Smash: Episode 203: The Dramaturg

Ain't nothing sexier than a dramaturg, baby!

How's that for a sexy grabber of a title? The Dramaturg? You must be kidding, Smash! No wonder the ratings are continuing to slip. But then in the Smash universe, dramaturgs aren't bookish, nerdy types, but fabulously wealthy, devastatingly handsome, beefy studs like Daniel Sunjata. Even their libraries are carefully arranged stacks of books piled in artful arrangements in spacious Manhattan lofts. oh, and they dine in these lovely little restaurants with suitably chic-looking companions. This character is stuck into the plot in order to whip Julia's turgid Bombshell book into space. Julia resents him right off the bat which means she'll probably be sleeping with by the next episode.


Meanwhile, Karen finally shows some emotion--jumping up and down and clapping her hands like a child--when Derek agrees to meet with Jimmy and Kyle to hear the story of their work-in-progress Hit List (which sounds awful BTW). Derek and everyone else praises all their songs but the petulant director points out the tunes don't make up a plotline. To me the Hit List songs we've heard so far sound exactly alike and are perfect for Katharine McPhee's bland American Idol voice.

At least Ivy is moving on and got cast in a revival of a musical version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. But not before she had a "good bye" dream number with Derek. And all of a sudden Derek is directing Bombshell, developing The Hit List, and staging a one-night concert for Jennifer Hudson's character. Huh? How is he supposed to do all this at once?

We also learned Jimmy has some kind of tragic past because he breaks into a rundown shack to retrieve some notes about his show--evidently this dump is in one of the outer boroughs--only to grabbed by a mysterious figure and beaten. We have no idea who this is, but we get a hint as Jimmy describes the Hit List plot. The hero's father dies and his mother marries some creep who beats up the son. The nasty guy looked a little young to be Jimmy's stepdad, but it would explain why the obnoxious would-be songwriter has such an enormous chip on his shoulder. Bombshell gets a new number with a JFK figure and we'll finally be rid of those stupid shadow selves. Next week Veronica gets the Derek treatment.

Oh, and with the ratings continuing to slip, things are not looking good for Season 3.