One day you drink too much, get on a stage, tell some jokes to strangers and the other you are an internationally celebrated stand-up comedian. Well, it might not be that easy, as Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) has proven, during the five seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The show’s finale premiered today on Amazon Prime Video and it’s going to be very missed!
Since its debut season, the series has gathered a legion of very loyal fans, as well as numerous awards, including 20 Emmys and 3 Golden Globes. The resounding success is due to the very original plot and extremely creative script, written by Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls) and Daniel Palladino (Family Guy), as well as the incredible performance by the entire cast. With that being said, was the last season everything we hoped for? And did the show get the ending it deserved?
Season 5
(SPOILER ALERT)
The fourth season of the show closed with a very tense dialogue between Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) and Midge. In the bit, the experienced comedian lectures the protagonist for refusing to open for Tony Bennett at the Copa, as she was determined to only perform in places where she was the main act and could say whatever she wanted, even if that meant staying at the Wolford.
He very intensely tells her that she should aspire for greater things, working on big stages and being around important people. Only like that would she get the recognition she deserved in the business. Watching that scene, it very much felt like a turning point for the show and that going forward it would be – go big or go home.
However, some would argue that the beginning of its closing chapter was a bit slow. As Midge starts in a new position writing for the Gordon Ford show, it looked like the plot could fall back on the same rising, challenge-overcoming trajectory that we have seen the lead go through for the last 4 seasons (which tbh sounds very on brand with the trajectory of …life).
But something was different. If Mrs. Maisel has always demonstrated enormous courage and self-confidence, in previous seasons, she was still trying to figure out the place comedy took in her life and was going with the flow, as the opportunities popped up. This time around, she’s got the full hold of her career and is one hundred percent focused on one specific professional goal: appearing on the Gordon Ford show. And nothing was going to stop her from doing that.
This season highlights how the protagonist prioritizes her career over other things, such as family and friends. And the fun part is: we get to see the consequences of those life choices, as the writers provide the fans with flash-forwards to Midge’s life.
It’s never easy to put a full stop to a story, especially to one that’s been going for 6 years. And choosing to show how a character looks in the future is a always – risky – alternative, as the future version could end up not matching very well to the present one (Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, I am looking at you).
However, it works in this situation, because it allows The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to go into more detail about other parts of Midge’s personal life, such as her friendship with Susie (Alex Borstein) and her problematic relationship with her kids and lovers.
Even though the build-up of the flash-forwards is a bit rushed, this season succeeds in adding unforgettable reflections and an emotional weight which the show has missed in some moments. Abe’s (Tony Shalloub) monologue in the eighth episode about how he never took his daughter seriously is simply amazing!
Despite it being a comedy series, not everything in life can be brushed off with some laughs and the writers are very aware of that. “It’s a little bit of like, you know, you give up certain things in life to get certain things in life”, Amy Sherman – Palladino commented in a recent interview with People.
And Midge made very clear what she wanted to get in her last act on the show, “I want a big life. I want to experience everything. I want to break every single rule there is”.We can just hope that she found happiness, while doing all of that. At least, we can rest on the fact that she had Susie by her side.
PS: Please, let us have an Esther spin-off!
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The article above was edited by Fernanda Miki Tsukase.
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