Big Red and Ashlyn Kiss on High School Musical Series Video
Exclusive: HSM Series Stars Discuss Big Red and Ashlyn's Kiss and the Future of Their Romance
The season one finale of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series includes plenty of romance, but one of the sweetest moments actually happens after the episode. In a midcredits scene, Big Red (Larry Saperstein) and Ashlyn (Julia Lester) make their budding romance official, and POPSUGAR has an exclusive look at the big moment. In the clip, which feels like a fun nod to the postcredits scene in the original High School Musical movie, Big Red shows off his impressive tap dancing skills in the gym before Ashlyn surprises him with a kiss.
Over the past few episodes, fans have slowly fallen in love with Big Red and Ashlyn's romance, however, the show's stars actually called the pairing a long time ago. "From the initial first day that we met, we both kind of speculated that something might be going on with our characters," Lester told POPSUGAR. "We actually joked about it in the beginning. Then when we were told we were like, 'Oh my God we knew it!' Of course, it was the best thing after that because we had predicted it and then it came true. We got to just like have so much fun on screen."
The characters have shared some adorable scenes together this season, but some of the best moments have to be Big Red's romantic one-liners to Ashlyn. "One of the things that I love about both of our characters is that they're both incredibly sensitive and they're incredibly attuned to the people around them," Saperstein said. "For me, I think it's really special to play a boy that gets to be in a sensitive relationship and show that it's okay for boys to compliment people and be romantic. Because Ashlyn is so sensitive and because she does go against the grain, she really responds to that and that makes them a really good pair."
"They both find power in uplifting the people around them."
Lester also thinks their characters mesh so well because they have very similar personalities. "They both find power in uplifting the people around them," she said. "Big Red lifts up Ricky and Ashlyn lifts up EJ. That's where they're most comfortable, is helping others. I think it was kind of inevitable that they would just attract the same energy. They connected to each other in that way because of how sensitive they are and how much they just want to make the people around them happy."
So, what does the future hold for their characters' romance in season two? While Lester hopes that Ashlyn continues to embrace her inner confidence, both in herself and her relationship with Big Red, Saperstein is eager to see how his character's new relationship with Ashlyn affects his friendship with Ricky. "Most of their friendship it's been Big Red supporting Ricky. So, I am super interested to see how Big Red navigates his friendship with Ricky as Big Red might become a person that needs advice or needs support." Read ahead for more exclusive photos from the midcredits scene.
