Show time is getting closer and the pressure is on for The Wildcats. After last week’s dance off with North High, emotions are riding high. Will they get their head in the game or walk away from everything they’ve been working towards? Spoilers ahead for those who have not seen the series as of yet.

Most Likely To

It is Career Fair Day at East High and The Wildcats are preparing for another rehearsal. Miss Jenn gives the students a lecture on rising above North High. Ricky turns to Big Red and asks him has he seen Nini and he pulls up her Instagram. In his confessional, Ricky admits he and Nini haven’t spoken in a while. Rehearsals are about to begin for Gaston. EJ and Gina share a moment before the number and Ashlyn cheers on her man. In her confessional, Ashlyn shares that Big Red is still upset about Antoine and they are “working through it”.

The song starts and EJ and Big Red give it everything. Matt Cornett definitely broke hearts with his good looks and manly yet boyish charm in this scene. Miss Jenn praises the performance before Mr Mazzara walks in an informs the cast that they must stop production for one week as punishment for trespassing at North High. After rehearsals, Nini and Kourtney walk down the hall together and discuss Howie’s betrayal. Nini’s phone goes off and it’s a notification from her music Instagram page. Kourtney asks her how Ricky feels about all of it and he suddenly turns up.

Kourtney leaves and Ricky confronts Nini about not returning his texts. She tells him it is not a big deal just as a student pays her a compliment. As he pesters her with questions, she informs his it has nothing to do with him and brings up the fact she now goes by Nina. She begins to show Ricky all of the amazing comments she has gotten and then gets pulled away. As Ricky holds her phone, he notices a comment from a fellow musician and deletes it. Big Red shows up, Ricky tells him what he just did and he begins to panic.

In class, EJ, Gina, Carlos and Seb are speculating over who the guest speaker is going to be. Gina and EJ share another cute moment and he gushes over her in his confessional. The guest speaker walks in and it is EJ’s father Cash Caswell. He begins his inspirational speech and calls EJ to the front of the class. EJ’s father holds up a Duke University sweatshirt. Mr Caswell pulled some strings and got EJ into Duke. Gina congratulates him but he appears conflicted.

In the AV room, Mr Mazzara is helping Miss Jenn shoot an audition for a coffee shop commercial. Miss Jenn messes up and takes five. Back in the Drama Room, the boys are painting the set. Carlos makes a comment about Chip not being a big role in the show. Ricky confides in Big Red who is listening to a podcast. The career test results are in, as Big Red finds out he is best suited for a career in hospitality, Ashlyn believes he is destined for more than that.

At Salt Lake Slices, Kourtney walks in with her mother and she confides in her about Howie. As Kourtney pulls out a pizza from the oven, Howie walks in and she shuns him. He admits, he never told her about attending North High to protect her. As Kourtney brings the pizza to the table, Nini walks in and hugs her. Ricky enters the restaurant, Kourtney gets back to work and the couple enter into a huge argument. Kourtney stops the argument and Ricky storms out.

At Ashlyn’s house, she is preparing a big surprise for Big Red. She reveals a board filled with pictures of goals he could achieve. He shares his dream is to work at the pizza place and leaves. Later that night, Miss Jenn is preparing for another tape. Mr Mazzara reveals a table with coffee and pastries. He gets her to say the line and gets her the audition tape she needs. She hugs him and reveals she is no longer dating Ricky’s dad. The two share a moment and she pays him a compliment. He tells her how dedicated she is and she smiles.

Back at Ashlyn’s house, Gina is knitting on the couch as EJ arrives at the door. The two sit down and he shares that he does not want to go to Duke. The two share another sweet moment as Ashlyn walks in. In Nini’s treehouse, Ricky shows up and the two reminisce on their first kiss. She shares how much she is enjoying her growth. He admits he deleted the comment and apologizes. The two realise they have been out of sync and they tearfully break up. They hold each other one last time and Ricky leaves.

Back at Salt Lake Slices, Kourtney and Howie are closing up. She continues to give him the cold shoulder and he begins to sing If I Can’t Love Her from Beauty & The Beast. During this song, we get a montage of touching moments. Ashlyn shows up to Big Red’s house in a Salt Lake Slices t-shirt and the two hug. EJ admits to his father that he does not want to attend Duke. Ricky shows up to Big Red’s house and cries on his shoulder. In her treehouse, Nini is still reeling from the break up. The song ends and Howie walks away leaving Kourtney standing there.

High School Heartbreak

This episode was truly a tearjerker, there are so many plotlines taking place and I am invested in every single one of them. The star of this episode was EJ. We have been waiting for EJ to have his moment this season. Big Red and EJ owned Gaston, Matt Cornett is this generation’s Zac Efron. The fans of this series have been swooning over him and to quote the song, it’s not very hard to see why. EJ is having his Troy Bolton moment in this episode with revealing to his father he does not want to attend Duke. This will prove interesting in future episodes this season. His relationship with Gina is starting to blossom and we cannot help but ship them together.

Someone who’s relationship was only beginning to blossom was Kourtney’s. Last week it was revealed that Howie not only attends North High but is playing the Beast in their production of Beauty & The Beast. Of course this is hard for Kourtney as she works closely with him at the restaurant. I feel sorry for her but I hold out hope that these two will “work it out” to quote High School Musical 2. Howie sang the beautiful song If I Can’t Love Her about her and that has won us all over if it hasn’t won Kourtney over.

Another relationship that was tested in the episode was Big Red and Ashlyn. After Antoine came onto Ashlyn in last week’s episode, Big Red was uneasy to say the least. The two seem to be working through things in this episode but his career seemed to be a point of contention for Ashlyn. Although there was a misunderstanding of Big Red’s dream, the pair eventually came back together and shared their support and admiration for each other.

We all knew it was coming. Ricky and Nini had a tearful break up in this episode. Ricky’s behaviour has been unacceptable in these last few episodes and after a big blow up at Salt Lake Slices, who could ever forgive him? Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett really show their acting chops in this break up scene. Although I would love to see them together forever, this is a teen drama and we need a heart-breaking moment. I found myself in tears watching this play out and had to catch my breath and remind my self this is High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

With one week of rehearsals lost, how will The Wildcats perform at The Menkies? What lies ahead for this talented group of misfits? We will just have to wait and see but I am sure it will be A Night to Remember.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is available to stream on Disney+. New episodes every Friday.