thoughts on the series finale of Smash

Okay, so-- I enjoyed every musical number in this episode, even though none of them really made any sense. The "Under Pressure" number, for example: I've never really liked the fantasy musical numbers on this show (you know, the ones that take place in a character's imagination, as opposed to onstage), but how great to have all of the major cast members onstage together, and how else could that ever have happened, except in a fantasy? And we've heard Tom and Jimmy both sing before, but we've never gotten to hear them hit notes like they did in that song. I daresay it might be my favorite thing this show has ever done, as in, the only song that I will probably look up and watch again. I will say this for Glee, which I haven't watched since early in the third season and which really frustrated me by the time I stopped watching it: in nearly every episode, there was at least one musical number I wanted to watch again, and though I honestly think that Smash was a better show (how sad that I have to write about it in past tense now), hot mess that it was sometimes, I was never really like that with this show. I enjoyed the music, but would never seek it out to listen to or watch independently from the show. I really dug "Under Pressure," though, along with "Broadway, Here I Come." Again, I don't know if anything like that would ever really happen on the Tonys-- "Oh, hey, Daisy, Derek here. I don't really have anything to do with this production of the Tonys, but guess what, you're not singing anymore, and hey, cast of Hit List, come on out and do an a cappella version of 'Broadway, Here I Come.' Don't worry about costumes or anything." But, it was great, and it made Jerry look like a dick for not just planning for them to do something like that in the first place: it was the perfect song for their show, which featured mainly first time Broadway performers, and they deserved to be all onstage together. Finally, I don't know WTF was up with that last number, which seemed completely thrown in-- "Oh, hey, Julia, let's watch a video of the number we missed when we were still backstage. You know, that random duet between Karen and Ivy that we never saw them practice ever." Again, it made sense to have the series end with Karen and Ivy onstage together one last time, but the set-up for it was pretty weird.

As for the awards acceptance speeches, Ivy's was the best. Jimmy's was good, but kind of vague; I wish he would have called Karen by name, and been more specific about what he meant when he thanked Julia. Tom and Julia's was crap: "Oh, we wrote a speech, but we forgot it. Thank you!" Isn't Julia a professional writer? And until the last minute, wasn't Bombshell supposed to be their last show together for the forseeable future? And haven't they been partners for years but never won? In other words, get your heads out of your asses, Tom and Julia.

It was hard to care too much about the outcome of a lot of the awards. I came to prefer the Hit List storyline this past season, and if both shows were real, I would go see it any day over Bombshell. But, it came across as kind of thrown together, so while I'm glad that Kyle won and it won some other awards, yeah, Ivy probably deserved to win over Karen, and I guess it's good that Tom and Julia won. Basically, Bombshell was a bunch of people who had been working hard for a long time without being rewarded, while Hit List was a bunch of up-and-comers, and they will presumably have other chances. Also, Marilyn Monroe was more of a career-type role for Ivy than Karen's role was. So-- yeah, it was fine.

Ivy and Derek are in love now? Hmm. Yes, obviously they have a history, get along, understand each other, and have some chemistry...but didn't he spend most of the past two seasons mooning over Karen? Who even was that guy that Eileen was with at the end? And, Jimmy's story...he couldn't have found out sometime in the past five years that that girl didn't die?

Basically...I enjoyed the episode as a whole, but I think the creators weren't really ready for the show to be over and felt like they had to tie up every single loose end and do every musical thing they've ever wanted to do. As a result, the episode felt kind of weird and thrown together. However, I will miss this show. RIP, Smash.