From the creators of an all-time classic sitcom, “Gilmore Girls,” Amy Sherman-Palladino is back with another hit show that took the world by storm, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” For what seemed like months, people would talk about this show everywhere. Die-hard fans, just like me, would wait patiently for the episodes and binge them as soon as they were released. In a world of superheroes, shows like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Squid Game,” and “Money Heist,” to name a few, were a breath of fresh air that brought people variety as well as served as a turning point from sitcoms to web series. In this article, of course, we will discuss the series and all that the viewers should know about before tuning in to the brand-new and probably last season. It has been a long, excruciating wait that the producers put us all through before announcing the big news: season 5 will finally air on Amazon Prime.
Season 1: How Did She Become Mrs. Maisel from Simply Miriam Maisel?
Stand-up comedy has been around for a long time now. Special Records for Stand-Up had found its way into the market as the public over the decades enjoyed a good laugh here and there. Due to the Internet, Stand-up comedy specials became the new hot thing yet again during the recent years, which is why when “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” was released, it was welcomed with gusto. The show introduces our main protagonist, a female comic, the ever-charming Miriam Maisel, as an outstanding housewife. In the beginning, she is still helping her husband, Joel Maisel, who has no penchant for comedy, become a comic. However, one fateful night out at the Gaslight, their usual haunt to perform comedy, everything changes after Joel bombs his stolen set. The disappointment takes a toll on him as he also comes clean about his affair with Penny Pann, his secretary. Heartbroken by Joel’s betrayal and in a drunken stupor, Miriam takes the next step, which changes the very trajectory of her life.
The first season follows her on a journey where she discovers her calling in life with the help of Susie, who recognized her talent from the very beginning. Miriam begins her career as a comic with a few nudges here and there. She gets arrested and meets Lenny Bruce, a fellow comic who has a huge impact on her career, and she also gets a new job at B. Altman. Miriam delves deep into her new career with her newfound independence as she makes new friends. She faces setbacks in her career from early on, as Sophie Lennon blacklists her after Miriam tears through Sophie’s farce of a comedic set. She diverges from her career path as a comic multiple times, only for Susie to ground her to reality and help her in every step, pushing her to fight back against Sophie Lennon. Joel and Miriam almost get together again, but her prowess in comedy makes Joel leave yet again. Lenny helps her deal with Sophie as he appears at the Gaslight to show his support for her. At the end of the first season, Miriam finds her identity as a female comic, and Mrs. Maisel quickly becomes a rising star.
Season 2: How Did Miriam Find A New Direction In Her Life And Career?
After the spat with Penny at B. Altman, Miriam landed behind the scenes, taking calls. She is quickly promoted to man the coatroom after the sordid demotion. Her newfound friends do not abandon her, and to show her gratitude, she uses her skills of persuasion to help plan a perfect wedding for her friend. In Season 2, she embarks on a new journey to Paris with her father to bring her mother back. Her parents engage in a whirlwind romance as her mother, Rose, finds herself after all the uncertainties she faces. After a quick vacation in Paris, Miriam and her family find themselves preparing hastily for the Catskills. She has not missed a single visit to the Catskills in the many years she has lived. Susie winds up in the Catskills, too, to keep an eye out and book slots at clubs for Miriam.
Noah, Miriam’s brother, and his wife, Astrid, come down to the Catskills as well. Abe, Miriam, and Noah’s father find out some pretty big secrets as he realizes that neither he nor Rose really knows their kids. Noah works for the CIA at the highest level, which had been a secret only divulged to Abe after he had brought Noah to his office and had intended to also get him to work at the same office. But before finding out about Noah, Abe had ventured outside of the Catskills to escape from Miriam’s in-laws and accidentally found out about Miriam’s stand-up career. Meanwhile, Rose continued to find a match for her daughter. To put an end to her schemes, Miriam goes out with Benjamin. Miriam tells him that she is a comic and that she also works at B. Altman. From the get-go, Benjamin is nothing but supportive of her career and choices; he quickly becomes the Mr. Right for Miriam, and they get engaged. Miriam confesses her career in comedy to her parents, Abe and Rose, and her parents-in-law, Moishe and Shirley. She also gears up to travel for her first road trip with Susie. The second season ends with Susie getting Miriam a gig on television which opens doors for many lucrative offers, one such offer being opening for Shy Baldwin, a sensational singer. Miriam immediately accepts his offer and agrees to tour with him, breaking off her engagement with Benjamin.
Season 3: How Did The Tour With Shy Baldwin Become The Break Miriam Was Looking For?
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Season 3 brought about a sense of belonging and a sense of change in Miriam and her family. Abe had given up his job as a professor at Columbia, while Rose, for the very first time, stood up to her brothers and demanded a seat amongst the other board members. Rose had lost the money from her trust fund due to her newfound independence. They had lost the apartment Miriam had grown up in and moved back to after breaking up with Joel because it had been provided by the University of Columbia. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, Abe and Rose took up residency at Moishe and Shirley’s house. Moishe and Shirley had graciously accepted them; however, this marked the beginning of chaos in the calm lives of Abe and Rose. Joel began to work for his own dreams as well because he opened a nightclub in Chinatown while also finding a partner in Mei, Joel’s girlfriend, who sometimes helps him with the legalities of the club while pursuing her medical degree.
Meanwhile, Miriam had been on tour with Susie, and Susie had taken on Sophie as another of her clients after getting permission from Miriam. Susie began juggling both Miriam and Sophie’s responsibilities as she prepared Sophie for her Broadway debut while helping Miriam get ready for her opening gigs with Shy. Miriam had amassed an audience for herself in the few days of her tour, while she also found a friend in Shy. She gave him the opportunity to be vulnerable and helped him through incidents he did not want his manager, Reggie, to know about. In the two months of Shy’s absence, during which he had taken time off for his mental health, Miriam had scored a lot of voice-acting gigs. She got paid properly for some and got paid in kind for others; however, she remained exhausted due to all the running around she had to do every day.
Being on tour with Shy meant she would travel to a lot of places and thus get to enjoy those places to her heart’s content. However, as soon as she had her career on track, she faced the biggest setback. With Sophie, her confidence had not taken a hit because she had been a hit and had fought through the blacklisters with the help of Susie and Lenny. But with Shy Baldwin, her confidence had suffered greatly because she had considered him a friend, and he had not given her a second chance, even after she apologized for some of the jokes she had made. Although the audience loved her, Shy had dropped her from the tour unceremoniously on the tarmac of the airport without so much as an explanation. The season ended with Susie comforting Miriam as she cried while the plane took off with her dreams but without her.
Season 4: How Did Miriam Make Up Her Mind About Saying No To Opening Acts?
Miriam had her first mental breakdown after Shy Baldwin left her standing with Susie. They made their way back to the Gaslight, as Miriam did not want to go back to Queens just yet. The morning after, Miriam asked for her share of the money Susie had been keeping for her. Miriam had not trusted herself with that money and had told Susie to look after it till the end of the tour because she had needed to pay Moishe for the apartment she and Joel had lived in and that she had purchased from him. Susie and her sister Tess, during Miriam’s show at the Apollo before Shy had taken off, had committed arson for insurance money. Susie was waiting for the check because she had gambled away all of the money she and Miriam made. Susie had gone to Joel for safekeeping Miriam’s money but hadn’t exactly handed him any of that money. Joel would hand Susie the money, if she asked it for Miriam. Thus, for the time being before Susie got the money back from the check, it seemed easier for her to ask Joel for a loan and give it to Miriam. Miriam finds a steady flow of cash while she emcees at an illegal strip club to keep up with her payments to Moishe.
The next few days pass by in utter turmoil as Susie gets emotional after she loses her close friend Jackie. Joel thinks of taking the next step with Mei as the nightclub earns him pretty well, and she confesses to him that she is pregnant. However, all of their lives come to a skidding halt as Moishe has a heart attack after Joel tells him about Mei. He has to be hospitalized soon after, and the whole family is beside themselves with worry. Rose finds herself a new job as a matchmaker as she successfully helps couples find their happily ever after. She lands a new client, and with the new client come new enemies who find her matchmaking business a threat. Rose’s new entrepreneurship is also threatened by her daughter Miriam’s job at the strip club. Susie launches a new magician, gets a new space for an office, and also a secretary. Miriam confronts Shy at his wedding and realizes that he is truly alone now, while also refusing his offer of restarting their friendship because she had learned the hard way that in show business, nobody is a friend.
By the end of Season 4, Susie lands another new comic with the help of her secretary, Diana. Lenny inspires Miriam to start looking for new gigs and talks her up to Tony Benett, who gives her his spot because Lenny will be performing at Carnegie Hall. The season ends with Lenny giving Miriam a wake-up call after he finds out that she had refused Tony Benett’s offer and had been refusing all opening act gigs. He wanted Miriam to reach new heights in her career because he knew what she was capable of, and thus, it almost broke his heart when he saw Miriam’s stubborn qualities were leading her down a slippery slope. Lenny’s words had a huge impact on Miriam as she contemplated what she had been doing and wondered if her game plan was really good enough. She wandered through the streets in a blizzard as she finally came to a standstill and made up her mind to move forward.
Season 5 Expectations: What Will Miriam Do Next?
The setback she faced after Shy had unceremoniously ditched her had both scared and scarred Miriam. She was afraid of getting rejected again and again and had made up her mind to stick to the salacious illegal joint she had been performing at, where she could say anything and everything without facing judgment. She was scared of speaking her mind and facing yet another judgment that would set her career back. For every step ahead she took, she went at least five steps back. Her building insecurities were leading to her downfall, and if Lenny had not given her the wake-up call she needed at Carnegie Hall, Miriam would continue on the path to her downfall. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Season 5 would be a new beginning for Miriam because instead of turning down gigs here and there, she would be accepting the ones needed for an increment in her career. She needs a confidence boost and a big break without judgment because she could definitely rock the world of comics and become one of the best, and that too in heels.
