SMASH Recap: “Let’s Be Bad” (Episode 5, Season 1)

Let’s Be Bad isn’t just the title of the latest episode of Smash but it also seemed to be the magic words that pushed all of the central characters into a realm for which the viewers have not seen them, pushing their boundaries and revealing another layer of who each of them are a people.

Eileen is shaken by the news that her assistant, Scott, has basically been bought off by her soon-to-be-ex-husband Jerry. Jerry really seems to have a way of getting at Eileen to ruin her plans for Marilyn the Musical (and just about any facet of her life it would seem). But that isn’t Eileen’s only problem: Julia still doesn’t have the book/script done for the play and they are already 12 days into the workshop. Eileen keeps pushing Julia to simply “get it done”; using anyone else she can to urge Julia to finish her work; but too little avail, as real life issues get in the way in the form of two people: her son Leo and her former fling Michael.

Things aren’t much better for Ivy as she walks into rehearsals to find Derek dancing around with Karen; and it would seem, at least to Ivy, that Derek is focusing too much attention on Karen – who is just a part of the chorus line, which Ivy bluntly points out to Karen later in the episode. The fun doesn’t stop there as Derek keeps barraging Ivy with complaints about her vibrato, so much so that she makes Karen stand up during one particular rehearsal scene to sing “Happy Birthday Mr. President” in the same manner that Karen sang it to Derek during the audition/call-back phases of casting the lead role; and told Ivy to work with Karen privately on her vibrato (as if that was going to help the situation at all!). This obviously didn’t endear Karen to Ivy any more than before and only seemed to spur Ivy on to be more of a diva. This became clear later in the episode when she got drunk with Michael and Sam at a nearby bar and then paid a late night visit to Derek where she chewed him out for the way he has been treating her lately.

Back to Julia’s dilemma – not only was her son, Leo, arrested for using drugs with friends (something that could not only hurt his future but the family’s adoption chances) but her husband Frank is out of town at a teachers’ retreat for his recertification during all of this family drama AND Michael is flirting with her (and she with him), ending in a BIG kiss at the end of the episode that is overseen by Leo. That will assuredly NOT turn out well at all.

Thankfully, Tom’s blind date – the lawyer, John – is able to help get Leo out of the arrest so he doesn’t have to spend the night in jail, but he is grounded by mom Julia who ends up acting as a prison guard at home during his imprisonment there. This situation doesn’t help Julia get the script done to satisfy Eileen so the drama just keeps circling.

Meanwhile, Dev is worried about a promotion at work for which he is being considered, but a reporter friend named R.J. has been keeping tabs for him and it is not looking good for Dev. Karen is introduced to said reporter friend and much to her dismay the reporter is attractive and very much female – not at all the person who Karen thought R.J. was. But, it ends up being Karen who finds out who will probably be getting Dev’s hoped-for promotion during an important dinner for which they attend together, but for which they cannot be seated together. Karen has a conversation with the people at her table about her work in Marilyn the Musical and discovers the well-tailored man at her table, who is from DC, just might be the next press secretary – the very job that Dev was being considered for.

Then we are back to the whole Let’s Be Bad aspect of the overall story arch with Tom sleeping with lawyer John (and it was bad); Ivy spending the night with Derek even though in the middle of the night he seems more obsessed with plans for the musical than with her; Dev and Karen making out in a town car on their way home after the big work dinner and, of course, the aforementioned kiss between Michael and Julia observed by her son Leo.

How all of this “bad” (and I use that very loosely and only in conjunction with the episode title) behavior affects the central characters in later episodes is yet to be seen; but at least there was one full Marilyn the Musical number finally played out in full costumes, props, et al and that was fantastic.

“Let’s Be Bad” is the fifth episode of the new series Smash on NBC. The next new episode of Smash will air Monday, March 12 at10/9c.

What did you think of this episode? Were you surprised by the kiss between Michael and Julia or did you think this was simply inevitable? Do you understand Derek’s reasons for being so cold and harsh with Ivy? Can you see where Karen might begin to think that she still has a chance at the lead role after all? Do you care about the ongoing storyline involving Dev and his work in the mayor’s office? Do you want to see the adoption storyline and Leo go away? Please share your thoughts on this episode in our comments section below.