She did look different! More ponytails, the school polos and button-ups seemed gayer, lol, the casual woodworking and painting outfits.
And aww, you’re right! April entered the room looking messy as hell and they literally did the choral clouds parting music for when Sterling saw her and sighed dreamily:
And then had Sterling proceed to be SO mesmerized while April sat next to her acting like a wounded badger. April in any form for her, I guess.
For sure, I wish they had ended the season together, but I don’t at all think their story is over, not least because her dad will play a part. And yes, it’d have been nice to see April’s support through the family drama but I don’t think they were really in a place where April would just be there as a partner and offer support, where Sterling’d vent and April’d just be like oh wow, that’s wild. That’s not good TV drama, right, conversations work better when people are bouncing info or arguments off each other, especially these two, so I think maybe the family messiness will be more effective if it gives them a reason to reconnect, like Sterling’s acting out or feeling especially abandoned/alone, something that gives them an actual arc. I dunno, I can tolerate a lot more on TV shows as far as drama and TEMPORARILY unhappy ships go, as long as there’s some kind of journey and movement and preferably pining and thinking about the other.