High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3 Episode 6 "Color War" Review: Sometimes The Best Explosions Aren’t the Ones You See
In case you missed it, here are my reviews of season 3.
Last week, I skirted around comparisons to the fifth episodes of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series because connecting those two dots would’ve required what I can only describe as the literary equivalent of building a spaceship, landing it on Mars, somehow having enough fuel to come home, and then building a second rocket with those same parts.
However, this week, as those who have watched the episode know, there are points for comparison. In all previous seasons of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, the sixth episode of each season has been the one that deals with the fallout of the fifth episode’s ending.
In the first season, the Wildcats were tasked with saving Miss Jenn’s job after she’s placed on temporary leave and rehearsals are put on hold.
Last season, this was dealt with in the episode “Yes, And.” In that episode, the Wildcats attend an improv intensive to regain their confidence after North High shares a video that goes viral on what I can only assume would be Instagram or YouTube to undermine the Wildcats’ rival production of Beauty and the Beast.
Before viewing the episode, my expectations for this episode were sky-high. Ignoring the story for a second, it’s the episode that has received the most publicity from the marketing team at Disney+ since our first look of the season was a selection of one of the songs in the episode, “It’s On,” from Camp Rock 2. Not only that, but last week’s episode provided a much-needed pressure release from five episodes of drama-filled buildup.
Like I said in my review of the third episode of this season, “The Woman in The Woods,” I was not disappointed. So much of the episode’s success can be attributed to the writer of this week’s teleplay, Chandler Turk. He spent the first half of the first season as a writers’ production assistant before the rest of the first season before moving on to a post-production assistant for the rest of the season. Then, in the second season, he moved up to showrunner's assistant (likely Bill Borden). Turk also became a writers’ assistant for the “Previously On…” segments and additional scripts for social media up until writing this episode.
Turk now serves as a staff writer on the series. That’s four years in October that he’s been with the show, so one could say he’s got a pretty good feel for what makes the series work and what to avoid.
His writing this week (and promotion to staff writer) is impeccable. Yes, there’s still drama infused in this episode, but it feels bittersweet instead of big explosive moments. He understands that sometimes the most significant shifts in our lives can come from seemingly insignificant moments at the time that we only realize later how much that moment changed us.
My favorite moment was a quiet moment with E.J. (Matt Cornett) and Gina (Sofia Wylie) waiting for something to happen that didn’t. What I love about this moment is that it’s not big and showy like some of the big explosions that have happened this season. Instead, a sudden realization that the viewer isn’t directly told but is strongly hinted at. These small moments keep me coming back to High School Musical: The Musical: The Series week after week, and I can’t wait to see what Turk does next on the show.
Something that’s also great in this episode is the performances. The episode highlights Cornett, Wylie, Julia Lester, Saylor Bell Curda, and Adrian Lyles, who play E.J., Gina, Ashlyn, Maddox, and Jet, respectively, with the rest of the cast being moved to the background but still having equally important side stories.
In the background, Cornett and Wylie have been great all season, but this episode finally gives the two a chance to shine. Cornett has little facial ticks that show his macho persona starting to fall apart, which lets the viewer in on what’s going underneath the surface. At the same time, Wylie does a great job depicting someone utterly devoid of emotional energy. Obviously, for spoiler reasons, I can’t get into what is sucking the energy out of Gina, but if you’ve seen the episode already, you know what I’m talking about.
Curda exudes the opposite energy. Maddox has been tortured all season long by Jet’s past and current actions, distancing the two. So, seeing Maddox so full of energy was a nice change in mood for her character. Whether or not her happiness lasts is up to what happens in the next two episodes, but I can’t wait to see what she does with this role reversal.
Likewise, it's nice to see Lyles’s character Jet being happy for once as well. After “Right Place,” I worried Jet would be the bad boy for the rest of the series. Thankfully so, he gets a much-needed breather to have the same type of fun that’s usually reserved for our favorite Wildcats.
Lester’s character Ashlyn gets a small role this week, but it’s an impactful one. I’ve had concerns about Ashlyn all season, now that Big Red (Larry Saperstein) has been out of sight all season (and remains out of sight in this episode). However, now that I see where Ashlyn’s arc is headed, I’m much more at ease. Lester has mastered the art of getting the audience into a character's mind. When Ashlyn felt directionless, so too did the viewer. Props to Lester for somehow pulling this off.
Typically, this is when I’d talk about the music or direction of the episode, but there’s not much to grip onto here.
There are two songs in the episode, “Different Way to Dance,” sung by Corbin Bleu and Sofia Wylie, and “It’s On,” which is an ensemble piece. While I liked “Different Way to Dance,” it’s one of those songs that is good enough not to skip over when it comes on but not enough that you’d actively search for. It’s a shame because there have been absolute bangers all season. Especially since the music video meshes Bleu’s role as Chad in the High School Musical movies and Wylie’s more dancer-centric mentality.
As for “It’s On,” this is a miss as well. For an ensemble piece, I can’t make out the difference between each singer’s vocals, so if the song was mixed differently or catered to each vocalist’s unique style in their solos, it might have made more of an impact. That said, it’s a relatively enjoyable song during the episode, so I’m not quite sure what’s going on there.
At the end of the day, “Color War” is an excellent episode from this season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, at the expense of style and soundtrack.
★★★★
“Color War” is now available to stream on Disney+. Seasons one and two of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is available to stream on Disney+, as well as two specials and a sing-along version of the first season.
If you'd like to listen to me watch the episode, click below to buy the audio commentary!
Until next time!
Thanks to Thomas Stoneham-Judge from Movies For Reel, Shane Conto, Joseph Davis, David Walters, Ambula Bula, Matthew Simpson, Thom Blackburn, Aaliyah, returning Patron Destiny, Libby Stephenson, and Roze for supporting Austin B Media on Patreon!
As we approach the end of the series, the fate of the East High Leopards hangs in the balance. With only eight episodes left, viewers are eager to see if they will receive a proper farewell.
However, based on the mixed results of the previous six episodes, it's difficult to say whether the send-off will meet expectations.