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Olivia Rodrigo just got a perfectly bittersweet sendoff inHigh School Musical : The Musical : The Seriesseason 3 . Ever since it was announced thatRodrigo would be deoxidize her on - silver screen presence , appearing only as a invitee maven as she focalize more on her music life history , there have been questions about how the show would write her off . Rodrigo ’s fictional character , Nini Salazar - Roberts , only appeared in the first two episodes ofHigh School Musicalseason 3 , though she makes her way back to Camp Shallow Lake in time for the finale .
In an arc that mirror Rodrigo ’s own meteoric rise as a pop artist , Nini has to make a alternative in the close : she can either return to the centralHigh School Musicalsetting of East High once class start , or she for good propel to LA so as to more fully pore on her inhalation as a singer - songwriter . Nini decides on the latter , butHSMTMTSresists the enticement to make a big plenty out of it . rather , it ’s an atypically understated second with Nini ’s estimable protagonist , Kourtney Greene ( Dara Reneé ) , that tells the interview everything they ask to live .
connect : High School Musical Show : Why Olivia Rodrigo Has A Smaller Role In Season 3
Nini hang around in the background knowledge of theHigh School Musicalseason 3finale , cheering on her schoolmate from a distance as they put on a summer product ofFrozenand leave them little notes of boost to regain afterward . But in the one panorama that she shares with her best friend , Nini ’s conflicted emotions are homely to see . She ’s clearly proud of Kourtney , who whelm her anxiety to put on an first-class performance of " Let It Go " , but she ’s also a little heartbroken . She says , at one point , as her nose receive a little red and her oculus fill up with bust : " You ’re all , like , really limited to me . Think I kind of had to go away and follow back to see that . " It seems , for a few moment , that Rodrigo ’s real emotions could be slip through Nini ’s give-and-take .
It’s Better That Nini & Ricky Didn’t Reunite In HSMTMTS Season 3’s Finale
Nini ’s reaching at Camp Shallow Lake briefly rattles her X - boyfriend , Ricky Bowen ( Joshua Bassett ) , though the two character in the end do n’t see each other . Instead , Nini leaves her ex a parting gift of sorts , she drive him a lottery ticket , as revealed in a letter , which helps him fill in his pail list . It shows that , even though they ’ve carve up up , Nini still shares a history and understanding with Ricky that she care for . From both a storyline view and considering the future ofHigh School Musical , this semisweet bye-bye works intimately than an outright reunification .
It ’s no secret that there ’s a lot of interest in the real - life relationship between Bassett and Rodrigo . They ’re rumor to be exes that break through a big detachment . Although neither histrion has confirmed this , Bassett has fuel conjecture by uncover in a 2021 interview thatRodrigo has n’t address to him in over a year . The pair also went viral just for take a photo together at theHSMTMTSseason 3 premier issue , with sports fan question whether they ’ve since reconciled . Given that showrunner , Tim Federle is open to Rodrigo making another coming into court down the line , a succeeding Ricky / Nini conniption would bring a peck of tending to theHigh School Musicalfranchise .
But even if she does n’t show up again inHigh School Musical : The Musical : The Series , that ’s fine too . Nini ’s leave in the finale beautifully expresses that , even if you leave out someone , even if you roll in the hay them in a heartfelt way and wish well them well , it ’s okay to uprise asunder and graph your own path . Rodrigo ’s exit did n’t occur with cinematic closure , satisfy without bind up every easy end . It leave the threshold open while acknowledging , implicitly , that she may not walk through it . All in all , it ’s a motivate melancholy closure for a show that often prefers to be giving and bright , and optimistic .
