Language: English
Season 4 of the multiple Emmy winning The Marvelous Mrs Maisel starts off seeming a bit unsure of its intentions. It does pick up exactly in the aftermath of the previous season’s ending, with Miriam (Midge) Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) paying for accidentally outing the country’s superstar crooner Shy Baldwin (Leroy McClain). She appears to have lost her mind, and also her clothes for a wee bit, and it is all a bit too hysterical even for Maiselverse. It has been two years since the finale of season 3 and perhaps our ears have grown to be not as tolerant towards decibels, which it once found amusing.
A lot is happening for sure – Midge is still fighting with her parents, her parents and her in-laws continue to find themselves in absurd situations in the household and lives they now share, Midge’s manager Susie (Alex Bornstein) in her own comically twisted ways is trying to recover the money she lost to gambling – which was Midge’s money, to be precise. We get the feeling that the plot is being set up for bigger things, but still the high energy levels of the characters in the speed at which they move and talk, makes you more dizzy than delirious - at least for the first two episodes that whizz past in a blur.
In Amazon Prime Video’s new format, the show dropped two episodes a week, over a month. The wait between episodes felt a bit tedious, but halfway down, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel retrieves some of that lost charm we fell in love with. For one, they return to that resplendent Riverside apartment we lived in for a little over two seasons. That scene in Season 3, when Abe (Tony Shalhoub) and Rose (Marine Hinkle) say goodbye to their apartment facing those massive river-side windows, the room bathed in the soft blue light of dusk, moments after Abe plays his grand piano in an empty room one last time, still breaks the heart. So it felt nice to see them come home, one that Midge manages to buy back for her parents. But this is 1960s New York, and women owning apartments still made them “look less feminine”. So, Abe and Rose establish a “cover story” that’s just the opposite of what actually happens.
Unlike in the first three seasons, the apartment does look more pastel and stage-like, than lived-in. In fact, nearly the entire fourth season appears just that – like the set design for a play. Somewhere, the touch of authenticity to the background seems to have taken a beating. It’s very likely a pandemic casualty, but the fragmented screenplay does not make it any better. What saves the wobbly boat from capsizing are the performances, especially by Alex Bornstein, Tony Shahloub, Jane Lynch as Midge’s shrewd archrival Sophie Lennon, and the ever-dreamy Luke Kirby as renowned 50s comedian Lenny Bruce.
Brosnahan as Midge continues to impress, but she isn’t given an arc to develop this season, and that feels like a colossal waste for a talent like her.
Midge, who has now sworn not to do any opening acts, works as an MC at The Wolford Strip Club. She fights for the part like Midge does, she aces it like Midge does and she then self-sabotages, again, just like Midge does. Oh, and she also spends a night in jail – her fourth consecutive night, across four seasons. The character goes around in circles, much like nearly every other character this season. Some parts of the ride are enjoyable, hilarious even, but overall, it feels as listless as Midge’s career at the moment.
Among the more absorbing acts in the eight-part season are the ones involving Lenny Bruce. First off, all that tender heat that has been building up between him and Midge over three seasons comes to beautiful fruition when they do some “very blue things in a very blue room”. We are also treated to the gorgeous interiors of Carnegie Hall, with Lenny in it - we cannot tell which is prettier. And we shall love Lenny forever for calling out Midge on her BS of “doing things my way”. “What does that mean?” Lenny asks. He chides her for putting him on a pedestal, tells her there is no honour or glamour in getting arrested. It could well be the best scene of the season where the legend lays it all out for Midge, taking things a few notches above in the final minutes. Lenny is the wake-up call that Midge needs. Kirby transforms into Lenny, his smooth on-stage jokes, that elegant swagger, the way he loosely holds his cigarette as he tilts his head and looks Midge straight in the eye – the actor lives the man.
Even for a largely lackluster season, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is never without its standout moments. For me, the real special ones were Susie’s eulogy at a friend’s funeral, Sophie Lennon’s comeback interview, Sophie and Midge face-off and Abe’s almost obituary for Moishe (Kevin Pollak). Abe’s idiosyncrasies would have rung repetitive, but the craft of Tony Shalhoub keeps it ever fresh – it’s a brand of sincerity and silliness we can't get enough of. We also see Rose slip into some very unexpected shoes, and boy, does she pull it off! I was sure I would add Milo Ventimiglia’s cameo to this list, but unfortunately, that did not leave an impression.
Adding a special touch to this season are the historic moments it integrates. From stately matters like JF Kennedy’s electoral campaign and his well-established reputation as a philanderer to small things like introducing tiny umbrellas to then unheard-of cocktails like banana daiquiris – the show paints a vivid picture of early 60s New York.
At eight episodes, the season feels two episodes too short. There are many loose ends that the makers will have to tie up in the fifth and final season. The writers need to give Midge a reason to not be wishy-washy and she must have something new to do. “Don’t plan. Work,” as Lenny tells her, in his earnest attempt to dissuade her from wasting away. Let’s hope she hears him. All through season four, we saw Susie and Midge kind of growing apart, with Susie trying to establish her own talent management firm, while gritting her teeth through Midge’s repeated career suicides. It doesn’t feel the right mood for this whimsical duo, whose chemistry has been the show’s highlight. Let’s hope they get back their groove. Timeline wise, the story appears to be inching towards 1966, the year when the legendary Lenny Bruce died – that sure will be heartbreaking to see if incorporated in the show.
The emphatic ending of Season 4 does hold a lot of promise. In the penultimate moment, Midge while walking through a blizzard, reads “go forward” on a billboard that actually says “Gordon Ford Show”. If the final season manages to do that, it will be a worthy send-off. It may happen yet.
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel season 4 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Kusumita Das is a freelance journalist from India currently living in Jerusalem. She writes on cinema, culture and travel, and in her free time tries to string together sentences in Hebrew.
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