Things Get 'Very Awkward' When The Drama Kids Clash With The Football Team On Rise

what occurs happens once the Stanton High drama kids crash QB1 Robbie Thorne's football party? According to star Damon J. Gillespie, things get "very awkward" as soon as his two worlds — theater and football — collide on this week's intense new episode of Rise ("Victory Party"). For Robbie, it truly is the bitch of living.


"The theater kids have grown to learn to accept each person for their weirdness and for their quirks," Gillespie told MTV News. "For the guys on the football team, it's the opposite, so any time someone begins strumming a guitar for no reason — it's a drinking party — it's one of these things where it's like, 'Yo, what's this dude doing? Why are they singing?' It's very awkward, very funny at times, along with very cringe-worthy."


Robbie ultimately finds himself torn between his troupe and his teammates; yet in spite of the fact that the latter have been there for the star quarterback from day one on the field, his newfound drama companions, and his burgeoning romance with his scene partner Lilette (Auli'i Cravalho), are making things especially hard for him process. Moving forward, expect to be able to see a more susceptible side of Robbie," especially right now that he's opened up to Lilette about his mother's illness.


As for Lilette, she just wants what's best for Robbie — and if that's football, well, so be it. "Lilette wants to be key in his life, yet she also wants him to succeed," Cravalho mentioned. "Anyone who sees Robbie Thorne play is aware that he has a fantastic trajectory in sports, and she wonders if this relationship that she wants to begin will actually benefit him."


"That says a lot to her character," she added, "of wanting the perfect for people who have a chance to get out of this small town."


Yet, the hugest obstacle standing in Robbie and Lilette's way is his dad. With a surefire football scholarship on the line — and not to say, Vanessa Suarez's reputation around town — Mr. Thorne may not agree with how his son has determined to spend his free time. Yet according to Cravalho, that divide will only bring Robbie and Lilette closer with each other.


"What she finds in her relationship with Robbie isn't that she needs to take care of him and not that he needs to take care of her, necessarily, yet that they truly do compliment each other," she mentioned. "They're both looking for something they can truly converse with on a level that doesn't include parents or school — that is just heart to heart."


Of course, Lilette also isn't going to let a boy deter her from her own dreams. And now, graduating and getting the hell out of Stanton is still paramount.


"She does have a lot going on — school, the play, Robbie Thorne, work, plus a homelife that is truly falling apart," Cravalho mentioned. However Lilette is staying grounded in the belief that everything will get better and that she is going to rise above her circumstances."