Two contrasting views of the latest episode:
‘The song, “Let’s Be Bad,” is tremendous. It’s the first time we get a juicy nugget of how “Marilyn: The Musical” is going to work, with a late-in-show number of a drug-addicted and addled Marilyn trying desperately to cling onto fame and stardom, while struggling with her own wishes, her perception as a dumb blonde, and a need to be pulled in a million directions by her fans and handlers. It’s a dark, twisted, heartbreaking and AWESOMELY FUN number that feels like the best work of Kander and Ebb or Sondheim; it’s layered, sophisticated, terrifying, beautiful, hot, and classy as hell, all at once. And Hilty sells it from the bottom of her soul. This number finally made me yearn to see the final product; it’s not going to just be a collection of cute Marilyn-esque anecdotes and caricatures, but something with some depth and perspective. It got me excited all over again for the musical theater parts of Smash.’ Cinema Blend
‘Marilyn Monroe is fascinating to us because she was so enigmatic; a tough nut to crack. The nut also happened to be stunning and clever, and taken together, the combination was almost lethal. Filtered through the “Smash” machine, however, the grand legend of Marilyn starts to taste as weak as deli coffee.
Ivy and Karen — and everyone else in their orbit — are constantly chattering about what Marilyn “would do” in any situation (note to NBC: make WWMMD bracelets immediately), and this familiarity they feel with her, as if they are taking her very place in the pantheon of stars, diminishes her essential mystique.’ – Los Angeles Times