Smash Episode 2.02 The Fallout

Eager to iron out the musical's financial struggles, Eileen has spent hours with her lawyers getting everything in order. The project should be up and running soon, and she asks Tom and Derek not to take any other offers in the meantime. Karen, still thinking about Jimmy's music, waits for him outside the restaurant and presses him for details about the musical he and Kyle are writing. Jimmy denies any truth to this and hits on Karen instead. She walks away, put off by his standoffish attitude, but Kyle stops her and asks her to meet him after his shift. He explains that Jimmy is a complicated guy and protective of his work, but they've truly got something great in the works.

Derek meets with his agent, who informs him that he's been let go from "The Wiz" due to five dancers who have come forward to accuse Derek of sexual harassment. At the same time, Eileen finds out that she's been taken off the guest list for the American Theatre Wing Gala and solicits Jerry for his table. Jerry wonders about her creative team totally falling apart at the seams, but Eileen assures him that they couldn't be more unified. In reality, Julia hasn't left the couch in a week and is totally and completely down in the spirits. Not only are things a huge mess with Frank, but now everybody 's hearing about how she destroyed her family. She begs Tom to make an excuse for her; there's no way she's ready to attend the gala tonight.

In Times Square, Karen meets with Kyle, who hands her a messy pile of menus with scraps of music and lyrics written on them. Karen's unimpressed; she thought they were working on something concrete. Kyle assures her that Jimmy is an incredibly talented composer and invites her over to their place tonight so that she could get to know him better. When Derek meets with one of the dancers who came out against him, she puts him in his place: he never touched her, no, but as a big shot director, he's constantly abusing his line of power. Hoping to find Tom, Ivy ends up venting to Julia instead. In such a cutthroat world, has she ever wanted to just up and quit? Julia knows how Ivy is feeling. It's truly a brutal business, but sooner or later something comes along that reminds you just how much you love it.

When Derek's accused by yet another dancer, Eileen calls him to disinvite him from the gala. She needs ambassadors there, not liabilities. A dejected Derek hangs up the phone and finishes up his mid-day drink, which hurls him into a provocative daydream. In it, a handful of women clad in pink stilettos and black mini-dresses (including Karen and Ivy), sing and dance to the Eurythmics' "Would I Lie to You?" as they push and swing Derek all around the bar. Meanwhile, Tom's stopped on the street by Harvey Fierstein, who's eager to gossip. Eileen Rand is running around with a drug lord? Derek is a serial seducer? Harvey's even heard that Tom and Julia were splitting up! Tom corrects this rumor and out of desperation promises Harvey that he'll see Tom and Julia tonight at the gala. He even fibs about a speech him and Julia will be making.

When Tom gets home, Julia's already heard the news through the rumor mill and she's ecstatic about being asked to present an award! She's so thankful that the community still supports the team through their hardships. Caught in his lie, Tom confirms that they were, in fact, asked by the head of the American Theatre Wing to present. Over at Karen's, Ana plays what she can of Jimmy's music and it's clear that this guy is right up in the ranks with Jonathan Larson. Ana's also convinced that Jimmy's into Karen, but Karen maintains that she's just interested in his talents. Meanwhile, Ivy encounters a drunken Derek slumped over at the stairs to her apartment building.

At the gala, Julia realizes Tom lied about the entire thing and is furious with him for creating yet another reason for her to be mortified in public. He admits that while it's difficult for him to see her so down, he's running out of excuses for her. She needs to pull herself up by the bootstraps! At this point, it's not just her career she's jeopardizing - it's Tom's as well. Karen, Ana, Bobby and Sue arrive at Jimmy and Kyle's apartment in Greenpoint and are overwhelmed by the flannel, beard and smoke-filled gathering. Karen decides to be flirtatious with Jimmy in hopes of getting him to open up, while Bobby beelines straight for Kyle.

Outside Ivy's apartment, Derek slurs his way through his troubles. Is he really such a monster? Though Ivy is cold at first, she assures him he isn't. The two friends sit quietly on the stoop, contemplating their futures. Back at the gala, the Broadway community rudely turns Eileen away. No one can seem to get past her financial downfall, and her once untarnished reputation looks like it's slowly being dragged down the drain. Back in Brooklyn, Karen puts her plan into action. Accompanied by Ana, she gets up and sings Jimmy's original song in front of everyone. The crowd totally vibes with the performance, but Jimmy angrily storms out of the party. He's furious with Kyle for showing someone his music. He doesn't need anyone's help and wants to get the musical off the ground himself! After Jimmy insults Karen, she leaves the party with her friends.

Eileen refuses to go down without a fight. Determined to show the community what they're missing by throwing "Bombshell" under the rug, Eileen calls Ivy to come and sing. Julia precedes the performance by announcing that "Bombshell" WILL be coming to Broadway this season! As expected, Ivy absolutely kills it and the audience applauds with great enthusiasm. Seeing as the wife of the U.S. Attorney is there, "Bombshell" is allowed to resume work, despite its rocky funding. Eileen makes plans to borrow money from Jerry.

The following morning, Kyle turns on Jimmy. Karen was their one chance - someone with invaluable connections to the industry! Couldn't Jimmy put Kyle's needs in front of his own selfish pride for once? At Tom's, Julia admits that hearing Ivy sing their song got her excited about "Bombshell" again. From now on, she's going to work as hard as possible to make everything up not only to Tom, but also to their project. Ivy stops by Derek's place to thank him for pulling her out of her funk, only to find Karen already there. Karen haughtily thanks Ivy for saving the day last night; Karen was on the train when Eileen called her first. As Ivy makes her exit, Karen pulls out her computer to show Jimmy's work to Derek.