Smash: The Bells and Whistles (2x08)

Loved it. Really. It wasn't flawless, but there were a few key moments that pushed this episode into awesomeness for me. I'll get to those things in a second. First I'll talk about things that I liked but that I thought could have been stronger, and then I'll just get into the flat-out amazing parts - ready?

 Okay, so... there was this really random subplot this week about Julia and Scott (the guy who is helping get Hit List on stage.) Apparently years ago Julia had promised Scott he could direct something, but then she used a more famous director instead, and that resulted in Scott's career almost dying. Whenever they talked about this, I found myself thinking: "so what?" It didn't take up too much of the plot, so at least it didn't ruin the episode for me. Still, I had no idea why it was there. I guess I hope that we get more information about them later so it doesn't seem just totally out of left field.

Another sort of small thing: Ana, Karen's roommate, did a cover of "If I Were a Boy" to prove to Derek that she was good enough to be cast as the diva in Hit List. Maybe I was missing something... but she wasn't very good. I mean... she did fine, but I wasn't particularly impressed by her. It didn't make sense to me that Derek cast her. It would have been more interesting if she hadn't been good enough, and Derek had said so. It all seemed too neat and tidy.

I'm also bored with all the production stuff. I like Eileen, but for some reason I feel like whenever she's been on screen lately, everything grinds to a halt. I don't like this new angle with getting Ivy's mother to come on board in the cast. It feels like unnecessary drama, and it's not what I'm interested in.

And what about Kyle in this episode? I was really confused when it was suggested that he might have a crush on Jimmy, because I definitely never got that feeling from him. And then all of a sudden he was making out with some guy at the end? Okay, go Kyle? I don't know, if they wanted to give Kyle his own story-arc, (which I fully support) they should have taken more time with it. Although I did love the moment when Karen says that Jimmy is "hitting on that guy for Kyle." That was adorable! I love Kyle and Jimmy's friendship and I hope we get to see more of it soon.

Okay, so now for the awesome stuff. Sam! Sam is back! I missed him so much. I was wondering why they listed him as a series regular for this season if he wasn't going to be in many episodes. But now he's back! The song that he sang with the whole gang was fantastic. It was such a genuine scene and the song was a lot of fun. I also loved the awkwardness between Tom and Sam. Aww you two are just precious. My only complaint was that I didn't like how unprofessional Tom was being this episode, especially when it came to Sam. I get that he missed his boyfriend, but it seemed really... wrong to have Tom suddenly just become a total pushover and come really close to messing up Bombshell just because of that.

So... I didn't love Tom's push-over-ness this episode, but the payoff was awesome. I loved seeing him grow a spine and get all down to business. And his transformation was in part due to... DEREK! 

Derek and Tom! Derek and Tom! Derek and Tom! Last week I hoped we could see more of them together, and my wish was granted! This is one of the two reasons why this episode gets a big gold star from me. Their scene was adorable. They laughed, they asked each other questions, they gave each other advice... and... they both followed each other's advice. That scene was one of my favorites in the whole episode. Why wasn't it my #1 favorite, you ask? Well...

Because of Jimmy. And Derek. And singing. Let me explain. At first I was annoyed with Derek for trying to change Hit List too much, and then I was annoyed with Jimmy for being so whiny about it and not compromising. And then I was annoyed at both of them. But then... after the already mentioned discussion with Tom, Derek actually goes to Jimmy and chats with him. And then we get...

"I Heard Your Voice in a Dream" was my favorite part of the episode for several reasons. #1 - awesome song. #2 - awesome choreography. #3 - awesome payoff for the episode. Last week I complained that the animosity between Jimmy and Derek meant we wouldn't get to see any more teamwork between Derek and the boys. Boy, am I glad to be wrong! That little smile and nod between Jimmy and Derek after the end of the song was seriously heart-melting. We got to see Derek and Jimmy come to an understanding that went beyond simple compromise. They have a vision for the show now. They share an artistic ownership of Hit List, and these two characters are talented enough that I really, really want to go see this fake musical now. My only real complaint was that it wasn't the episode's ending. It was the high point, and as I already mentioned, I didn't like Ana's song so much, so it was a shame that her number was the last song of the week.

And now for the ending. So... I know it was really obvious that it was going to be Jimmy at Karen's door, but I didn't really mind the cliche. I appreciate that we're not dragging out this Jimmy/Karen sexual tension thing. Now we can see the fallout from this decision, which is going to be much more interesting.

So... I know I listed a lot of things that I didn't like, but the good stuff was just so good that it overshadows the not-so-good stuff by a lot. Can't wait to see more!

8/10