Smash: The Parents

Ah, parents. You gotta love 'em, right?

Observations:

It's funny that Karen is so freaked out that her Dad is there because she doesn't him to see Jimmy in her apartment. I do believe that her Dad knew she was living with Dev, didn't he?

I think that Katherine McPhee may actually be singing "Broadway Here I Come" live, and not just lip-syncing it.

Okay, I know this is funny, but when Derek calls Jimmy "Mr. Collins" with his proper English accent, I think that he's talking to Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice. It's funny, because Jimmy is about about as opposite of Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice as you can get.

How does Gladys know that Ivy was sad that Sam was leaving on tour with The Book of Mormon? I thought she and Ivy haven't exactly been communicating with each other lately.

I've asked for it quite a bit, and now we finally get a little scene from Marilyn. An exchange between Marilyn and Gladys. And it really isn't very good. However, that could just be because Ivy and Leigh are afraid to really give the scene the conflict it needs.

I'm so surprised that when Tom tells Ivy and Leigh to do the scene, that instead Leigh goes on to tell Tom a personal story. When the director says, "Let's do the scene," you do the scene. You don't go on telling personal stories. I know what they're going for, they want drama between Ivy and Leigh. But, instead of it ending in the "cat fight" that Bobby so desperately wanted to see, the their confrontation is still so sedate.

Anna's number at the benefit was cool, but I'm shocked that they were supposed to have put that together in one afternoon. There's really no way that could have happened. Good thing Anna doesn't have a fear of heights. I'm surprised Jimmy is okay with that number. He really doesn't like "bells and whistles."

I'm glad that Anna got some love from the New York Times writer. I'm glad it was someone other than Karen getting the love. There are other talented performers.

I feel bad for Leigh. She and Ivy need someone to get them together in a room and work out their issues. Or, maybe the show will help them do that.

"I'll Hang the Moon" is the first number in Bombshell since "Don't Forget Me" where I've felt any kind of emotion. I've liked a lot of the numbers, but they've usually been fun. This number was very sweet, and I liked it. I was thinking that Ivy would feel the emotion as Ivy, as well as Marilyn, but I was wrong. It's going to take more than just one song for her to accept her mother in her life again.

Oh, this is not good. Derek now knows about Karen and Jimmy's relationship. I liked that Derek and Jimmy were becoming friends. It looks like that's over now.

Scott wants Julia to fix the story of Hit List. This is another thing that can't end well.

Derek did tell Tom that he can't be friends with his cast. Well, Tom is taking that to heart, and is losing the friends he already had.

Quotes:

Tom: You apologized. He accepted. That story has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Tom: Let it lie.
Julia: I think we both know I don't do that very well.

Tom: Think of it. Leigh Conroy stepping out of retirement to play the role of a lifetime. The role that only she can play. Your mother.
Sam: She already has that role.

Leigh: Should we at least try it? What do you say?
Ivy: I say, "yay"?
All: Yay.

Anna: Do we even have time to pull this off?
Derek: Almost definitely not, but that's never stopped me in the past.

Kyle: What's gotten into you? You sound happy.

Leigh: Where do I stand?
Ivy: Right behind me.

Derek: Ah, Mr. Collins, how lovely of your to grace us with your presence.

Bobby: This is boring. I want my cat fight already.

Tom: I want to get behind the choices you two are making, but I need some help understanding them first.

Tom: They're turning Marilyn and Gladys into The Gilmore Girls.

Tom: Let's turn up the drama a little bit.

Tom: Take what you're feeling. Do the scene. Go.

Karen's Father: A man would stand up and admit his role in all this. A boy would sneak out the window.

Tom: I'm doing what's right for the show.