If I can add, they also hinted at their miscommunication since season 2. If it wasn’t for Ashlyn unintentionally telling Gina, she would’ve never had known Jamie told EJ she saw him as an older-brother figure, and that was why he cancelled their date It can also be seen as a first glance of EJ not showing up for Gina. In EJ’s POV, he still knew she was excited to go out with him, whether a romantic date or a platonic hang out. But he cancels for thinking he read everything between them wrong, so he wouldn’t get more hurt. There was nothing wrong with that at all, but it does show maybe not putting her feelings (or happiness) above his? If that makes sense
Yeah, I would agree it's maybe the first sign of lack of communication from EJ's part. I didn't touch on it just cause I think that conflict is just so manufactured that I'm like does it even count? Obviously, it does, it's canon. I just roll my eyes at it. That's an interesting point. It shows that EJ will put his hurt feelings over whatever he needs to which in this case is Gina. Like you said, I don't think there's anything wrong with EJ not wanting to get hurt and wanting to take a step back and not go on a platonic hang out after thinking it was more but it is that self-survival instinct kicking in at Gina's expense.
Once again, an incredible analysis! One more thing I'd like to point out is that EJ was already treating his relationship with Gina as a "maybe" back in season 2. In "The Transformation" he expressed uncertainty in pursuing anything with Gina because of his heartbreak with Nini. Then, when he finally did take a chance, he was still unwilling to directly call it a date in his confessional in 2x11, despite Gina explicitly calling their plans a date. His insecurities led him to keep one foot out the door with Gina throughout that whole arc. In season 3, the "maybe" transforms into less about his insecurity in the relationship (though that jealousy still simmers) and more the relationship itself becoming an afterthought and his future being uncertain. I'm honestly not sure if the development of this thematic idea was consciously intended in season 2, but I think it's interesting to ponder!
This is really interesting! I never really saw the "maybe" Gina was referring to outside how EJ's life was changing and saw it more as Gina projecting how she felt and her insecurities. I'll have to go back and rewatch with this new idea.
I like them, but it is true that they started at the end of s2 without really knowing how things would turn out, and Gina was clearly still into Ricky. I did like them bcs it helped gina move on, or try to, and she seemed happy and exited with the EJ thing. Them in s3 they started as a super couple and both made mistakes. I did find Ricky annoying and I do think that he kinda stepped in but at least he made her company, at least he did acknowledge that he had to put distance between them. But then again, they are kids, it’s really not surprising how things turned out. They are teens, falling in love for the first time and they think each relationship will be their last and forever one. It’s just typical high school. I do prefer Portwell to Rina, but I like Val with EJ, they connect better.
I see 2 more foreshowing's. First one was when after Gina's brother told EJ he's like a big brother figure to her, she was the one who had to clear things up. Not him he didn't try to explain to her how he feels, he just cancels plans and left. She had to correct him. Which I'm not faulting EJ for he was clearly hurt, but it does kinda remind me how in season 3 after a certain point Gina is the main one putting in the effort. Just like how he asked her out but then went cold, and she had to salvage everything. In season 3 He starts out telling her he'll always be there then he's not because of his responsibilities, so she is the main one putting in the effort in the relationship because he can't make time for with everything he has on his plate. Both their efforts started mutual but ended up being onesided effort. And the second one is that in season 3 they sang "Love is An Open Door". Which in Frozen is sung between Anna(the character Gina plays) and in Hans her first love interest. Simular to Gina, Anna has never really experienced any first and she is so excited thinking it'll last forever. But her first love turns out not be who she thought he was. It's not a match for match tho because altho Gina does paralelle Anna this season(and Ricky Kristoff, her true love), EJ doesn't fully paralell Hans because he is not villain who uses Gina. But it does kinda show in Gina's perspective her being so excited about her first relationship just have her heart broken realizing that her and EJ won't work out since they belong to two different Worlds. She thought they were on the same page but they weren't which is what Anna felt(along with her additional betrayl). Unlike Ricky and Gina on the other hand who like Anna and Kristoff don't start there adventures wanting to be with each other, but wanting to help and be there for each other but as the movie/season goes on they realize their feelings for each other and how they are exactly what they both want and need and get together at the end of the movie/season.
I think all the hate between portwell/rini/rina is really unnecessary and I'm glad you're pointing that out too. Ricky and Gina both needed their previous relationships to become the people that were ready for the great relationship they now have. Ricky had to realise that change is inevitable but that it is nothing to be scared of. Gina needed to learn to believe in her own worth and that she deserves to be the number one priority for someone. Without Nini and EJ they would've never learned those lessons. Not ending up with someone or not being meant to be doesn't diminish the worth of the relationship. EJ was good for Gina at that time, but he was never her forever love - that is life.
I really liked this analysis. It always felt, to me, like their relationship acted like a metaphorical band-aid for what they were going through in their lives. The relationship was nice while it lasted, and they both got something out of it, but eventually you don't need the band-aid anymore.
* Contains Season 4 episode 1 spoilers* I was thinking about your point about Gina being in a headspace of trying not to care when heading into a relationship with EJ after talking to Jack. While listening to Maybe This Time from season 4, I realised it all worked so perfectly together. The song is written by Gina in the show, and it’s her saying “Hey, I’m not caring about how this will end up, but I’m putting my whole heart into it, and I’m letting myself fall for you, no holds barred”. It’s just so beautiful
I swear every single one of your videos is so carefully edited and explained. I always find a new perspective that I didn’t previously see in the show. I’ve shopped Rina since season 1, but was not surprised that Portwell got together in s2 after Gina was heartbroken. But, Portwell’s romantic foundation and understanding never seemed very strong to me. EJ was just there when Ricky wasn’t. Anyway, your video is amazing! I love your channel.
That was a brilliant analysis! Admittedly I didn’t notice all that mentioned before but… between season two and three I realized the fact that EJ graduated which made me wonder how they were going to make it work. And that troubled me. Admittedly I did think it was weird how EJ suddenly developed feelings for her out of the blue but since I was just glad someone seemed to care for her after all the hurt with Ricky that was going on at the time for Gina.
As someone who’s argued with many portwell’s back in the day lol, I absolutely love that you made this ! PW was the most plot device ship to ever plot device, and I feel like a hate of rina really made a lot of pw’s bias because it was clear from the beginning that they were never gonna end up together and were needed for rina’s development. Always love your analyses that I’m too lazy to write myself !!
@@gpk1982 that’s true in terms of the show. But for us as an audience , the chocolates are canon to me 😂- the chocolate buildup had a plan all along and therefore we know 1000% it’s guaranteed to be addressed. It’s “written in the stars” anyway
Another good analysis! I've seen a couple of your other ones and it helps to give a new perspective. I enjoy how you go in depth with foreshadowing and signs that some may not have seen before (including myself). In my opinion, I saw more of a brother-sister vibe between Portwell rather than romance. I don't have a bias to any particular ship on this show, but, Portwell felt surface level. They care about each other and there is a bond there. Just not enough to have a solid romantic relationship. I'm thinking that EJ is the character meant to serve as a big brother figure to everyone. He is the oldest of the bunch, so it would make sense that he would be more of an older sibling to the younger teens in the group. And with season four coming, he'll be able to give out more advice seeing now that he's graduated.
9:21 I think it was more than manufactured conflict, only because at this point the chocolates were canon. So this means Gina’s Mom knew how Gina would talk to her about both Ricky and EJ but more than that how Ricky and EJ talked about and wanted to help Gina. EJ got the plane tickets, Ricky the chocolates. Gina’s mother could probably tell that Ricky had romantic feelings also it was Valentine’s Day 😂. Think about it when Gina wanted to leave her mother told her to stay and look for a sign. I’m guessing she was referring to Ricky. So in the Mother’s eyes Ricky and Gina were into each other and EJ and Gina were just good friends. And maybe Gina’s brother was attempting to protect EJs feelings knowing that like you said Gina doesn’t speak about him like she has romantic feelings but rather like a good friend and that when she speaks about Ricky whether she realizes or not she displays romantic feelings. It’s even obvious in season 3 as it’s all over her face even though she is a loyal girlfriend the feelings she has is shown in her face and actions, staring and smiling while Ricky was singing at tryouts, constantly touching him whether it was shoving or trying to grab his list, and the most obvious her getting lost in the moment when they performed what do you know about love…. Anyway this analysis was great, I totally agree with it an would add another big red flag was neither of them would confide in the other, EJ would tell Val and not Gina. Gina would keep things to herself as well and vent to Ricky at one point. They never talked it out, never trusted the other enough to share how they were feeling or what they were going through, yet they did it with other people
I didn't mean the comment in and of iteself was manufatured but the conflict it created for EJ was manufactured. They did it just so that portwell could have a dramatic end moment for the season. Not as fun an ending if they have a 2 min conversation where she clarifies it's a date and then they go out for a nice dinner lol.
@@multi--edits I thought it was to imply the miscommunication that would come in season 3. To show that some flaws in their relationship were there before it even began, that their problems didn’t come out of nowhere If the end of season 2 was different, Portwell shippers would have a more fair argument in believing that the things that went wrong in Gina and EJ’s time together was forced for Rina (even if it’s not true)
@@mxn4719 It does imply that but it's a repeated underwhelming conflict blown 10 times out of proportion for the sake of a season finale. We already got the miscommunication clue from them not definitively defining it as a date to begin with so the miscommunication over Gina's feelings is just redundant and isn't even an escalation of miscommunication. It's the same type of miscommunication. They don't clarify their feelings/intentions re the date except the second time EJ blows it up for conflict's sake. There are interesting, valid ways to allude to and elevate miscommunication but they chose a manufactured one so they could wrap it all up quickly and have the big season finale moment of the kiss not kiss lol. I wish they had truly elevated it instead of just creating repetitive false story beats.
Fantastic video! IMO EJ never really had Gina a the #1 priority in his head like Ricky did even when Ricky and Gina weren't together he was always thinking about her and hoping she was happy
@@kkkkksjdjdjjdjdjdjd I don't think he was ready to give Gina the relationship she needed back in the early seasons, he dated Nini because she was his childhood crush and through that relationship he realized she wasn't the one he needed to be with instead it was Gina. So yeah it was hard for him when they broke up but it was better in the long run because he found the right one
I think that's why when Big Red asked Gina for advice about Nini (2x04), Ricky kept cutting him off. He didn't want to keep going to Gina for relationship advice since he probably felt that it would make her uncomfortable.
There better friends at the very least than lovers 🤷🏽♀️ they just don’t have any chemistry no spark it just seems forced to make them a couple 🤷🏽♀️ I always think the writers just put them together because everyone else was paired up and they were the only ones left so the writers were like “aye let’s just put EJ n Gina together just cause!”🤣🤷🏽♀️
Hello! great video ❤ I'm from Brazil and I love watching your review videos! I hope you have more!! ( Could you make a video talking a little about Rini's relationship and everything you did wrong?) ( And how could Ricky like two people at the same time?) +
I would love to see you talking about this!! (For me, his relationship with Nini has to do with habit but I would like to see your analysis!! please 🥺❤️
Thank you! I've thought about it before, doing a video on Rini and why that was never meant to work but I already get quite a few upset Rini stans in my comments and it makes me think that a video like that may just invite a lot of negativity I don't want to deal with. I try to put my analysis of Rini into other videos when it's relevant though.
If I can add, they also hinted at their miscommunication since season 2. If it wasn’t for Ashlyn unintentionally telling Gina, she would’ve never had known Jamie told EJ she saw him as an older-brother figure, and that was why he cancelled their date
It can also be seen as a first glance of EJ not showing up for Gina. In EJ’s POV, he still knew she was excited to go out with him, whether a romantic date or a platonic hang out. But he cancels for thinking he read everything between them wrong, so he wouldn’t get more hurt. There was nothing wrong with that at all, but it does show maybe not putting her feelings (or happiness) above his? If that makes sense
Yeah, I would agree it's maybe the first sign of lack of communication from EJ's part. I didn't touch on it just cause I think that conflict is just so manufactured that I'm like does it even count? Obviously, it does, it's canon. I just roll my eyes at it.
That's an interesting point. It shows that EJ will put his hurt feelings over whatever he needs to which in this case is Gina. Like you said, I don't think there's anything wrong with EJ not wanting to get hurt and wanting to take a step back and not go on a platonic hang out after thinking it was more but it is that self-survival instinct kicking in at Gina's expense.
‘Gina not wanting to go down another uncertain path with ej like she has done all her life with her mom! wow just so deep
Once again, an incredible analysis! One more thing I'd like to point out is that EJ was already treating his relationship with Gina as a "maybe" back in season 2. In "The Transformation" he expressed uncertainty in pursuing anything with Gina because of his heartbreak with Nini. Then, when he finally did take a chance, he was still unwilling to directly call it a date in his confessional in 2x11, despite Gina explicitly calling their plans a date. His insecurities led him to keep one foot out the door with Gina throughout that whole arc. In season 3, the "maybe" transforms into less about his insecurity in the relationship (though that jealousy still simmers) and more the relationship itself becoming an afterthought and his future being uncertain. I'm honestly not sure if the development of this thematic idea was consciously intended in season 2, but I think it's interesting to ponder!
This is really interesting! I never really saw the "maybe" Gina was referring to outside how EJ's life was changing and saw it more as Gina projecting how she felt and her insecurities. I'll have to go back and rewatch with this new idea.
@@multi--editsThey were so great for each other tho:(
I like them, but it is true that they started at the end of s2 without really knowing how things would turn out, and Gina was clearly still into Ricky. I did like them bcs it helped gina move on, or try to, and she seemed happy and exited with the EJ thing. Them in s3 they started as a super couple and both made mistakes. I did find Ricky annoying and I do think that he kinda stepped in but at least he made her company, at least he did acknowledge that he had to put distance between them. But then again, they are kids, it’s really not surprising how things turned out. They are teens, falling in love for the first time and they think each relationship will be their last and forever one. It’s just typical high school. I do prefer Portwell to Rina, but I like Val with EJ, they connect better.
I see 2 more foreshowing's.
First one was when after Gina's brother told EJ he's like a big brother figure to her, she was the one who had to clear things up. Not him he didn't try to explain to her how he feels, he just cancels plans and left. She had to correct him. Which I'm not faulting EJ for he was clearly hurt, but it does kinda remind me how in season 3 after a certain point Gina is the main one putting in the effort. Just like how he asked her out but then went cold, and she had to salvage everything. In season 3 He starts out telling her he'll always be there then he's not because of his responsibilities, so she is the main one putting in the effort in the relationship because he can't make time for with everything he has on his plate. Both their efforts started mutual but ended up being onesided effort.
And the second one is that in season 3 they sang "Love is An Open Door". Which in Frozen is sung between Anna(the character Gina plays) and in Hans her first love interest. Simular to Gina, Anna has never really experienced any first and she is so excited thinking it'll last forever. But her first love turns out not be who she thought he was. It's not a match for match tho because altho Gina does paralelle Anna this season(and Ricky Kristoff, her true love), EJ doesn't fully paralell Hans because he is not villain who uses Gina. But it does kinda show in Gina's perspective her being so excited about her first relationship just have her heart broken realizing that her and EJ won't work out since they belong to two different Worlds. She thought they were on the same page but they weren't which is what Anna felt(along with her additional betrayl). Unlike Ricky and Gina on the other hand who like Anna and Kristoff don't start there adventures wanting to be with each other, but wanting to help and be there for each other but as the movie/season goes on they realize their feelings for each other and how they are exactly what they both want and need and get together at the end of the movie/season.
Yeahhh exactly I was thinking that too
I think all the hate between portwell/rini/rina is really unnecessary and I'm glad you're pointing that out too. Ricky and Gina both needed their previous relationships to become the people that were ready for the great relationship they now have. Ricky had to realise that change is inevitable but that it is nothing to be scared of. Gina needed to learn to believe in her own worth and that she deserves to be the number one priority for someone. Without Nini and EJ they would've never learned those lessons. Not ending up with someone or not being meant to be doesn't diminish the worth of the relationship. EJ was good for Gina at that time, but he was never her forever love - that is life.
They undid all the development because its a relationship that only thrives when she doesn't talk to Ricky
I really liked this analysis. It always felt, to me, like their relationship acted like a metaphorical band-aid for what they were going through in their lives. The relationship was nice while it lasted, and they both got something out of it, but eventually you don't need the band-aid anymore.
* Contains Season 4 episode 1 spoilers*
I was thinking about your point about Gina being in a headspace of trying not to care when heading into a relationship with EJ after talking to Jack. While listening to Maybe This Time from season 4, I realised it all worked so perfectly together. The song is written by Gina in the show, and it’s her saying “Hey, I’m not caring about how this will end up, but I’m putting my whole heart into it, and I’m letting myself fall for you, no holds barred”. It’s just so beautiful
I swear every single one of your videos is so carefully edited and explained. I always find a new perspective that I didn’t previously see in the show. I’ve shopped Rina since season 1, but was not surprised that Portwell got together in s2 after Gina was heartbroken. But, Portwell’s romantic foundation and understanding never seemed very strong to me. EJ was just there when Ricky wasn’t. Anyway, your video is amazing! I love your channel.
That was a brilliant analysis! Admittedly I didn’t notice all that mentioned before but… between season two and three I realized the fact that EJ graduated which made me wonder how they were going to make it work. And that troubled me. Admittedly I did think it was weird how EJ suddenly developed feelings for her out of the blue but since I was just glad someone seemed to care for her after all the hurt with Ricky that was going on at the time for Gina.
Thank you! Yes, I wished they'd done more of a build or explanation with his feelings. They really do just come out of nowhere.
As someone who’s argued with many portwell’s back in the day lol, I absolutely love that you made this ! PW was the most plot device ship to ever plot device, and I feel like a hate of rina really made a lot of pw’s bias because it was clear from the beginning that they were never gonna end up together and were needed for rina’s development. Always love your analyses that I’m too lazy to write myself !!
9:21 omg especially now knowing the chocolates were canon it makes so much sense
Nope. They never filmed it so it’s not canon. If they address it in S4 them it’s canon.
@@gpk1982 that’s true in terms of the show.
But for us as an audience , the chocolates are canon to me 😂- the chocolate buildup had a plan all along and therefore we know 1000% it’s guaranteed to be addressed.
It’s “written in the stars” anyway
Another good analysis! I've seen a couple of your other ones and it helps to give a new perspective. I enjoy how you go in depth with foreshadowing and signs that some may not have seen before (including myself). In my opinion, I saw more of a brother-sister vibe between Portwell rather than romance. I don't have a bias to any particular ship on this show, but, Portwell felt surface level. They care about each other and there is a bond there. Just not enough to have a solid romantic relationship. I'm thinking that EJ is the character meant to serve as a big brother figure to everyone. He is the oldest of the bunch, so it would make sense that he would be more of an older sibling to the younger teens in the group. And with season four coming, he'll be able to give out more advice seeing now that he's graduated.
9:21 I think it was more than manufactured conflict, only because at this point the chocolates were canon. So this means Gina’s Mom knew how Gina would talk to her about both Ricky and EJ but more than that how Ricky and EJ talked about and wanted to help Gina. EJ got the plane tickets, Ricky the chocolates. Gina’s mother could probably tell that Ricky had romantic feelings also it was Valentine’s Day 😂. Think about it when Gina wanted to leave her mother told her to stay and look for a sign. I’m guessing she was referring to Ricky. So in the Mother’s eyes Ricky and Gina were into each other and EJ and Gina were just good friends. And maybe Gina’s brother was attempting to protect EJs feelings knowing that like you said Gina doesn’t speak about him like she has romantic feelings but rather like a good friend and that when she speaks about Ricky whether she realizes or not she displays romantic feelings. It’s even obvious in season 3 as it’s all over her face even though she is a loyal girlfriend the feelings she has is shown in her face and actions, staring and smiling while Ricky was singing at tryouts, constantly touching him whether it was shoving or trying to grab his list, and the most obvious her getting lost in the moment when they performed what do you know about love…. Anyway this analysis was great, I totally agree with it an would add another big red flag was neither of them would confide in the other, EJ would tell Val and not Gina. Gina would keep things to herself as well and vent to Ricky at one point. They never talked it out, never trusted the other enough to share how they were feeling or what they were going through, yet they did it with other people
I didn't mean the comment in and of iteself was manufatured but the conflict it created for EJ was manufactured. They did it just so that portwell could have a dramatic end moment for the season. Not as fun an ending if they have a 2 min conversation where she clarifies it's a date and then they go out for a nice dinner lol.
@@multi--edits I thought it was to imply the miscommunication that would come in season 3. To show that some flaws in their relationship were there before it even began, that their problems didn’t come out of nowhere
If the end of season 2 was different, Portwell shippers would have a more fair argument in believing that the things that went wrong in Gina and EJ’s time together was forced for Rina (even if it’s not true)
@@mxn4719 It does imply that but it's a repeated underwhelming conflict blown 10 times out of proportion for the sake of a season finale. We already got the miscommunication clue from them not definitively defining it as a date to begin with so the miscommunication over Gina's feelings is just redundant and isn't even an escalation of miscommunication. It's the same type of miscommunication. They don't clarify their feelings/intentions re the date except the second time EJ blows it up for conflict's sake. There are interesting, valid ways to allude to and elevate miscommunication but they chose a manufactured one so they could wrap it all up quickly and have the big season finale moment of the kiss not kiss lol. I wish they had truly elevated it instead of just creating repetitive false story beats.
I love your analysis!
I’m a Portwell shipper and I can’t deny all the evidence here. Now I’m not as mad that they broke up - I’m just feeling a way about Ricky. *sigh*
Fantastic video! IMO EJ never really had Gina a the #1 priority in his head like Ricky did even when Ricky and Gina weren't together he was always thinking about her and hoping she was happy
then why did ricky date nini if she was his #1 priority????? LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
@@kkkkksjdjdjjdjdjdjd I don't think he was ready to give Gina the relationship she needed back in the early seasons, he dated Nini because she was his childhood crush and through that relationship he realized she wasn't the one he needed to be with instead it was Gina. So yeah it was hard for him when they broke up but it was better in the long run because he found the right one
I think that's why when Big Red asked Gina for advice about Nini (2x04), Ricky kept cutting him off. He didn't want to keep going to Gina for relationship advice since he probably felt that it would make her uncomfortable.
There better friends at the very least than lovers 🤷🏽♀️ they just don’t have any chemistry no spark it just seems forced to make them a couple 🤷🏽♀️ I always think the writers just put them together because everyone else was paired up and they were the only ones left so the writers were like “aye let’s just put EJ n Gina together just cause!”🤣🤷🏽♀️
I never thought of that dang 04:17
the way i know you're right but im still heartbroken
Hello! great video ❤ I'm from Brazil and I love watching your review videos! I hope you have more!! ( Could you make a video talking a little about Rini's relationship and everything you did wrong?) ( And how could Ricky like two people at the same time?) +
I would love to see you talking about this!! (For me, his relationship with Nini has to do with habit but I would like to see your analysis!! please 🥺❤️
Thank you! I've thought about it before, doing a video on Rini and why that was never meant to work but I already get quite a few upset Rini stans in my comments and it makes me think that a video like that may just invite a lot of negativity I don't want to deal with. I try to put my analysis of Rini into other videos when it's relevant though.