The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Season Five Premiere Review

The following is a spoiler-free review of the first three episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5, premiering this Friday on Prime Video.

It’s hard to think that the adventures of Mrs. Maisel will soon be coming to an end but alas, the fifth and final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is certainly off to a great start following this three episode premiere. It’s all about finding that endgame as the season positions her and her career towards her future and offering a glimpse of where she and select characters would eventually end up. While there’s surely a lot of work still to come to mind that time gap, it’s certainly interested to see the story on a more macro level. Taking the story in a different direction, it didn’t quite fit at least for now. As a whole, the season has not missed a beat in terms of writing and performances with Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein leading the way. However, this is still very much an ensemble series and they had their chances to shine as the dysfunction is taken to another level. That being said, these first three episodes saw Midge take the spotlight as she embarked on the next stage of her career.

However, the season started with Midge not necessarily at her best as her time in the snowstorm left suffering from hypothermia and delirious so much so that Rose called upon Susie to get her out of her funk. Susie, on the other hand, was kicking tires on a potential opportunity with the Gordon Ford (Reid Scott) show and being a determined nuisance while she helped Midge knock the rust off her act. Eventually, that work paid off but this also meant adapting to a new lifestyle. This came with an adjustment period as she had to learn the ropes all over again. Though she found herself out of her element once again, she had to prove herself once again surrounded by men. She stood up for what she thought was funny and ultimately, she was right and it is still satisfying to see her succeed. In the end, it was just another chance for Midge to show off her scrappiness and it did not go unnoticed. However, her latest opportunity may have come under different circumstances.

In contrast to Midge, things were not going as well for Joel as he went from having Mei was out of the picture to being in the middle of his parents’ surprising divorce and what was even less surprising was Moishe and Shirley’s unique dysfunction trickling down to his professional life in uncomfortably hilarious ways. Compared to he and Midge, his parents’ divorce got heated as opposed to their continued dedication to support each other and their children. Above all else, what they had in common was their parents’ uncanny ability to make situations worse under the guise of trying to be helpful. Meanwhile, Rose and Abe got themselves into low stakes trouble to which their various insecurities led them to believe it to be the opposite of course. Though when it came to the former, there may be more there.

At the end of the day, the best part of the premiere of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 is the aforementioned Brosnahan and Borstein. Brosnahan lights up the screen as always and brings plenty of energy as Midge while her likability and relatability give a boost to her early character arc. The chemistry between she and Borstein is also as good as ever as the latter does what Susie does best and that is to think outside the box and play dirty to get what she wants and had no qualms about it. All things considered, the chemistry went much further than Brosnahan and Borstein as everyone were on their game. They were a blast to watch together and that comes from their strong performances but also the strong writing and directing to support them. Guided by the usual suspects, it is clear that they still know what they’re doing.

Ultimately, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is off to a great start to its final season in what was a greatest hits of sorts. Striking the right chord for the most part, the things that have kept viewers coming back nevertheless find a way to shine through.

still courtesy of Prime Video

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.