Friday was far from alright for all involved in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 Episode 1 and The Marvelous Mrs. Masiel Season 4 Episode 2. when Midge returns to New York after being ousted from Shy Bawldin’s show. She does not take it well.
Meanwhile, Joel and Mei’s courtship is being attacked from both sides, Abe and Rose are pursuing new careers under Midge’s roof, and Susie is broke and accused of a felony.
Join TV Fanatic writers Mary Littlejohn, Mike Stack, Becca Newton, and Leora W. to discuss it all!!
Midge wants to be the opener at a Burlesque Club. React!
Mary Littlejohn: I love this!! It makes so much sense. There can’t be too much censorship. I think it may cause a rift between any older people in her life (her parents, her in-laws), but you see that freedom she felt in the jail cell, with all those women.
The only thing will be that her audience will be predominantly men — how will they respond to a woman who doesn’t take her clothes off in a venue where that’s expected?
Mike Stack: I think it’s an excellent choice for her. She always presents as a wild child, so at least that’s on-brand! I think she’s just trying to cook up some new plans after getting kicked off the tour.
I think it’ll be great and provide her a way to use new content (possibly, more risque content without getting in trouble).
Becca Newton: It’s an apt way to externalize the character’s journey by using the setting. Midge isn’t just in the unknown world now.
She’s heading to the underworld.
Leora W.: It makes sense and could be fun, but I keep thinking about how her mother didn’t understand the difference between what she did and being a prostitute. This will not help with that.
Midge is angry, humiliated, and going on about getting revenge on Shy Baldwin, another man who has wronged her, but she hasn’t taken any responsibility for what she’s done.
Given the set Midge performed and how homosexuality was viewed and treated at the time, how do you feel about Midge’s reaction?
Mary Littlejohn: This is a crucial distinction to make, and I feel like the show hasn’t entirely tackled it properly yet. Outing someone who is not ready to be out is unforgivable, and Midge needs to take ownership of that instead of focusing on her feelings.
Revenge? Yes, that opening set at the Gaslight was fantastic, but Shy was only retaliating because of what she did at the Apollo. I think Reggie does play some part in it, too, but he imposed all the blame on Midge.
I’d like to see her apologize to Shy, though I don’t know how they’d even get to be in the same room together.
It was interesting that seeing Shy’s engagement announcement caused her to break down. Maybe in some small way, she put a few of the pieces together and realized that the things she said did impact how he could live his life moving forward.
Mike Stack: I think she has the right to be a little angry, but “getting revenge” is stretching it for me. She needs to admit that what she did was wrong before taking a vengeful stance.
Outing someone is not something that should ever happen (especially in that time period). She crossed a line and is learning from her mistake, and hopefully will come out a better person.
Becca Newton: I’m not surprised. Midge’s inability to recognize her words hurt people is her tragic flaw. It’s something she needs to overcome, but I’m doubtful it will happen.
Leora W.: I love how Becca just doesn’t expect them ever to address this; as a veteran of ASP shows, she knows which way the wind tends to blow. I hope she’s wrong, though, because it needs to be addressed, as Mary and Mike said.
I think Mary made an excellent observation regarding Shy’s engagement, and maybe, someday, they will be in a room together. We never expected Benjamin to return either. Of course, Shy was never a love interest.
Susie had to go to Joel for Midge’s money, but not relying on money from her (ex) husband is a large part of why Midge went into comedy in the first place. Do you think Midge will find out the truth, and how might it change her relationship with Susie and/or Joel?
Mary Litttlejohn: Midge is still going by “Mrs. Maisel.” Like it or not, she and Joel will forever be connected. I think this will be more of an issue between Midge and Susie since Susie is the one who lost Midge’s money. I wonder if Mei will have an issue with Joel being so involved in his ex-wife’s finances and if that will be a dealbreaker for her.
Mike Stack: Midge will most definitely find out the truth (eventually). Susie made a mistake going to Joel for money. I’m glad Joel warned her not to do anything shifty with Midge’s money, but I also feel that Susie already crossed a line (by losing the money).
I don’t think Midge will be angry at Joel, but it will definitely cause a rift with Susie this season. They haven’t always been on the same page, and this will just be another one of those instances.
Becca Newton: I think this will cause a bigger wrench in Midge and Susie’s relationship than it will with Midge and Joel’s. I have a feeling that the season-ending cliffhanger will be the dissolution of Midge and Susie’s partnership, with the money situation as a contributing factor.
Leora W.: I think you guys are correct, and I’m glad. Not about the Susie of it all, obviously, but I like where Midge and Joel are right now.
Midge’s parents live with her, but they are making it look like she’s a charity case while getting on her nerves? s Midge in the right to be upset? Will the truth come out? Will the living situation be able to continue??
Mary Littlejohn: The truth will probably come out, but I think, for now, Midge is just going to have to deal with it. It is an immense help to her to have them live there — free childcare, for one, when Midge isn’t exactly raking it in, gives her a lot more freedom.
Mike Stack: She is going to have to deal with it for now. This can’t be easy for her parents, either. They will have the occasional confrontations, but I think they’ll all manage. They’re all strong people.
Becca Newton: The living situation will continue. If the truth comes out, I don’t see it causing a significant shift in Midge’s relationship with her parents. No matter how old or financially independent the child gets, parents always see their child as their child.
Leora W.: Depends on the parents, Becca, but yes, the living situation seems like it’ll be status quo for now. I do hope the truth comes out, though. Midge needs a win.
Imogen has been giving her husband the cold shoulder since he nearly cheated on her, and she’s been at secretarial school to safeguard herself, but when he tried to confront her, she seduced him? W at do you think her reasoning was? W ll their marriage survive or go the same way as Midge and Joel’s?
Mary Littlejohn: I think she just did it as a reminder just before he goes out, like, “Remember, this is what you’ve got at home. Don’t go doing something crazy while you’re out.” She’s taking charge in all aspects of her life. Go, Imogene!
Mike Stack: I love Imogene. Ever since her first-season rambling monologues, she’s been one of my favorite randomly occurring characters.
I hope to see her and her husband make it, but ultimately I want what’s best for her and for her storyline to be fleshed out. I think she’s a brilliant friend for Midge, and hopefully, their relationship stays strong.
Becca Newton: Imogen has a flair for making her point in the most dramatic way possible — no half-measures for her. Currently, I say the marriage is headed for divorce, but I’ll be more certain once we know how she feels about being in the working world.
If she genuinely loves it, I think she embraces it much more than Midge — who is still torn between stardom and nostalgia for her life with Joel — has the comedy world so far.
Leora W.: Becca, I hope you’re wrong. I don’t want them to get divorced. It s too predictable. Mike, glad to know I’m not the only Imogene fan (though I confess, for me, it started because of her role on Bunheads).
Speaking of Joel and his relationships, will he overcome Mei’s parents, and what will happen when he tells his parents about their relationship? How will they feel about him dating a Chinese girl, and how will she deal with their inevitable prejudice?
Mary Littlejohn: She never said they were her parents. (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)
Wouldn’t it be something if Shirley was just totally accepting of Mei? She’s in school to be a doctor, after all.
But seriously, conflict is drama, and drama with these characters is where the comedy happens, so I think Joel and Mei will just have to decide how much grief they are willing to tolerate from both sets of parents if they want to continue their relationship.
They have to decide how important they are to each other.
Mike Stack: One thing — I think Shirley’s heart is in the right place, but she needs to back off. Joel needs to learn and love on his own (I say that, but he does need a push sometimes, such a naive man).
Mei is a strong person, and I don’t think she’ll take much flack from Joel’s parents. She’ll deal fine, but Joel seems to be the type to get caught in a crossroads of pleasing his parents and pleasing his girlfriend.
Becca Newton: I hope it’s not just a rehash of their reactions to Penny Pan. The show’s treatment of Joel’s evolving relationship with his parents has been done well, and I’d like to see that continue when they meet Mei.
Leora W.: I don’t want a repeat of Penny either, but I feel like Joel would go to bat for Mei in a way he never would for Penny because he was never earnest about Penny. And yes, Mei can hold her own for sure.
Who else felt so bad for that pregnant girl, though? That was so uncool of Shirley to put her in that position. She does need to back off, but I don’t really expect her to. That’s the character. BTW, Mary, you’re commentary is hilarious.
We didn’t see much of Rose’s new job. Are you disappointed? Will it change? Wh t do we want to see? And how did Abe not know that his parents hired a matchmaker for him?
Mary Littlejohn: I think we’ll be getting some more of Rose’s job soon enough. There’s so much to be made of it, but how many new characters do we have room for, really? We’ve already got Abe’s new job.
And there are only eight episodes in the season. It would somehow need to serve the main narrative and not be a side-plot.
Abe is an intelligent man, but he’s a bit more clueless in personal matters. I’m not surprised at all that he didn’t realize it was a matchmaking set-up.
Mike Stack: We definitely need to see more. There has been a lot of focus on Abe. Abe lives in a world of naivety, or at least he used to. He didn’t know, probably because he chose not to see it. Now that he’s coming out of that world, he’s starting to see different things around him.
Rose’s job will be an interesting topic, and I do want to see how it evolves her in parallel to Abe. It may make the season too convoluted, but I think they’ll be worse off never showing her job after introducing it.
Becca Newton: I’m not disappointed given how much needed to be set up and expect to see more of it in upcoming installments. I hope it’s a success.
I would’ve been far more shocked if Abe was aware his parents hired a matchmaker. Re ember, this is a man who didn’t notice his wife moved away to Paris for weeks.
Leora W.: I hear what you’re saying about Abe being socially clueless. And we are pretty early on, and the episodes were full, so as long as we get more of this matchmaking bit eventually.
I just feel like Abe has come a long way towards understanding Midge and the changes she made, but not so much with Rose. I want her to soberly watch her daughter’s act and laugh and tell her she’s proud of her and that she gets it.
Abe’s new job gave us a whole new cast of characters (including a GG alum). Did we like the characters/dynamics at the paper? Do we want to see more? How do we feel about Abe’s low paycheck and him enjoying this job more than being a professor?
Mary Littlejohn: It’s fun; I love the energy of this side-cast! I love that. I think it helps him understand Midge a bit more, as we got in that lovely scene with them at the end of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 Episode 2.
It’s great to see someone discover their passion later in life — it proves it’s never too late to follow your dream.
I can see worlds colliding here, with Midge rising to stardom and the Voice covering it, then Abe having an in there, but being ashamed because she’s working in a burlesque club.
It’s possible he’ll find out about her new gig before she is brave enough to tell him and Rose.
Mike Stack: As I mentioned, Abe has always been troubled and living in his own little bubble. I’m glad he’s venturing out of his bubble, and I think that it’ll be good to see him mature more.
He already seems to be a little more affable, and I’m excited to see where this new job takes him (mentally and literally).
I am enjoying the new cast of characters we are getting from his job. I think he is going to start understanding Midge more, and I’m glad for it.
Becca Newton: Even beyond the “Tony Shalhoub can make anything entertaining” factor, I’m digging this storyline. I’m excited to see more, and Chris Eigeman is a good addition. Abe s feelings about his professional life and the paycheck ring true.
Leora W.: I love the new cast! New rooms are always fun (on TV). And Chris Elgeman did a great job. Mary, later in life, dreams coming true is inspirational; it’s true. I wouldn’t mind him covering her show, but having him see her before she tells her mom would seem like a repeat of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2.
Who was the MVP of the episodes, and why?
Mary Littlejohn: The ensemble. As I said in my review, everyone pulls their weight. It’s such a tight cast with great chemistry who work well together. I couldn’t single one person out who did more heavy lifting than the others.
Mike Stack: Imogene, but I’m biased. I just love her. I’m hoping we get more of her in the coming episodes.
Becca Newton: Mary, I agree; the ensemble is the MVP. I can’t single anyone out. Everyone is a scene-stealer. Mike, I also agree with wanting more screen time for Imogen.
Leora W.: I love the shout-out to Imogene, but I marvel at just how far Joel’s character has come.
Did you have a favorite scene, quote, or anything else that stuck out that you want to talk about?
Mary Littlejohn: There were SO many good quotes and laugh-out-loud moments. The Wonder Wheel scene, of course, was incredible.
She never really jumped out at me before, but I loved Emily Bergl as Tess, Susie’s sister. Their dynamic is so different from Susie/Midge, and I like how they play off each other but still have that deep sense of sisterly connection.
Bergl is underrated but deserves a mention. That ditzy, sex-happy secretary is very much a stereotype in this type of comedy, but she just owns it.
Also, I dig Gideon Glick as Alfie, the magician, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in future episodes.
The scene with him and Susie at the bar was weird and different from anything we’ve seen on this show before, venturing into something a bit more fantastical. I’m interested to see where the show takes it.
Mike Stack: I’m personally getting tired of the Sophie Lennon plot. I was ‘t a fan of the storyline when it was introduced, and my opinion on that has not changed. It’s tiring. I enjoy Lynch’s performance, but I’m ready for her to be written off.
Becca Newton: The scene between Midge and Abe commiserating about the cost of pursuing your passion. Well, acted, well written — it’s a lovely scene between father and daughter with a poignant message.
Leora W.: I was fed up with Sophie ages ago. She needs to move on. Mary, you’re right about Susie’s sister. I just loved her. And wh t exactly happened with that magician? That part confused me.
I agree with Becca about the scene with Abe and Midge. They’ve come a long way.
Over to you, Maisel Fans. Do you agree with us?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Streams Fridays on Amazon Prime.
Leora W is a staff writer for TV Fanatic..
