#tim federle

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Final Season: The Answer Time

*i can’t modify the poll, but it’s Tuck and not Tucker

1. A bashing of Rina as a ship or Ricky and Gina as characters.

2. Anger at the writers/Tim for “ruining” the ships with “poor writing.”

3. Crying into the void that things would be different if Olivia hadn’t left the show

I bring this up because a lot of anti Rina sentiment has popped up online recently. Maybe it has to do with the upcoming anniversary of the series finale, but for whatever reason I’m going to try to put this to bed once and for all, even though I know it’s going to fall on deaf ears (blind eyes?). And to anyone who wants to debate me on this, I gladly say, “bring it on.” Anyway on to breaking down the main things I see repeated over and over again:

1. Bashing Rina, Ricky, and/or Gina: why do so many of you feel the need to tear down a ship or character to feel better? This thinking has led to so many takes that just aren’t true. ‘Ricky jumps from girl to girl,’ ‘Gina is Ricky’s second choice,’ ‘Ricky’s a home wrecker,’ ‘Gina’s a home wrecker,’ ‘Ricky keeps stealing EJ’s girlfriends,’ ‘Gina should’ve been more understanding of the pressure EJ was under.’ And these are some of the nicer takes. By the way I can disprove all of these, and that’s not hyperbolic, I actually can. This desire to tear down a ship you don’t like is not the argument you think it is. The show, character progression, and writing all showcased why these ships work or don’t work. Speaking of.

2. Saying the writing is bad: have you ever read a book or book series and had two characters you wished would get together and then they didn’t? Did you take the book throw it on the ground and say that the writing was bad and you can’t enjoy that book series anymore? That’s what you all sound like. Now I’m not saying that I liked or even agreed with 100% of the show’s writing (season 2 always feels like a slog to get through for me), but the show’s writing isn’t bad. In fact the writing for Ricky, Gina, EJ, and Nini especially is consistent and in character (an assertion I am more than willing and able to back up). Just because the writing isn’t to your particular taste doesn’t mean it’s bad.

3. The Olivia Rodrigo departure: Every time I hear that if Olivia hadn’t left the show Rini and Portwell would be endgame, I want to tear my hair out. Putting aside the fact that Tim Federle, The Creator and Showrunner of the series, has stated multiple times on the record that after the Homecoming Episode in season one that the writing shifted to focus on Ricky and Gina, there’s still a mountain of evidence that Ricky and Gina were always going to be the endgame couple. The fact their stories remain intertwined even during their time apart in season 2, the fact they only were able to start other relationships when they weren’t actively in each other’s lives, and of course the most important piece of evidence, The Rina Cue. I cannot for the life of me figure how anyone can make the claim that Rini and/or Portwell were getting back together when the Rina Cue exists. No one has ever been able to give me a clear and concise explanation for how they can explain away the only original background musical cue for any couple in the entire show. Rini doesn’t have one, Portwell doesn’t either. Seblos, Jetney, Madlyn, Redlyn, Jennzzara, none of them have an original background cue that plays whenever they have a scene together. Only Rina. So if anyone can give me a logical explanation that explains away that melody, I’m genuinely curious to see if you can.