Smash: The Parents (2x09)

This week wasn't that great. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of fun musical numbers this week, and the story didn't keep me that entertained.

There were two main plots going on this week. I'll talk about Bombshell first because I did actually have quite a few issues with the way this story is going. So... Ivy's mother is now playing Gladys (Norma Jeane's mother). I love Ivy, but I'm not all that invested in this plot thread. I know she feels inadequate with her mother around. It has already been established. I feel like the show is recycling old drama instead of giving us something new. The song "Hang the Moon" was pretty enough, but I actually found myself bored with the staging and the pacing. That's never a good sign.

It also made me notice one of the biggest problems with this show: do they know what a musical is usually like? We have heard a ton of songs from Bombshell and quite a few from Hit List as well. Bombshell's problem is that Marilyn is in practically every number. There are way too many things going on! How long is this musical? How many characters are in it? It doesn't make sense! And then in Hit List, every single song seems to be a solo power ballad. Are there no group vocal numbers? Oh well. Maybe I'm picking on something that doesn't matter. The musicals are fake, after all.

Anyways, back to Bombshell. There were some really funny moments that came from Ivy's reaction to her mother's presence. It was hilarious to see Tom and Julia try to break the news to her gently. I really love Ivy, and it was a pleasure to see her get some meaty moments this week. I love her friendship with Sam. They have great chemistry on screen together. This part of the episode also had some heartbreaking moments, such as Ivy's impassioned speech to her mother (Megan Hilty's acting was powerful enough that I actually cared a bit about the mother/daughter relationship during this part). There was also the heartbreaking moment when Ivy told Tom that they were no longer friends. Ouch! Then there was the funny yet tense atmosphere between the two of them, which forced someone to ask "why are they being so nice? This is boring. I want my cat fight." So... although the premise of Ivy and Leigh arguing was recycled, there were some nice moments within it.

The Julia and Scott plot... well, it's more interesting now, but it's still not super fascinating. In fact, Julia and Eileen both had pretty weak plots this week, concerning men that they are clearly going to have romantic relationships with in the near future. I didn't feel the heat between Eileen and the newspaper guy. Julia and Scott could be interesting, but the whole thing still feels out of left field to me. It's a bit too much of a coincidence to me that Julia runs in to this old friend who just happens to be working on the same project that Karen and Derek are doing. I have skeptical hope that this plot will get more interesting as we go. Otherwise, I hope it fizzles out.

Now for the best part of the episode: Jimmy. Again. And Derek. Again. Why is it that I can never get enough of these two? Their relationship simply fascinates me. Okay, so... to start, Jeremy Jordan (Jimmy!) is adorable. He has the cutest little laugh when Karen's father shows up at the beginning. He seems like he really cares about her, which is great. It's almost enough to offset the awkwardness of Katharine McPhee's acting. Actually, that seems to be a general theme this week. Jimmy is good enough to supersede other elements of the plot and characterizations that didn't work so well. The whole "dark past drug dealer" thing is a bit silly. This show isn't quite intense enough to pull off a dark back story like this. The drug dealer felt like he should be starring in Rent, not Smash. However, Jimmy's child-like fear more than made up for the cheesy villain. 

Jeremy Jordan fights against bad writing, plots, and acting to make a real presence. The scenes between him and Derek were fantastic this week, as they always are. It was adorable that Derek gave him the money, but really disappointing that Karen's father exposed the truth about Jimmy and Karen. Inevitably, we'll now get Derek and Jimmy yelling at each other again. The back and forth is getting a bit old.

Other weak elements:

Kyle was barely in it! I love Kyle, if you hadn't guessed. I'm glad he has a boyfriend, I guess, but I'm really annoyed by how quickly we zoomed by that. It was a weak subplot in the last episode and it was just barely touched on in this episode. Kyle needs more screen time. I don't even know his boyfriend's name! What is up with that?! There was a cute conversation between Jimmy and Kyle on the phone, but again, it feels strange that Kyle was such a small presence this week, especially since he might be the only other big character who knows exactly what Jimmy is going through. They've known each other for a long time, right? Why doesn't Jimmy confide in Kyle about what is going on?

Ana. Okay, I must be missing something. Everything about this episode sets up Ana as this phenomenal singer. Krysta Rodriguez does a perfectly good job. I'm not denying that she has a nice voice. But she's... not a powerhouse. At least, not in my opinion. When she did her number this week, I found myself rolling my eyes. First of all, there is no way they had the money and time to pull off all those stunts. Secondly, it was so obviously set up to be more impressive than Karen's number. Karen just stands in front of a piano, and Ana gets to hang from the ceiling from pretty scarves. But... is Ana's voice all that amazing? I mean, show-stopping? Maybe I just don't get it. Ah, well.

Karen's father was a substandard actor. It wouldn't matter so much, except for that Katharine McPhee is as well. The two of them had some really awkward scenes together. It felt unnecessary for him to be there in the first place, other than just as a means to push the plot forward a bit.

So... I always praise Jimmy, I know, but this week he seemed to be the only strong part. There wasn't enough with Derek or Kyle, and even the moments with Tom could have been stronger. I hope the next episode has more going for it!

5/10