‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Gave the Wildcats the Emotional Goodbye They Deserved

Warning: The following contains spoilers from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 4.

Congratulations are in order for the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Wildcats for getting through their fall musical with no significant hiccups. Of course, there was drama — major motion picture announcements! Hook-ups! And almost breakups! — but the drama club managed not to let any of it interrupt the stage performance. There were also plenty of tears in the HSMTMTS finale, but those should be expected in beautiful goodbyes.

There was no surprise appearance from Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens or Ashley Tisdale, but the HSMTMTS finale didn't need it. That would have distracted from the kids we've grown to love throughout four seasons being able to say farewell on their terms. Don't worry, they saved the theater program, and there will be a spring musical, but they've all changed for the better after being in this program together.

The show's final act required some Olympic levels of suspending disbelief —  major studio movies are not announced in Utah high school auditoriums, and single-credit actresses do not single-handedly get to decide where they are filmed; neither do directors without talking to the studio, actually — but all the right emotions were there. It began in Episode 6, which showrunner Tim Federle revealed was when the cast found out the show was ending. High School Musical 3 was shut down because the kids didn't make it to a crucial rehearsal, and they all had to grapple with what losing the program would mean to them.

However, Bart Johnson and Alyson Reed stepped in to save the day, donating a quarter of their movie salaries to allow the kids to put on their production. In the meantime, Gina was offered the lead in Quinn's (Caitlin Reilly) next movie, a gritty retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in which no one dies. The movie was supposed to be filmed in New Zealand for six months, but Gina manipulated Quinn into agreeing to shoot it in Salt Lake and leave time in her schedule for her to do the spring musical still. That was excellent news for Ricky (Joshua Bassett), who declared his love for Gina during her big movie press conference.

Meanwhile, Kourtney (Dara Reneé) decided where to go to college. Ashlyn (Julia Lester) and Maddox (Saylor Bell) finally got on the same page and became an official couple. Carlos (Frankie Rodriguez) and Seb (Joe Sarafini) rekindled their romance after one of the season's most breathtaking duets. Even Big Red (Larry Saperstein) seemed to find love (if he comes back from Egypt — or wherever he was!).

It was happy endings all around, which is the only appropriate way for a show as delightful as High School Musical: The Musical: The Series to end. The show didn't need huge publicity stunts, though the HSM 3 numbers were extremely impressive for a high school production. The final season celebrated how much the theater department kids (and Miss Jenn) had grown throughout the series and set them on new paths of adventure. Gina is going to be a star. Ricky and Kourtney are embracing the future. Ashlyn is taking risks and standing proud in who she is. Carlos and Seb are well on their way to becoming Real Housewife correspondents for Bravo.

Ultimately, the HSMTMTS finale was about hope and finding who you are. It celebrated everything this show has been about since day one. The past four seasons have been a wild ride, but the East High Wildcats delivered a truly satisfying ending for everyone who was rooting for them. After all, we're all in this together, right?

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 4 is now streaming on Disney+.