Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Co-Op and weapon kit promotional image from Treyarch and Raven Studios

    Sharing Gunsmith Builds in Black Ops 7 Is About To Get Much Easier

    08/19/2025
    EA Sports Madden NFL 26 Head Coach But Why Tho 5

    Dear EA Sports, Why Can’t I Make A Hot Coach?

    08/14/2025
    Blade in Marvel Rivals Season 3.5

    Blade Can Shut Down The Other Team In Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 If You Know How

    08/08/2025
    John Cena and Cody Rhodes during Summerslam 2025

    The SummerSlam 2025 Main Event Was A Fever Dream We All Needed

    08/08/2025
    Street Fighter 6 Sagat

    Sagat Brings Depth And Approachability To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    08/07/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » TV » REVIEW: ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,’ Episode 5 – “Homecoming”

REVIEW: ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,’ Episode 5 – “Homecoming”

Nicolas SotoBy Nicolas Soto12/07/20194 Mins ReadUpdated:11/03/2021
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

MV5BN2U4ZmZkZDAtMTM5OC00YTY3LTlhYTMtZGI2MzJlOGZjMTNhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDg4NjY5OTQ@. V1 SY1000 CR0015021000 AL

The fifth episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, “Homecoming,” has been released on Dinsey+. In last week’s episode, Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) confronts EJ (Matt Cornett) about stealing her phone in front of the entire cast of the play. Nini, obviously upset, begins to doubt whether she should even be in a relationship with EJ. Kourtney (Dara Renee) tries to help her get through this whole situation. With Ricky’s (Joshua Bassett) mom back in town, he gets some upsetting news about the fate of his parents’ relationship. He tries to make sense of the news but can’t see any upside to it. Meanwhile, Gina (Sofia Wylie) comes up with a plan to not only get her the part of Gabriella but also help EJ with getting Nini to forgive him.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

In “Homecoming,” Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders) overhears a conversation that Nini and Kourtney are having about a girls’ night out and decides to tag along. She takes them to a local bowling alley. There, Miss Jenn has a unique interaction with Ricky’s dad (Alex Quijano), who’s out on the town trying to deal with his divorce. Meanwhile, Nini and Kourtney are trying to avoid the craziness of the homecoming dance. Gina and EJ go to the dance but her plan to make Nini jealous fails. Ricky decides to go with Big Red (Larry Saperstein) to the dance as friends and has an interesting interaction with Gina. Carlos (Frankie A. Rodriguez), who invited Seb (Joe Serafini) to the dance as a date, is worried that he was stood up.

Seeing Miss Jenn take her students out for a girls’ night made me love her character even more. While she makes note that she’s worried that her lead is getting distracted from her part, she does an incredible job of displaying how much she cares for her students. Though she wasn’t a big presence in last week’s episode, she’s become such an integral part of the show. Her conversation with Ricky’s dad was unexpected, but it will certainly make for an interesting development. However, it does seem a bit too convenient that two single main characters would end up at the same bowling alley. Regardless, it was still great to see and I’m excited to see the effect it’ll have on the show.

In my review of the series premiere, I made a note on how important it was to have a character like Carlos on the show. He hasn’t been in the show much since the first two episodes, which made me super excited to see him given a more prominent role in this episode. He starts to get worried after he invites Seb to the Homecoming dance as his date. I have to give major props to the show for including this storyline in what seemed like a series that would mainly center around Ricky and Nini.

Right from the start, it was obvious that Gina’s plan would fail. Nini would have had to have been at the dance for her plan to work. Keeping EJ in the dark wouldn’t have helped either. She realizes and accepts that her plan was doomed to begin with after getting called out by Ricky, which was a quick character development that I wasn’t expecting. It will be interesting to see how this development unfolds and how it will affect Ricky and Nini’s developments from this episode as well.

Another new original song was introduced this week, “Born to be Brave,” which is sung by Kourtney and Nini. The song mainly talks about finally finding yourself after having faced a difficult challenge and regaining the confidence you once had. The lyrics and the incredible voices of Reene and Rodrigo add true emotion which elevates the effect the song has on the episode. It’s the perfect song for feeling empowered during a girls’ night out.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching the fifth episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. I am completely surprised that a Disney show would include a storyline that’s centered around queer characters, but I’m glad it happened. It helped that the storyline didn’t feel forced just for the sake of being more inclusive. The original songs also continue to impress me every week. The episode left off on a major scene between two characters, which instantly hyped me up for next week’s episode.

The fifth episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is available now on Disney+.

'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,' Episode 5 - "Homecoming"
  • 10/10
    Rating - 10/10
10/10

TL;DR

I am completely surprised that a Disney show would include a storyline that’s centered around queer characters, but I’m glad it happened. It helped that the storyline didn’t feel forced just for the sake of being more inclusive. The original songs also continue to impress me every week.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleFinding Myself in Media: ‘Devil May Cry 5’ And V
Next Article REVIEW: ‘The Mandalorian,’ Episode 5 – “Chapter 5: The Gunslinger”
Nicolas Soto

Nicolas is a pop culture critic, focusing primarily on film, tv. anime, and manga. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from San Francisco State University, which shapes the way he analyzes his work. Twitter and Instagram: @brainstormer609

Related Posts

Alien Earth Episode 1 and Episode 2 still from FX and Hulu
9.5

REVIEW: ‘Alien: Earth’ Episode 1-2 — “Neverland” and “Mr. October”

08/18/2025
Vanessa Kirby in Night Always Comes on Netflix But Why Tho
5.0

REVIEW: ‘Night Always Comes’ Lacks Purpose

08/16/2025
Foundation Season 3 Episode 6 promotional still
8.0

RECAP: ‘Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 6 — “The Shape of Time”

08/15/2025
Butterfly first look images from Prime Video
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Butterfly’ Continues Prime Video’s Spy Thriller Streak

08/13/2025
Trigger promotional image from Netflix
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Trigger’ Is Netflix’s Most Disturbing Series

08/08/2025
Foundation Season 3 Episode 5 promo image from AppleTV+
7.0

RECAP: ‘Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 5 — “Where Tyrants Spend Eternity”

08/08/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Still from Shin Godzilla
8.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘Shin Godzilla’ Is More Relevant Than Ever

By Sarah Musnicky08/16/2025Updated:08/17/2025

It is understandable how Shin Godzilla succeeded at the box office nearly a decade ago. The strength of its story still stands today.

Botanical Bliss Update Palia But Why Tho 5 News

Palia’s New Botanical Bliss Update Brings New Flora, Decorations, And Quest Mechanic

By Matt Donahue08/18/2025Updated:08/18/2025

The Botanical Bliss update adds new event, more plushes, and a host of quality-of-life improvements and more to celebrate 2 years of Palia.

BOOTS Netflix First Look promotional images News

First Look at Coming-of-Age Story BOOTS, Coming to Netflix This October

By But Why Tho?08/17/2025

Netflix is reporting for duty this fall with the new eight-episode series BOOTS, a comedic drama starring Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga

Nuestra Magia Secret Lair Art Interviews

EXCLUSIVE: How The ‘Nuestra Magia’ Secret Lair Found Its Identity And Raised Over $1M

By Kate Sánchez08/15/2025Updated:08/15/2025

We spoke with Ovidio Cartagena about Magic: The Gathering’s Nuestra Magia Secret Lair drop, its impact, and the real treasure within.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here