REVIEW: ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Season 2, Episode 7 – “The Field Trip”

Season 2 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series continues with its 7th episode, “The Field Trip.” In the previous episode, the Wildcats attended Miss Jenn’s (Kate Reinders) improv intensive after a video from North High came out and lowered their confidence. Ricky (Joshua Bassett) dealt with his dad’s newest relationship taking the next step, which caused him to uncharacteristically lash out at those around him. Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) tries writing an original song from the spring musical so she could have a role in it but is having a difficult time with the process. Meanwhile, Gina (Sofia Wylie) continues to deal with her feelings for Ricky.

In “The Field Trip,” the Wildcats are all getting ready to try on their costumes for the first time. However, they notice that Ricky’s Beast mask has gone missing. Thinking that North High is responsible for their missing mask after watching yet another video, they decide to go undercover to retrieve the mask. However, they’re quickly discovered and find themselves in a dance-off against several North High students. Meanwhile, Miss Jenn has a face-to-face confrontation with Zack Roy (Derek Hough) in order to come up with solution to this rivalry between their schools’ drama clubs. Also, Ricky begins to have doubts about Nini’s original song for the play and what it could really mean for their relationship.

It’s disappointing that Ricky continuing to act uncharacteristically during last week’s episode was carried into “The Field Trip.” Since his attempts to get back with Nini and throughout their renewed relationship, it was evident that Ricky would continually support her. One of the most important things that Ricky learned as he was trying to win Nini back was that she had changed who she was. Nini became more confident about her music and what she wanted to do with it. Ricky not being okay with Nini’s new song for the musical is saying that he didn’t really learn anything throughout his time apart from her. It makes it even more difficult to root for his character, let alone to root for his relationship with Nini to blossom even more. This is a Ricky that fans can’t help but begin to dislike. Whatever is going on with Ricky, hopefully, it is resolved soon before his character is seriously damaged.

The dance-off between the East High and North High drama clubs in “The Field Trip” was fantastic. Fans of HSMTMTS have heard so much about the fierce competition coming from North High but haven’t seen much except for Lily’s (Olivia Rose Keegan) performance earlier in the season. However, it’s clear that they’re able to stand toe to toe against even the best performers from East High. That sort of intimidation could get the better of the Wildcats, but it could also serve as the proper motivation to get more serious if they want to win the Menkies. However, it did seem to come rather sudden and not set up to hold any real stakes. Even several characters in the show refer to the dance-off as “too much.” Had it been set up to take place in the next episode, the dance-off would have certainly made a bigger impact on the plot of the show.

The chemistry that both Miss Jenn and Zack once shared is fully explored in “The Field Trip.” From the first few scenes and a musical number that they share during their meeting, it’s clear that they both shared a passion for musical theater. As performers, they worked extremely well together. However, that sort of passion and chemistry clearly wasn’t translated to romance. Yes, they dated but it seemed like Miss Jenn was the one who put most of the dedication into their relationship. This shows fans just how far she’s willing to believe the best in people, which often doesn’t end well. It also does show, however, the reason for her passion to be an educator in musical theater. This is hopefully a sign for more episodes in the future that focus more on Miss Jenn and her life before becoming a teacher at East High.

Ultimately, “The Field Trip” does its best to contributor another outstanding episode in season 2 of HSMTMTS with a dance-off and diving deeper into Miss Jenn’s past but it suffers from continuing to make Ricky act uncharacteristically. The dance-off is incredibly choreographed and shows more of the talent from North High but the constant angsts from Ricky disrupts the entire mood. Hopefully, his angst has some sort of big payoff by the end of the season that makes a big impact on the show or it would be a wasted attempt of a storyline for his character.

HSMTMTS Season 2  is streaming now on Disney+ with new episodes airing Fridays.