We’re almost at the end of the third season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series! I’ve been reviewing episodes in pairs this year, but I may want to have a single devoted article on the finale, so I figured I’d switch things up by giving my reactions to the jam-packed penultimate Episode 7: Camp Prom (spoilers ahead).
You can catch up on my thoughts on the fifth and sixth episodes of Season 3 here.
You can catch up on my thoughts on the third and fourth episodes of Season 3 here.
You can catch up on my thoughts on the first and second episodes of Season 3 here.
If you haven’t seen Season 1, here are some reasons to watch.
If you haven’t seen Season 2, here are some reasons to watch.
Songs:
Wouldn’t Change a Thing - This has been my favorite cover of the season so far, and it may be my favorite of the entire show. In the week since this episode came out, I’ve listened to the recording on Spotify countless times. Maybe I liked this so much because I’ve been attached to Maddox and Jet’s characters since their introduction.
Here I Come - Kourtney and Carlos face their fears with the help of their friends! Made me tear up.
Characters:
Gina-Gina reminds me so much of the iconic Gabriella Montez in High School Musical 2. She knows what’s right for her, and she’s willing to stand up for herself, even to the people she loves.
EJ-Watching this episode, I remember EJ saying in the Season 3 premiere that this summer was his last chance to be a kid…and then he immediately had to detach himself from any youthful fun to take on the responsibility of directing of the musical.
Ricky-I’ve enjoyed getting to see Ricky’s goofy side this season, especially with his bucket list storyline.
Kourtney-Kourtney finally leans on her friends when experiencing her anxiety, which has increased with the upcoming Frozen premiere.
Ashlyn-As I mentioned in my last article, Ashlyn has had her gay awakening. She is completely joyful about discovering this new aspect of hersel! Her realization seems to have not added to her previous identity crisis, but to have resolved it.
Carlos-Carlos hasn’t had a lot of big storylines this season, but he got some great moments in this one, such him taking the opportunity to step out of his comfort zone, with the support of his boyfriend Seb, who made a brief and delightful reappearance.
Jet-After winning the Color War for Maddox, Jet makes another gesture in his mission to fix his relationship with his sister.
Maddox-I’m so glad Maddox got her brother back, her closure with Madison, AND her acceptance into the group of girls from East High. I love her so much.
What’s happened?
The day of Camp Prom has arrived, and it’s SEVENTIES THEMED! As EJ says in the beginning episode, they take Camp Prom, and its theme, very seriously at Shallow Lake. Let me tell you, everyone looks FANTASTIC! Maddox looks like she walked straight out of The Brady Bunch. Ricky makes a joke about never having shown “this much cleavage” before. Carlos does EJ’s makeup. It’s incredible.
Maddox’s ex-girlfriend, Madison (played by JoJo Siwa), makes an appearance at Jet’s invitation. Maddox and Madison discuss their relationship and the way it ended. Everything they discuss makes total sense alongside everything else we have learned about Maddox during this season.
Maddox tells Jet she accepts his apology-via-grand-gesture by making a gesture of her own, and they sing together, which gave me so much joy.
EJ tells Madison that if she won’t dance, she’ll regret it, then IMMEDIATELY leaves? SIR? Take your own advice?? Your girlfriend, Gina, loves to dance, and you neglect her the whole night? Disappointing.
Gina and EJ break up. It was really sad, but Gina gave a lot of reasons why their relationship wasn’t working, including their age difference (two years, which is a big deal when the older person has graduated). Honestly, nothing she said was wrong and I respect her for ending it.
Ricky got SO CLOSE to telling Gina about his feelings for her, especially with his confession recorded for the documentary, but backed off when he heard about the breakup. I respect him for not giving her more to deal with at that moment.
What comes next?
I’ve compared Gina and EJ to Gabriella and Troy in HSM2 a few times. With their recent breakup, maybe they will get back together in the final episode, maybe they won’t. Either way would be fine with me, I just want what’s best for both of them.
Frozen opening night! Channing, the reality TV guy, is coming and will likely make trouble…I expect there will be other familiar faces in the audience as well.
One of the characters making a reappearance will be Nini. While Ricky is secretly pining for Gina, I am curious to see how he will react when he comes face-to-face with his first love again, relatively soon after their last breakup.
On that note, the final episode is available on Disney Plus now! I am so excited to see how the season ends!