‘HSMTMTS’ Recap: Ricky & Gina Bond & The ‘Frozen’ Leads Are Revealed

A night in the woods during the August 10 episode of 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' brings Ricky and Gina closer, while EJ continues to get drowned by the stress of directing the 'Frozen' musical.

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Sofia Wylie
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The day is awake, so Gina is awake. She tries waking up Kourtney in the early morning hours, and the only thing that gets Kourtney to stir is the reveal that she’s going to be Elsa in the Frozen musical. Gina is Anna. Basically, they’re technically sisters now!

Ricky will be Kristoff, while Carlos is Olaf. Ashlyn, fresh off her leading lady run as Belle, is a member of the ensemble. Ashlyn is a little taken aback, but she tries to shake it off. Even though he’s directing the musical, EJ will actually be playing Sven. Maddox calls out Carlos for trying to recast the show. Carlos is sneaky, but Maddox is sneakier.

Capricorn Rising Vs. Leo Rising: Ashlyn Edition

Sofia Wylie
Sofia Wylie and Matt Cornett as Gina and EJ. (Disney+)

Maddox reveals that it’s officially newbie night, and they’ll all be spending a night in the woods. In the girls’ cabin, Ashlyn is clearly not okay with just being a part of the ensemble. Maddox wonders if Ashlyn is a Leo Rising (and not a Capricorn Rising), which sends Ashlyn on a tailspin.

EJ sweetly brings over flowers to Gina’s cabin to celebrate her getting the lead. They are so cute. As Gina goes on and on about how excited she is, EJ has gotten lost in his head. He has to break down the script before Corbin Bleu comes back, and he doesn’t have a lot of time to do it. “I don’t want to disappoint the Chad,” EJ says.

Ashlyn promises that she’s a feminist, but she is not the biggest fan of Val and Maddox. Gina admits she didn’t think Ashlyn would be this thrown off by getting cast in the ensemble. “It feels out of character,” Gina tells Ashlyn, which makes Ashlyn start to question if she really is a Capricorn Rising. Maddox apologizes to Ashlyn for stepping out of line, but she refuses to let go of Ashlyn having some Leo in her.

EJ’s Stress Level Continues To Rise

When night falls, Ricky stumbles upon a table of trinkets and Twizzlers in the middle of the woods. Jet shows up and Ricky wants to know how he learned to sing. Jet reveals that he taught himself how to play the piano and sing.

Adrian Lyles
Adrian Lyles as Jet. (Disney+)

The gang rallies around EJ, who sings “The Ballad of Shallow Lake” in between script rewrites. Maddox then tells the story of “The Woman in the Woods.” Jet starts cracking jokes, which throws Maddox off. She storms off into the woods.

Kourtney and Carlos find themselves out in the middle of the woods alone. “Carlos, I can’t be the first to die,” Kourtney says when Carlos wanders off. Carlos doesn’t take Kourtney’s fears seriously and spooks her with Ricky. He then stops by EJ’s tent and mentions the “shrine” he found. Gina pops in and wants to know all about it. Ricky calls it the spookiest thing he’s ever seen. Gina tries to get EJ to come explore with them, but he’s overwhelmed. “I have a lot on my plate,” he stresses. Gina catches the hint and everyone leaves.

Ashlyn stops by to demand EJ tell her when she was born. Turns out, she was born at 11:37 a.m. and not p.m. Maddox was right. Ashley does have some Leo in her.

Ricky & Gina’s Bond Deepens

Gina and Ricky head off into the woods together, and there’s definitely some flirting going on. At one point, Ricky puts Gina’s hand over his heart. There’s a look on Gina’s face at that moment that every girl knows and has felt before. I don’t make the rules, people!

Suddenly, they hear a voice in the woods. They decide to break every horror movie rule and follow the sound. Ashlyn is the one to stumble upon a piano and belt out a terrific solo. Any time Julia Lester gets to sing her little heart out is a good day. Ashlyn is in her own little world when Gina and Ricky barge in. They did not know the voice was Ashlyn, so there are screams aplenty from everyone. Gina even tries to hide behind Ricky!

Sofia Wylie
Joshua Bassett and Sofia Wylie as Ricky and Gina. (Disney+)

Maddox is off on her own by the shrine when Jet runs into her. He apologizes for how he acted when she was telling her story. Maddox and Jet are actually siblings, and she’s not happy that he’s here.

Ashlyn admits to Gina and Ricky that she thought the Corbin Bleu TV show was going to be her big break. Now she thinks it could actually be Gina’s big break. There’s a brief moment when Gina looks at Ricky, and he’s already looking at her. Ricky lets Gina know how happy he is that she’s gotten the lead. “You’re Anna, that’s like a big deal… I’m proud of you,” he tells her. This is all Gina wanted to hear — from anyone.

Kourtney finally finds Carlos with EJ. They learn that Corbin is coming extra early, and Carlos mentions that Ricky and Gina are “100% missing.” The look on EJ’s face is one of pure worry, and not just because his girlfriend is missing. EJ, get out of your head! “I’m sure Ricky and Gina are… fine,” EJ says before walking off. Meanwhile, Ricky and Gina head back to their tents after Ricky tells her how tonight was a “blast” for him.