Photo:Philippe Antonello/Prime Video
Philippe Antonello/Prime Video
This post contains spoilers for the season finale of Prime Video’sThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselhas officially drawn the curtains shut.
While the first four seasons were set within the late 1950s and 1960s, the show’s fifth and final season spanned all the way through the 1990s. Midge was still struggling professionally at the start of season 5 but was hired as a writer forThe Gordon Ford Show, where she was forced to compete with her male colleagues.
As the show initially jumped to the future, Midge had managed to forge a successful career for herself. But she dropped Susie (Alex Borstein) as her manager and had cultivated a messy, personal life that includes four broken marriages and strained relationships.
The entire season — and the show as a whole — was building to where Midge would ultimately end up in the series finale amid her continued pursuit of a successful comedy career. And her friendship with Susie remained at the center of it all.
Toward the start of the episode, Midge and Susie discussed the comedian’s recent big ask of her manager: To pull some strings and get Midge “more” out of her career. This required Susie to ask her college roommate (and current wife of Midge’s boss) to pull some strings to get Midge featured on theGordon Ford Show. This big ask was especially complicated for Susie because of her “disastrous” former ties with Gordon’s wife — the only person she’d ever been in love with.
Later at her place of work, Gordon (Reid Scott) pulled Midge aside to tell her that she was going to be on the show. But she was not given much notice to prepare — Gordon wanted her to appear on the episode shooting that night. This shakeup angered Gordon (whose wife pressured him into putting Midge on the show because he “owed” her) as well as the male writers with whom she’d been working closely.
Midge picked up a snazzy new dress for her big night and invited several of her loved ones, some of whom were experiencing life changes of their own. Former father-in-law Moishe (Kevin Pollak), for example, was ready to announce he’d decided to retire and sell his Maisel & Roth clothing company.
Not everyone was on board to for Midge’s big break: Midge’s mother Rose (Marin Hinkle) — with whom she had long had a rocky bond — initially said she was “not going” because she never received a formal invitation, and she even called her daughter a “compulsive liar” when Midge said she’d been trying to contact Rose to extend an invite. The phone, hilariously, was off the hook and Rose subsequently received multiple phone calls from others about attending. With that, Rose and husband Abe (Tony Shalhoub) made their way down to the studio, even racing through extreme traffic and navigating unhelpful cab drivers to do so.
As Midge prepared for her big moment backstage, Gordon expressed confusion with her “fancy” outfit choice. Midge argued that the occasion merited a dress of that caliber, but she was in for a rude awakening as Gordon said: “Your act? You’re not doing your act. … Let me clear this up for you. You’re not coming on to perform. You’re coming on as a writer. See if you can borrow a sweater or something to throw over that [dress].”
As much as this entire situation “stinks,” Midge didn’t let Gordon’s restrictions — which also included her seated on a stool away from the couch designated for “real guests” — stop her. She proceeded to answer Gordon’s questions as planned, despite his failure to genuinely pay her any mind while asking her a series of sexist queries. As her humor began to shine through with each answer, Gordon and his “ego” had enough. He requested to cut to commercial — even though the segment still had “four minutes left.” But he was eventually convinced to finish it out.
Seconds before the show returned from break, Midge told Gordon she didn’t mean to force his hand since not featuring writers on the show was against his rule. And while he accepted her apology, Midge added that she’s “never been great at following rules.”
Midge told Gordon and the audience that she is a comedian that was “pretending to be a writer.” And upon suggesting she “get up and do what I came here to do,” the audience erupted in cheers. She — even after Gordon tried to pull her back — then went on to perform an incredibly hilarious yet candid set that scored her many cheers, including from the male writers she often butted heads with.
She even earned praise from Gordon, who then asked her to join him on the couch for a post-set interview where he agreed she was “not a writer.” And while everything was cheery between them as he raved about “the marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” he whispered to her with a smile that she was “fired.” But this, fortunately, was the beginning of an illustrious entertainment career for Midge.
From there, viewers are treated to another time jump as things leaped forward to 2005. A much older Midge was seen in an office, where she was discussing her busy work schedule during a meeting with some of her staff.
After the meeting concluded, Midge walked out of the room with several more staffers, one of whom attempted to teach her how to use her cell phone. It was revealed that she was living alone in a massive home where she looked fondly at a photo of herself and former husband–turned–close companion Joel on their wedding day.
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All five seasons ofThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselare now streaming on Prime Video.
source: people.com
