On A Very Special Episode of Smash, The Gang Learns about Backstabbing

Scheming, lying, half-truths, moments of awww and dick pics; we got all that and more on this week’s episode of “Smash” titled “The Coup.”

This week we saw the creative team for the not so spectacular Marilyn the musical thrown into creative angst and ennui after their lackluster and uneven workshop the week before.  Julia is in full-on Grace-style depressed mode eating grapes (Grace would have probably gone for ice-cream so this was totally original character interpretation) in bed while her husband is setting up an unnamed platform gaming system (missed endorsement Xbox/PlayStation, et. al.).  She is babbling about how she hates first steps and her husband makes her laugh by dialing up a little “Three Little Birds” on Rockstar.  One wonders if Mr. D’Arcy has a singing clause in his contract because his character doesn’t really strike me as musically inclined.

Meanwhile Tom is wondering why Eileen hasn’t called him and is sending his weasely assistant Ellis to Eileen’s new apartment to try and score some dirt.  Newsflash Tom:  Ellis is playing both sides.  While Ellis is at Eileen’s place Eileen’s daughter, who has been in India saving kids (way to take up that white man’s burden, cliché!), is back to tell Eileen that her a-hole father has put a significant amount of money in her trust to keep it from Eileen. #1stworld/NewYorkerproblem

Derek, also weasely but hotter than Ellis in my not so humble opinion, is scheming with Karen to workshop a new number for the show behind Julia and Tom’s back.  Karen is scandalized (grow-up Karen) but agrees to go through with it.

We next get little vignettes of Tom, Julia and their cute stoner son in court being represented by Tom’s painfully hot lawyer BF, Ellis being Ellis and playing both sides (he tells Ivy about the workshop and she’s pissed), and Ivy and her chorus line gal pals in a bowling alley which includes a cute but forgettable number set to “Dance to the Music”.  Oh, also Dev (in his shirt, boo) is deciding if he should broadcast Anthony Weiner-esque (TOPICAL!) pics of his office nemesis on the interwebs.

This brings us to the new number.  It’s a shit show, but it is supposed to be a shit show.  Derek is basically mocking Tom and Julia by focusing on the darkness of Marilyn’s character which Tom and Julia have not been able to capture in their soaring but safe songs.  Eileen’s daughter throws a fit about how her mother is turning into her father and she should have known better.  Eileen goes back in and apologizes to all involved.  Derek is incredulous and is sticking to his bitch move; you can’t keep a good bitch down.   Ivy, who has been watching from backstage, confronts Karen and tells after that she “understands” why Karen would stab Tom and Julia in the back.  Karen makes a sad face.  Derek and Tom go at each other.  Tom accuses Derek of being a homophobe and trying to destroy him 11 years ago after a show they worked on went south.  We also find out that Derek’s father was screwing a male critic that liked Derek’s direction of their failed show but panned Tom’s songs.  Derek congratulations Tom on his low-blow about his father tells Tom that he doesn’t understand the dark side of Marilyn and they remain frenemies.

Fast-forward to Tom telling Ivy that Eileen wants to cast a star as Marilyn, they hug and cry and Tom tells her she is welcome back (in the chorus) at “Heaven on Earth).  Later Derek show’s up at Ivy’s and, after some perfunctory compliments and cooking, they fuck.  Dev’s plan backfires against his nemesis who is apparently untouchable (yawn; take your shirt off Dev!).

Oh, and I forgot to mention earlier that Julia fires Michael and Michael is OK with it.

I liked this episode, it moved along briskly, had good moments and the bitch fight between Derek and Tom was satisfying but it felt a little after-school –specially.  Everyone tried to stab someone in the back and everyone apologized or didn’t get what they wanted; everyone except Ellis who is now working for Eileen, way to go Ellis you two-faced bitch (kind of love you).  Let’s hope everyone unlearns their lessons about not backstabbing, after all this is a show about show biz; stab and act your way to the top.  It’s the broad way (bad pun and I am sticking with it!).