Unveiling the Ultimate Olivia Rodrigo Easter Egg in the Spectacular High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Finale!

Sofia Wylie as Gina and Joshua Bassett as Ricky in ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.’ Disney/Fred Hayes

In the season 4 finale of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, the East High wildcats say their goodbyes, but not before paying tribute to former costar Olivia Rodrigo.

During the series finale, released on Disney+ this week, Ricky (played by Joshua Bassett) receives a heartfelt compliment that alludes to Rodrigo's real-life persona.

Gina's mother, Terri (portrayed by Napiera Groves), praised Ricky for his boldness in expressing his love for Sofia Wylie's character through a song. "Having guts is admirable, and perhaps you were worth the patience," she exclaimed.

Coincidentally, "guts" is also the title of Rodrigo's second album. At the age of 20, Rodrigo portrayed Nini, Ricky's initial girlfriend, during the first two seasons of HSMTMTS. However, she left the show midway through season 3 as her own blossoming career as a singer-songwriter began to flourish.

Rodrigo, who released her debut LP Sour in 2021, is preparing to unveil her latest album Guts on September 8. She described the project as a reflection of her journey through the challenges of personal growth and self-discovery. Shedding light on her inspiration for the music, she shared, "To me, this album encapsulates the pains of maturing and finding my identity in this phase of my life. It feels like I underwent a decade's worth of growth between the ages of 18 and 20—a period filled with intense awkwardness and transformative experiences. I believe these are all essential components of personal development, and I hope the album captures that essence."

There has been no confirmation if the "guts" line was intentionally referencing Rodrigo, but many fans quickly caught on to the possible connection. "Did anyone else notice this? 'GUTS are good.' It's everywhere, even though she's no longer on the show. Wow," one social media user tweeted on August 9. "The HSMTMTS cast is definitely a Guts fan, and we know it!"

Rodrigo did not make an appearance in the fourth and final season of HSMTMTS, but her character was mentioned frequently. In the second to last episode, Ricky acknowledged that he was continuing Nina's tradition of giving personalized cards to everyone in the drama club before the school musical's opening night. However, show creator Tim Federle had no plans to create an additional storyline for Nini after she moved from Salt Lake City to California to pursue a career as a songwriter.

"I was confident in that ending, and Olivia is very busy with her songwriting career. We're introducing many new characters, including some important returning ones," Federle, 43, told Variety on August 9. "With only eight episodes, it would have felt like cameos rather than fully developed stories. I did offer Olivia the opportunity to return, but it wasn't seriously considered because we needed to focus on the new relationships we were writing for."

HSMTMTS primarily centers around the relationship between Ricky and Gina. Federle, in an exclusive interview with We earlier this month, expressed his belief that they are experiencing real love together for the first time after going through various life experiences. Despite facing numerous challenges, their relationship is depicted without any restrictions, which is truly beautiful to write about.