Thorough analysis! I've held the same interpretation of Ricky and Lily's relationship for all the reasons you outlined in this video, and while I certainly think it's most sensible to view Ricky's pursuit of Lily as a second chance at Gina (not just a second chance at love), I'm not completely convinced that it's consciously intended by the writers. All of the parallels between Gina and Lily and then also Lily's interactions with Ricky certainly lead to this being the most logical interpretation, but there's no resolution to his relationship with Lily that confirms any of this. If he had a moment of introspection or realization that he's looking for what he had with Gina in Lily and realizes that she can't be replaced, all my fears that I'm crazy and reading into things too much would subside. As it is, though, I still sometimes wonder if any of these parallels were intentional by the writers at all... then again, the chocolates theory was eventually (basically) confirmed, so maybe this will be too! EDIT: I also want to add for anyone who thinks this, the parallels between Gina and Lily don't actually communicate that they're anything alike, just that Ricky was looking for the same connection he had with Gina in Lily. Lily's moments of "vulnerability" were all veiled in manipulation, but from Ricky's POV he thought maybe there's more beneath the surface, like with Gina. Lily is similar to Gina in the most superficial ways but lacked all of Gina's depth and authenticity... something Ricky wouldn't come to accept until 3x01 when he finds the harness. Up until that point he's willing to wait until what he thinks is a façade will drop and she'll become more genuine and kind.
If the writer's went in the direction of redeeming Lily as a character, I actually would have liked to see Ricky and Lily have a genuine, lasting relationship on the show. Not necessarily romantic, but a friendship. I feel like Lily and some of the characters from North High should have stuck around some more in season three. It would've made things a little more interesting in my opinion. But since that season only had eight episodes, I understand why they cut it. And I know that not everyone needs a redemption arc (even though again, I wish Lily did stick around), so it's fine.
I think Ricky becoming friends with Jet might have been another Gina lookalike moment, just in more of a platonic form. Jet is shut off, doesn’t want to interact in fear of getting hurt, and has an issue that Ricky sees needs fixing. Jet proves to be a tough cookie to crack (like Lilly), but eventually becomes Ricky’s good friend. Ricky might be seeing Jet as a second chance at Gina, but if he had been able to stick around and been more supportive while he was with Nini.
I honestly hate the idea/concept that Lily is supposed to remind Ricky of Gina and that’s why he got with her. It’s kinda insulting to Gina. I see the parallels and I guess they were similar at first, but to me Lily’s vulnerability is manipulative, which Gina is not. Lily is a pretty flat character with no dynamics. She acts out of greed and is surface level. Gina has so much more depth. Lily is just mean spirited and yuck. Good video, but I don’t understand how people like or accept the concept of Lily paralleling Gina in her relationship with Ricky. Early on Gina brought her walls down to Ricky, but Lily’s vulnerability was always fake to me. I don’t think Ricky got with her because she reminds him of Gina… I think he did because she manipulated him into thinking she was actually a good person. If she really liked Ricky she would have come clean about the harness.
Personally, I don't think Ricky gave Lily a chance because she reminded him of Gina personality-wise. I think that he saw what Gina represented to him (change, something new, a second chance) in Lily and felt that this was his chance to stop holding onto the past. Lily is like Gina in the context of the mean girl trope but their personalities are pretty different, at least as far as Lily's one-dimensional treatment from the writers allows. As an audience with the ability to see the show as a whole and recognize plot devices, we see Lily differently than the characters do. We see that Lily is meant to be a knockoff Gina by playing the mean girl, the new girl, the antagonist, Ricky's love interest, etc. All the roles that Gina no longer fits because she's been written with character development. We can see that Lily is flat and underdeveloped but that's not her fault. It's a choice the writers made because they didn't want to invest in her character. Within the show the characters don't see those meta things so to Ricky Lily is bubbly, assertive, demanding, spoiled, etc. Gina doesn't have most of those character traits so I don't think the idea is that Ricky saw Gina in her and decided to date her so much as Lily represented what Gina represented and Ricky was chasing something new. I think Ricky seeing the harness and seeing Lily for her true colors is about him realizing that he won't find fulfillment in chasing after a concept (which he cites in 3x01 as the reason he's dating her - he's going with whatever has the best chance of making him feel free) instead of an actual person. Him getting to camp and reconnecting with Gina causes the realization that the person behind the concept matters. Yes, Gina represents all the things Lily does but she's a different person and has a unique bond with Ricky that he hasn't found elsewhere. Anyway long rant but just wanted to clarify my thoughts on that in case the video gave a different impression.
@@multi--edits fair enough! Your explanation here makes a lot more sense to me. I was speaking more generally because you’re not the only person with this argument. I also just hate Lily and love Gina so the thought of them being similar upsets me lol. Even if they are I try not to see haha
Fair enough lol. I cringe when I see Lily on screen cause the writers really invested nothing in her. I almost feel bad for the actress cause there's just so little to work with. The closest she gets to having any depth or background is when she tells Ricky about her step-mom. It's the only time I feel like she seems even slightly genuine and like there's more to her.
Thorough analysis! I've held the same interpretation of Ricky and Lily's relationship for all the reasons you outlined in this video, and while I certainly think it's most sensible to view Ricky's pursuit of Lily as a second chance at Gina (not just a second chance at love), I'm not completely convinced that it's consciously intended by the writers. All of the parallels between Gina and Lily and then also Lily's interactions with Ricky certainly lead to this being the most logical interpretation, but there's no resolution to his relationship with Lily that confirms any of this. If he had a moment of introspection or realization that he's looking for what he had with Gina in Lily and realizes that she can't be replaced, all my fears that I'm crazy and reading into things too much would subside. As it is, though, I still sometimes wonder if any of these parallels were intentional by the writers at all... then again, the chocolates theory was eventually (basically) confirmed, so maybe this will be too!
EDIT: I also want to add for anyone who thinks this, the parallels between Gina and Lily don't actually communicate that they're anything alike, just that Ricky was looking for the same connection he had with Gina in Lily. Lily's moments of "vulnerability" were all veiled in manipulation, but from Ricky's POV he thought maybe there's more beneath the surface, like with Gina. Lily is similar to Gina in the most superficial ways but lacked all of Gina's depth and authenticity... something Ricky wouldn't come to accept until 3x01 when he finds the harness. Up until that point he's willing to wait until what he thinks is a façade will drop and she'll become more genuine and kind.
If the writer's went in the direction of redeeming Lily as a character, I actually would have liked to see Ricky and Lily have a genuine, lasting relationship on the show. Not necessarily romantic, but a friendship. I feel like Lily and some of the characters from North High should have stuck around some more in season three. It would've made things a little more interesting in my opinion. But since that season only had eight episodes, I understand why they cut it. And I know that not everyone needs a redemption arc (even though again, I wish Lily did stick around), so it's fine.
I think Ricky becoming friends with Jet might have been another Gina lookalike moment, just in more of a platonic form. Jet is shut off, doesn’t want to interact in fear of getting hurt, and has an issue that Ricky sees needs fixing. Jet proves to be a tough cookie to crack (like Lilly), but eventually becomes Ricky’s good friend. Ricky might be seeing Jet as a second chance at Gina, but if he had been able to stick around and been more supportive while he was with Nini.
Yes 👍 pls do an analysis on lily and Gina too I really want to understand the parallelism between those too.
I honestly hate the idea/concept that Lily is supposed to remind Ricky of Gina and that’s why he got with her. It’s kinda insulting to Gina. I see the parallels and I guess they were similar at first, but to me Lily’s vulnerability is manipulative, which Gina is not. Lily is a pretty flat character with no dynamics. She acts out of greed and is surface level. Gina has so much more depth. Lily is just mean spirited and yuck. Good video, but I don’t understand how people like or accept the concept of Lily paralleling Gina in her relationship with Ricky. Early on Gina brought her walls down to Ricky, but Lily’s vulnerability was always fake to me. I don’t think Ricky got with her because she reminds him of Gina… I think he did because she manipulated him into thinking she was actually a good person. If she really liked Ricky she would have come clean about the harness.
agreee
Personally, I don't think Ricky gave Lily a chance because she reminded him of Gina personality-wise. I think that he saw what Gina represented to him (change, something new, a second chance) in Lily and felt that this was his chance to stop holding onto the past. Lily is like Gina in the context of the mean girl trope but their personalities are pretty different, at least as far as Lily's one-dimensional treatment from the writers allows. As an audience with the ability to see the show as a whole and recognize plot devices, we see Lily differently than the characters do. We see that Lily is meant to be a knockoff Gina by playing the mean girl, the new girl, the antagonist, Ricky's love interest, etc. All the roles that Gina no longer fits because she's been written with character development. We can see that Lily is flat and underdeveloped but that's not her fault. It's a choice the writers made because they didn't want to invest in her character. Within the show the characters don't see those meta things so to Ricky Lily is bubbly, assertive, demanding, spoiled, etc. Gina doesn't have most of those character traits so I don't think the idea is that Ricky saw Gina in her and decided to date her so much as Lily represented what Gina represented and Ricky was chasing something new. I think Ricky seeing the harness and seeing Lily for her true colors is about him realizing that he won't find fulfillment in chasing after a concept (which he cites in 3x01 as the reason he's dating her - he's going with whatever has the best chance of making him feel free) instead of an actual person. Him getting to camp and reconnecting with Gina causes the realization that the person behind the concept matters. Yes, Gina represents all the things Lily does but she's a different person and has a unique bond with Ricky that he hasn't found elsewhere. Anyway long rant but just wanted to clarify my thoughts on that in case the video gave a different impression.
@@multi--edits fair enough! Your explanation here makes a lot more sense to me. I was speaking more generally because you’re not the only person with this argument. I also just hate Lily and love Gina so the thought of them being similar upsets me lol. Even if they are I try not to see haha
Fair enough lol. I cringe when I see Lily on screen cause the writers really invested nothing in her. I almost feel bad for the actress cause there's just so little to work with. The closest she gets to having any depth or background is when she tells Ricky about her step-mom. It's the only time I feel like she seems even slightly genuine and like there's more to her.
what a great analysis!!!! I literally understand better now why Ricky decided to date Lily in the first place, it all makes so much sense
So happy you uploaded!
Lily ruined Rini