantic relationships as a source of satisfaction.
--
when the characters make their entrances into the auditorium portion with the ghost light, nini’s the very first onto the stage, so confident compared to where she stood in the pilot, but it’s cool to see that this time she’s daring to dream of her own accord. and how fitting that once she’s said her “i’ve got a second chance to fly”, the person coming in after her, is none other than ej, the person who let her know she could in the pilot, but sort of ended up ripping her confidence from her later. this time she has to go it alone, and that’s why she’s first, stepping on the stage by herself. she crosses up to be front and center, and ej comes after, no longer so confident, they’ve practically traded from 1.01 as he relents that he’s “got a second chance to fall”.
nini’s coming in for her second chance to fly- it’s not YAC, and it’s not gabriella, like she was auditioning for in 1.01 in this same outfit, wearing her lucky sweatshirt no less, but it’s still resonant of that moment. maybe in 1.01, nini was hiding behind the hoodie, especially when you consider nini doesn’t exactly wear just like- a sweatshirt like that typically, and when you consider ej’s bold suggestion she show up in costume. the lucky sweatshirt is safe and familiar. she pushes that relative familiarity or safety off both at the audition in 1.01, and here in the back portion of season 2 (though to a much greater extent as she progresses). she folds her hands nervously in front of her, while ej’s are behind his back here, presenting himself chest forward. and yet she’s singing about flying, and he falling. oh how the tables have turned...
nini’s the person in this scene with the most hope and optimism, her refrain is “i’m finding who i wanna be”. she’s looking for something, but she’s sure she’s got something good coming for her. her entrance verse is “i know that every time a door is shut, a window opens up for me... it’s all wide open down this road i’m on, i’m finding who i want to be.” nini’s even looking up as she enters, not looking to the camera for answers.
ricky’s the last one on stage, and unlike the three others, who cross the stage to take their places, ricky merely steps up into frame, staying on the edge, on the opposite side of the ghost light. (the ghost light is a thing in theaters, there’s a superstition to go with.) it fits that he’s 1) last, given he’s run in behind the time for both his auditions in the show, and 2) that he doesn’t cross the stage, because he’s not quite ready to set out on his journey. he’s not even all the way lit up like the rest of them are. maybe nini was his light, the way he was hers at that audition, then she was his at the hsm performance, but regardless, he’s in the dark now that it’s over.
and it’s neat because his entrance line is “what can make the fire burn?” and i think we can take a second to get into what that means. i personally see two possible ways this can be taken, but honestly maybe it’s a bit of both? because one is something ricky needs to work towards, the other is something ricky is looking to in the present moment. he’s a very one day at a time type of person it seems like.
so the first “fire burn” thing that i could interpret this as is burning in terms of like- passion in the sense of motivation, drive. for example, if you’ve ever heard of lighting a fire under someone? one of the biggest things ricky seems to lack is a will to go forward, that driving force is something he struggles with. ricky lacks ambition. like nini told him in 2.02, he has to do it for himself. and she did convince him to audition, but it wasn’t really for himself yet. ricky’s main motivation when he does act to actually do stuff, even stuff he does care a lot about, is typically nini. love usually drives him, even beyond nini and beyond romance. so his asking “what can make the fire burn?” could be him asking, what can give me the will to go on?” which sounds dark- and maybe it is... but i don’t think this is the /whole/ situation.
the second “fire burn” interpretation is less what ricky’s overall story arc goes towards, but more where ricky sits right now as we conclude season 2. “i burn for you”- bridgerton anyone? (lowkey i haven’t actually seen this show in any real capacity). fire and burning, passion, can be also associated with love and probably even more strongly with lust. but this is obviously a disney show, so we’re talking today about love. fire is hot, passionate, overwhelming, etc. love can be the same, and if you’re not careful, you can get burned. i’m not going to get into it about the self sacrificial, i’d light myself on fire to keep you warm type of thing, since that’s not where we’re at obviously, but i just want to extend the metaphor to explain what i’m taking about. considering ricky starts the song singing about love being bittersweet when it ends, i don’t think it’s a stretch to say he’s thinking about the potential next love. (to make a massive overstatement for the sake of the metaphor) what/who can make his heart burn with desire? he wants to love and be loved. “what does it take”- for him to feel that way about someone else that he has for nini?
ricky’s the most lost of the four in this whole mess, i mean his part of the four part harmony is “begin again, begin again, begin again.” he repeats it three times each time, so it’s this cycle for him. he’s LOST. and he’s trying to latch onto the fact that he can try again this time.
--
i think there’s something to be said for why ricky starts singing before he enters the dream, and the fact he doesn’t like- sing... his first line. ricky’s face is blank but josh is singing in the background. “Who knew that love could be so bittersweet, oh when it finally meets- the end”
ricky right now is coming to terms with the fact that this is, for all intents and purposes, the end. he’s letting nini go because he loves her and knows he’s not right for her right now. as with his song, let you go, ricky’s cherishing their shared memories, it’s not like these two are suddenly on bad terms, but they’re cutting the cord before they can wreck things between them. their relationship was years of memories in the making.
and then to go with the second chance theming with lily, what does ricky sing about in his entrance? the line that we hear when we actually shift into the dreamlike sequence of the hallway with the 1.01 outfits is “But there is something in the summer wind, a moment to begin again...” and season 3 is a summer season, following the ricky calling lily cliffhanger. so ricky talks about love- and then summer as beginning again. lily is his “something in the summer wind”.
when he comes down the stairs and walks past the door nini walks through, he looks downtrodden, but more than that he just looks empty. conscious ricky tries to bury that, but subconscious ricky just can’t anymore.
--
ricky and nini in the final locker shots are in focus, in contrast to gina and ej who are blurred out. nini’s the first one we see, gazing up as she takes a breath, admittedly with some trepidation, contemplating the future, looking to the sky. nini has an answer for what she wants to do with her new beginning, she’s pursuing music, taking her songwriting, something that’s hers, to the next level. she’s pursuing what she wants, and she knows that if this isn’t what she wants, she can find a new opportunity from there ala “every time a door is shut, a window opens up, for me”. she doesn’t have to be afraid to chase a dream.
then we get ricky who’s staring out with a sad and almost empty gaze. ricky is the character that spends the most time looking into the camera like he’s on the office, and while i don’t think that this is that... he’s definitely looking for validation. he’s searching for something but he doesn’t quite have an answer as to what. ricky’s- working on that. he wants to know if he’s doing the right thing, and unfortunately no one can tell him that but himself. ricky doesn’t quite have a dream right now, he’s more just reeling at the moment.
--
the side view:
when we see the group from the side, they’re singing their individual refrains, creating the beautiful four part harmony.
i’ve already mentioned ricky and nini’s individual refrains, but i’ll cover them here again for the sake of completionism.
nini sings “i’m finding who i wanna be”. she’s looking up some of the time, but it’s more just the way she looks out, and there’s such a passion in her face, her voice, as she sings her part. nini’s passionate and driven and now she’s using that instead of letting fear keep her down. she has a voice, and she’s finding it, stepping into her power. there’s a reason nini’s voice carries through the others refrains, we pretty much always hear her. she’s finally decided to be heard, it is no longer inaccessible to her the way her lola brings up in early season 1.
ricky sings “begin again, begin again, begin again”. and this group of three distinct vocalizations of the phrase is repeated each time. ricky’s more searching, and while he seems more hopeful than ej does for sure in this whole number, he’s not quite convinced as to how he goes about going on from here. the second to last set of ricky’s singing his refrain at the end of the number has him finally looking determined. he’s trying to build himself up and say yes, i can go on. i will. i must.
--
background vocals:
ricky sings in the background: “what does it take” when the group sings “what can make the tide turn, what can make the fire burn?” lined up on the stage in the front facing shot. this is his pondering moment, he wants to know what he’s meant to do.
something kind of interesting about this is that ricky and nini actually sing solely with one another when they take their turn singing at the lockers before ej and gina enter. “i’ve got a second chance to fly, i’ve got a second chance to fall. what can make the tide turn, what can make the fire burn? a second chance is all”. they create their harmony together, without anyone else backing them up. all they need is one another, and then there’s the aspect of going it alone, even if they are technically singing together.
but, when it’s gina and ej’s turn, ricky and nini sing together behind ej and gina’s exchange of “i’ve got a second chance to fly, i’ve got a second chance to fall. what can make the tide turn, what can make the fire burn? a second chance is all”. their lyrics go “a second chance to fly, a second chance to fall”, and they together, support ej and gina’s portion of the song. i’ll get into ej and gina in the song in another post.
to be fair- this whole thing could very well mean nothing story-wise, and just be because of the fact that olivia and joshua are much stronger singers than sofia and matt (and i say this with love), so they can carry their own section, and support matt and sofia’s to make up for that. but regardless, i thought i’d touch on it for a second.
--
now for some fun color / costume stuff:
ricky and nini wearing blue and red respectively in 2.12, and blue and like- pink for 1.01 / the second chance hallway portion, is a consistent color story thing for them. they usually wear red or blue, each of them, or some variation on that color story. i love when shows play with that kind of thing with couples. they can compliment one another with their own individual parts, shared and contrasting. and then sometimes the different colors aspect shows how far apart they are too... so like when ricky and nini wear red together in the season 1 finale, we see that they’re in the same place.
also you know what’s kind of cool that you can’t see in this image? they’re both wearing green, under their main outer layer. you can see nini’s green romper, but not ricky’s green t-shirt. so you can’t see that they’re the same at their core. under the shell of the different choices they make. when ricky calls lily, we don’t see his core, his flannel is tucked around him, but nini’s jacket is open when she calls jamie. she’s going towards her own core purpose. finding herself. as he should also be doing, but isn’t yet. he’s protecting himself instead.
it’s kind of interesting because like- nini tends to wear a LOT of layers. in this case she has the red jacket, the green romper, some colorful top under the romper, and then what i’m going to just go ahead and say i think is the tie from 2.07 in hopes it’s not an additional shirt. plus the tights, but those aren’t really part of what i’m talking about, so it’s not super relevant. but- i’ll say this, nini’s not so guarded at this point, even with her three (possibly four) top layers. and considering there’s only a hint at the colored shirt, and i do think that’s her tie, i’m willing to consider the green romper her core layer. her jacket is open, i don’t even know if she could close it if she wanted to, but the open button sort of makes it such that nini isn’t clutching her armor tight. she’s open, using her core value in pursuing her core purpose.
you know when we do see ricky’s shirt- in the card scene, when he’s talking to lily in the entryway, and when he’s the only one besides howie (interesting to consider that for a second, ricky being separate from the others) who doesn’t jeer at antoine and lily when they walk into slices. he’s not like- inviting them to stick around, he walks them out remarking that it’s a private party, but he’s being friendly compared to his own friends’ behavior. he looks to almost feel sorry for them...
because ricky, at his core, cares a lot about people. this isn’t to say the others don’t, they really do, the love the wildcats share is a vastly important part of this show. it’s the love for each other that has them shunning north high in the first place. but when it comes to ricky, he’s keen on people, but especially people who put themselves forward. he admires that nini does this, even when it takes her away from him, even though it hurts him that it takes her away from him. he lets her go. and right now, he sees that lily was vulnerable with him, telling him about her family, as well as being so bold as to ask him to hang out some time, in 2.11, and even though he shut her down, he feels a bit bad that his friends aren’t being kind to her.
when he calls lily, his green shirt is covered by the flannel, but here, talking to her, we see it. he tries to shut lily down in the nicest way he can, “... lily, look”, looking back at his friends, presumably at nini who he’s still hung up on, a bit unsure of himself. he’s loyal to east high, it’s part of why he rejects her essentially twice in these last two episodes, before finally making the call at the end. he uses that core value of loyalty. and his core- his shirt under the flannel, is exposed.
--
that felt like a very unsatisfying place to end the post, but i figured putting the costuming pieces at the end would make the most sense, now i’m less sure about that but i don’t think i have anything else for this post, so- it’s just going to have to stay this way i think haha.
i’m getting into the significance of the ricky and lily stuff regarding 2.12 / second chance in a separate post, that i’ll probably link here when i finish it, because honestly i don’t need it all clogging this post. i had a good many revelations though, so i want to post them. trust me, it’s not as frustrating to see him call lily when you see just how much went into setting that moment up as basically the only rational decision for his character.
additionally, i’ll be doing a similar post to this one for ej and gina at some point. i don’t know when it’ll come, but hopefully a lot faster than this one was given now i have a plan of action on how to tackle the stuff.