yes im portwell’s bitch

STOP

I had to stop watching the show after episode 3 because I could tell the bullshit road they were going down. But I caught up for the finale and honestly, I really wish I didn't.

It's not even Portwell's break up that has me mad. I always said that if they broke up I could handle it as long as it wasn't for the sole purpose of a Rina get together.

Welp

And even though I don't like Rina as a pair, that's not even why I hated this season. I genuinely think I would have been ok with Rina if they hadn't used EJ and his entire character growth as a stepping stool to lead to Rina. They took everything good about him and made it into something bad when all he ever wanted was a summer with the girl he loved at his second home. And then the play got thrown into his lap, and even then he wanted it to be perfect for Gina so she could shine and to also impress his dad, and at the end of the day Gina left him for a boy who stole his first gf and his dad couldn't even be proud of him. And even then he still called Ricky a brother and handled it so well. He deserved so much better than that, SO MUCH BETTER.

And then for them to make it seem like what Portwell has was never even real or genuine? BULLSHIT!

And then to make Gina the one to bare her soul out to Ricky AGAIN? Gina deserved to be the one on the receiving end of a heartfelt speech from Ricky if you were gonna make them happen. Gina has been putting herself out there for him over and over again, he should have been the one to confess to her. She deserved that (even if I'm a little salty with her right now)

Honestly season 3 was just one disappointment after another. I genuinely don't think I'm going to watch season 4, who knows.

I still love the cast though, especially Sofia, Matt, Josh, and Dara. So this page will be to support them. And I'll still post about Portwell goodness because they still have my heart and I'm going to pretend like season 3 never happened.

so you're telling me he had to make the call prematurely because he didn't feel there was a single other person who could morally support him through this? not his cousin who he's had these kind of conversations with before, not his ex girlfriend who was shown to be a source of strength and support for him, not a single one of his friends from school would be willing or able?

he had to squeeze such an important call in before she left because she was the only one really on his side.

For a show as DEEPLY self-referential as HSMTMTS is, why did we get almost zero in-references for Portwell this season? No ‘babe,’ or risotto, or Duke sweatshirt. No Wonderstudies. No mention of EJ being the one to buy the plane ticket. 

Because to make the path they chose make sense, they had to downplay EVERYTHING they built in season 2 between EJ and Gina.

You will NEVER convince me that the series endgame was supposed to be anything other than Rini. Plans change, and that’s fine. But even Gina’s speech to Ricky stalled out at the end of season 1. They had to disregard literally a whole season of their own canon to make it fit. That’s not an epic slow burn, it’s a hard left.

The fact they gave Gina the speech was the most ridiculous decision the show has ever made. You’ve honestly got to be joking??? I don’t know if that’s because Ricky already gave Nini a speech in season one, or, what, but Gina has already laid out her feelings to him multiple times.

“You’re not a maybe to me” — yea NO DUH, that was established when she spilled her guts multiple times and then cried over him for a bunch of episodes? After everything they’ve been through RICKY NEEDED TO BE THE ONE TO LAY OUT HIS FEELINGS FOR HER. And to twist the Portwell breakup to make it work for that speech … come on. Her breakup with EJ felt so weird and that’s because it was all so it would fit another narrative even though it made NO SENSE. If Gina didn’t want to be with EJ because of their age difference or even because of Ricky fine but don’t try and cram in that she was a “maybe” because she is literally all EJ wanted.

And don’t even get me started on the treatment of EJ who literally lost two girls the exact same way to the exact same person and then still called Ricky his brother, celebrated his birthday and walked away. All while directing a show alone, with no help, dealing with a hateful dad, and having to play a donkey in a play when Ricky gets the lead for shows he doesn’t even know the names of the character for.

I literally hated everything about that storyline in the finale and I am just … flabbergasted Ricky wasn’t the one to be honest with Gina about his feelings. I’m shook so hard by that.