Smash, S1 E14 – “Previews”
Air Date: Monday, May 07, 2012, 10/9c on NBC
Rating:
“It always happens. You go out of town and all hell breaks loose.” – Bobby
That’s putting it mildly, Bobby (Wesley Taylor). Seems like everything that can go wrong with opening night does, making for a very interesting episode. Dev (Raza Jaffrey) isn’t returning Karen’s (Katharine McPhee) calls, and Jessica (Savannah Wise) hasn’t been able to reach Ivy (Megan Hilty) either. Michael (Will Chase) returns to the role of Joe DiMaggio, causing huge problems for Julia (Debra Messing) and Tom (Christian Borle). On top of that, Rebecca (Uma Thurman) ends up in the hospital. Yeah, I’d say “all hell breaks loose.”
Ivy is miserable when she sees Derek and Rebecca on stage together
Derek (Jack Davenport) quickly takes charge as everyone settles into the auditorium where “Bombshell” will be opening. As he gives instructions to the cast, he doesn’t bother to hide the fact he’s sleeping with Rebecca even though Ivy is in the audience. I understand both Ivy and Dev were acting out last week (and drunk) when they slept together. And, I get how hurt Ivy is by Derek’s actions, but Dev knows what kind of relationship Karen and Ivy have and how much Karen will be devastated if and when she finds out. And you know she will even though Ivy and Dev swear they won’t tell anyone. Secrets like that have a way of wiggling their way to the surface and you know as well as I do, the shit’s gonna hit the fan when that happens.
Karen and Ivy hug it out after performing "Smash!"
Everything on stage is going well. The musical numbers are strong, and the singing and dancing seem to be perfect. Karen and Ivy’s duet of “Smash!” sung to Darryl Zanuch (Marc Kudisch) receives thunderous applause from the audience and leads to a touching hug as each acknowledges the other’s talent. I don’t understand, though, why no one applauds at the conclusion of the show. Eileen (Angelica Huston) seems to think it’s because Marilyn commits suicide in the final scene so she orders Tom and Julia to come up with an alternate ending. That should be fun since Julia is barely speaking to Tom. I agree with Julia’s opinion of Eileen’s idea. How can there be an alternate ending when Marilyn really did die from a drug overdose? You can’t rewrite history if you want to stay true to the story.
Julia warns Michael to stay away
OK, it’s official. I am in serious dis-like of Michael. I can’t believe he comes back to the show because he thinks Julia wants him! And after she explains what happened, he still tries to come on to her! Kudos to Julia for not giving in to the attraction that is so palpable, it emanates through the TV screen. Now these two have chemistry, unlike Karen and Dev. More on that later. Unfortunately, this has a serious effect on Julia’s relationship with Tom. In a very emotional scene between them, Julia forces Tom to accept the fact that they’re not really a team. “You’re so kind, and we’re such a team. But we’re not, really. We’re not a team because the show is more important than all of us.” My heart was breaking for them because in that moment, they realize … things will never be the same between them.
It's painful to see these two not talking
Rebecca’s allergic reaction puts her in the hospital, forcing the show to close its doors temporarily. Since everyone knows Rebecca is allergic to nuts, it’s anyone’s guess who’s responsible. Randall (Sean Dugan) tells Eileen someone must have slipped the nuts into Rebecca’s smoothie, and Eileen’s response almost had me choking on my tea. “Who are you, Miss Marple?”
Does anyone else think Ivy has a very guilty look on her face when Jessica asks if anyone knows who did it? Could it be she did it to punish Rebecca for sleeping with Derek? And what about the look that passes between Karen and Ivy when Bobby asks: “Who’s going to play Marilyn?” Looks like we’re right back where we started.
Observations:
Huston doesn’t have the best voice but she does an adequate job of singing “The September Song.” (Here’s a little trivia for you: Huston’s great-grandfather, Walter Huston, originally sang the song in the musical play, “Knickerbocker Holiday” in 1978.) The song is particularly appropriate given how she feels about Nick who’s there to support her on opening night. Plus, it’s the perfect backdrop to Karen’s apology to Dev, who’s back in their hotel room. As a matter of fact, Karen tells Dev she wants him to ask her to marry him again. You know, I previously thought there was a nice connection between the two actors who play Karen and Dev but in this scene, I didn’t feel any chemistry between them. Perhaps it’s done on purpose because Dev must surely feel guilty about sleeping with Ivy. I don’t know…I just didn’t feel any joy from either of them, although I did enjoy the scene.
I can’t believe Derek expects Ivy to swallow the bull crap he tells her. Does he really think Ivy is just going to let him sleep with Rebecca for the good of the show? I wanted to slap him in the face when he gives her that explanation for blowing her off. But Ivy’s not stupid. I wonder what she’s going to do. I pray to all that is holy, please don’t let her forgive him!
Sam and Karen in church
I love the church service Sam arranges for the ensemble to attend. He even talks Julia into coming, along Frank and Leo. The preacher (Hinton Battle) gives a very uplifting sermon, followed by a beautiful rendition of Donnie Mcclurkin’s “Stand” by Sam and Karen that brings everyone to their feet. Honestly, it was my favorite performance of the hour. I can’t wait to see what Julia comes up with for a different ending to “Bombshell” because it certainly looks like she had an epiphany of sorts when watching Sam sing.
What a bomb Rebecca drops on Karen about “Bombshell” when she’s leaving the hospital! Even more surprising to learn is Rebecca drank her smoothie knowing full well it had nuts in it. I guess even a star as big as her can get a bad case of nerves. Or did she do it because she’s afraid of failure? And is it her failure in the role or the show’s failure? She was devastated at the lack of applause.
As the penultimate episode of Smash, “Previews” gives us a lot to think about. While I wasn’t crazy about some of the acting, overall I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. The production numbers were awesome; I love the relationships between Tom and Sam, and Eileen and Nick (both couples are so cute together); and I enjoyed watching the consequences of what really goes on behind the scenes. “Previews” also does a good job of setting up next week’s season finale where we’ll finally learn what Julia comes up with to replace Marilyn’s suicide now that she and Tom have made up. We should also see what happens when Dev confesses his one-night stand to Karen because it certainly looks like that’s what he was about to do outside the church. We may possibly find out who sabotaged Rebecca’s drink although honestly, I don’t care. I’m just happy Rebecca’s gone because she was never as good as Karen or Ivy. And last, but obviously not least, we’ll see who becomes Marilyn as the previews continue. Of course, that’s not to say it will be the same person when the show reaches Broadway next season. Hmm, gave you something to think about, didn’t I?
Tune in to Smash, Mondays at 10/9c, only on NBC.
Follow Smash on Twitter. LIKE the series on Facebook to get access to videos, photos and more. NBC also provides episode recaps, games, photos, videos, musical performance highlights and even fan challenges each week at http://www.nbc.com/smash/.
Don’t forget, the original song “Smash!”—written by Marc Shaiman (who, by the way, was the accompanist during Huston’s “September Song”) and Scott Wittman—is available for download now from NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products and Columbia Records on the iTunes store at http://www.itunes.com/NBCSmash.
All photos © 2012 NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Linda
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