Smash - Season 2 Episode 7 - Recap and Review - Musical Chairs
Recap and review of Smash - Season 2 Episode 7 - Musical Chairs:
If I didn't know we were only halfway through the second season of Smash, I would have thought this was an impromptu series finale, a way of NBC getting the show off airwaves as soon as possible. But nope, it's simply another episode, though one that is far more eventful than any episode so far. Of course, this probably won't matter much to NBC brass, since the network execs have already made the decision to move the low-rated drama to Saturday nights starting April 6, where it will burn off the remaining episodes before cancellation. That said, I'm genuinely held in suspense at where this season is headed, particularly since we're only roughly half-way through it, and it already feels like there are any number of approaches the show can take towards the end goal of getting Bombshell and/or The Hit List to Broadway. In fact, this is really what the show should have been all along: Ivy (Megan Hilty) as Marilyn with Tom (Christian Borle) directing while Derek (Jack Davenport) directs Karen (Katharine McPhee) in a show that allows him to more fully realize his idealized, sexual image of her without having her shackled by having to do a Marilyn Monroe impersonation. "Musical Chairs" is an apt title for an episode where each of the principle characters seem to wind up in a different place, in terms of circumstances, once the music stops, leaving at least one unfortunate soul out in the cold -- but then, nobody cares about Jerry (Michael Cristofer) anyway.
Credit: Will Hart/NBC
So Bombshell is in free fall, as Jerry hates what Tom is doing with the show, and Karen doesn't seem to have much confidence in Tom's directorial vision either. Julia (Debra Messing), meanwhile, is still working with Eileen (Anjelica Huston) and her daughter, Katie (Grace Gummer), to find a silver bullet to use against Jerry that will allow them to give him the heave-ho from Bombshell. While in and of itself, this investigative work isn't thrill-a-minute storytelling, it's immensely interesting to see the beginnings of the arbitration process, as Julia finds a loophole that will return control of the show to Eileen. It turns out that Eileen made a deal with the estate of Marilyn Monroe for some of her personal effects, including several diaries she'd kept over the years. Julia reveals that she used many of these writings in the book for the show, meaning that because the show was adapted as a result of the deal the Marilyn estate had with Eileen, she should have control of the show. They bring their findings to Jerry, but he remains obstinate in his refusal to hand over Bombshell, which leaves Katie to save the day, as she plays on his fatherly sympathy by insinuating that his desire to hurt Eileen will alienate him from her forever. So wait, why did they need a smoking gun in the first place? They should have just gotten Katie involved from the word "go." Of course, Eileen details the transaction to Tom, revealing that it took upwards of five lawyers to actually close the deal, so I guess there was an entire, elaborate process we didn't see. And all the better, I suppose, as the episode had a lot of story to pack into the hour-long timeframe.
Jimmy (Jeremy Jordan) is getting positively Julia-like in his refusal to change a single word of his work, believing that it's perfect just the way it is. However, musical director Scott (Jesse L. Martin) says that the show lacks a unifying theme, and without universality, the older patrons of the theater won't come see the show. Jimmy and Kyle (Andy Mientus) have a week to rework the show before Scott had to make a decision on whether or not he'll give The Hit List his theater company's main stage, or if the show will have to be confined to the 80-seat basement space. Derek brings the boys along to a showing of Liaisons as a way of showing them how to reinvent a show without changing much, but complications arise when they run into...well, everyone. Tom and Karen are there, making their first public showing as a creative team, as they want to show some semblance of solidarity in the public eye. Jerry is also there, and he makes shameless attempts to woo Derek away from The Hit List and back to Bombshell, and in front of Tom, no less. All the bickering leads to Derek exploding, railing at Tom for mishandling Karen as a talent, and grilling Jimmy for wasting his talent by being so thick-headed. He storms off, and Jimmy assumes that Derek has given his notice.
Credit: Will Hart/NBC
In the show, Terry (Sean Hayes) recovers from several nights of terrible reviews to give a show-stopping comedic performance, really showcasing just why, in the world of Smash, Terrence Falls is a huge comedy star. It's a number loaded with pratfalls and other forms of physical and costume-related comedy, as Terry goes around causing wardrobe malfunctions left and right, riding sheep, shooting lusty ladies out of the sky, and standing tall atop a giant swing. It's a huge hit with the audience, but the high eventually comes crashing down in a very literal way, as Terry falls from his spot atop the swing, and drops more than ten feet onto the stage. The mishap results in Terry exiting the show, which will be cutting its run short, ending that upcoming Sunday. This frees up Ivy for what the show should have been building to in its first season, Ivy landing the role of Marilyn in Bombshell. When Karen sees how Tom gets along with Ivy, she realizes that she's not Tom's Marilyn, Ivy is. Moreover, she's not exactly happy doing Bombshell anymore, as she'd rather be doing the show about which she's most passionate: The Hit List. Karen quits Bombshell, allowing Ivy to take the role of Marilyn, before joining The Hit List as its new female lead, replacing Karen's roommate Ana (Krysta Rodriguez), who had assumed, in Karen's absence, that the part was all but hers. She shows a tinge of bitterness at being relegated to the role of Karen's sister in the show, and we could be looking at Karen vs. Ivy redux, in terms of one actress sabotaging another.
Credit: Will Hart/NBC
Derek, meanwhile, reveals that he never planned on going back to Bombshell. He simply had a hard time making that last break. However, with his renewed dedication to The Hit List, he no longer has that problem. He signs over his choreography to Tom, and gives his former nemesis his blessing. Tom then concedes to Julia the inclusion of Marilyn's mother, an element from her "masterpiece" draft that she just can't let go. Everyone seems to have their creative juices flowing, and Jimmy is prepared to match that enthusiasm, writing a new song for the opening of The Hit List that will encapsulate the theme of reinvention, and give the show its much-needed sense of universality. Jimmy performs the cleverly-staged number, alongside Karen, for Scott and a room of observers, with TV screens behind the actors providing the backdrop for the sequence in what feels like it jumped straight out of a Bruce Springsteen video (the staging choices for The Hit List make a lot more sense if you just assume it's supposed to take place in the 1980s). The song, a duet titled "Rewrite This Story", goes over like gangbusters, and Scott offers Derek the main stage. Jimmy, in a rare show of humility, thanks Scott for the suggestion about theme, he then warms up to Karen, asking her out for drinks, to which she eagerly agrees. However, Derek reverts back to his creepy, season one personality, playing sleazy director by warning Jimmy that he tends to get "involved" in his muses, and that it would be best for Jimmy to just stick to his work while Derek sticks to his. It's an unsettling, somewhat random development to just have Derek be confirmed to be as lousy a guy as the papers and lawsuits make him out to be, but then, he was kind of always that way, wasn't he? Either way, it gives us more of a reason to root for Jimmy, whose bad attitude has made him tough to get behind in the past. Derek sends Jimmy and Kyle home under the pretense of reworking the second act of the show, so he can have Karen all to himself at the bar. Cold, man.
Credit: Will Hart/NBC
"Musical Chairs" is one of the busiest episodes this season, and though it can occasionally get weighted down by all the stories it tries to tell, it ultimately proves to be a really engaging hour that moves the story forward in a big way, getting us to exactly where we need to be for Bombshell and The Hit List to finally happen. Of course, whether either show actually does is another matter entirely.