Mrs. Maisel is back!
Midge is back in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, one of my all-time favorite shows, and her return couldn't have been more welcome. Season 3 saw the culmination of Midge's rise to fame as the opening act for Shy Baldwin (one of the biggest stars in the world) come to a screeching halt in the shocking final scene that left us on a major cliffhanger. Baldwin was taking Midge to Prague to start a world tour in Europe, but he and his associates decided to play Midge like a fool instead and literally left her on the runway as they took off in their private jet.
So now Midge is back on the grind again, and I'm ecstatic about that. Her story definitely fits more within a local, big-fish-in-a-small-pond scope (not that New York is a small pond). Watching her earn way onto any stage she could play, then prove any doubters wrong and dazzle a pleasant surprised audience is far more my speed for the structure of this show. I didn't love the on-the-go nature of Season 3 quite as much (it was still fun, don't get me wrong); I appreciate the character more when she was scraping by, making deals, negotiating, and, most importantly, playing to smaller audiences that gave her enough leeway to speak what was really on her mind instead of compromising her act like she needed to do while opening for Baldwin.
In the first two episodes of Season 4, she seems to be back in that go-fund-me type mode, and I'm totally here for it. It was so funny to see the excessive suitcases she packed for her world tour crammed into a taxi as she and Susie (her manager) headed back to New York. Her breakdown in the cab was especially bonkers. Now Midge is forced to start all over again, and she even decided to buy her old apartment back to keep that cozy, homey feel (in actuality, this definitely felt more like a play to make the audience comfortable with the familiar again).
The problem with starting over? Midge is broke, even more than she knows. Another cliffhanger from Season 3 was finding out how Susie would recoup the money Midge entrusted her with to further her career after she completely wasted it all (I think she gambled it away). Susie somehow hides it from Midge, which created a nice tension between her and Midge that the audience was privied to. For some reason, I really hoped Susie would get out of the jam unscathed; I didn't need to see more drama between her and Midge. Midge's ex-husband Joel stepped in and gave Susie the money (only because Joel still cares for Midge), so she's out of the woods for now, but I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before Midge finds out about Susie's cover-up. Who knows how bad that will get down the road.
In the meantime, everyone is back to their old selves again. Midge's parents had travel plans at the end of Season 3, but apparently that was no longer needed (or the writers didn't think it through and realized they needed these side characters closer to Midge), so they are staying in town. Midge's father (still played by a buffed out Tony Shalhoub, which still seems out of place for a former Jewish professor, but sure) is writing for a publication and is just now getting the newsflash that that industry doesn't pay well. No money means Midge's parents are forced to move back in with Midge, thus the familiarity continues. We quickly get the same old gags - Midge walking in on her father sitting in tub typing for his new job as if he's Trumbo, Midge's mother rearranging where all the dishes go in the kitchen - but despite the recycled jokes, the show still felt zippy and on the right track for the rest of the season.
This wasn't any more evident than the big Ferris wheel scene. It was such a caricature-like moment as the family celebrates Midge's son's fake birthday at Coney Island (apparently he gets a party when he wants it; the kid's spoiled attitude rears its ugly head again when he whines about not getting the breakfast he wanted). Midge, of course, chooses this moment to tell her parents that her gig in Europe got canceled. The ensuing one-liners and zingers while watching these adults argue like children has been used before, but never on such a perfect backdrop of watching them literally go in vertical circles on a Ferris wheel while their bickering also never goes anywhere. Superb stuff!
As Midge starts to stalk nightclubs again looking for changes to play again, she's forced to listen to hacks regurgitate the same tired punny jokes that lack originality, so much so that she quotes their jokes as if she's already read their scripts. It's fun to reflect on how far her career has come, because her game is clearly lightyears ahead of the recycled rabble that keeps getting spots over her. In the eyes of the audience, this character has earned these moments, and they are so gratifying. They're funny, too, especially when she's tipsy and crashes the stage in the middle of their set; it's a perfect metaphor for her seemingly needing to pay her dues once again to get her own spots, but not wanting to go through the motions, as if she was an advanced-calculus student needing to go back to Algebra I.
For those who have kept up with the show, the first two episodes do a great job of cleaning up other loose ends and starting new threads. If you haven't seen any episode previously, the show does nothing in the way of onboarding, so newbies need to be prepared for that.
Midge's husband Joel is finally seeing success with his own start-up nightclub (surely Midge will end the season with a performance there, right?). The new problem is his girlfriend's family - who sold Joel the nightclub without mentioning their illegal operations in the casino-like basement - doesn't want his nightclub to succeed because it'll draw too much attention to their "business." That should be a fun tension, especially as Joel tries to continue learning Chinese to communicate with them. His girlfriend seemingly is not helpful translating, though, but hey, he can trust her, right?
Susie's work relationship with Sophie Lennon - the world-famous comedian who had a nervous breakdown - is seemingly over. Not sure if the writers needed to wrap up Sophie's story because the actress isn't coming back, or if they genuinely thought this would be the funniest angle to approach her breakdown story, but Susie got her to sign a release. Honestly I just hope this was just a clean break from the character, though they still have plenty of real estate to explore the idea of Susie taking on another client, which could make sense if she and Midge finally come to blows about Susie's cover-up of the lost money. I could even see Susie's next client turning into the anti-Maisel rival that would make for really entertaining comedy bouts.
All in all, this is about as good a start as I could've asked for. Season 4 feels like it'll tread familiar territory, but I'm okay with that for now. I have no doubt they will open things up and get creative with where they take these characters next.