I have high expectations for The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, one of my all-time favorite shows, and I was left in shock at the end of Season 3 when Midge was abandoned at the last second from a worldwide tour that would have elevated her career to new heights. Instead, during maybe the best season of the show so far, Midge found herself playing to the low lifes of late-night New York City.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Season 4 felt like a return to the show's roots, though that isn't to imply it has strayed all that far in the first place. But this season played to the strengths of its writing style and, more importantly, its characters. While I absolutely wanted Midge to succeed in breaking out into the limelight last season, looking back, I'm more thankful she stayed grounded and true to form, and the teaser at the end of this season suggests she still has a chance to get her overdue big break when Season 5 concludes the series for good.
Keeping Midge in the familiar nighclub setting was the right decision, even if that nightclub also served as a strip joint catering to the worst men. But she got several other chances to shine, like when played to a room full of snoody, first-class women, including the First Lady, which showed her skills to connect with any audience (even if that did mean pushing the boundaries a little too far). Midge's act always feel fresh and adventurous, especially when she isn't concerned about appeasing to others the way she was forced to when opening for Shy Baldwin in Season 3. Midge actually took a stand and said no to opportunities that required her to censor her act because she refused to compromise her words (an arc I wish the writers invested into even more).
Midge had plenty of other fun story arcs, not the least of which was her strange connection with Lenny Bruce. The two always have been flirty and on the brink of expressing feelings for each other, but their friendship grew in surprising ways before finally elevating to intimate levels. In the finale, after Lenny plays Carnegie Hall (a career highlight for him), he and Midge had a powerful conversation about her career, a well-earned heavy scene after the characters had interesting run-ins and discussions that opened the door for them to be far more real with each other than in the past. As Midge pursues her next quest to conquer, it'll be interesting to see if she and Lenny (played by now-Emmy-winning Luke Kirby) will evolve their relationship; tension in their relationship and careers would be a compelling Season 5 story arc.
My least favorite dynamic was between Midge and Susie. Whether it was riffing together about silly nonsense or working through professional challenges, they've always felt like two peas in a pod. But they were off a bit this season. The most awkward scene came when Midge tried to sneak Susie into a lesbian bar because she thought Susie was keeping that from her. Instead of proving she understands Susie, Midge merely revealed how little she knows about her as a person. They had other, more subtle, moments that added some wrinkles to their friendship. Overall, they were fine together, but I didn't like those weird moments.
Perhaps it was fitting, then, that Susie had one of the most heartfelt moments of the season when giving a eulogy for a man who had just two people show up for his funeral. She only knew the man because he was her landlord. But after he suddenly died, she dug into his life and found out all these cool nuggets about him, which immediately filler her with regret for not trying to learn about him when he was alive. Her eulogy was down-to-Earth; you could sense her hurt not only in losing someone around her, but more importantly in the possibility that someone could pass away with such little fanfair, including, she fears, herself.
Big speeches are nothing new with Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Midge's father, Abe, for example, had a couple of doozies. Abe's story took a fun turn when he took advantage of the opportunity to become a theatre critic for a major publication. Abe, who previously worked as a college professor and still carries every bit of poise and integrity that position usually requires, has an awkward responsibility to review a play written and directed by a nephew. But Abe didn't hold back his criticism of the show even though there's a huge conflict of interest. So after bashing the play, Abe gets flack right back, including during a Jewish church service. Apparently his Jewish community wants to ostricize him for not staying loyal to his family and Jews in general. I've seen that silly irrational pressure from many other groups of people, whether of different races, religions, or otherwise. People who feel like they are obligated to "protect their own kind" at the expense of the individual person's own judgment that may prove counter to some secret code of brotherhood or whatever it may be are just as guilty as any other outside group that may show irrational intolerances. Seriously, we can disagree about things and still treat each other with basic human decency and respect.
Other side characters got plenty of time to shine, too. Abe's wife Rose had an odd storyline about the big bad mobster-type influences in the matchmaking game (apparently these women don't mess around with this oh-so-serious industry). Joel's relationship with his current girlfriend Mei brings out more tension about acceptance because her parents would never want him to end up with a non-Jewish woman, let alone an Asian woman. That's not to mention how Joel struggled to Midge, his ex-wife who is still the mother of his children, into the equation.
Oh, then there's Sophie Lennon, who's rivalry with Midge took a predictable, but still-entertaining, path involving an unlikely team-up that, you guessed it, blew up in front of a live audience. Sophie's road to fixing her career after a meltdown on Broadway had a surprising amount of dignity, though, and I went from loathing the character to rooting for her, then rooting against her again.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is one of the wittiest, most well-written shows of its generation, and its star-studded cast is as brilliant as ever before. I can't wait to see how it all comes to an end in its final season, howeveer bittersweet that moment will be when it's all over.