Bombshell Finally Finds Its Star & Other Smash Highlights

On the season finale of NBC's Smash, aptly titled “Bombshell,” the show is almost ready as Tom (Christian Borle) and Julia (Debra Messing) literally race against time to write a new ending. What else happens? Confessions are made, hopes are dashed, and director Derek (Jack Davenport) finally lets Karen (Katherine McPhee) be a star. Aaaaand no one is surprised by this news except for a woefully underused Bernadette Peters, who arrives to toast her daughter (Megan Hilty), only to find that she’s been dissed and dismissed in favor of Karen. That’s show business! Read on for all the action in this week’s Smash-Back.

Most Convenient Fantasy: With Rebecca (Uma Thurman) peanut-poisoned out of the picture, Derek, Julia, Tom and Eileen (Anjelica Huston) must name a Marilyn to go on immediately. The question is… will it be Karen or Ivy? With everyone conflicted, Derek suddenly has a vision of Karen sashaying in a purple dress and realizes it’s the sign he’s been waiting for! Moments later, he shockingly names Karen as Bombshell’s star. Is that how a professional makes an important casting choice? With measured reasoning and creepily lit hallucinations? Now we know.

Dumbest Confession: Infuriated by Derek’s choice of Karen over Ivy, Ellis (Jaime Cepero) snaps when Eileen tells her assistant he doesn't get a vote in the decision. "I didn't get Rebecca Duvall out of your way so you could ignore me yet again,” he snaps. “Rebecca Duvall, nice enough person for a movie star but she wasn’t going to get us to Broadway and none of you would admit it. I put peanuts in the stupid smoothie. So don’t ever call me an assistant ever again. I am a producer.” Eileen’s cool response: “You're fired.” Sorry, Ellis but last we checked, attempted murder doesn’t make you a producer, it makes you a felon. 

Worst Frenemy Ever: Diamonds are a girl’s best friend but Ivy Lynn clearly is not. Still hell-bent on landing the lead, Ivy reveals her one-night stand with Dev (Raza Jaffrey), hoping that Karen will have a total breakdown. But it's not enough that she has Karen's engagement ring, which Dev left behind after their torrid night; Ivy also has advice! "Men are men, and a traditional guy like Dev bought you a ring, took you to dinner, asked you to marry him. It's very Joe DiMaggio of him." Yes, Ivy and your backstabbing ways are very Paris Hilton of you. Too bad Bombshell isn’t about blonde socialites behaving badly.

Best Way to Get Over Bad News: Devastated by Ivy’s confession, Karen confronts a remorseful Dev, who rattles off a list of bad excuses: “I thought we were finished. I was drunk. It was a mistake. It was a struggle.” A distraught Karen walks off the stage to hide in the wardobe room in her underwear (who doesn’t strip when stressed?). Derek follows a trail of costume pieces to find her. He has to convince her the show must go on! (Duh.) “You have always had so much of her at your fingertips,” Derek says. “And now you have the heartbreak.” And just like that Karen is ready for her star-is-born performance. Big girls don’t cry. They star in musicals, baby!

Most Obvious Cliffhangers: Bombshell may have found its Marilyn (for now), but that doesn’t mean Smash ends the season devoid of unanswered questions. Is the suddeny nauseated Julia pregnant? If so, who’s the daddy: Michael (Will Chases) or her hubby Frank (Brian D’Arcy James)? Will Ellis make good on his threat to come back and wreak havoc on Bombshell? Will Ivy take all those pills in her hand? Will Leaigh Conroy (Bernadette Peters) drink all that Champagne in her hand? Will Dev leave Karen for that New York Times reporter? Will Tom and Sam have sex? (Have they? Does anyone know?) Finally, will Bombshell be a Broadway smash? "Don't forget me," Karen sings in the showstopping last number. Here's hoping everyone remembers to tune in next season.