HSMTMTS Review: The Quinceañero (Season 2 Episode 5)

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 2 Episode 5, “The Quinceañero” celebrates pride month right by spotlighting a queer teen couple’s love, and boy, is it endearing. 

It also happens to be incredibly funny.

With an entertaining amount of fourth wall breaks, awkward remarks, and a full-on sobbing Ms. Jen, HSMTMTS doesn’t miss a single comedic beat, and “The Quinceañero,” delivers solely top-tier level humor. 

That balance of humor and heart is exactly what HSMTMTS Season 2 was missing. 

Joe Serafini finally gets his time to shine, after a few episodes of feeling like a secondary character despite being recently upgraded to main cast. His vocals during “The Climb” make for the most memorable song so far this season, proving exactly why his jump to principal character was dutifully earned. 

Serafini is also gifted with the world’s most charming personality as Seb, whose bubbly demeanor and lack of quick wit never feels like a dumbing down of the character, but simply an additional quirk that adds complexity and likability. 

Seb’s motivation in “The Quinceañero” is solely to dote on boyfriend Carlos, and Frankie A. Rodriguez brings his best performance to match Serafini’s.

Carlos is fiercely confident — and at times, viciously snarky — but Rodriguez is dedicated to showcasing the genuine love and appreciation the character has for his musical theater family. Carlos’s powerful aura never reads as anything but well-intentioned and bred out of dedication to the arts. 

One of Carlos’ most celebrated moments of Season 1 came in “Homecoming,” when he dared to dance alone in the face of his classmate’s judgments.  “The Quinceañero” brings that moment full circle, revealing Carlos has always been brave enough to sway to the beat of his own drum, regardless of who was watching. 

It does this through triple threat Sofia Wylie (as Gina), who recreates a salsa dance from an old video Carlos posted as a child. The dance is as spectacular as it is moving, even if the song itself leaves less of an impression (that’s no fault of Wylies, of course, whose voice is clearly underused). 

The performance itself ultimately does as much for Gina’s character as it does for Carlos’. The Gina Porter introduced in the pilot would never have done something as thoughtful — and inherently selfless — as what we see in  “The Quinceañero.”

Carlos is someone Gina ultimately feels like she is in direct competition with, but she’s able to put her friendship and respect for him above her personal pride. 

It’s refreshing to see a show put such detailed and consistent care into the ongoing growth of its female characters.

Wylie continues to be a secret weapon HSMTMTS is all too thrilled to utilize. She undoubtedly has the biggest emotional arc of the season, and her struggle around the relationship she’s fostered with Ricky remains one of the most relatable storylines on a teen comedy.

Gina and Ricky may end up together eventually, but it’s painfully clear that romance won’t be happening any time soon. Ricky is in love with Nini, and therefore clueless about Gina’s feelings towards him.

This is one story where the girl doesn’t get the guy — at least for now —  and that is exactly how high school tends to be: filled with unrequited love and crushes that don’t lead where we hope they’ll go.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t hope for love in Gina’s life this season. HSMTMTS finally hears my echo chamber of pleas in  “The Quinceañero,” expanding on the Gina/EJ relationship and proving (once again) just how perfect these two would be together.

Both characters are on similar trajectories; boastfully proud individuals learning to be humbled in their relationships. They understand each other on a basic and instinctual level, and Ej’s innate desire to be his best, most giving self when it comes to Gina may be exactly what both need moving forward. 

The chemistry has been there from the beginning. Whether this twosome becomes a devious best friend duo, or something much more, there is a special energy that radiates every time they share a scene.

Putting them together ensures heartwarming moments or hilarious hijinks, and either one would be a successful addition to the story. 

It would be remiss to not mention the most romantic moment of the episode — the sweet kiss between Carlos and Seb. While it feels regressive to praise Disney for allowing queer love to finally exist in stories, there is always something to be said for making progress, and Seblos’ kiss is nothing short of adorable. 

HSMTMTS is finally headed in the right direction; proving itself as a show that can poke fun at high school theatre culture while simultaneously praising it for the magic it brings to the teen experience. 

The conflicts are interesting, the tensions are high, and every character has a story worth watching.

I’m ready to see where this thing goes.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• Ricky is just a typical clueless teenager, but boy do I want to shake some sense into him. 
• If Nini is playing the rose in Beauty and The Beast, that’s unbelievably clever. 
• The mentorship between Mazzara and EJ is such an unexpected delight. 
• Nini “focusing more on writing music” is hilariously ironic considering Rodrigo’s latest success. 
• EJ not being able to speak words when he looks over at Gina is precious.
• Derek Hough is surprisingly hilarious as Zack. 
• The sequence where dancers stand-in for”puppies being potty trained” is just SO good. 
• Credit to the costume department for designing some stunning costumes in this episode. 

 

 

What did you think of this episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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High School Musical: The Musical: The Series airs Fridays on Disney+.

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