Written by Giana Capri
We’re soarin’ and flyin’ through senior year with High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ fourth and final season.
While familiar faces from the original movies revisit East High — Chad, Ryan, Martha, Taylor, Coach Jack, and Ms. Darbus — their returns don’t quite live up to the hype in the HSMTMTS season four finale. All of their scenes are heartfelt, but short-lived.
With the final season made up of 8 episodes, the series carries the weight of many storylines that somewhat reach their potential. New characters Dani (Kylie Cantrall, Gabby Duran & the Unsittables) and Mack (Matthew Sato, Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.) don’t stand in the way of the original character arcs, but rather enhance them. Even then, so much of what High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 4 attempts to accomplish feels rushed towards the end. The episodes create stories for returning characters and their relationships, but aren’t able to finish their exploration.
This season does the opposite with Kourtney Greene (Dara Renee, Descendants: The Rise of Red). Her arc is most defined and explored across this season. Season four takes Kourtney to new opportunities to show the complexity of herself and her future. The only real obstacle to Kourtney’s store is her dynamic with Jet (Adrian Lyles) which is erratic at best.
For character Seb (Joe Serafini), it is understandable to give him more drama and make the break between Ashlyn (Julia Lester, Bella and the Bulldogs) and Big Red (Larry Saperstein, Fan Girl) more unavoidable. Seb and Carlos (Frankie Rodriguez, Bunk’d) have the drama from the documentary, and Ashlyn and Big Red’s break-up can’t be avoided after HSMTMTS emphasizes Ashlyn and Maddox’s relationship. It’s nice to see that Seb and Carlos get their first duet, but the drama is not needed, due to the fact that Seb isn’t seen as much this season.
If the series had more time for this story to play out and the tension to pull reactions from everyone, HSMTMTS could have made the plot better. Season 4 is missing out on the character focused scenes that could have made more sense.
On the other hand, this final season shows that Ricky and Gina’s slow-burn dynamic has reached relationship status, and HSMTMTS uses many romance tropes to do so. HSMTMTS leans into their long-awaited time as a couple. Every episode represents the couple’s strengths, where this season incorporates flashbacks to detail how Ricky and Gina are meant to be.
With them being a couple, season four had to adjust EJ and Gina’s romantic past to uplift Ricky and Gina’s. For instance, Ricky and Gina didn’t start dating at the beginning of the summer because Gina and EJ were dating at that time. Even during EJ and Gina’s scenes, the story hints that Ricky and Gina will eventually be an item. EJ’s perspective feels especially pressing due to the final season and its reflection on East High’s past, present, and future.
There’s not enough time for everything HSMTMTS Season 4 wants to offer because these characters are given many opportunities, and it’s hard to cover everything. Beyond the romantic relationships, Season 4 misses out on exploring Jet and Maddox’s dynamic and Ricky and Big Red’s friendship.
That final curtain call during the Wildcats’ production of High School Musical 3: Senior Year is as heartwarming as the one from the original movie, but it has its own originality, speaking to HSMTMTS’ ability to make this series its own for four seasons.
