#kelsinielsen

Apparently, the Disney channel has decided to upload the songs from the High School Musical series out of nowhere. 

Anyway, this has to be one of the most popular duets and rightly so. The first time I watched High School Musical (2007), I was sold (though I later insisted that it was too cheesy). 

On rereading some of my notes on High School Musical, I came across my comment on Sharpay’s occasional display of discernment and even kindness throughout the movie series, which can be found in this post here: 

“(At least Sharpay is an honest bitch, unlike a certain someone. The scene in HSM II where Sharpay said “you’re a good guy, Troy” is a far more meaningful compliment than anything Gabriella has ever said to him.)”

I just rewatched this scene in Google Play a minute ago, and I am impressed by Sharpay in this scene. Troy is entirely responsible for ridding her, however momentarily, of her arrogance, cruelty and selfishness. Finally, after such moronic behaviour throughout the entire film, she can be brought to reason. And in doing so, she reveals several interesting things about herself:

1- She doesn’t have any genuine feelings for Troy: She says, “I just sort of wish you were doing this for me,” which I believe is to gratify her own ego. Her regard for Troy is almost entirely imaginary and only based on his looks and his status. The way she looks at him here only shows respect and resignation, which quickly turns to selfish horror and annoyance when Troy insists that the Wildcats are allowed to perform. This was not part of what Ryan told him to do, thus demonstrating Troy taking initiative and showing his strong moral compass.

2- Troy has qualities that Sharpay respects: Most notably, Sharpay says, “You’re a good guy, Troy.” So she knows that there is more to him than his title as Wildcat superstar, even though she referred to him as East High’s Primo Boy at the beginning of the film. She knows that he has a moral compass and that he sticks to it when able to, though she has done her level best to compromise that during the film. She also recognizes that he cares about his friends, hence why he gave her that ultimatum. Furthermore, Troy in this scene has finally stood up for himself (to an extent) and she can’t influence him otherwise, thus showing that Sharpay does respond to authority. 

3- Sharpay at least sometimes dislikes herself: This part was played for laughs, but should have been taken seriously. Why? Earlier, Troy bailed on her right before show night and refused to back down, blaming her for her behaviour. Then Ryan bailed on her, blaming her for her behaviour. That was an even bigger shock, as Sharpay felt that she could always rely on Ryan. The fact that none of Sharpay’s “girls” were around when she was crying in her dressing room suggests that she is not close with them; rather, they are sycophants designed to be at her beck and call. Even earlier before all the other events, Gabriella shouted at Sharpay, again for her behaviour, and accused her of leaving a trail of damage behind her. Therefore, it is completely understandable that Sharpay, rather than being “the Ice Queen”, as Zeke claims, is seriously questioning her behaviour and her actions at this point, and can by no means be insensible of the negative reactions she draws from people-- even people she thought she could rely on. Having been raised to believe that she is entitled to anything she wants, her life would be great. But steamrolling over people has grave consequences, and Sharpay’s evident loneliness after being rebuffed at least three times (Gabriella, Troy and Ryan) is proof of this. So Sharpay’s surprise at saying this might have been genuine. In which case, Troy’s firmness and forgiveness despite her behaviour must have engendered some degree of remorse. 

Sharpay saying that Troy is a “good guy” is one of the most meaningful compliments that he receives from anyone in the film. It comes very close to the  highlight of HSM II, when Kelsi refuses to turn her back on Troy whilst all the other Wildcats so disgustingly blame him for Sharpay’s behaviour. The first one is meaningful because Sharpay addresses Troy as a man, not Troy as a legend and everyone else’s superstar. The second one is meaningful because it shows who Troy’s true friends really are. One is reminded of the “you were always right beside me” line in Kelsi’s song from HSM I. 

Sharpay says that Troy is a good guy, because she knows this to be true. By contrast, Gabriella in HSM I says that Troy is a “cool guy” . Because I like analysing the meaning behind every word, I will immediately draw a distinction between “good” and “cool”. I don’t care what modern culture thinks, but being cool is worth far less to me than being “good”. And cool is not good. And without a doubt, doing good certainly isn’t cool. (Just look at the culture today!). So even though this scene is one of the few times where Gabriella directly addresses Troy and his concerns, as well as building his confidence and evidently increasing his attraction to her, it doesn’t work as well for me as Sharpay speaking about his qualities. Being a cool guy means what? Nothing much, in my opinion. But being a good guy? That directly addresses why, in spite of Troy’s faults, he is such a compelling and loveable character. Just saying. 

I actually think that Troy invites Sharpay onto the stage whilst performing his song, which is far more than she deserves. Her smile here is genuine, and contains none of the cloying fake sweetness that she directs towards him on usual days. 

Also, Sharpay reveals a more intricate portrait of her own weaknesses whilst commending Troy. Gabriella simply complains about being seen as the “...freaky Math girl”. But she can’t produce any comparable plague to what Troy reveals about himself: “My parent’s friends are always saying: “Your son’s the basketball guy. You must be so... proud.” Sometimes I don’t wanna be the basketball guy. I wanna be... a guy.” Again, the effect of this pressure upon someone of around 16 years of age cannot be underestimated. His whole consciousness has been defined ahead of his time, and there is little he can do to change this. The fact that he has not succumbed to arrogance and contempt as a consequence of being so favoured definitely comports with how Sharpay sees his innate goodness. I have often been of the opinion that Gabriella doesn’t truly understand Troy. She definitely could, if she took the time to lay aside her own relatively trivial concerns and focus on the points he makes, the the concerns he has, and not try to compete with him when he frets or complains. 

Anyhow, this is a very interesting scene. What’s even more interesting is Kelsi’s evident sense of victory after hearing this scene. As I have said before, there is far more to Kelsi than meets the eye. Whilst appearing shy and retiring (which she is), she likes to have control over her music and its execution. And once she gets everyone on board with her ideas, she likes to control how they will appear and what they will do. This can be a double-edged sword, because it does often entail serious favoritism that really shouldn’t be permitted. Gabriella was thoroughly unworthy of being invited back onstage after flouncing off in a huff and throwing all of Kelsi’s hard work in the dump-- for the SECOND time. That place could have gone to someone else from the Wildcats who had actually participated from start to finish. But Kelsi does like to be in charge, though in a more quiet way. Which makes her incredibly influential and persuasive. This is very important; the camera chooses to focus at least twice on Kelsi’s reaction when the show can be saved. The first time is when Kelsi sees Troy reject Sharpay outright; not only is she delighted about the implications for the show, but immediately takes the chance to broker forgiveness between Troy and Chad, as well as the other Wildcats. Then she eavesdrops on Troy’s conversation with Sharpay to ensure that everything will go right. Then she rushes over to get Troy in shape for performing “Everyday”-- on the very night. This is an important scene, because it shows that Kelsi has embraced her nickname of “Playmaker”, and is able to make a beleaguered Troy look good enough for a Talent Show in front of scholarship boosters. Kelsi is the only person who could have done this. We are not shown Kelsi’s reaction to Sharpay’s candid admissions to Troy earlier; it would have been interesting to see this. 

More mysteriously, we are not shown any meaningful discussion between Troy and Gabriella after the Talent Show. Never mind about the focusing on right now nonsense. That doesn’t count as a discussion. An apology for running off, an explanation about her motives behind returning, some indication of how long she was able to rehearse a song on the very night (I assume Ryan prepped her-- that would be entirely consistent with their newfound friendship) without Troy knowing (they evidently didn’t do it at Gabriella’s house), some apology for her own erroneous judgements about his motives as well as her mockery, and a plan to avoid this kind of scenario ever happening again would have counted as meaningful conversation. 

Guys, do you remember when I said that Gabriella was reluctant to help Kelsi in HSM I when she tripped over? I was hedging my bets and waiting for concrete evidence, which is clear from Gabriella’s impatient and unwilling expression when Kelsi trips over:

Is it just me, or could you put a “Do I have to?” thought bubble over Gabriella’s head?

And then here, you can see the distance between Troy (already helping Kelsi with her manuscripts) and Gabriella, who has only just reached the stage and is clearly in no hurry. 

I know, it’s a small thing. Gabriella certainly likes Kelsi, but her reaction here does prove that Kelsi and her work would have been of no interest if she couldn’t personally benefit from both. I mean, if you see someone trip over, you should check to see if they’re alright? That was some trip! 

Troy was disappointed that Ms Darbus wouldn’t give Gabriella a chance, but lost no time in helping Kelsi, not even considering that he might get the chance to perform her song. Gabriella simply was disappointed and most probably wanted to leave. 

Of course, you could argue that Gabriella was impressed by Troy’s treatment of Kelsi, and this is supposed to demonstrate that she can see the good in another character. But remember that both Troy and Gabriella saw Sharpay intimidating Kelsi, yet only Troy mentioned the incident, only Troy made it clear that behaviour was unacceptable and only Troy cheered her up: 

Man, I’m beat at the end of THIS week. So much stuff to do, and so little of it based on writing. A rich husband would be much appreciated. 

Anyway, let’s return to Trelsi. In the last instalment, I did an analysis of three Kelsi Nielsen songs in order to demonstrate the kind of person that would interest Kelsi romantically in an ideal situation. I alluded to the fact that Kelsi’s expectations are idealistic, because the reality of her situation doesn’t bear much resemblance to those poetic lyrics and catchy melodies. Like I’ve said, I’m adding questions as they occur to me; I’m not just interested in examining Trelsi, but understanding Troy Bolton and Kelsi Nielsen as people, and that means discussing their interactions with others. My next question is as follows:

Question-- What can we learn about Kelsi Nielsen from her canonical relationships?

Disclaimer: No “Ryelsi” will be discussed.

This is fascinating to me. First of all, let’s get to the bottom of Kelsi’s canonical relationship with Jason Cross and the implications thereof. 

I’ve just been rewatching some of HSM I in Google Play, just to see whether there is any avenue for Jason Cross to have known about Kelsi prior to meeting her in the gym. I’ve scrolled as slowly as I can, but was unable to find such a place. It might have made sense for Jason to notice her during the performance of “Breaking Free”, but that would be impossible, given that Kelsi’s back was to the audience, and she only seemed interested in either the music or in Troy blossoming onstage. I’ve rewatched the scene where Jason formally and silently introduces himself, and it looks, for all intents and purposes, to be a spur on the moment decision to help her sink a shot. I like this scene. Even before shipping Trelsi, I considered it sweet, even though heavily in line with every other character being paired off for pairing’s sake. Even at this stage, Kelsi is still so often overlooked in favour of other girls (the gym is full of cheerleaders) that the decision to get to know her better often comes on a whim. I still can’t decide whether Troy intended to make friends with Kelsi earlier in HSM I, but if he only did so after she tripped over, then that would be a mirror to how Jason is later introduced to Kelsi. And once again, Kelsi’s surprise is a sign of how she is not yet used to being noticed by others, let alone boys (and a jock like Jason!). However, since being introduced to Troy, she has grown in confidence and thus she most notably does not react with the dumbfounded astonishment of before. In fact, her smile is more confident as Jason helps her shoot a hoop, which she appears to enjoy. 

Contrary to what the movie wishes for us to believe, I do not think that Jason and Kelsi instantly hit it off after this encounter. I am making assumptions here, but given what we know of Kelsi’s serious attitude towards love and relationships, I cannot see her deciding to put her trust in Jason before they had spent more time together. Fortunately, they had the rest of the school year to do so, and by the summer (HSM II), they are established as an item. By the beginning of HSM III, however, we are to infer that they have broken up and this raises a number of important questions and issues. First of all, what made Jason choose Kelsi out of all the other girls he could have easily had? Remember that Jason is a jock, and therefore from the Supreme Class, according to the Philosophy of Danforth. I assume that he saw something in her that other people didn’t, or maybe he was intrigued by her shyly and awkwardly clutching a basketball, and decided to help her out. I don’t pretend to know the answers here, because we’re just not given that information. What does seem apparent is that Kelsi was still shy around boys-- notice her somewhat hunched shoulders when the basketball team cheered around her. Of course, we didn’t see that kind of shyness around the boys of the Drama Club, so I’m assuming that this was caused by 1)- the social status of the basketballers, 2)- possibly their physical stature, 3)- the shyness possibly being provoked when close to people she was attracted to. Either way, it appears that Jason knows what to do in order to lower Kelsi’s walls. She doesn’t seem to mind as he tosses her hat side and allows her hair to flow free, as is the clichéd method in romantic comedies. From around HSM III, Kelsi wears fewer hats (and even then, only as an accessory, rather than to hide her face) and wears her hair longer, perhaps a testament to Jason’s influence on her. What’s interesting about this is that Jason is pretty awkward himself, so perhaps he saw a kindred spirit and decided to work up the courage to introduce himself. 

Kelsi and Jason scenes are so tiny as to be almost invisible, but we can get some idea of what their relationship might have been like. I think the key thing to note is an easy affection between the two of them. I would not describe either of them as being in love, but just having the typical teenage feelings associated with one’s first relationship. I am almost certain that this is Kelsi’s first relationship; there is no way you can be that shy and have a boyfriend prior), and I think the same might be true for Jason, but not necessarily. Why is this significant? Because it’s nothing like what Kelsi either really expects or wants in a relationship. I have mentioned the danger of lofty expectations here and here, stating that this might lead to dissatisfaction on Kelsi’s part when she inevitably did not receive what she wanted. However, given this contrast, I do not think that Kelsi was intending to “settle” for Jason at all; it takes a lot for her to break down her walls, and I think that she would only invest in a relationship that she considered worthwhile. Like I’ve said in my song analysis, Kelsi does not half-step when it comes to relationships. Unlike Sharpay, she doesn’t view boys as sport, and unlike Gabriella, she does not take the business of being in a relationship for granted. Once inside the relationship, Kelsi would have committed completely. 

What does Kelsi see in Jason? Well, he seems kind, often fumbles and bumbles around, but in a well-meaning way. He seems thoughtful and doesn’t need her to impress him with sports skill before he notices her. Without even asking, he helps her sink a shot through the hoops and smiles at her as though this was her victory. 

So why, by the beginning of HSM III have they not only broken up, but Jason has jumped ship immediately to the popular head cheerleader Martha? Well, the seeds were sown during HSM II where, on at least two or three occasions, you can see Jason either hugging or putting his arm around Martha. In fact, after the kids have finished dancing outside of East High to mark the summer, Jason turns and hugs Martha first before Kelsi. Later on, he has his arm around Martha as he comes into the practice room to sing “You Are The Music In Me”. Because the film narrative pays little attention to Kelsi when she isn’t either composing music or with Troy and Gabriella, we don’t know anything about these little scenes beyond their mere existence, and thus we know very little about Kelsi’s reaction. Fortunately for you guys, we can rely on my musings in Google Docs to fill in the gaps. There are two ways that Kelsi could have reacted to this: either by confrontation or in silence. I base the confrontation theory on her ability to confront people when sufficiently agitated, like during HSM I, when she angrily told Troy why the callbacks had been rescheduled, and when she stood up to Sharpay before said callbacks. I base the silence theory on how Kelsi hides more of herself than she shows to other people (except perhaps Troy) and how, given that she is in her first relationship, she is most probably besieged by doubts on how she should behave. 

Out of the two theories, I think the silence theory is more likely, because the signs that Jason is becoming more attached to Martha are subtle. In which case, Kelsi would most probably be lingering and doubting whether she was simply imagining things, or whether she had reason to be worried. Her low self-esteem, which she has had most probably since childhood, would flare UP again. In my notes for my mega Trelsi fic, I speculated that Kelsi might be the kind of girl to compare herself negatively to other girls, particularly when one is competing with her over the same guy. She is nothing like Gabriella, who, confident in her own looks, would stare down the rival and then punish the guy if he dared look too interested in someone else.

In fact, Kelsi can’t have confronted him, because later on in the movie, you can see Jason leaning at the breakfast table next to Kelsi (shortly before the infamous Silent Treatment scene), which wouldn’t have happened were things frosty between them. At the end of the movie, during the quieter version of “You Are The Music In Me”, she seems happy hugging him and running around the hills. This appears genuine to me (I was rewatching it before writing this paragraph). So this may suggest that Kelsi was more likely playing it silent, perhaps believing that either Jason would not take Martha seriously (if so, a massive miscalculation on her part), and/or that she could/should focus on the positives in her relationship. It’s not like Jason was completely cold and unfeeling towards her; they obviously shared happy moments together. Clearly, she had strong feelings for Jason, or else none of this would make sense. Another reason that I don’t see Kelsi being confrontational is that Martha is/was her friend. Not only this, but Kelsi continues being either friendly or at least civil with Martha AFTER she broke up with Jason, even sitting at the same lunch table in HSM III (shortly before Chad asked Taylor to prom). This adds an astonishing twist to the tale. Why does Kelsi continue to maintain some semblance of friendship with someone who 1)- appears quite flirtatious, 2)- shows no canonical interest in Kelsi’s relationship with Jason and 3)- shows no embarrassment about dating her friend’s ex right in front of her? 

I have puzzled about this in my current Trelsi one-shot. Up til now, I don’t yet have a concrete answer. Does Kelsi, once again feeling that other girls are more attractive then her, feel that it’s all for the best, whilst trying to quash her own hurt? Does she politely pretend not to notice? (It does seem that way in some of the scenes; when Jason hugs Martha before her in early HSM II, she simply nudges him and waits for her turn!) Or is Kelsi merely displaying a show of civility, whilst hiding her bitterness? As we know, Kelsi is capable of deeply-rooted bitterness, and of holding grudges against other people. We are shown her grudge against Sharpay (understandable, but later heavily exaggerated), and her former grudge against Ryan, which she overcame. The movie narrative would never have us see any inkling that things weren’t always sugary and nice between the Wildcats, but perhaps Kelsi’s relationship with Martha became increasingly strained. After all, it’s not like Martha ever played it cool with Jason out of respect for her friend’s relationship. No, even by the beginning of the summer, they were on regular hugging terms, if there’s such a thing. The seamless way in which Jason runs straight into Martha’s arms (literally as well as figuratively) by the beginning of HSM III suggests a closeness that has to have been nurtured over time. And that time was when Kelsi and Jason were dating. 

Judging from that scene in HSM III, where the Cool Girls are sharing a table (Taylor, Gabriella, Martha and Kelsi), we can see Martha giggling over something. Taylor and Gabriella are laughing, and Kelsi is smiling, but focused on her manuscripts. Her reactions appear somewhat reserved here. We know that Kelsi and Martha at least were close, because at the beginning of HSM II, she gives Martha a hug (perhaps they were introduced after the Winter Musical?), and later on, she is happily pretending to scratch turntables whilst Martha breaks it down on the kitchen floor. I can’t help noticing that Kelsi and Martha are on opposite sides of the same table in HSM III, although this is not necessarily significant. Personally, I think that her reservation here is thanks to a tireless devotion to her work, but if Kelsi really did feel resentment towards Martha, then her smiling, whilst focusing on her work might be a plausible demonstration of this. That’s a possible headcanon assumption and not necessarily one that I hold.

I suppose the next question is whether Jason cheated on Kelsi with Martha? I think not. The fact that Kelsi continues to maintain communication with Martha and even Jason to some extent seems sufficient proof that that wasn’t the case. Remember that at the beginning of HSM III, Kelsi signed up “almost the entire home room!” (Ms. Darbus) for the next musical, and we can see that Jason objects to this. In other words, she signed him up. Given the “almost” part, I assume some members were left out, therefore Kelsi had every opportunity to leave out Jason were she angry with him. Kelsi signed up the people she could most easily persuade to participate. Later on, she begs everyone that she presumptuously signed up to participate, and again, this includes Jason. These are not the actions of someone wishing to put as much distance between her and her ex-boyfriend. It’s worth noting that Jason doesn’t speak to her with any reluctance or embarrassment, which is both astounding, given him jumping straight to Martha, but also indicative perhaps of a (somewhat) amicable breakup. And by amicable, I mean they both decided to part ways, not that Kelsi was patting him on the back for being chummy with her friend whilst they were dating! So, what I think what happened was that Kelsi couldn’t deal with Jason’s emotional infidelity any longer, and either she broke up with him to maintain the upper hand, or he broke up with her when he could no longer conceal those feelings. 

The implications and consequences of this breakup are not pretty. I am going to make a lot of assumptions here to fill in the gaps, but it strikes me that Kelsi would feel inadequate if her boyfriend (a jock, no less) left her for a confident and bubbly cheerleader. Bear in mind that not long after splitting up with Kelsi for Martha, Jason goes to the trouble of getting a T-shirt painted with a proposition for Martha. You can see this T-Shirt shortly before “Night to Remember”. Jason never did such a thing for Kelsi. Furthermore, he isn’t at all embarrassed to be wearing this in front of Kelsi whilst he performs HER song for the Spring Musical! Would this make Kelsi feel as though Jason was never as invested in their relationship as she was? In my last post, I alluded to a possible period of unhappiness for Kelsi prior to writing “I Just Wanna Be With You”: “You know how life can be/It changes overnight/Sunny then raining/But it’s alright.” Could the “rainy” period in Kelsi’s life be an allusion to Jason? Again, I do not present this as canonical fact, but it is definitely plausible. And I would go even further than that; could Kelsi’s appearance during “Night to Remember”, in which the guys say “Who’s that Girl?” be her response to Jason and Martha? During this scene, Kelsi appears as the “mystery girl” whom the guys (including, ironically, Jason) has to admire during the song. I don’t think this was Kelsi’s idea, but perhaps Ryan’s. He is the choreographer, and Kelsi was previously awkward and clumsy in HSM I, didn’t appear to be very fond of water in HSM II. But presenting herself as confident and carrying off the ballet steps without a hitch would be a great way for Kelsi to re-assert her confidence. We then see her invest her energy into writing one hell of a love song “I Just Wanna Be With You”, which I discussed in the last post. 

All in all, the trajectory of Kelsi’s relationship with Jason is quite sad-- for Kelsi. She most probably had such high hopes, and definitely put more into her relationship than Jason did. Perhaps she felt somewhat betrayed. However, I don’t think that even this quashes her sense of optimism, her hope for a better future. If there’s one reason why Kelsi is such a compelling story hero, it’s her ability to try, try again. I think that there would be a down period, but perhaps by the time it came to preparing the third musical, she threw herself into her composition work in order to keep the pain at bay. Her music is not only her sole passion, but also her escape from real life. Hence why she can be present in the moment and yet lost in pages of notes. 

This brings me onto my next question:

Question-- Did Kelsi have a crush on Troy? As a supporter of Trelsi, should this not be part of the default headcanon?

When I first watched the High School Musical series (a couple of years ago), it never crossed my mind that Kelsi could have had a crush on Troy. Only when I became more interested in the movies at the end of last year did I start seeing this proposed by a couple of fans. Again, I was sceptical, because at that point, I was more interested in the friendship, until that moment when I watched the Trelsi introductory scene and something clicked in my head. This could be a couple. But even THEN I wasn’t thinking about the potential of Kelsi’s astonishment being based on a crush, and I didn’t begin shipping Trelsi for real until HSM III. I think I gradually began accepting this interpretation simply by virtue of having read several meta’s where the author said so. Fast forward to now, when I ship Trelsi romantic and platonic fashion, and I’m actually ambivalent towards this theory. I will explain why, and how this relates to Kelsi and Jason as follows. 

Now the Crush Theory appears to take hold from the moment where Kelsi is introduced to Troy, and we see her astonishment that the King of East High is actually speaking with her. Along with other evidence, mostly centred around Kelsi’s stronger affection and attachment to Troy than to Gabriella, the belief is that this proves she had more than platonic feelings towards him. I may have oversimplified this somewhat, but I think that you get the gist. Now don’t get me wrong; the Crush Theory does serve one particular angle of the Trelsi ship that I will discuss in future instalments-- that of unrequited love. I’ve read some great Trelsi fics with this angle, and it starts from Kelsi having this secret crush. And for the purposes of the movie canon, it would be far more interesting for the central narrative, as well as giving Kelsi some depth, because since she shows a great capacity for self-sacrifice, she is unlikely to ever act on such feelings. This would be far more interesting for the viewer than Troy’s trite and unhealthy relationship with Gabriella. 

However, there are several problems with this theory.

Firstly, throughout the movies, Kelsi becomes more comfortable with Troy, something that surely could not happen if she had a persistent crush on him. By the summer, she thinks nothing of holding his hand, and does this again in HSM III. She gives him a hug when he’s feeling down, which suggests a level of familiarity not possible for a shy girl who has this all-encompassing crush on East High’s Primo Boy. I see Kelsi as becoming more open and more mature throughout the movies, not forever repressed by her feelings. Her song lyrics in HSM III are a reflection of this positive change. I struggle to reconcile this with the Crush Theory. 

Secondly, the Crush Theory undermines the importance of Kelsi’s introduction to Troy. There’s far more to that scene than physical attraction; it’s about finding a kindred spirit, acceptance, about Troy building up her confidence and revealing the girl within who always wanted to shine but never could do so. I find the Crush Theory problematic in that it would imply that Kelsi’s feelings of friendship towards Troy were at least partially motivated by attraction. This demeans the friendship to me. This introduction definitely leads to friendship first. A common understanding and chemistry in the sense that they communicate so effectively with little to no words, and are always by each other’s side no matter what. 

Thirdly, the Crush theory is short-lived. Kelsi is one of the first to see that Troy at least, is heavily invested in Gabriella. If Kelsi did have this crush, then she would have had to shelve it pretty fast once she saw that it was completely pointless. Troy Bolton is King of East High and unattainable for 98% of the female population. Kelsi may be an idealist, but her persistence shows that she has a realistic side. I can’t, especially in light of Kelsi’s increasing comfort around Troy, see her continuing to hold a flame for someone who is resolutely unavailable, knowing full well that such feelings are unlikely to be returned. That would put a whole depressing aspect to the Crush. If it happened, perhaps it ended quickly. Furthermore, I have already stated that Kelsi has a strong investment in people: a crush is not a strong investment. It is fleeting, and changes like the wind. Kelsi is deeply emotional and would need to feel as though the object of her affections was as deeply connected to her in return; canonically speaking, Troy is not. So why would she suffer in silence? Given her ability to find another path when one isn’t working for her, I can’t see Kelsi in a constant state of Purgatory here. 

The most important reason why the Crush Theory is lacking is that Kelsi dated Jason for a significant period of time and seemed perfectly happy doing so. I have already explained why it is not in Kelsi’s nature to “settle” for anything. Her interaction with Jason was affectionate, and for the period where he was actually invested in her, he reciprocated that affection. It would be easy to see why Kelsi might have a crush on Troy; he is gorgeous, charming, lovely, smart, dorky, sweet and romantic. Jason on the other hand, is awkward, handsome in a boyish kind of way and definitely not the brightest spark at all. And even though Kelsi looks incredulous when Jason fails to respond to Mr. Fulton’s prepping on how to treat “Miss Evans”, she appears not to take issue with Jason’s penchant for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Jason doesn’t seem to care much about his style, pairing shirts and t-shirts and baggy jeans. (Not unlike Kelsi’s sense of fashion throughout HSM I and II! :D) His hair is always wild, and he chews gum, has the co-ordination of a toddler learning to walk and is no way near as mature as his composer girlfriend. Still, Kelsi chooses to be with him. If she preferred Troy with his effortless romantic gestures, smooth-talking, intelligent conversation and so on, then she had every opportunity to seek out such a romantic partner. She is often shown in HSM III with some other members of the school band, and we are to assume that she was keeping them in order for the musical. There were plenty of other boys she could have dated. However, she maintained a relationship with Jason despite him not being Greek God material. And Martha’s flirtatiousness with Jason is testament to his own appeal to girls. The length of time that Kelsi dated Jason would be sufficient for her to shelve any such crush feelings, should they have existed. From Kelsi’s song lyrics, she seems to value honesty and genuine commitment in a relationship, thus making it unlikely that she would knowingly date someone with whom she had little to no connection, let alone whilst thinking about someone else. 

So no, I don’t consider it mandatory in the Trelsi ship to believe that Kelsi had a crush on him. Unorthodox? Yes. But hey, I love that. 

That being said, did Kelsi write her songs for Jason? I don’t think so. Their relationship did not strike me as having the quality that she longed for in her songs. Those songs express an ideal state. Will Kelsi attain it? That is entirely for her to decide, and I don’t know whether she feels her songs are truly representative of romance or maybe just part of her escapism. 

In the next instalment, I will discuss the superior potential of Trelsi romance, particularly where it might have worked in place of the canonical narrative. 

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. 

I’m back with a bang. Real life constraints should be made illegal, so that I can spend my days squeeing over Trelsi loveliness. (The above picture! :D) In this instalment, I’m going to round up on my major problems with the central pairing of HSM, Troyella. The initial list I wrote down was much longer, but I realized that many things came under the same catgeory: arguably, the central problems with Troyella can be summarized into one. Their relationship is fundamentally unequal, hence why they have no shared passion, almost nothing in common, one-sided respect, and aren’t in love with each other. Like I said in the last post, I would have rearranged my list in retrospect. I’ve been debating upon which final problems are worth exploring for a while, because there is so much overlap, but I think this final point encapsulates another core problem in the Troyella farce. 

6- Nobody criticizes the Troyella relationship. Everyone thinks it’s the best thing since the invention of the wheel. 

If there was one thing more obnoxious than Troy Bolton being shackled to someone as unrepentantly selfish, cruel and hypocritical as Gabriella Montez, it has to be the way his peers worship this “relationship”. The message in the HSM franchise is clear: this is the ideal, and you, the viewer, will be convinced of this not only by virtue of excellent camera work, romantic music and well-timed PDA, but also by the way that East High’s world revolves around the central pairing. Whenever Troy and Gabriella perform onstage, everyone cheers, whistles, smiles, claps, jumps, has religious experiences. All competition is either explicitly shown or implied as being innately inferior to Troy and Gabriella, even though this is unlikely. Not that I think all the emotion shown during the Troyella ballads is fake; Troy in particular translates a lot of genuine emotion into his musical renditions and therefore is a captivating performer. And even when his previous love for Gabriella degenerates into mindless emotional dependency, he conceals this when performing his ballad duets with Gabriella during HSM III. So, in effect, their relationship becomes a performance. 

But Troy and Gabriella’s peers, although potentially able to perceive problems between the two, rarely react to them, let alone acknowledge them. It is only during HSM I, I believe, where Chad and Taylor show some remorse when they see the upset that their deceitful webcam stunt caused. And to their credit, both The Jocks (The Jerks) and The Brainiacs (The Maniacs) repent of their sins, realizing that Troy and Gabriella have a right to pursue their own interests in peace. This appears a more uniform approach to addressing relationship problems from an outsider’s perspective. And I often think that outsider perspectives are important in romances to instigate and even interrupt character development, and to motivate the plot. All the classic romances have commentary, help and even interference from outsiders. They do not necessarily have to be helpful-- that clearly wasn’t the case in HSM I. However, in the franchise, we are dealing with, in particular, Troy’s friends. The sheer lack of any scene in which someone asks about his relationship out of concern, instead of gushing over it like Troyella is some American version of Romeo and Juliet (and look how those two ended up!), is deeply troubling as it leads to Troy’s increasing emotional isolation. 

Let’s break this down carefully. Many of the scenes of conflict between Troy and Gabriella occur when no one else is around. In HSM I, she suddenly turns cold towards him in the corridor, but everyone else is just passing by. In HSM II, two of her cruelest moments, mocking him for wearing Italian golf shoes, and then dumping him, had no onlookers. In HSM III, Gabriella’s refusal to listen to any of Troy’s advice with regards to Stanford happens in the private of her bedroom. However, there are several scenes betraying problems in the Troyella relationship that occur with onlookers, or could potentially involve other characters, as I will demonstrate below. 

Chad Danforth

One of the most mystical things throughout the entire HSM franchise is Chad’s inability to act like a best friend towards Troy when it doesn’t particularly suit him. I have covered this in Part IV, V, VI and VII of this series. Let’s just remember that Chad is Troy’s best friend. In the man’s own words: “we have been like brothers since pre-school.” And that’s a beautiful thing. How many people have managed to remain friends with people for at least fifteen or sixteen years in a row, from childhood no less? That’s why I like Troy and Chad’s friendship-- not because it’s stellar, like his friendship with Kelsi-- but because of its tenacity as well as the genuine brotherhood between them. 

Initially, Chad is not sold on Gabriella, because in his view, she is luring Troy away from his basketball career like a Siren leading sailors to their doom. In HSM I, he says, “What spell has this elevated IQ temptress girl cast that suddenly makes you want to be in a musical?” Gabriella is getting in the way of the Grand Plan. She is an obstruction, and not just a new girl in school who has become Troy’s friend. However, it is a credit to Chad that, upon realizing the cruel effects of his webcam stunt, he appears willing to make amends for his behaviour, and we can presume from then on he approves both of Gabriella as well as her relationship with Troy. But at the end of the day, he is still Troy’s best friend. Somewhere along the line, his friendship with Troy took a back seat, whilst a blind acceptance of Troyella took centre stage, with Chad even willing to default to Gabriella’s side (she’s “already one step ahead... As usual” after bailing on Troy before prom in HSM III) whilst his own friend is clearly upset. It’s an assumption, but Chad seemed more concerned with Gabriella’s feelings in HSM II, particularly when they were watching Troy teach Sharpay golf. We can see this where Chad casts a look at Gabriella, after telling Taylor that he has “no idea who [Troy] he really is,” which could be interpreted as sympathetic. It’s quite brief. Since the scene ends here, it seems that Chad felt that Gabriella had been wronged, as well as himself. It is surely astonishing that in a friendship supposed to resemble family ties, we NEVER see a scene in which Chad asks after Troy and Gabriella’s relationship in casual conversation, even if he suspected that Troy was neglecting Gabriella. 

Even after definitely discovering that Gabriella broke up with Troy in HSM II, there is no scene where Chad tries to comfort his best friend; we know this, because later on, when Troy is lying alone, despondent in bed, he says the two following things: that the Wildcats wouldn’t come “even if I called”, and that “Chad won’t talk to me.” His best friend, so openly a fan of Troyella, won’t bury the hatchet and pick up the phone, come round and visit, try to boost Troy’s spirits. Demonstrate that their friendship is stronger than a petty quarrel motivated entirely by Chad’s own jealousy. And why is this? Because the image of Troyella, this glorious legend, becomes more important to Chad than Troy the man-- a person he never truly understood anyway. What’s ironic is that Chad never seems to demonstrate much insight into people anyway, so he can’t be that clued up on Gabriella’s character, yet he eventually treats her as though she is without blame and her word is immutable. So when Gabriella sees fit to renege on her promises to Troy over the phone in HSM III, Chad only offers the verbal equivalent of a pat on the back, although this is one of the few occasions where he does genuinely try to pick Troy off his feet, urge him not to pine and mope. But that’s offset by Chad’s lack of interest when Troy was sitting alone in the auditorium, clearly devastated by Gabriella’s departure, not to mention him pillorying Troy when the latter kept making mistakes in rehearsals. The image supersedes the man. 

What does Chad see in Troyella? I’m not really sure, given that he bills himself as the hard, unsentimental type. Clearly that isn’t the case, given his admiring and supportive smile in the wings during HSM III when Troy is performing “I Just Wanna Be With You”. I suppose, deep down, Chad has a very simple philosophy: if it makes Troy happy, then he won’t interfere. Deep down, Chad can be a true, supportive friend when he wishes to be. But with such good intentions comes the requirement of regular concern and support, which Chad simply does not provide, even when faced with staggering evidence of problems in the Troyella relationship. It’s outrageous that we are never shown Chad’s reaction upon discovering, somehow, that contrary to following his “man up” advice, Troy had gunned up his engine and driven off to California, 1053 miles by himself, seemingly without telling anyone. As I said in my Questions for HSM III series, I can’t see his parents allowing him to go, and I couldn’t see Chad being too happy either, given that he just told Troy to get over the situation not long beforehand. But because we are supposed to see the entire series wrapped up with a shiny bow, no one questions the appearance of the Golden Couple, and everything goes right in the end. Chad applauds and silently approves. 

Meanwhile, he could be constantly there for Troy with a pat on the back, some brotherly advice and concern when Troy demonstrated an increasing inability to think for himself. As Troy’s best friend, Chad should know him better than anyone, and demonstrate deep concern when he sees his best friend twiddling his thumbs alone and staring listlessly into space at school, or collapsing onto his bed, his voice heavy and lifeless. In the Troy-Chad dynamic, Chad is often the motivational partner who can spur Troy to action. This is shown at the beginning of HSM III, where Troy leaves Chad to rally the team so they are motivated to win. Whilst Troy clearly internalizes a lot of his anxiety, by HSM III, the toll of being with Gabriella showed a great deal, and Chad should have been right next to Troy in those auditorium seats, doing what he could to lift Troy’s spirits. Chad should have been alarmed to see Troy wandering around without meaning or purpose on the rooftops, staring at Gabriella’s empty locker, sitting in silence instead of engaging in normal social interaction, because these are all signs of the kind of pervasive sadness that can develop into withdrawal and even depression if left unchecked. He has, after all, known the guy for over a decade, and should be aware of what to do. Instead, he’s chatting with Taylor, and it’s Kelsi, whom Troy has not even known for two years, who knows JUST how to comfort him with a hug and a smile. The irony.

There’s simply no excuse for Chad’s neglect of Troy at crucial moments, despite being fully aware that he is witnessing problems right before his eyes. 

The same goes for the Wildcats. I won’t analyse them individually, but they are supposed to be Troy’s friends. We don’t see any scene where they decide to rally around Troy when he’s clearly hurting after the breakups in HSM II and HSM III. None of them ask where he’d been in HSM III, and why he didn’t show up for prom. No one is remotely interested when he’s struggling with Gabriella’s absence. The image supersedes the man each time. And why is this so ironic? Because the HSM series is supposed to represent breaking the status quo, the hierarchised world of East High that keeps all students trapped in their specific social group, and raises hell for anyone brave enough to challenge such normativity. But actually, what the Wildcats do is ditch one status quo (social prejudice) to replace it with another (Troyella worship). And this status quo ends up being equally poisonous to the social and moral atmosphere, given that it encourages the unhealthy view that “perfect” romances exist (they certainly do not), and means that all flaws are routinely ignored. In this case, it is Troy who is emotionally isolated time and time again, as the Wildcats appear to side with Gabriella more. I base this conclusion on the fact that, as I stated earlier, the Wildcats refused to visit Troy after Gabriella quit Lava Springs, and it is implied that Troy sensed their bitterness towards him, even though they were presumably still speaking with him at that point. “Maybe my friends are right. Maybe I am turning into a jerk with new shoes.” Given the Wildcats’ underhand methods of displaying their displeasure, perhaps Troy had heard them, or suspected they were muttering behind his back. The Wildcats all want their special piece of Troyella cake, want to experience the magic like they’re watching Disney. Troy, their friend and captain, is of secondary importance. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bolton

Now, the fact that Mr and Mrs Bolton are never shown to express concerns over Troy’s rapid deterioration throughout the movie series is not to be assumed as based on a lack of concern for their son at all. Despite notable criticisms of Mr. Bolton’s behaviour, many of which are valid, at the end of the day, Mr. Bolton has his son’s back 100%. So it is mystifying that he is never shown to have questioned Troy’s relationship with Gabriella. Why? Because in HSM I, we know that he is willing to demonstrate his disapproval of Gabriella outright, even based on the flimsiest evidence. “You haven’t missed practice in three years. That girl shows up--” And yes, even though he eventually approves of TROY’S singing ambitions (and learns to refer to Gabriella by her given name), it is clear that his son comes first. So much so that even in HSM II, it appears that he relents on the scholarship pressure when it becomes clear that Troy is really suffering an identity crisis and is genuinely upset.

I don’t think he comprehends the full scale of that upset, because the advice he gives is helpful, but strangely insufficient. In the whole dialogue exchange, it is clear that Mr. Bolton can’t comprehend Troy’s internal conflict. When Troy essentially tells him that the Wildcats don’t want to speak with him, Mr. Bolton just laughs it off, instead of asking why and showing some concern. When Troy tells him that Gabriella quit (and dumped him), he makes no response. He’s certainly concerned, of course, but doesn’t comment on that exact event. I have to assume this is the first time that Troy told his father about the situation between him and Gabriella, which implies that Troy had kept it a secret. But when Mr. Bolton notes that Troy has been in his room for the last couple of days, that leads me to believe that perhaps he didn’t check on him for a while, possibly believing that Troy would get over whatever it was that was bothering him. Again, this is NOT based on a lack of concern, but let’s get back to why Mr. Bolton’s advice to Troy is insufficient. 

[Mr Bolton] “You know what? I’ve known this kid for a long, long time. And I got a lot of faith in him. He looks a lot like you. I’m absolutely sure he’s going to figure out the right thing to do.”

Now, there’s piano music and a clarinet to fool you into thinking that this is a pivotal point for Troy, and his father has just delivered a motivational speech. But actually, what’s the message here? After hearing that his son’s girlfriend broke up with him, and his friends won’t talk to him, what Mr. Bolton advises as a solution could be summarized at best as “You’ll figure it out.” But clearly that’s not the case. By his own admission, his son has been lying in bed for days, won’t eat food, hasn’t received any social calls and seems unresponsive to any encouragement. This is not the kind of person who seems ready to figure it out. HERE is where Mr. Bolton could have shown a strong, fatherly presence and advised Troy on how to navigate his next step, instead of chucking down a photo of Troy dressed in East High colours (thus referring to the dreaded Pedestal and perhaps causing Troy to throw back his head in exhaustion as though he has heard this lecture before), and leaving him to his own devices. Furthermore, Mr. Bolton makes absolutely no mention of Troy and Gabriella’s breakup, and we know from HSM III, that he will ask after Gabriella. Earlier on in the film, he shared an amusing anecdote about Troy’s devotion to Gabriella: “You know whenever she calls, he just, blushes.” So he knows the relationship means a lot to his son. And yet no comment about her quitting? No comfort? No asking why? 

Again, please don’t assume that Mr. Bolton doesn’t care. He does care. But perhaps he too has too much faith in Troyella to fully appreciate the extent of damage that Gabriella is causing. Not to mention, of course, that Troy internalizes so much anxiety and rarely confides this, except very often to the wrong people, like Chad and Gabriella. His faith in Troyella seems predicated upon his faith in Troy’s decisions, without necessarily evaluating whether those decisions are good decisions. So if Troy is with Gabriella, and she apparently makes him happy, then he approves of Troyella. The problem is what has to happen for Mr. Bolton to realize that Troyella is a problem? This is why we HAD to see his reaction to his only son driving off into the hinterland for a girl who had just reneged on her commitments. I think that would be a sufficient breaking point, because unlike many other characters, Mr. Bolton has more loyalty to his son than to Gabriella, and would somehow draw a line. We needed to see Mr. Bolton, with his good old-fashioned, masculine reasoning, tell his son a few hard truths about being in a relationship and show some concern about Troy’s increasing despondency. Being Mr. Bolton, he may not have tackled this in the most constructive way, but as a father, he sure as hell would have tried at some point. 

Which brings me to Mrs. Bolton, who is woefully underused throughout. Mrs. Bolton is an admirable matriarchal figure who keeps everything in order with calmness and style. She is surrounded by men, but she’s the one keeping them in line. They can be in charge on the court, but she’s in charge in the house. “Woah, woah, woah. Can we all redirect this energy by bringing in the groceries?” To which the people say “Yes, Mrs. Bolton.” Her will be done. This lady is not someone to be crossed. Her love for her husband and son is enjoyable to watch (take note, Troyella fans; the Boltons have a PROPER relationship), and she appears to treat Chad like a son too, if the prom suit scene is anything to go by. “Aw, you did good!” She does relent sometimes, like at the beginning of HSM I where father and son are in the middle of shooting hoops. But throughout, she very clearly wants the best for Troy, and Troy appears to have a much easier relationship with his mother than his father: he can persuade her easier. 

Again, referring to HSM I, he manages to convince her to let him shoot one more basket before heading to the kids party. Given this obvious affection, it is inexplicable that nothing was made of Mrs. Bolton’s visible surprise, dismay and disappointment when the fragments she heard of Troy’s conversation with Gabriella in HSM III. Indeed, the film almost treats her reaction as an aside. Having been, presumably, the first parent to see Troy’s prom suit, having been gushing and proud of him, having been eager to see Gabriella wear the ordered corsage, having seen her son almost giddy with excitement for the first time in possibly WEEKS, WHY does Mrs. Bolton all but disappear from our screens when Troy is at his lowest, only to reappear when everything is seemingly going well again? Because out of the two parents, Mrs. Bolton would have more constructive advice for her son’s relationship problems; women and mothers often tend to be more intuitive in that sense. Obviously, Mrs. Bolton would have discovered that Gabriella wasn’t turning up for prom, and whilst Mrs. Bolton evidently approves of Gabriella (although isn’t fooled by her-- that “Hi Gabriella” kind of sounded like “I know what you’re up to/I know you’re up there/You can’t fool me”), her son comes first. She would be right there, trying to comfort him and perhaps offering him some help. Perhaps, were she even more intuitive, she might be asking questions about the kind of girl who builds up their boyfriend only to drop kick him at the last minute. She might connect the dots between Troy’s lifelessness for the past couple of weeks, to his excitement at seeing Gabriella, to his despondency when Gabriella disappoints him for the nth time. We don’t know. But the airbrushing of Mrs. Bolton except when it comes to dancing in the crowd is shameful and inexplicable, making the Bolton’s seem like unconcerned parents when clearly they are concerned. It’s just not possible that they wouldn’t be. 

Ryan Evans

Another inexplicable example comes from Ryan Evans, who is either very forgiving or a diplomat. Remember that the biggest howler in HSM II came when Gabriella twists Ryan round her little finger, buoying him with flirty compliments in an attempt to humiliate Troy. Because Ryan is an honourable and decent person, he has no intention to carry through with this plan, hence why he extends a friendly welcome to Troy and passes on a compliment from his father. But this does place Ryan in the prime position of seeing a glaring problem in their relationship; that Gabriella is willing to manipulate and punish Troy. If you watch this scene carefully, you can see Ryan’s initial confusion which melts into awkwardness when he catches Gabriella’s expression and sees something akin to coldness and vindictiveness there, directed towards Troy. Furthermore, he hears the awkward silences and realizes something is up that he finds embarrassing. However, Ryan’s general reaction is that they will both sort whatever it is out themselves; he looks like he’s dodged a bullet when he makes his hasty and awkward exit. This is fair enough. But it seems far too light, given Troy’s expression, plainly betraying hurt and jealousy and humiliation, is plain for all to see. Then again, Ryan tried his best to diffuse the situation and ended up being cut off, so when he runs out of ideas, he leaves. 

Having just witnessed a very ugly side to the girl who, just moments before, was praising him to the heavens and assaulting him with sweet smiles, why does Ryan (and Kelsi) think the solution to Troy and Gabriella’s later breakup is a musical reunion between the two? I mean, I commend him for trying his best in this regard, and I suspect that his aims were simply to create a pleasant surprise for Troy, whom he perceived to be having a hard time. These are honourable aims. But I just can’t comprehend his lack of criticism for Gabriella’s crystal clear manipulation. Not only does he see Gabriella’s vindictive behaviour in this scene, later on, he is STILL hanging out with her! Because Ryan is not given much relevant dialogue apart from either pandering to Sharpay, or engaging in that silly macho contest with Chad, or saying a few things here and there later on, we don’t know whether Ryan addressed the issue of the LAUGHABLY obvious tension and discomfort between the alleged Golden Couple. Most likely he thought they would patch things up. Of course the fact that he gives Gabriella a hug is based on being friendly, not upon being Don Quixote. As I write this, perhaps there IS a reason. Gabriella went out of her way to speak with him (for the first time), and at this point, Troy had not yet done so. Furthermore, the circumstances that Gabriella created, made things awkward for Ryan, whereas Gabriella continued to show him (ostensible) friendship. Furthermore, Gabriella was actually the reason for his popularity with the Wildcats, whereas beforehand, it is implied that they may have mocked him. So he is actually grateful to her on that count. As a result, he thinks that they couldn’t sort whatever “it” was out, so I’ll cook up something nice and maybe that will fix it. He has no hard feelings towards Troy, he has no hard feelings towards Gabriella (even though she clearly used him), all he needs to do is write a nice song, get Kelsi to play it and everyone’s a winner. It’s an extremely naiive, although clearly well-meaning approach. I certainly wouldn’t criticize him for it, given that he still possesses some measure of awkwardness and is keen not to draw negative attention to himself. He is also keen to stay on good terms with everyone, even jocks who may or may not have treated him as a laughing stock. So he isn’t going to rock the boat. Perhaps he is a diplomat. In HSM III, he’s impressed with Troy and Gabriella’s performance, and ends up congratulating the both of them. There’s no hard feelings. Like everyone else, he has no criticism for Gabriella upping and leaving for California. Unlike almost everyone else, he does show Troy support, so he obviously isn’t as immune to the problems in the relationship as are so many others. But when they all appear to get back together in the end, he approves on TWO occasions, despite the breakups occurring in similar circumstances. The musical will fix it! :D *shakes head* 

So there you have it, folks. Six concrete reasons why Troyella is a horrible central pairing. Granted, there are many offshoot reasons that I considered, such as the poor communication, lack of realistic aims, Troy’s immunity to Gabriella’s faults that I could have added into the series, but I think that many of those are already covered throughout the piece. We have a couple who are supposed to share an interest, but don’t. A couple who are supposed to have at least a few significant other things in common, but don’t. A couple who are supposed to respect each other equally, but don’t. A couple who are supposed to be in love with each other, but aren’t. A couple who are supposed to be equal, but aren’t. A couple who should have at least fostered some objective outside perspectives, but don’t. A couple that leaves Troy Bolton, the most likeable character of the lot, broken, diminished, full of self-doubt and lonelier than ever before, whilst Gabriella gets into her Freshman Honours Program and has a bright future ahead of her. By the way, have you noticed that I haven’t criticized any character for not attending to Gabriella’s emotional needs throughout this movie? Because she rarely ever seems upset when her relationship takes a downturn. She might shed a few compulsory tears, mope around at home and pull a few sad faces, but she’s right as rain not long afterwards. Watch the latter half of HSM III if you don’t believe me. Not long after dumping Troy over the phone, she is SMILING, people. Clearly, her mental well-being is in NO danger. Furthermore, she NEVER shows one hint of remorse about what her actions do to Troy, and neither does anyone in the movie series tell her, because they all believe that Gabriella is beyond reproach. 

Troyella is therefore illogical, untenable, disturbing, almost immoral, and a direct affront to everything this movie is supposed to stand for. 

Guess who thinks this relationship is perfect and so romantic?

:D Oh dear. 

I weep. I really do. 

We will dissect Kelsi’s romantic interests in the next installment, including analysis of why she latches onto Troyella with such blind fervour, and what this means. 

The above is one of my favourite pictures of Kelsi. I think it encapsulates everything that I like about her: quiet, thoughtful, mature and modestly brilliant. My intro has a list of questions that I want to ask about the Trelsi pairing, but I’ve had to shuffle in some questions as well, when new thoughts occurred to me. The full list of questions so far is as follows:

1- Who IS Troy Bolton?

2- Who IS Kelsi Nielsen? (I’ll be referring to this a lot for today’s instalment)

3-  What makes the Trelsi friendship and dynamic so friggin’ special? Why does it make me want to weep and write poetry?

4-  Why are there so few Trelsi scenes? What is the effect of this? Where could we have seen more Trelsi?

5-  So, what’s wrong with the central canonical pairing, Troyella?

Today’s new question is:

Question-- Kelsi Nielsen and romance: what’s the attraction?

I’m super happy to return to discussing my second-favourite character, Kelsi Nielsen. As has already been established (and routinely ignored during the movie series), Kelsi Nielsen is one of the most interesting and emotionally complex characters out of the cast, which makes all her scenes compulsively rewatchable. There are several key points I need to understand about Kelsi’s motivations throughout the movie series, and what this potentially means for her and others. We’re going to look at her romantic instincts, the origins thereof, her canonical relationships, her fervent Troyella worship, and like-minded musings. 

Please note that I will not be discussing the alleged “Ryelsi”. I do not recognize this pairing: as far as I am concerned, it does not exist. Nothing inside this sham sheds any light upon Kelsi Nielsen (or Ryan Evans for that matter), makes any positive contribution to the plot, character arcs or anything else. It is a nonsensical and insulting concoction, executed with such staggering inconsistency so as to beggar belief that those writing it actually got paid. Furthermore, it appears that this fabrication was motivated by prejudice, which is completely unacceptable in my book. In the modern era, we should develop each character fully irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, religion and so on. 

So, Kelsi’s romanticism is a key element of her personality and her character. For the most part, this romanticism is expressed in her songwriting. Although I believe that Kelsi’s songs can be applied to her relationship with Troy, I do not believe that her songs were written about him. This is a key distinction. Her lyrics demonstrate a maturity and emotional versatility that have more complex shades-- far too complex to be just directed at one person. Indeed, her lyrics do not contain any clues that would lead me to believe she was speaking about a particular person. However, it is clear that she is speaking about a particular type of person, and from this we can deduce her philosophy about love and her expectations in a relationship. I have selected three main ballads for analysis: “What I’ve Been Looking For” (HSM I), “You Are The Music In Me” (HSM II) and “I Just Wanna Be With You” (HSM III). What clues do these songs reveal about the type of person Kelsi likes? 

1- “What I’ve Been Looking For”

We must assume that Kelsi wrote this song either during the first semester, or during the Christmas Holidays. Because so little information is given about Kelsi’s life as a whole, nothing is certain here. I consider this to be Kelsi’s most important song by virtue of the fact that she was willing to confront Sharpay over the rendition (whilst making little to no complaint when Sharpay crucified her songs in HSM II and HSM III), and the emotional involvement she displays when performing it with Troy and Gabriella. In this song, she discusses:

1- Her surprise at finding the right person: “It’s hard to believe, that I couldn’t see, that you were always there beside me.”

2- Her isolation because of being without a suitable partner: “Thought I was alone, with no one to hold...”

3- Her insistence upon looking for the right person, instead of taking whatever comes: “So lonely before, I’ve finally found, what I’ve been looking for.” The bold emphasis is my own. 

The song lyrics suggest that Kelsi might very well be oblivious to another person’s romantic interests, hence why “it’s hard to believe” that she could find herself recognizing those feelings and returning them. However, they also reveal another paradox in Kelsi’s shyness; the song is entitled “What I’ve Been Looking For”, which demonstrate that she has expectations of romance, and does not, despite her withdrawn nature, believe herself to be completely unlikeable. It just has to be the right person. But the shyness does factor in, as stated in another lyric: “So good to be seen, so good to be heard, don’t have to say a word.” This suggests that Kelsi struggles with words, and thus expresses herself better in songwriting. It suggests shyness. Notice that Kelsi never mentions seeing and hearing this other person, so that they don’t have to say a word, which could imply that she does not expect this potential person to be as shy as she is, which makes sense, since opposites attract. In fact, it implies that Kelsi expects this other person to make up for her own deficiencies: she isn’t good at expressing herself, and so she expects this other person to make things easier for her. She is lonely, and thus she expects this other person to provide her with companionship-- namely, being “always there beside me.” She struggles with directions (this could be figuratively as well as literally), and thus expects this other person to be the leader, the guiding hand. “So long I was lost, I’m finally found, I’m loving having you around...” 

Now, that particular lyric has religious connotations; the value of being “found” in Christianity refers to salvation. This is relevant not because Kelsi is necessarily religious (we have no information on this), but because it demonstrates that she has very high expectations in a relationship. Is this positive? Or is this negative? Or is it both? I will discuss this later on. The prospective person must know her, and be good for her, must fit with her like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. This person must inspire feelings that she’s never felt before, and must be worth the years of loneliness that she has endured to finally find the right person. When she finds this person, she will be “found”/saved from her previous state. The use of religious imagery, whether intended or unintended, is striking here. It is also worth noting that Kelsi’s lyrics are by and large conservative. She rarely, if ever, explores attraction and never explores sexual tension. Rather, this is something that Sharpay adds when crucifying her songs, as I will discuss in a moment. (Honestly, everything will be discussed in a moment! My head is crammed with ideas! :D). All of her romantic ballads venerate the emotional connection between the protagonist (herself) and her perfect partner (an unnamed person). The tempo of this song is supposed to be slow and steady, hence her dismay with Sharpay’s rendition. All the feelings that she discusses are romantic feelings, and are also feelings of friendship, as we will see for HSM III. The song is positive and optimistic, though tinged with (previous) wistfulness and even sadness. I think this is a fine achievement for Kelsi.

By the way, another important thing. The song is really about Kelsi. But it is written for a male and female character (Arnold and Minnie). This shows Kelsi’s versatility as a composer. Even if you took Kelsi out of the equation, then you’ve got a song that reflects all people and all times; everyone longs to find that special other half of themselves, and everyone has had fears and doubts and periods of loneliness, presumably whilst watching other people happy in their own relationships. The duet formation is an inspired idea. In fact, I want to challenge common wisdom in the movies. In HSM III, Sharpay says that “Kelsi always writes her best songs for Troy and Gabriella,” thus leading us to assume that Troyella inspire good music. However, might I propose the possibility that rather, it is Kelsi’s mastery writing duets that inspires her best songs, with Troy and Gabriella just being a handy addition? Why do I say so? Because “What I’ve Been Looking For” was written long before she ever met Troy and Gabriella, and it is an excellent and inspired piece. Remember, she had been submitting ideas for the school musicals presumably for several years, and we haven’t heard the many other songs she must have written. With practice comes mastery. She is already an excellent composer and songwriter. There’s no evidence whatsoever that Kelsi was suddenly inspired to write after meeting Troy and Gabriella, so why would we assume they were the only reason for her further duets? Surely it does Kelsi’s immense talent a disservice to attribute it solely to the central (and disastrous) main couple. 

2- “You Are The Music In Me”

Prior to receiving a job at Lava Springs, Kelsi had been intending to write music over the holidays. Yet more evidence that she did not need Troy and Gabriella to do so. Like I said in my analysis of Kelsi Nielsen, composing is in her blood. She needs to compose like I, a writer, need to write. And she is a perfectionist and disciplinarian in this endeavour; in HSM III, prior to the hazing stunt, Kelsi is shown, in a TINY scene, frowning in dissatisfaction and crossing out something. We are not shown whether she is composing, but given that they are in the auditorium, and given that she is normally shown hunched over her manuscripts elsewhere, this assumption seems likely. Kelsi wants every note to be exactly right. The summer holidays would be an excellent opportunity to spend hours more devoted to her craft. 

Now, it has just occurred to me that there is either an omission at the beginning of HSM II, or a significant plot hole. When Kelsi accepts the job at Lava Springs from Sharpay, Troy had not yet been offered a job. At the time when Troy is offered a job from Mr. Fulton, Kelsi was nowhere near (probably at home, writing music). But by the time we get to Lava Springs, Kelsi has a song ready for Troy and Gabriella, despite potentially having no knowledge that they would even be present. How has this inconsistency occurred? I must make an assumption to fill in the holes. Since Troy got jobs for all his friends, then Kelsi may have received this information via that route. The most likely example is that perhaps Jason or Martha phoned her to say that they’d be off to Lava Springs, and OMG, Kelsi is off there too! What a coincidence! Perhaps Jason would be more likely to have passed on the information that Troy was also going to be working there, since he spends more time with Troy than does Martha. So Kelsi perhaps received this information, and having presumably been given a job brief from Sharpay (composing for the Talent Show), sees a golden opportunity to rope Troy into performing in the Talent Show. This would be consistent, given her eagerness for Troy to perform in the Winter Musical. This seems the only way to reconcile Kelsi’s next duet and her clear intentions to write for Troy and Gabriella. She might only have discovered their presence when she turned up to work, but this seems unlikely, as she would need the time to compose the song, and Mr. Fulton was keeping them all to a strict schedule. Besides, the song is ready not long into the job. So she must have known beforehand, and most likely found out from Jason. 

What is VERY interesting about this duet is that it is the only one of my selected major songs where Kelsi makes a link between music and romance. You would think that she’d have used musical imagery in every other song, but no. Emotional connection comes first. Now, for the Lava Springs Talent Show, she sets about composing a romantic ballad with a similarly deep level of emotional involvement, once again demonstrating her high expectations for a relationship. “You Are The Music In Me” means what it says on the tin. Her music is not just written for the sake of fame, money or even applause; it is inspired by this unnamed person. Once again, I do not make the assumption that this person is Troy. Why? Because by this time, Kelsi was going out with Jason Cross. I do not make the assumption that the unnamed person is Jason, either. We will look at this in more detail later on. So her music is inspired. This person has to therefore be a part of her: “You’re harmony, to the melody, that’s echoing inside my head...”, (bold emphasis my own), so deeply connected that they know the notes she must write before she writes them. Lofty expectations, folks. :D 

Now, I said that Kelsi does not include, or consider, sexual attraction/tension in her music, but Troy definitely adds this in when singing the following line: “And like a common thread/Hmm, you’re pulling me.” This is more evidence of Troy’s more spontaneous approach to performance, and how he translates genuine emotions into how he sings and what he’s trying to communicate. As we can see, Kelsi approves of this addition, even though it’s far bolder than she would have gone. One could ascribe a sexual nature to the central lyrics, “You are the music in me,” but I’m not sure this is what Kelsi intended. She is more emotional than physical. 

(Sharpay, of course, loads her rendition with sexuality. :D )

Other key differences in Kelsi’s thinking are striking. Here she says, “It’s like I knew you before we met.” In other words, she isn’t confined to the shadows, waiting for the right person; she has already has an idea of who they are. Not a physical image, but an emotional idea. Instead of her suddenly realizing they were right there the whole time, like in HSM I, this person is pulling her towards them. They are attracted to each other. This shows that the protagonist is therefore more confident: “I sang you words I never said.” Beforehand, the protagonist (Kelsi) didn’t have to say anything. Now she can “sing”. This is significant because Kelsi doesn’t often sing her own songs (it would have been very interesting to see her singing her own romantic ballads in full), and appears more content either lip-syncing them and, more importantly, playing the piano. She is the shy girl who has, for the most part, hidden behind the piano whenever she could get away with it. The idea of Kelsi singing a romantic ballad to her chosen interest is intriguing and bold. But like I said, she is more than she appears to be. Guess who else likes singing romantic ballads to their chosen interest? Troy. What does remain the same is that Kelsi uses music as a medium of expression, hence the “I never said” part. 

By the way, notice that Kelsi never writes “I love you” in her song lyrics. She is never that direct. Instead, she uses more poignant and profound ways of expressing this sentiment. These methods demonstrate that Kelsi’s songs show a maturity beyond her years. At the time of writing “What I’ve Been Looking For”, she was around 16. These are pretty high expectations for a teenager! Too high, if you ask me, given that she has barely broken into true adulthood yet. She does, however, have a very strong concept of what love is, and what it should be, and she knows how to recognize it. This therefore begs the question of her attachment to Troyella, which does not demonstrate love. More on this later. 

We see more evidence of Kelsi’s love of the emotional connection in the chorus: “When I hear my favourite song, I know that we belong/You are the music in me, yeah, it’s living in all of us/And it’s brought us here because/You are the music in me.” What does this mean? I’m so glad you asked. :D This chorus implies that of the many songs that exist, songs which live in “all of us” (as in, many different people), there is only one she and the unnamed person understand, and when they both hear it, they are drawn together. So once again, Kelsi is writing a song that not only relates to herself, but is true for all people at all times. Kelsi says that love is music, and that music is love. Likewise, love supports and inspires music (particularly in her case), and music supports and inspires love (allegedly in the case of Troyella). The depth of meaning in this song makes Sharpay’s later butchering of the song (although Kelsi does appear quite absorbed in performing this version) all the more horrendous. The most important lyrics are: “Because you see the real me/As I am/You understand/And that’s more than I’ve ever known”. These lyrics can be applied to Kelsi’s relationship with Troy, as out of the entire cast, she seems to know him best, although I do not believe they are about Kelsi’s relationship with Troy. It’s just a happy coincidence. Again, there is a change as the song implies that the protagonist and his/her chosen partner are in a crowd: “To hear your voice/Above the noise/And know I’m not alone/Oh, you’re singing to me...”, which is again a sign of increased confidence. When performing this song, Troy seems to understand this concept instinctively, which is why he naturally moves towards Gabriella when performing, to mimic the idea of being drawn together by music. Often, when performing, Troy will use movement to convey his message, something that often surprises Gabriella; she by contrast is more awkward and has to follow direction more often. 

Another important lyric is as follows: “We’ve got the power to sing (what we feel)...” Again, this screams of new-found confidence. Beforehand, Kelsi didn’t “have to say a word”, but now, she is full of song. In other words, her chosen partner will empower her to express herself without any awkwardness or shyness. On the topic of saying what you feel, we can also note Kelsi’s increased confidence when she just assumes, upon seeing Troy and Gabriella, that they will immediately agree to singing the leads just as she had planned. Hence her disappointment when Troy shoots down that idea after a period of hilarious alarm. I’ve got to give Gabriella some credit for giving Kelsi a chance to be heard; after hearing the song’s potential (and possibly being surprised at Kelsi’s good singing voice?), Troy changes his mind. This follows a consistent trend in HSM I and HSM II, where hearing Kelsi’s music makes Troy relent in his unwillingness to perform, and become more involved in the art once again. Is this not significant? It would have been far better for Troyella if Gabriella’s musicality was the motivation for him to perform in the musicals. However, this is not the case; Gabriella just persuades him in HSM III, because she can always get him to do things that she wants, NOT because she is necessarily devoted to the craft. Compare that to Troy’s stunned expression after hearing “What I’ve Been Looking For”, and his “Great job, Kels,” (and that surprised expression as he stands by the piano) after hearing “You Are The Music In Me.” Her music strikes just the right notes and that melts his previous resistance. 

3- “I Just Wanna Be With You”

This is probably my favourite ballad of the three, although coming very close with “What I’ve Been Looking For”. For some context, this song was written for the Senior Musical, where each member of Ms. Darbus’ class is playing themselves. Having been entrusted with composition, Kelsi does, as Sharpay says, write her best ballad for Troy and Gabriella. This is supposed to be a reflection of Troy and Gabriella’s relationship, but as I have said, it is nothing of the sort. However, once again, Kelsi is the real protagonist of the song, and the object of her affections is once again unnamed. By this stage, Kelsi has broken up with Jason and is single. (I do not recognize the other “relationship” offered as an option for her). Although this song is joyful, Kelsi’s mood at this stage probably was not. 

(Again, I am steadfastly ignoring the ridiculous Ryan-Kelsi piano scene which makes me cringe and fast-forward. Please assume this for the entirety of this post).

What evidence do we have that Kelsi might have been unhappy when writing this? I would point to the following lyrics: “You know how life can be/It changes overnight/Sunny then raining/But it’s alright...” The bold emphasis is my own. This is very interesting to me. Kelsi’s previous songs begin with her as the protagonist, alone, who discovers her love interest by surprise (HSM I), or who finds her love interest at the same time that he finds her (HSM II). In this song, we have an assumed state of happiness at first, which then changed into sadness. But Kelsi is hopeful that this time, things will be better. Why? Because this person is her friend: “A friend like you/Always makes it easy...” It seems that Kelsi is alluding to an unhappy past, not just only an unhappy relationship, although that appears a very likely candidate. Maybe a betrayal of some kind? Kelsi is very skilled with words (contrary to her shyness) and uses a lot of metaphors in her songs, such as “You’re harmony, to the melody...” in HSM II. When she speaks of rain, she is speaking about sadness. When she says, “But it’s alright,” she is referring to her persistence and resilience; no matter how many setbacks she experiences, she always picks herself back up again. This is why she kept submitting ideas for musicals, despite receiving numerous rejections. 

Another difference with this ballad is that Kelsi speaks more about the future here. This makes sense, as she has just applied to attend one of the best Performing Arts schools in the country, and would potentially be moving almost 2 000 miles to New York. She’s leaving her whole previous life behind, and had the screenwriters cared more about Kelsi than they did about Gabriella, we could have seen her feelings on this massive change in her life. However, in this ballad, we see that she is under pressure: “I gotta lotta things/I have to do/All these distractions/Our future’s coming soon/We’re being pulled/A hundred different directions...” Kelsi is nervous in her anticipation of the future; in reality, she is single and possibly unhappy around this time. But she wants to amend this in the song to say “But whatever happens/I know I’ve got you,” because 1)- it’s being written for Troy and Gabriella to sing, 2)- more importantly, Kelsi is an optimist. This is very important. She believes it can happen for her (again). Now, I have questioned the high expectations of romance in Kelsi’s songs. In fact, I said here that this could lead to trouble in her relationships should she take such expectations seriously. The failure of her relationship with Jason (coming soon) is one such potential example, and unless Kelsi learns the lessons from this, she may be doomed to failure again. The chorus of this song is catchy, but unrealistic: “No matter where life takes us, nothing can break us apart (You know it’s true)” Either Kelsi has learned nothing or she is trying to brighten her mood by creating this parallel universe where everything works out fine. In addition, she is also writing for what she apparently believes is an example of attainable romance: namely, Troyella, so of course, there HAS to be a positive ending. I guess an alternate song like “All I Wanna Do Is Get Away From You”, whilst definitely more appropriate for Troy to sing, would be far less catchy. :D 

As I have said before, in this song, Kelsi highlights the importance of friendship in romance. She has alluded to it in the previous songs, but here, it is spelled out plainly. “A friend like you, always makes it easy/I know that you get me, every time...” The use of friend, as opposed to a romantic term is significant in this regard. Kelsi needs someone she can get along with, someone who understands her (which is similar to her HSM I ballad) and is there unconditionally. Unlike her HSM I ballad, however, Kelsi suggests some reciprocity in her own affections, again as a friend as well as love interest: “Through every up, through every down/You know I’ll always be around/Through anything you can count on me...” Because of how much loyalty and devotion Kelsi shows towards Troy, quite unlike any other character (most notably his own girlfriend), and because of her need for him to succeed, I have often stated that these lyrics are a reflection of her friendship/relationship with Troy. Not about him, but very easily applied to him should one see that connection. This is Kelsi’s central philosophy, which makes her a great friend. She’s in it for the long haul; by this stage, she wants to put 110% into a relationship. In fact, this song is notably more Kelsi-centred than the other two. She can confidently state her romantic interests, and declare her feelings for someone, instead of merely describing how that person makes her feel (HSM I ballad). And unlike her HSM II ballad, she doesn’t need music to connect with them at all here. What she needs is friendship and a long lasting connection that can outlast all challenges. “It doesn’t matter where we are/We’ll be alright/Even if we’re miles apart...” The mention of miles (distance) is significant, once again demonstrating that Kelsi is thinking about the future, and the effect of that upon the prospective relationship. Unlike a certain lady, Kelsi would be keen to put 110% into a long-distance relationship, as evidenced by these lyrics. 

Again, Kelsi’s lyrics are conservative. “Just wanna be with you/Only you.” This means that Kelsi cannot do one-time flings/crushes/one night-stands/casual relationships or promiscuity. It’s either all in, or all out. There’s no halfway step. So even though Kelsi has high expectations in a relationship, she is willing to put in over and above her fair share, to be devoted and loyal to the unnamed love interest, even when distance separates them. She would never stray under the excuse of being far away. This is because she is extremely sure that this relationship will last: “The sun will always shine/That’s how you make me feel/We’re gonna be alright/What we have is real...” The line that I’ve put into bold is somewhat paradoxical; despite the idealistic nature of these lyrics, as well as the next (”And we will always be together”), what Kelsi defines as a “real” relationship is actually... real. She speaks of loyalty, friendship, devotion, resilience and persistence, all of which she is willing to demonstrate to the object of her affections. That is what gives this, and all her romantic ballads credibility. 

Kelsi’s composition here is much more mature; she uses different melodic patterns and more instruments. This is a great contrast with the far simpler (although by no means inferior) “What I’ve Been Looking For”, which features a basic melody line, harmony and piano accompaniment. In “All I Wanna Do...”, the singers have to change key for the chorus, and go up and down chromatic semitones. 

A significant reason this song is so memorable is because of Troy. He understands the song and infuses it with energy. It seems to me, given that Ryan only has to choreograph Gabriella during this song (and it’s like baby steps with her; she constantly looks surprised and lacks any inspiration or sponteneity), that Troy most likely developed some of the choreography himself. Either that, or he expanded upon it in some way. Think about this: after being exhausted from the 1053 mile stunt, Troy managed to turn in a brilliant performance, and get the JUILLIARD JUDGES on their feet, clapping-- something that neither Kelsi, Ryan nor Sharpay managed to do. He brought his personality, honesty, understanding and raw talent to the song, and made it a showstopper. As we can see, later in HSM III, it appears to be Troy’s idea to allow everyone onto stage whilst performing. The fact of Troy moving closer to Gabriella as the song develops complements the song perfectly; by the time we get to the central chorus, both are on stage together. Most of the attention is drawn to Troy, who moves, in a fluid and agile fashion, towards the stage. Again, I think that he’s doing improv throughout. Even during the rehearsals, he makes some changes, once again indulging in his favourite habit of sitting on the piano (better than that full bodied backwards dive he did in HSM II), after which he throws down the manuscript (because he doesn’t need it), and twirls Gabriella around. Both Ms Darbus and Jimmie look impressed, Ryan conducts enthusiastically. 

My favourite part of his performance is during the Musical itself, where he sits next to Kelsi and mimes playing the piano exactly in time with her. This is a great metaphor for their relationship; from the beginning, they have always been exactly in tune with each other, on the same page, understanding each other without words. I think that was definitely improv, and Kelsi enjoys this. She’s impressed and feeding off his energy. I don’t think she was expecting it (one reason being that he didn’t even turn up on his supposed cue!), but she has such great faith in Troy’s ability to perform her songs in the spirit that they were written, that she rolls with it, happy to let him take the lead. This is why I have argued that Troy should have been the one watching Kelsi compose this song; the teamwork their showed during practice in HSM I is almost thrown out the window come HSM III, because, once again, the writers didn’t care two figs for the relationship they’d created which outshone the central romance. 

I’m back for more Trelsi mania. Today, I want to expand on the disadvantages for the High School Musical franchise that Troy and Kelsi received so few scenes together throughout. We know why their friendship is so damn good, and so the natural question arises as to why they didn’t capitalize on this when showing the protagonist, Troy Bolton, headed on his journey to finding himself. 

Already, I’ve answered the following questions from my Introduction:

1- Who IS Troy Bolton?

2- Who IS Kelsi Nielsen?

3-  What makes the Trelsi friendship and dynamic so friggin’ special? Why does it make me want to weep and write poetry? (Part IV, Part V, Part VI)

After some consideration, I’ve added this question before I get to exploring the potential of their relationship:

Question- Why are there so few Trelsi scenes? What is the effect of this? Where could we have seen more Trelsi?

It’s necessary to recap the main value of Trelsi throughout the canonical franchise:

1- Movie Message: Be true to yourself. Troy learns that performing is a part of his identity and embraces this. Kelsi learns that she has a talent worth appreciating and shouldn’t allow people to change her music as though they know better than her. 

2- Character Development: Without taking the crime committed against Troy’s character development into account, the effect of hearing Kelsi’s words and lyrics spurs him to explore his new-found interest and apparent talent in performing. Once Troy shows Kelsi her worth, she becomes more confident, more assertive with her compositions and embraces the spotlight. 

3- Plot: Troy gets his chance to prove himself as a performer after hearing Kelsi’s music; Kelsi in turn gains the acumen to write for more musicals and eventually pursue a scholarship opportunity with Juilliard. Troy’s accumulated profile in the Performing Arts thanks to Kelsi’s songs inform his decision to pursue Theatre after graduating from high school.

4- Character Balance: There is a notable and enjoyable contrast between Troy and Kelsi as people. Even though they have complex shades of their individual characters, there are still some key differences. Troy is more outgoing than Kelsi, more willing to put himself forward. He’s the guy who’ll be joking with his buds at lunchtimes, whilst Kelsi is huddled over her manuscript paper, scribbling away. This is even after she becomes more popular. Kelsi appears more of a disciplinarian when it comes to composing, as you often see her frowning and crossing out notes when dissatisfied. Troy’s performing style appears more spontaneous; I tend to think that he would be the one suggesting ideas to develop his interpretation of Kelsi’s songs. This is evidenced by his practicing style in HSM I (running round the practice room whilst singing the chorus to “Breaking Free) and his routine during HSM III for “I Just Wanna Be With You”.** Kelsi is talkative and Troy is, interestingly, not talkative. Indeed, he gets alarmed when Kelsi babbles on and on about her ideas. When Kelsi becomes more confident, she can steam ahead with her beloved “ideas”, whereas Troy is more hesitant. Kelsi is more spur of the moment, whereas Troy is more analytical (although he clearly does give in to creative impulses). There are some overlaps here, particularly when considering Troy as a basketball player; neither Troy nor Kelsi are clear-cut. But they are distinct in some key areas. 

5- True Friendship: Troy and Kelsi rely upon each other as an unfailing source of support and never abandon each other when things get tough. They are completely loyal to each other. Remember, East High has a Drama Club. Kelsi is certainly not the only composer in the entirety of East High, and Troy has his pick of many other talented people who might write songs just as good as Kelsi’s or even better. Instead he sticks with Kelsi’s music even when initially unwilling to do another musical or show. When the future of each show is put into jeopardy thanks to Gabriella, Troy does everything he can to ensure the show will proceed after all because he cares about Kelsi’s hard work and understands the satisfaction she gets from creating music. It would be far easier for Troy to let Gabriella go her own way (as she tells us in HSM II); after all, he owes more to his girlfriend than to his friend. Insisting upon Gabriella’s performing in HSM III was significantly motivated by his loyalty and respect for Kelsi; hence the speech about how important his new-found friendships with less popular students in East High (and I’m sure he wasn’t just talking about Kelsi and Ryan, but probably other people he had befriended as well, whose names we don’t know). The respect is clear, as is comfort, unspoken understanding and affection. Thanks to the lack of concern shown to Troy’s other friends outside of Gabriella, no indication is given of whether Troy will remain in contact with Kelsi after graduating; obviously I think he would, but we can’t say for sure. 

So why don’t we get to see more of them? I’ve thought about this at considerable length, and although it’s far too easy to blame the screenwriters for not seeing the value of Trelsi right under their noses, I think there is probably a less biased explanation. 

Simply put; we don’t know very much about Kelsi Nielsen. Compare how much we know about her to Troy’s other important relationships: his “romance” with Gabriella and his friendship with Chad Danforth. We hear about Gabriella and Chad’s parents, their childhoods, their aspirations, their interests outside of their primary fields (science and basketball respectively), we know their flaws, we get to see day-to-day banter between these two and Troy on a regular basis. We know about their parents: Gabriella most probably lost her father, her mother has struggled between pursuing the demands of her job and giving her daughter a sense of stability. Mrs. Montez clearly earns a lot of money, and is an excellent cook. Mrs. Danforth loves Broadway, crushes on handsome actors and probably reads too many diet magazines. ([Chad] “One of her crazy diet ideas-- I don’t attempt to understand the female mind, Troy!”) Even other characters like Taylor get more depth even though she isn’t as close with Troy; we know about her older sister, her philosophy on life, her aspirations and interests outside of science. For example, it is notable that despite being scientifically-minded (Chem Club President), Taylor wishes to pursue a degree in Political Science. This is also the same for Gabriella, who wishes to study Law, although she is shown to excel in maths and science (particularly chemistry). 

Consider by contrast how much we DON’T know about Kelsi Nielsen. Who are her parents? Does she have any siblings? What is her wealth status? (She mentions having a piano at her house, so can we assume middle-class?) Given that she was the composer of the show, why didn’t we get to see her parents or other relatives in the audience? With regards to the plot, how did she become interested in music; I have theorized that her deep commitment to the art stems from a pathological shyness that probably lasted for most of her formative years. What does she like doing in her spare time, or what are her other interests outside of music? We know in HSM III that she is more than a competent dancer and may have taken ballet lessons as a child. But this seems contradictory when considering her clear clumsiness in HSM I. By HSM III, she is incredibly graceful. Did she take lessons at some point? What other creative interests does she have? We do know she likes classical literature, as her favourite book is the (extremely boring) “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte. (Credit to BoltonEvans). Her obsession with romance says a LOT about her-- where did this come from? I’m fairly sure that Jason was Kelsi’s first boyfriend, but did she have any other crushes beforehand? We don’t know things about Kelsi that go beyond the surface, like her fears and her lifelong ambitions. Sure, we can assume she might want to be a composer, but it’s VERY difficult to get well-paid, consistent work in the Performance industry, and no amount of talent can change that. Hence why I discussed her single-mindedness to her career and the disadvantages thereof. 

Don’t get me wrong; we can infer a significant amount of things about Kelsi, as you can see from my hyperlink above. But so much remains unknown. Hence, Kelsi was simply not intended to be a very prominent or influential feature in Troy’s life. This is why Troy and Kelsi are never shown hanging out on a casual, day-to-day basis; almost all of their interaction is centred upon the titular musicals/shows and even though Kelsi eventually sits with the Cool Girls (Taylor, Gabriella and Martha) and the Cool Boys (Chad and Jason, with whom she eats breakfast during HSM II), she is never shown doing the same with Troy. In fact, this gulf between them when not near a piano or stage is so great that we don’t even get a final Trelsi scene after high school graduation, despite the fact that elements of Troy’s speech fit his friendship with Kelsi far better than his friendship with Zeke, Martha or his “relationship” with Gabriella. We get no indication as to whether they will keep in touch after graduation, and have to assume not from the canonical headline. It makes me weep and turn to drink, but my bias and wishful thinking only extend so far. In light of all this, it is simply astonishing that the film’s creators would go to all the trouble of 1)- linking Kelsi to the central character, Troy, 2)- creating a close and unique friendship between them, 3)- giving Kelsi roles and characteristics that should have been given to Gabriella, 4)- inserting Kelsi into the plot and character arcs to push things forward. They managed to be sloppy, careless and yet attentive at the same time. And though I lampoon them on a regular basis, I absolutely give them the credit for creating Trelsi. But their lack of concern for both characters is astounding, particularly since so many HSM fans love both Troy and Kelsi. 

As a result of this, the film suffers from the following disadvantages:

1- Little comfort for Troy: Although there are standout moments where Kelsi comforts Troy, the paucity of Trelsi scenes means that for most of each film, Troy is either left floundering in a sea of self-doubt, self-criticism and denial, or unsuccessfully seeking understanding, loyalty and support from the wrong people. Had he spent more time with Kelsi, he would have gained a steady source of support throughout. It would not have reduced the conflict, because Troy would still face obstacles caused by Gabriella and his friends as well as by himself. It would, however, have built up his character in a realistic and consistent fashion. This was supposed to be Gabriella’s role, and as I will discuss later, she fails abysmally. 

2- Promotion of unhealthy relationships: The less we see of the exemplary friendship between Troy and Kelsi, the more we see of the less exemplary friendships between Troy and the Wildcats, and the unhealthy relationship between Troy and Gabriella. Because Kelsi was not intended to have a significant influence in Troy’s life, there is plenty for room for Gabriella and the Wildcats to influence him in ways that inhibit his character growth and lead to a real decline in his ability to think autonomously. Kelsi reflects the complete antithesis of this, and thus her increased presence would provide an exemplary contrast to the drubbing Troy endures from those supposed to support him. 

3- Stunts character development: The dynamic between Troy and Kelsi is thoroughly egalitarian. They raise each other up both literally and emotionally, and they have a largely unspoken way of doing so. Without this source of support, Troy has to look elsewhere, most often to Gabriella. Troy’s sense of self diminishes at an alarming rate as a result of her influence, which will be discussed in later instalments. Performing onstage and seeing Kelsi there as a source of encouragement increases his confidence and sense of self. Furthermore, potential scenes between Troy and Kelsi that weren’t related to the musicals would help Troy learn more about himself, as they clearly share much in common, a passion for the Performing Arts being one of the main commonalities. 

4- Diminishes Kelsi’s value to plot: This is what annoys me the most. Even though Kelsi is the one who:

1- Composes ALL the music for said HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL,

2- Puts in HOURS getting the very best out of Troy and Gabriella,

3- Shows absolute devotion to her craft, 

4- Can work with any type of performer, even difficult ones like Sharpay, who trusts her enough to keep performing her songs, 

5- Arranged rehearsal times for everyone with recognition to their schedules in EVERY movie, which required excellent organizing skills,

6- Managed the entire school orchestra by herself, writing orchestrations and fixing charts, writing arrangements for different instruments,

7- Assessed the musical capabilities of characters who considered themselves non-musical or even uninterested in music so that she could include them in the musicals: (HSM II- ”...maybe Chad and Zeke can do backup and everyone can dance!”), 

8- Took the generic and predictable Lava Springs Talent Show at an exclusive country club and turned it into a show-stopper (HSM II- “Kelsi’s got some great new ideas to SPICE UP the Talent Show!”) 

9- Had a great understanding of each performer as an individual and could tailor her writing to suit their strengths, which is why she wrote differently for Sharpay as compared to Troy and Gabriella,

10- Made Chad forgive Troy in HSM II,

11- Provided constant loyalty and support to Troy throughout,

...she is considered a MINOR character by most accounts. This is inconceivable, unjust and patently ridiculous. Kelsi is the HEART AND SOUL of the movies. She brings everyone together***, and she is largely responsible for Troy’s magnificent transition on stage into a natural and engaging performer. To give her less scenes with Troy means that less attention goes to her and her incredible achievements and more attention to characters who have not even achieved one fifth of the above list by comparison. It sidelines a character in blatant contradiction to the whole aim of Kelsi’s character development, which was to give a shy and introverted character a VOICE. Recognition. What was the point in Troy reaching out to her in the first place if the script was just going to shove her back offstage despite everything she had done for Troy, Gabriella and the Wildcats? What was the point of Troy calling her and RECOGNIZING her as a Playmaker if she gets no credit for this either from the scriptwriters, Gabriella, the Wildcats or even Troy in his abysmal graduation speech? I reiterate: it was a crime for Troy to mention Zeke’s crême brûlée and Martha’s cheerleading, none of which had ANY effect on his character development whatsoever, but not make ONE mention of Kelsi’s music which propelled him to where he stood that day. Inexcusable. Since Kelsi was the ONLY other person described as a Playmaker, she should have received more attention. Thanks to the chronic inconsistency of both the screenwriters and Troy (too busy giving credit to Gabriella that she doesn’t deserve), the second Playmaker is routinely ignored where she should be getting the spotlight. 

Sorry folks, but this makes me mad.  

What kind of scenes could we have had between Troy and Kelsi that would add value to the franchise and lessen my inveterate anger?

1- Troy confiding his worries-- Although Troy and Gabriella’s first time on the rooftop is a better example of Gabriella being receptive to Troy’s concerns (”I’m sure it’s tricky being the coach’s son.../”Then they don’t know enough about you, Troy”), there’s no consistency in Gabriella’s concern. Throughout HSM II and HSM III, it almost vanishes on the spot. A scene where Troy confided his worries in Kelsi would result in Kelsi taking those worries seriously and providing solid, useful advice to help him progress. 

2- Kelsi confiding her worries-- I refuse to believe that the process of creating a musical or show went off without a hitch. Despite Kelsi’s claims that everything would be fine, she must have had worries about this, and I can only see her being comfortable enough to share these with Troy, who believes in her and calls her Playmaker. That would get her back on track. But what about Kelsi’s worries outside of music? We could have had some very interesting discussions here. 

3- Troy and Kelsi learning more about each other’s backgrounds-- When Troy shares some parts of his childhood with Gabriella, she just laughs in a condescending fashion and makes him feel like an awkward three year old. She doesn’t understand his dorkiness/nerdiness. Given that Kelsi shares a lot of Troy’s awkwardness, I can’t see her making fun of Troy for having a toy robot or a Batman cloak. In fact, in my headcanon, she’d quite like his treehouse. Why? Because Kelsi clearly values solitude to think and compose her songs. Troy values solitude to think as well, hence his love of trees. I can see Kelsi fitting in far better here as a companion in the treehouse. I think Kelsi probably valued her solitude as a child, and even though Troy mostly played with Chad when they were both boys, he clearly does use trees for thinking on his own. Also, because Troy always takes an interest in other people’s lives, and because he connects so well to Kelsi’s music, he would naturally want to know more about her background in this regard. (Assuming they got such a scene... *angry face*)

4- Troy and Kelsi banter-- Both Troy and Kelsi have a far more compatible sense of humour than Troy and Gabriella. Indeed, Gabriella is often incapable of taking a joke. Troy and Chad have a compatible sense of humour, but I don’t get the impression that Chad, who is more straight-forward and direct, would appreciate the value of Troy’s sarcasm, dry and self-deprecating wit. Kelsi definitely would, since she can poke fun of sensitive issues like her height: (HSM II, in response to Martha on what her summer plans are) “Grow, write music, grow.” Kelsi is quite good at making light of a serious situation with a comic understatement, as is Troy. There are some slight differences; it is Kelsi who is more prone to poking fun of others. With the exception of the hazing scene in HSM III, Troy rarely makes fun of anyone-- not even Sharpay. And we have already a little evidence that they find each other funny. Given that Troy becomes increasingly miserable in HSM III, he could have done with some of Kelsi’s light-hearted banter. So say I. :D

5- Deep conversations-- Kelsi’s songwriting reveals a maturity beyond her years. Troy already demonstrates himself as mature beyond his years, often bearing a lot on his shoulders. Gabriella, by contrast, is extremely immature despite her strong academic capabilities. Chad is too involved in either his own future, or trying to impose that upon Troy. He sees the world in black and white, with no nuanced shades of grey. Hence why Troy’s attempts to have serious conversations with Gabriella end with her pretending to listen/understand and then pulling the focus back to herself, and his serious conversations with Chad end in either mockery, sweeping generalizations and Chad once again insisting his views are correct. Therefore, it would be far more enlightening to see Troy having serious conversations with Kelsi. For example, they might discuss their futures; Kelsi is very ambitious, hence why she applied to Juilliard. What with her philosophy of pre-destination (it’s music all the way), and Troy’s philosophy of free will, they would have very mature conversations, discover more about each other and even learn from each other’s viewpoints. There’s a complementary contrast there, as both Troy and Kelsi showcase some of each philosophy in their future: Troy accepts pre-destination when he decides to keep basketball in his life, despite saying in HSM III, “Maybe I don’t see my life as a ball game anymore, man.” It would have been nice to see Kelsi being a little spontaneous when it came to her future too, given that it seems she was dead keen on attending Juilliard: “What? They got my letter?” Once again, we see Kelsi’s unmissable and scandalously underappreciated initiative. 

On that note, I’ll be looking into the potential of Trelsi’s relationship next, in particular the line between friendship and romance. 

TO BE CONTINUED

(*FOOTNOTE-- How tragic it is, that by the end of the film franchise, Kelsi is more confident, whereas Troy’s own confidence has withered to provide that truly horrendous ending we saw in HSM III. Read my fury about it here. Had Troy and Kelsi spent more time together she might have helped alleviate the effects of Gabriella’s negative influence upon him, and had she been Troy’s love interest, he definitely would have developed in a more linear fashion). 

(**FOOTNOTE-- Of course, Troy is a disciplinarian when it comes to basketball, which underpins his skill in this area. Say what you want about Coach Bolton, he really knows how to get the best out of his son, and instils in Troy a laser-like focus on his goals. Now this does not suit Troy when he discovers his interest in the Performing Arts right on the cusp of an important game, but it does give the implication that Troy is a hard worker and is generally successful when pursuing his goals. Or, when he fails, he can pick himself back up again and try harder).