The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (5×04) Susan Review

For our spoiler-free review of the three episode premiere of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5, click here.

All the pieces are starting to come together. This latest episode saw situations escalate and/or deescalate as it will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Starting things off, Nicky (John Scurti) and Frank (Erik Palladino) have done so much for Susie that now, they needed her to reciprocate by doing a favor for them to finally make them square. They needed Midge to take the lead in the private demolition and waste management themed musical they were producing for a New York industrial show. Susie basically had to guilt her into doing it for which she accepted despite the short notice and having to juggle it and her current full time job. Meanwhile, the day after at The Gordon Ford show, Gordon asked her out in the midst of he being married. He claimed that he and his wife Hedy had a special arrangement but Midge refused though it will probably not be the end of that.

The musical was not looking promising but Midge soldiered on nonetheless. That being said, the first performance was surprisingly full of production value considering the circumstances with her reading from a script because she didn’t have enough time to learn the lines. However, a dilemma appeared as the comedian scheduled to appear on The Gordon Ford show mysteriously disappeared, leaving them to find a replacement at the last minute. Seizing the opportunity, Midge offered herself though it conflicted with the second of the two musical performances she promised. Little did she know, the show had a long standing rule that those who worked on the show could not appear on the show. All the while, Sophie Lennon made a surprise appearance to fill the void left by the missing comedian (her game show was shot in a studio down the hall but this was her first appearance on the show). In a bad mood, she was not happy as she appeared for her second musical performance anyway and fumbled it with Joel, Esther, and Ethan appearing in the audience, upsetting Nicky and Frank in the process. They were no longer square Brosnahan showing Midge’s dismissive nonchalant-ness the second time around was hilarious but the result of it did not go unnoticed by Joel.

In other news:

Rose and Abe had a contentious evening as a result of a disagreement following a theatre show before they later reconciled. In any other hands, it probably would not have worked as well but the great chemistry of Marin Hinkle and Tony Shalhoub really sell it. The end of the episode saw Susie once again confront the Gordon Ford show talent booker, Mike Carr (Jason Ralph), about their rule (the two absolutely don’t like each other which makes it all the more better thanks to the chemistry of Borstein and Ralph). Janusz (Alexander Gemignani) proposed to Zelda! The former had been hanging around the apartment for a long time, contributing to the household, and the two were clearly hitting it off so it was only a matter of time.

still courtesy of Amazon Studios

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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.