High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Second Chances”
“It’s living in all of us and it’s brought us here because you are the music in me.”
Season two, episode twelve of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, “Second Chances,” was directed by Kimberly McCullough & Joanna Kerns and written by Zach Dodes & Tim Federle.
Yes, I cried.
There are a select few of television moments that will give me goosebumps and bring me to the edge of tears every time I see them. There are plenty that managed to do that once or even twice. But only a few that do it every single time. Theo’s juxtaposed “Touch me” at the end of the third episode of The Haunting of Hill House. Pierce returning to Abed on the train in “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” on Community. Desmond and Penny making a phone call across time on Lost. With this week’s episode (the season finale!) of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, I can tell you another that has joined the echelon because I have already watched it four times and I have gotten chills and tears every time.
It’s the climactic moment in this week’s lone musical number, “Second Chance.” The song was performed by Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Matt Cornett, and Sofia Wylie. Each of them brings their own character’s perspective to the song, which blends them all together perfectly. It’s a traditional musical number, as the characters directly sing their feelings, and well within the tone and vein of HSM, as it is undeniably dramatic. But the tears and goosebumps came when the number took the four of them from the hallway to the auditorium stage where they were dressed in the same outfits they wore to auditions in the first ever episode of the series. When Nini (I’m going back to Nini because no one ever calls her Nina) steps out in that outfit with the red curtains, I thought, Oh, shit. Then, E.J. stepped out in that mesh Wildcats jersey and I was gone. Just emotion pouring out of every pore of me.
HSM: TM: TS has not yet been in our lives for even two years, but I immediately recognized this moment as a deeply moving one. It will love on in my television estimation and adoration forever and it cemented the show as a great one because of how much we care for these characters. I remember wandering around the Disney parks two years ago and seeing the posters for this show. The four aforementioned actors were on all the promotional materials for one of Disney Plooos’ flagship series, but I didn’t know who they were. Barely anyone did. It was just an attempt at reviving one of the premiere Disney properties of the late 2000s.
Now, though, we not only know these characters profoundly well, but we care about them. And we’ve probably spent more time with them than any of those original East High alums. I love that the show has its own legacy now and has forged its own identity, rather than just a nostalgic reminder of Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, and company. Nini can say, “Just for a moment,” and make it mean everything. Gina can recall when Nini stole all her things and it becomes a marker of the progress these characters have made. They can magically (just for a moment) reset the stakes to when the characters initially auditioned and demonstrate that the people they were are gone. A skater, a manipulator, a lovesick rookie, a jock. Those archetypes are dead and the beautifully realized characterizations of this quartet have taken over instead. Long may they reign.
The other students in the episode are a major part of why the series is so successful. It’s well-established how simply sweet and funny Seb and Carlos are. Big Red put Ashlyn’s name in lights. Howie was awed by Kourtney, who received a much more fulfilling arc in season two. Dara Reneé is incredibly magnetic; Julia Lester is a phenomenal actor; Joe Serafini, as always, has the best voice in the cast; Frankie Rodriguez is a highly underrated utility glue for the show; Larry Saperstein is an inspiration. They’re all great and I would not love the show without them.
But it was also exceptionally smart of the show to recognize the core of the core and devote the episode’s musical number to those four initial stars of the series. It’s an ensemble now, but these four have had emotional crossroads that have defined the entire third act of this season. I love all four of them and to see them finally re-up with that core group for one of the best-staged and best-costumed numbers of the season (and the series) was way more moving than I anticipated it would have been. (I hardly expected them to even return to that “core four” ever.) When a show can achieve that, it’s a winning example of just what kind of legacy it’s in the middle of creating it. I feel lucky to recognize that while it still airs new installments.
Ricky’s journey this season was defined by accepting change. He does not necessarily like the change, but he’s working on it and recognizing the way to be his best self, separate from Nini. Resistant, but respectful is where he’s at right now. He brought resolution to the “same page” he’s on with Nini now. He’s keeping an open mind for Lily (who still stole that harness, so we might need to see a third chance for her, rather than just a second chance. Triples is best, though. Shoutout to Bob Odenkirk), who congratulated East High with Antoine (an immaculately innocuous character addition this season; more shows should just have mischievous, over-the-top French kids on them) and confessed her feelings for Ricky. He’s giving his blessing to Ms. Jenn to date his father (more on that later). The Ricky we see now is one defined by authentic change.
The same is true of Nini, who learned this season what she can do when she is away from Ricky. The second season ends her arc with a phone call placed to Gina’s music producer brother, Jamie (Jordan Fisher, remember). He’s basically Dan Nigro as the Sour parallels were abundantly evident. While a lot of this season was filmed after “Drivers License” dominated the world, much of Nini’s arc was certainly unintentionally parallel with Rodrigo’s real-world meteoric rise. The arc of a true-to-herself songwriter feels much more honest to both Nini and Rodrigo than the dream of an acting academy ever did. Whether Rodrigo returns to the show or not, we can at least be at peace with the knowledge that Nini is on the right path finally.
Part of that path also required a full one hundred and eighty degree transformation from her initial dynamic with Gina (which began in those audition outfits). No longer threatening or scheming against one another, Nini is instead helping Gina realize exactly what she needs to realize to accept and understand that when she lives her life to make herself proud, she is much happier. On the verge of closing herself off from ever loving again (E.J. canceled their date when Jamie said Gina sees him as a big brother figure last week), Gina instead internalizes Nini’s words and sees the worth that comes from self-love, rather than external love. Granted, Ashlyn does eventually clarify the feelings that E.J. was understandably too nervous to voice himself and the season officially ends with a running-in-the-streets, long-awaited kiss between the two who now comprise the show’s most endearing (if not thusly enduring) relationship. It was sweet relief to see them finally on the same page (a more adoring one than Ricky and Nini’s page) to close out the season with a more sound resolution than I anticipated.
While there may be uncertainty in this relationship (E.J. is graduating, but season three could always take place during the summer), that’s something E.J. is equipped to handle now. While I would have loved more screen time for him this season (the back-half of the season definitely made up for it), he did have a recognizable arc this season. E.J. learned to adapt when the plans he made for life were broken and he reflected on that change from a more mature point-of-view than he was initially prepared for. He’s at peace with not going to Duke and was only interested in the legacy university if he could earn it. Instead, what E.J. cared about most by season’s end was the connections he made with other people during his path to be a better person. As he tells the group when they celebrate opening night at the pizza parlor, he’d trade every trophy he ever received for the friendship he treasures with all of them. If a season three does not materialize, at least we got to see fulfillment for these character journeys.
But what about the season’s overarching plot? What about the Menkies? Well, last week — you may recall — we saw the show dive well past the boiling point for that award show’s role in the series. (Call it the evaporation point.) When Ms. Jenn snapped at Ricky, we could see the look in her eyes (and in everyone’s faces) that signaled the collective realization that the Menkies had consumed her far too much. She became obsessed with winning at the cost of fun, love, and building meaningful connections and teachable moments with her students.
Initially, Ms. Jenn’s reaction in this episode seemed to be one of withdrawal, as she acted cryptically around Seb and Carlos. Eventually, though, she came around during a heart-to-heart talk with Ricky. He gave her his blessing to date his father, as I mentioned, but he also forgave her for losing her way. He knows what it’s like to feel such debilitating anxiety over such passion for something that you can forget who you really are. That extended forgiveness helped her let go of the competition and the “Will we even be nominated, let alone win?” of the Menkies this season. The students had long since eschewed any sort of devotion to the awards. But as we saw throughout the episode, they got on the same page with Ms. Jenn. The results were burned without ever learning if they managed to best North High. “I’m doing well mentally,” she said earlier. Now, maybe she can mean it.
That’s not the only beat for Ms. Jenn in this episode, though. Just when she sees a path forward to date Ricky’s father again (good on Ricky for not spiraling when he saw a parent flirting with someone who was not another parent at his show), Mr. Mazzara, the legend himself, confesses his feelings for Ms. Jenn, remarking about the hope he feels for the potential of the two of them dating. She might prefer to date Ricky’s father and he might prefer to accept a robotics job with Caltech that the Caswell family helped orchestrate, but until season three, we’re luxuriating in the potential that these two might finally begin an official romance. Gotta say I prefer him to Ricky’s dad.
And that’s about where we leave season two of HSM: TM: TS. Some resolution and growth for some of the major student arcs and some will they/won’t they for the adults on the series. After so much anticipation and endless refreshing of Twitter updates for the show’s filming during the pandemic, the second season of one of the best Disney Plooos originals is complete.
I do have some criticisms of the overall arc of the season. I do think it tried to do just too much. So many new characters were introduced and the characters we already knew and loved seemed to have three to four conflicts progressing at a time. As a result, some elements that were established as major points for the season (the fire Ms. Jenn and Mr. Mazzara started, Nini’s role as a rose, Zackey (I don’t know how to spell Zackey, so whatever) Roy being a character at all) were eschewed outright with nary a revisit. (I initially thought Ricky’s father was one element of that, too, but my initial television instincts were correct that the show was not done with him yet.) It was ambitious and, largely, still successful. It’s just that if season one had a 1.000 batting average (or, at least, .960), this season was maybe shooting around 80 to 85% from the free throw line. (I will correct the logical tracking of my sports metaphor if the series ever delivers an “I Don’t Dance” performance.)
It is slightly amusing to watch fan communities of the show vacillate between “These characters were so mean!” and “I am going to be so mean to the show’s actors and writers!” It’s a reminder why Reddit fan communities for an ongoing show are not actually conducive to criticism or love. They just want somewhere to complain endlessly, which is fine if that’s how they want to spend their time. Just a good reminder to not engage with it because it’s not fun! And many can too easily fall into “Plot, plot, plot!” instead of loving the time spent with characters. The latter is what every show should strive for. It’s why the episode of Loki with Loki and Sylvie on Lamentis-1 was one of the show’s best. It prioritized emotion and character over plot. Considering so many on the Internet missed that and so many in the HSM community thought that the Menkies mattered more than how the characters interact with and love each other, quality reviews are not to be found on forums. I trust most already knew that, but I’m happy to know it now, too. The show had some trappings this season, but it found itself in a major way in the back-half of the season and I have great respect for Tim Federle and the entire team for, again, forging their own identity for the show and pulling off a remarkable season under seemingly impossible conditions for a musical ensemble series.
While online fan communities devolve into complaining (I won’t even begin to poke around Loki communities; HSM fans love to just be as cruel as possible; people who still define themselves by their hatred of Game of Thrones always think I want to know why for some reason when I just want to love a story that I love, lol) and remind me why I won’t return to them in a weekly manner, something similar is true of weekly recaps. Not that they devolved into complaining (I found so much to love during the much-anticipated second season), but rather that I could feel it detracting from my love of the series a bit.
I always thought that weekly recaps would be a dream job of mine because you get to write about stellar television series! What’s better than that? A lot! But now I know that. I tried the weekly recap format for a show I adore and cherish, but it was not for me. It turned the show into a chore and transformed my priority for it from enjoying the series and opening my heart for it to taking notes during it and mentally organizing an outline while I was watching the episode. That’s never how I want to engage with television (or, at least, new episodes). I’d rather just have a good time and enjoy it. Recaps can be great and they introduced me to the more accepting and kind side of the HSM: TM: TS fan community (many of you have joined me at Saoirse Ronan Deserves an Oscar, so stick around because we’re always doing fun things here, even if we’re not recapping). I love the recaps for that! But in the future, I will just enjoy.
Will there be a future for HSM: TM: TS? I really hope so. We still have so much time and love to explore with this show, this environment, these characters. That ending montage of behind-the-scenes moments during a hellish production, set to an impromptu group musical performance of “You Are the Music in Me” (truly gorgeous), was so moving. It’s such a clear indication of why we love this series and how the characters have become such a part of this community’s cultural lexicon. Considering Disney Plooos’ struggles with creating a show that hits in the zeitgeist outside of Marvel and Star Wars (Mighty Ducks, Big Shot, and Turner & Hooch have varying degrees of quality, but there is zero chatter about any of them), it seems wise to hold onto a show with a passionate fandom around it and one of the most famous musicians in the world in the cast. I trust we’ll see a season three. I hope so. A proven fave must return.
Ultimately, for this installment and for season two, I loved it. I was so happy to have it back in my life. For whatever stumbles there were to bemoan, they hardly take away from the consistent storytelling, the authentically messy ambition, the catchy songs, and the lovable cast of characters. It’s a special series and I feel very fortunate to be in a headspace that accepts my love of the series without any caveats. It’s fun, sweet, and so special. Thank you to everyone who helped make season two a reality and especially to Tim Federle, an admirable cheerleader and showrunner for the series. Now, I must go watch “Second Chance” again. I feel like crying.
Read previous recaps:
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “New Year’s Eve”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Typecasting”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Valentine’s Day”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “The Storm”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “The Quinceañero”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Yes, And”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “The Field Trip”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Most Likely To”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Spring Break”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “The Transformation”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Showtime”
