Smash Review: Bombshell Meets Bollywood

Okay, I have to start this week out by apologizing for the promo link at the end of last week’s recap, because it seems to have been a promotion for pretty much the rest of the season. The title on the clip was misleading and, not knowing what the rest of the season is going to look like, I didn’t know that the material in the clip wasn’t going to be in this episode. Either that or they’re taking their cues from Glee again, and including dramatic scenes in the promo without actually including them in the show. (Hello, Quinn tries to stop the wedding scene. Where did you go?)

In this case, the SMASH promo included a “she’s not breathing” clip that didn’t materialize in the actual episode, so I’m assuming the promo was for the rest of the season, (another three episodes) and I’m sorry for any spoilers it contained. Then again, none of the other dramatic events in the promos have lived up to their hype, so maybe I didn’t reveal anything. That being said, let’s move on to this week’s ridiculously over the top episode.

I don’t know what they’re passing around during Bombshell rehearsal breaks, but those drugs must be good. Hallucinations seem to be contagious in SMASH-land. First Ivy sees Karen/Marilyn—I dub thee Karelyn—in her bedroom mirror, then Derek starts seeing Karelyn during rehearsals, and now Karen herself is hallucinating. The difference being, that her hallucinations are a tad more colorful—and a LOT more hilarious—than her colleagues’ lapses of sanity. We’ll get to that soon enough (since that’s basically all I want to focus on, anyway), but let’s check in with the rest of Bombshell’s cast and crew first.

Let’s start with Ellis who I hate so much I don’t want to talk about him, but probably have to, since whatever he’s up to makes no effing sense whatsoever is up to his usual scheming. I really don’t understand where they’re going with this character. Yes, I get it; he wants to be a producer and will do pretty much anything to get there. What I do not comprehend is how most of his conniving could be in any way helpful to his cause. First he’s an asshole to Julia. There’s a good idea, piss off the writer, because