Spent Today Thinking About The Absolutely Remarkable Development Of Portwell And The Extraordinary Changes

spent today thinking about the absolutely remarkable development of portwell and the extraordinary changes of character of gina and ej from season 1 to season 2:

during the 1st season, ej was portrayed as a villian character. he heavily focused on his own desires without regard for how his actions will affect others. one of the most important things for him was social media. he stole carlos’ directors case and tried to see the reason for his not getting the lead. towards the second half of the season, he started to feel guilty about his lies, deciding to come clean about them. this caused him to lose a lot of followers. when he saw that gina wouldn’t make it in time for the show, he took it upon himself to buy her a plane ticket back.

gina was a new transfer student in season 1, her main focus set on getting the part of gabriella. she created an entire homecoming plan in the hopes of playing the lead. she fell in love with someone who was after another and had her heart broken. during thanksgiving, she received the devestating news that she has to leave east high. in the end, she was able to make the show and found true friends, deciding to stay in salt lake.

both ej and gina start off season 2 with completely different personalities. they care about the people around them and put others before themselves.

ej helps mr. mazarra and attempts to get into a good college. he falls in love with gina and showers her with compliments when many other guys won’t. he picks gina up from the airport, makes her laugh, and asks her out on a date despite his fears. he tries to recognize his privilege and many opportunities.

in seaon 2, gina lives with ash, and almost considers leaving salt lake were it not for her roomate’s objections. she begins to see what an amazing guy ej is and smiles a lot more when he’s around her. she attempts to let go of ricky and take control of her life. during the show, she finds comfort in ej and gets super excited for their date.

overall, ej and gina have such amazing development not only together, but as seperate characters with their own struggles and paths through life :D

a rant about the music in the portwell confession scene :D

i've been thinking about this just now, and i think that part of the reason why i love the cheesy music that they used in the background of the portwell kiss is not only because they're idiots in love, but because they're finally happy together.

in the r*na confession scene, gina is bawling her eyes out telling ricky that she wouldn't quit on them. she calls the fact that she's crying stupid and gets crushed when he ultimately chooses nini over her.

after breaking up with nini, ej becomes scared of rejection, wearing black on valentine's day and hopelessly trying to win her back in season 1.

when gina asks if she could kiss ej, she is totally free, happy, and honest with her feelings instead of holding back. after the heartbreak in 2x12 and in the past episodes, they finally found happiness with each other. the background music being sentimental and sad wouldn't really make sense in this case because it's not a sad moment. it's a celebration of the fact that they're in love, smiling, and happy together.

every time i rewatch 2x12, i get so sad when i see just how MISERABLE ej and gina were without one another.

after ej canceled their date, his eyes filled with tears and his "smile" fell. he looked hopelessly after gina as she left and probably wished that things were different.

gina sobbing at the makeup table showed just how excited she was to go out with ej. she cared about him so much and was absolutely heartbroken. i can't help feeling that when she said to nini that he "cancelled for good," it also meant that she thought it was the end of their relationship.

the idea or possibility of them not being together made them both feel so wretched and hurt. it takes a really valuabe person to cause such strong emotions. they were each trying to put on a brave face while crumbling inside.

i'm so glad that everything was cleared up because those scenes were painful :D

fools in love

not sure if it's just me, but i honestly LOVE the way that the portwell confession scene was done.

gina running after ej: for so long, gina wasn't sure about a lot of things in her life. even in the couch scene, she mentioned to ej that she was constantly one natural disaster away from landing in a new place. she was never able to get closure with ricky and he kept pushing her away for nini. with ej, she found the ability to take control and became sure that the person she was giving her heart to wouldn't tear it apart.

can i kiss you?: instead of saying something along the lines of i like you, the fact that she wanted to kiss ej was honestly the most adorable thing. it's so spontaneous and really shows that gina no longer wants to put up her walls like in second chance and longs to open up her heart.

the background music: probably controversial, but the background music being super upbeat and cheesy really highlights their relationship. i think back to their homecoming plan when gina took ej out and poured a drink on his head in the hopes that they could somehow get the leads. the idea made no sense and i think that this foolish aspect of their relationship is so cute. they're just idiots in love who found each other when they needed it most.

the feeling of surprise: after heartbreak and miscommunication, ej probably wasn't expecting gina to run after him. when he said can you what? combined with his speechless look of shock were the best.

i love that they can shamelessly and openly be in love with one another :D

i love them your honor

gina x happiness

can't wait to see the difference in gina during opening night from season 1 to season 2:

in season 1, she had to leave and missed the 1st act. the flashback in 2x06 showed that she was crying while telling ricky how she wouldn't quit on them. of course, he always went back to nini.

in season 2, not only is she stealing adorable glances at ej from the stage, she has her brother supporting her and cheering her on.

it makes me so happy to think of how much her life has changed, and how she has people around her who love her.

it's gonna be a good episode :D