Hi, guys. With repeats for both Castle and Hawaii Five-0, the ratings for Smash managed to go up a little, so that’s good news. This episode was high on drama and ended with a spectacular song, so let’s take a look.
Recap:
Workshops are starting in 13 weeks, and the script still isn’t finished. Eileen’s worried that the script might not finish in time.
Tom is on a date when he receives a call from Leo (Julia’s son), who’s at a police station, saying he’s been arrested. Tom takes his date, the lawyer, with him to the station, and they manage to get Leo home. When Julia, who was on a work-related date with Michael to talk about the new scenes, gets home, she blows up to Leo. Tom confronts Julia that she’s taking her issues about Michael out on Leo.
Jump with me to read more.
Ivy is still jealous of Karen, especially when Derek uses Karen to practice a routine. Later, Derek forces Karen to teach Ivy how to sing like Marilyn, which Ivy isn’t too pleased about. At said practice, Karen tries to clear the air, but Ivy replies, a little bit hostile, by saying she knows what she brings to the party.
Julia calls the adoption agency to ask if Leo’s arrest could be an issue, and from her reaction, it is. At home, Julia and Leo talk about drugs and his arrest, and she mentions it could affect the adoption.
At rehearsal, Ivy isn’t focussed and seems to have a minor breakdown, and they have to take the song from the top multiple times. We shift to a fully staged version of “Let’s Be Bad,” and everyone reacts enthusiastically, except for Derek. Karen congratulates Ivy on the song, but Ivy thinks Karen is just being condescending.
Ivy voices her doubts at a bar with Sam and Michael. She wants to confront Derek on what he’s really thinking about her these days. She does so that night when she’s drunk, and she voices that she feels ignored when they’re in the rehearsal room. He tells her that when they’re in that room, she needs to (only) have feelings about Marilyn and not him.
When Tom finally has sex with his lawyer, it isn’t the best they’ve had, but they can laugh about it.
Michael goes to Julia’s to talk about what happened earlier, but Leo interrupts because he’s glad to see Michael again. After dinner, Michael mentions he and Julia used to do drugs, and Leo is amused to learn this information. Julia tries to get Michael to leave, but not before he sings “Song For You” and they kiss, which Leo sees.
In other storylines:
Eileen tries to find out how the scenes are coming along through Ellis. And Jerry keeps messing with Eileen, this time by stealing her assistant.
Sam, Ivy’s friend, flirts with Tom.
Dev finds out he’s not getting the promotion he wanted from RJ. Karen finds out RJ is an (attractive) girl, which Dev neglected to mention before. When Dev takes Karen to a work-related party, she finds out who is getting the promotion over him, because RJ got Dev to sit at another table.
Review:
This episode mostly featured personal drama on the characters’ relationships. First, we had Derek and Ivy butting heads for the first time. In the rehearsal space, Derek is focussed only on the production, and Ivy expects a little more personal attention. It’s good that Ivy confronted Derek, and both had some excellent points. But that shot of Derek working at night really affirmed his passion for the production.
Then we had Julia and Michael taking the next step in their affair by kissing. Julia was trying to prevent it, but she couldn’t keep saying no. Leo saw them kissing, so there will be enough repercussions. And Leo’s arrest put the adoption in trouble, and that could put a lot of strain on the marriage.
I loved how “Let’s Be Bad” showed the troubles Marilyn used to have and how Ivy seemed to walk a similar path throughout this episode. Last week, Megan commented on my post by saying Ivy was being a “uber witch,” and she certainly still was this week. She really didn’t need to lash out at Karen the way she did. But I do love how Megan Hilty acted this week. Her face after Karen was forced to sing Happy Birthday was priceless.
Best line of the night came from Julia, when Leo said she only nukes her dinner and she replied, “I made the salad.”
The performances this week were a fully staged version of “Let’s Be Bad” by Megan, backed by the ensemble, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by Katherine, and Will Chase sang “A Song For You.” I liked “Let’s Be Bad.” It has been featured a lot in promos for the show, and I love those orchestrations. “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” is a song I prefer to hear sung by a man, but that’s purely personal preference. But McPhee sang it with a lot of soul, so I’m definitely not complaining. And Will Chase sang “Song For You,” one of the best love songs ever. And I can totally understand how this rendition ended with a kiss. A great way to end the episode!
Next week on “Chemistry,” Ivy’s voice fails her, Julia tries to avoid Michael, Eileen and Ellis continue to bond, and Karen books a side gig at a bar mitzvah. It’s on at 10/9c on NBC. You can watch this episode here and find the music here on the NBC website.
– JJ
Enjoyed your recap! SMASH is my new guilty pleasure. I love the campy show and the whole cast. (except Ellis) I have also enjoyed Kat McPhee’s performance on the show. I think she provides the much needed “pop” element because not everyone is going to love all Broadway show tunes. Variety is the key to mass appeal. Ivy certainly has the powerful Broadway pipes and she’s great – but Karen is versatile and can sing any genre. That attracts the younger fans. It’s a nice balance and I believe that’s her purpose. I think she’s doing a good job in her first major acting role. Of course, Megan/Ivy is a seasoned actress and performer on Broadway. People can’t expect Katharine to be her equal but I think she’s holding her own. Loved the Century Fox Mambo dance number in Episode 2! Can’t wait for next Monday!
You can certainly see your skills within the article you write.
The arena hopes for even more passionate writers such as
you who are not afraid to mention how they believe.
All the time follow your heart.