Fame can go to anyone's head, but in Schmicago, it also plays Andrew Lloyd Webber. Let's break down the musical homages together!

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Season 2 of 'Schmigadoon!'

Previous recaps:

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

It's Not So Bad in Schmicago

The Narrator Tituss Burgess begins the episode with a familiar reprise of the season's first song, 'Welcome to Schmicago', but this time we hear several musical references right from the start. There's 'The Barber and His Wife', which is the theme of Dooley Blight (Alan Cumming) and Miss Coldwell (Kristin Chenoweth), and 'This Jesus Must Die', which recently appeared in the aria of magnate Kratt (Patrick Page). And the Narrator becomes increasingly ominous.

Meanwhile, Melissa (Cecily Strong) and Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) naively believe they've achieved the desired happy ending, but decide to wait so Josh can watch Melissa perform. A surprise occurs: Melissa (much like the heroine of the musical 'Funny Girl') is promoted from the chorus to lead singer. She performs a beautiful number, 'Maybe It's My Turn Now', which strongly resembles 'Maybe This Time' from 'Cabaret', though it is not a direct parody.

After the performance, Josh suddenly finds himself a new messiah for a hippie commune – all because cabaret star Jenny (Dove Cameron) and hippie leader Topher (Aaron Tveit) are too busy with each other. And now our heroes aren't in such a hurry to leave Schmicago, after all, fame and adoration don't fall into your lap every day.

Through Fire, Water, and Brass Tacks

The audience is treated to the musical number 'Famous As Hell', which is a stunning blend of several compositions from 'Jesus Christ Superstar', namely: 'Heaven On Their Minds' in overall musical direction and the hilarious way Tituss sings the main characters' names; 'Simon Zealotes' in the choral part by the hippies; and again 'This Jesus Must Die' at the very end. (Author's note – the lines about rhetorical questions are just hilarious).

Let's pause a bit more on this number and admire how well composer Cinco Paul understands musical themes: each time the camera zooms in on a character, we hear echoes of their main compositions. Thus, Jenny sings a line from 'Kaput', Topher references 'My Doorway To Where', Miss Coldwell utters 'Good Enough To Eat', and Kratt, with his sexy voice, sings 'Two birds with one stone'.

Melissa and Josh, pleased with how things are developing in Schmicago, return to the apartment, where Jenny and Topher are already waiting for them. Both consider the heroes traitors and are extremely unhappy that the main characters have pushed them out of their own stories. The references to 'Jesus Christ' continue, as Topher almost verbatim quotes 'Damned For All Time' and 'Last Supper'. (Actually, Topher is short for Christopher. Christ-opher. Get it? You get it?).

We Don't Kill People – Only Orphans

Well, now Josh and Melissa need to find a new place to stay in Schmicago – and they think of the already familiar couple living on Quick Street. Miss Coldwell gladly offers them a bed for the night.

We also witness a touching scene – since Miss Coldwell has started taking good care of the orphans, trying to fatten them up for Dooley Blight's meat production, the children, in gratitude, give her a pink ribbon. This gesture seems to genuinely move the orphanage owner – and it could simultaneously be a reference to Mrs. Lovett's sincere attachment to the orphan Toby in 'Sweeney Todd', and to Miss Hannigan's redemption in the 1892 film 'Annie'.

Josh is uneasy about everything happening – especially after seeing the number of knives Dooley is sharpening. At night, the couple goes to investigate the meat shop and stumble upon unmistakable calculations of the orphans' weight relative to the meat products they could yield. They are caught spying by Miss Coldwell and Dooley – but there's no need to fear for the main characters.

Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

During a very pleasant conversation with the couple from Quick Street, our main characters manage to convince them to spare the orphans and think of a more productive way to blow off steam, redirecting the butcher's anger toward Kratt. It's worth noting that Miss Coldwell is somewhat relieved by this outcome, as she wears the gifted ribbon in her hair and gently touches it. So, Melissa and Josh decide to try to trick Blight and Kratt into meeting – who knows, maybe it won't come to bloodshed? Can Schmicago really be such a cruel place?

Meanwhile, Sergeant Rivera (Jaime Camil), who is at Kratt's beck and call, along with Madame Frau (Ann Harada), ponder at what point and due to what decisions their lives went off the rails. They perform a number that references a number from the musical 'Promises, Promises' titled 'You'll Think of Someone'. This guess is confirmed by the backup singers, who resemble characters from the same musical (though I also think of the later 'Little Shop of Horrors', which doesn't quite fit the context time-wise).

Josh and Melissa try to put their jointly devised plan into action: lure Kratt into the dressing room, where Dooley is already waiting. To do this, Melissa must stage a flirtation scene in front of Kratt (in which Cecily Strong and Patrick Page are simply delightful). However, everything goes awry – Kratt kidnaps Melissa, forcing her to marry him, otherwise Josh will die. And indeed, Josh is taken at gunpoint by Sergeant Rivera, while the Narrator meaningfully – and even eerily – looks straight into the viewers' souls.

So, we have only one episode left, after which we'll share our overall impressions of the season and Schmicago in general. Meanwhile, as per tradition, feel free to write if we missed anything. Ciao!