After weeks of rehearsals for the spring musical, the students at East High deserve a vacation. Episode nine of the second season of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” seems to reward the Wildcats for their hard work with spring break. But, with only three weeks to perfect their production of “Beauty and the Beast” before opening night, restful time away from the chaos of high school theater simply does not occur.
Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders) immediately gathers the Wildcats on a video call to remind them of the stakes of their upcoming production. As Miss Jenn waits for all of the Wildcats to log in online, the students on the call reveal their spring break plans, including luxurious vacations, house sitting and tapping into their songwriting skills. Though Ricky (Joshua Bassett) is noticeably missing from the call, the group moves past his absence and vows to stay safe and cautious during their time away from school.
Gina’s (Sofia Wylie) spring break, however, is not off to a smooth start. Though she plans to visit her mother in Louisiana, her flight is delayed and she is stuck in the airport. FaceTime calls with E.J. (Matt Cornett) do not fully keep her occupied and — desperate to board a flight — she attempts to scheme her way onto a plane. From afar, a boy named Jack (Asher Angel) watches Gina’s failed attempts to get to Louisiana, leading to a spontaneous friendship full of dancing, two truths and a lie and sneaking into a VIP lounge. The two bond throughout the episode, leading Gina to question her feelings for E.J. until her flight is canceled and he arrives at the airport to take her home.
Ricky considers his own feelings for Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) following their emotional breakup in last week’s episode. A getaway to Chicago to visit his mother (Beth Lacke) becomes a weeklong spell of grief. Instead of visiting Millenium Park or eating deep-dish pizza, Ricky mourns his relationship. Yet, even days spent on vacation in Chicago are not a relaxing endeavor; Ricky’s frustration with his parents’ divorce resurfaces in conversations with his mother regarding her new boyfriend.
While Ricky agonizes over their failed relationship, Nini focuses on her music career. After hitting 15,000 followers on Instagram, she feels indebted to her fans and promises to release music despite her intense writer’s block. But, a call from Kourtney (Dara Reneé) alerts Nini that there are more serious matters at hand: East High’s rival school, North High, is about to release a video on Instagram that insults the East High drama club.
Miss Jenn quickly gets the Wildcats (except for Ricky) back online to watch the video in which North High demeans East High’s work ethic while praising their own commitment to theater during spring break. The Wildcats are appalled by the video but maintain composure while they come up with a revenge plan. In order to combat her writer’s block, Nini collaborates with Ashlyn (Julia Lester) to write a song in order to get back at North High. With the help of Gina’s choreography, the Wildcats create a music video to their high-energy song, “You Ain’t Seen Nothin,’ ” which addresses both their break from rehearsal and their confidence in their own talent.
Yet the video does not account for one missing Wildcat, Ricky, who misses the creation of the video because he did not answer his phone. He does, however, engage in some songwriting of his own. His song, “Let You Go,” captures his own heartbreak regarding his relationship with Nini, both expressing gratitude for the memories they shared while highlighting the pain of losing their relationship.
Spring break for the East High Wildcats may not have been restful, but with opening night of the spring musical on the way, viewers can only hope that it was rejuvenating enough for the Wildcats to deliver the performance of a lifetime.
Sarah Runyan covers television. Contact her at srunyan@dailycal.org.