I Got the Music

I Got the Music is the fourth episode of season one of the Netflix series Julie and the Phantoms. It was written by Nora Sullivan and directed by Kenny Ortega.

Premise
Flynn books Julie and the Phantoms to play at the school dance, Alex hangs out with his new crush, and the boys decide to teach an old friend a lesson.

Plot
The episode starts with an apparent dream sequence in Los Feliz High School. It is full of costume changes and multiple dance numbers while Julie and Flynn perform the song “I Got the Music”.

Once the performance is over, Julie appears in her first set of clothes and walks up to her locker with earbuds in. Flynn acknowledges that Julie is back to her old self, and asks about the band. Julie says that the whole weekend was of her and Luke writing songs, just like how it was with her mom.

Julie and Flynn enter the music room. There, Julie gives her a sample of two songs that she had written with Luke, what will later be known as “Edge of Great” and “Stand Tall”. Flynn then teases Julie about her obvious, growing crush on Luke. Although Julie initially denies this, she and Flynn gush over him, who, according to Julie, has “a perfect smile”. They both point out that he is a ghost, but agree that he is a cute ghost made out of cute air.

Flynn then tells Julie that everyone has been wondering about when her next performance will be. Julie says that they are focused on writing songs for now. Flynn proudly informs her that her “marketing team” (herself) has arranged for “Julie and her Hologram band” to perform at the school dance where Flynn is deejaying at. Julie does not find this appealing, but the word is already out to the whole school.

Back at the studio, Julie informs Luke and Reggie, who also are not too keen on the idea as they are looking for larger gigs, but Julie convinces them that they have to start somewhere. Reggie mentions that, in the future, he wants to release a country album where he plays the banjo and Julie says she can learn the fiddle. Luke then mentions being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is his dream. They begin to rehearse without Alex, not knowing where he went off to.

Alex and Willie walking to the Santa Monica Museum of Contemporary Art. At first, Alex thought it was to see the art, but when he saw it was closed for installation, he realized they are there because Willie likes to break the rules. Willie responds saying that Alex should try it sometime. Alex then assumes correctly that they are going inside. Willie then grabs his hand, to Alex’s liking, and walks through the closed doors. Willie then begins to skate around, doing tricks around construction, all while Alex watches.

When Willie asks Alex to move a concrete bench, he confesses he has not been able to even move small things. Willie then helps him learn how to move objects. When Alex fails to, Willie takes his hand and does it with him. After they successfully move the bench, Willie jumps it on his next ride, then takes a seat on the bench. Alex is still standing, making Willie mention in amusement that he is “wired a little tight”. They then continue to talk. Alex says he has anxiety and a hard time focusing, which is why he started to play drums. Willie then demonstrates what makes him feel better: “yelling in museums”. Alex then follows with a quieter scream, which is not good enough for Willie. They both continue to yell, which feels good for both of them.

Back at the studio, Alex finally joins the band and learns that they are performing at the school dance. Flynn then joins them with her excitement about their performance tonight. Julie’s little brother, Carlos, walks through Alex and explains to Julie that the orbs present in the photo of the studio their dad took are indeed ghosts. He examines the room and comically declares that he feels no presence of ghosts when the guys are right there in the room, and tells Julie not to worry. He then flings salt around the room, surprisingly targeting the boys, who all freak out. Alex, when hit with the salt, cries out about fizzling, but no harm is actually done.

At Julie’s hinting, Flynn gets Carlos out of the studio. Luke starts to perform a Sunset Curve song for Julie, but she recognises it as “a classic Trevor Wilson song”. The boys do not believe her, so Julie brings up an article about him. From the article’s photo, the boys instantly recognise him as Bobby, their rhythm guitarist who did not join them for hotdogs in 1995. They are all furious to learn that Bobby, who changed his name to Trevor Wilson, stole songs written by Luke without giving him or any of the band credit, and has built a successful musical career out of Sunset Curve’s songs. Julie, in shock, explains how Trevor’s music introduced her to rock, and that she and her mom would sing them all the time in the car. Alex then intervenes, saying how it was Luke who introduced her to rock. Reggie says that if their families were given their deserved earnings, his would still be living on the beach. Luke is especially offended, angry that Bobby had stolen their legacy. They ask where he lives, and Julie answers: above the beach in Malibu. The trio teleport there, much to Julie’s horror.

In the Wilson mansion, the boys observe the decorations. Luke notices his old guitar in a display case, and another song he that wrote and Trevor ridiculously recorded: “My Name is Luke”. At that moment, Trevor walks in and heads upstairs to meditate, all while the boys mock him for wearing sunglasses inside. Luke and Reggie are disgusted, and rush upstairs after him to haunt him but Alex stops them. He tells them that this is his first time haunting someone, so he wants to make it special. Acknowledging it was weird, Alex follows them upstairs.

Meanwhile, Flynn and Julie jump the barbed wire and security gate of the Wilson mansion and approach the front door. Carrie answers, unpleasantly surprised at their presence, and makes snarky comments. They ask for a glass of water, and Carrie grudgingly permits them entry. The pair starts to look around for the boys, only to find Nick on the couch. Carrie brings them water and asks with suspicion how Julie learned about holograms. In response, Julie makes an accidentally-snarky comment that the Internet is not only useful for makeup tutorials. Julie then intentionally spills her water but volunteers to clean it up, saying how she already knows where the towels are (because she and Carrie used to be best friends).

Julie makes her way upstairs while Flynn distracts an amused Nick and an annoyed Carrie. Upstairs, Booby/Trevor strays to to meditate when the haunting begins. Luke gives him a wet willy, and the boys blow out candles, turns on the record player, and then the shower. With the condensation on the bathroom mirror, the boys write “Hello Bobby”. Fearing for his sanity, Bobby/Trevor flees to the door bathroom door to escape, but it does not budge as Alex is holding it closed. Once Bobby runs off in terror, the guys celebrate. Trevor shakily tells Carrie and Nick that he is going to see his therapist on his helicopter, earning an eye roll from Carrie. Julie secretly sneaks by to see the guys outside. The guys are still mocking Trevor as he flies off.

Julie joins the guys, telling them that what matters now is the music they are making together. The best way to get back at Trevor is for them to do great. In order to do that, they have to start with playing at the dance tonight. They then promise they will meet her there at 9:00 pm.

Reggie enjoyed the haunting, but wish they done more. Luke noticed that Alex holding the door closed was new, asking if he learned that from his new ghost friend, Willie. Alex radiates joy, saying they also screamed in a museum. They all then teleport to the park, where Willie is skating around. Willie meets Reggie and Luke and shows them tricks. Luke asks if there was a way to become visible without having to play with Julie. Willie mentions the fact that Julie is the only one who can see them without music is already surprising to him. Becoming visible is out of his league, but mentions another ghost that may be able to help. They set up a meeting at 8:00 pm.

Back at the school dance, Flynn is deejaying when Julie shows up backstage, Flynn asks if the guys are there. Julie says not yet, but they know how important it is to her, so they will be here.

The boys then arrive at the “Hollywood Ghosts Club” with Willie to meet the ghost that can help them. Reggie finds the place creepy, but Alex reminds him that they are there with too. Willie then meets up with Caleb, letting him know he brought the ghosts he met. Caleb tells him that he has reserved a table, then walks away with an sly chuckle.

Cast

 * Madison Reyes as Julie Molina
 * Charlie Gillespie as Luke Patterson
 * Owen Patrick Joyner as Alex
 * Jeremy Shada as Reggie
 * Jadah Marie as Flynn
 * Sacha Carlson as Nick
 * Savannah Lee May as Carrie Wilson
 * Booboo Stewart as Willie
 * Sonny Bustamante as Carlos Molina
 * Steve Bacic as Trevor Wilson
 * Marci T. House as Mrs. Harrison
 * James Hibbard as Janitor #1
 * Arthur Lee Rose as Security Guard
 * Daniela Erewa as Julie Dance Double
 * Amna Elmahdi as Flynn Dance Double
 * Adam George as Willie Skateboard Double

Trivia

 * The idea of the supposed dream sequence with costume changes came from Soyon An.
 * Bobby as Trevor Wilson is introduced in this episode, having changed his name and stolen songs from Sunset Curve to continue his own music career — all while giving no credit to his former bandmates or giving their likely grieving families any idea of their legacy.
 * While haunting Bobby/Trevor, Luke gives him a "wet willy", something he also did in 1995 while Bobby was talking to Rose.
 * This is the second time that Reggie mentions his family. It is implied that they were facing financial problems.
 * The name of the song Luke performed to Julie before finding out about Trevor is not revealed. It is referred to as “the song” throughout the whole scene. The song is again heard when the boys are haunting Trevor.
 * The song “Unsaid Emily” is first mentioned in this episode, but Julie mistakes Luke’s song of apology to his mother as a song to a romantic interest.
 * Luke’s insistence on revenge will be explained by Reggie and Alex to Julie in “Finally Free”, it having something to do with him running out on his parents because they disapproved of his dream of to pursue rock music. Should Bobby/Trevor have given Luke credit, his parents would have known that “his dream was worth chasing”.
 * This is one of the episodes where Julie’s dad, Ray, while mentioned, does not appear.
 * This is the only episode where there is no scene shot inside Julie’s house.

Songs

 * “I Got the Music” — Performed by Julie and Flynn in a dream sequence with the whole school