Another slightly unnecessary musical opening aside, though 'Call Me' is an improvement on 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow at least, this episode is very much focussed on the rivalry between Karen and Ivy. We even get 'Let Me Be Your Star' again early on, just to really bring that home. Not that I'm complaining, that song is still utterly brilliant, and it’s given a new context within the musical itself that keeps it interesting. Things take a turn for the bitchy all round early on in the episode as a friend of Ivy’s starts spying on Karen, and Julia gets her claws into Ellis, who really is very annoying. Saying ‘I think Marilyn would make a good musical’ isn’t really the same thing as creating the musical, so the sub-plot that seems to be going on with Ellis right now seems a bit superfluous, drama for the sake of adding drama perhaps.
Julia’s adoption plotline also comes into focus during this episode, and is for the most part very engaging. After discovering that it could take up to two years to adopt, Julia’s husband gets a case of cold feet that puts a strain on the whole family. Their son is the weak link here, not only is the actor slightly awkward, but I feel like the part was written for a child much younger than the actor, so watching him say these lines that seem like they should be coming out of a 10 year old is frankly a little bit creepy. The story itself is solid though, and builds to a finale that is actually pretty emotional, as Julia goes to a support group alone and reads aloud the letter that she has written to the mother of her potential child. Yes, it’s a little bit cheesy, but it also packs a satisfying punch thanks to Debra Messing’s delivery.
Seriously, where can I see this musical??
I felt that Karen essentially
ignoring Dev and his Very Important Business Dinner was an interesting
development. I mean, yes it was important in showing that Karen will do
anything for the part, including stay late at the studio with the sleazy guy
who just days ago was trying to get her to sleep with him for the part, but it
really doesn’t take that long to write a text or make a call! This again seemed
to be a case of adding drama for the sake of it, but the silent hand-holding as
they left the restaurant together after a somewhat heated discussion was a very
sweet way of wrapping it up. Ivy, meanwhile, spends this episode being a
know-it-all on all things Marilyn Monroe. Well, most of it at least, she also
spends a little while in bed with the director. We all know that this will come
back and bite them, and it’s hard to see why Ivy would do when she’s been
striving for professionalism this whole time. Seeing her complain at the start
of the episode about having paid her dues in the ensemble while “Karen
Something” shows up out of nowhere, and then ending up doing the dirty with
Derek all seems a little bit hypocritical.
‘20th Century Fox Mambo’, while not as catchy as the original songs from the pilot, is a clever bit of songwriting and also provides us with our first look at Karen as Marilyn. Up until this point I’d found it hard to picture her in the role, but this performance really made her look like competition for Ivy. Or rather, it did right up until a few minutes later when we found out that Ivy got the part. I personally felt there was actually room to keep that rivalry running for at least another episode. The musical itself doesn’t seem to be much further than a few songs at this point, so I think the hunt for the perfect Marilyn could’ve kept going, and the announcement at the end of this episode actually felt a little anti-climactic. Of course, I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll see of Karen, not least because I suspect Ivy will be getting a nasty surprise when her extracurricular activities come to light. This second episode doesn’t quite reach the giddy heights that the pilot achieved. It’s still good, but I think there is fat to be trimmed if the show is going to keep itself focused.
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