# The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 3 *SPOILERS*



## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Just binged all the way through Season 3 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." Eight episodes this season.

They went over the top a few times. No, more than a few times. But I still enjoyed it all.

No spoilers in this OP, but but I added the warning so that follow-up posts have the option.

BTW, there's a brief scene where New York's 1010 WINS radio station can be heard playing music. That may come as a surprise to most people because it has been an all-news station for more than half a century. But it was a Top 40 music station until 1965, and the show's third season is set in 1960. So there's that.


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## Howie (May 3, 2004)

Dang, I haven't watched all of S2 yet. Most of it, in fact.


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## Regina (Mar 30, 2003)

I won't give away any spoilers, but I am through episode 4 of season 3 and I think I have laughed more this season than in the previous 2 combined! Season 3 is a laugh riot!


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

I've only just begun, but really enjoyed the opening show; just imagining the grandeur (and cost) of it, with the size of the cast--wow! (It also brought a tear to my eye, just the spirit of it and the context of it/the nation.)


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

I don’t think this is much of a spoiler, but we have Mary Ann Mobley (Miss America 1959) in the first episode and Moms Mabley in the last episode. The similarity in their names seems kind of intentional.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Another side note: The two young tap dancers in the final episode (at the Apollo Theater) are supposed to be Maurice and Gregory Hines, according to the credits.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

I watched the season this weekend. There were parts I loved (Midge, Susie, the usual cast of characters) and parts I hated (way too much music and dancing throughout). I feel like content and time wise that there were only 5-6 episodes of story with the other 2-3 episodes being music and dancing filler. What there was of story though, I really enjoyed, just wish there had been more story and less filler. YMMV.

Rose's visit to her family was entertaining. Providence wasn't the Providence I was expecting her to visit! The family jokes about Abe and the stairs got old fast, which I'm sure is how Rose felt so we got to share her pain. 

Joel's secretary made a great bouncer.


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

I don’t think Midge realized what she was doing to Shy Baldwin in her performance at the Apollo. 
I have to wonder if Shy fired her or if it was all Reggie.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

One of the things that makes Midge so funny is she has no filter when she's performing. As soon as she went down that path I figured there would be repercussions. I think if it was Reggie doing the firing that Reggie would have said so. And if Shy hadn't wanted her fired then she wouldn't have been fired. So I think it was Shy.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

I'm just finished with episode 5 and I agree about too much singing/dancing. I found myself forwarding through a lot of it this episode. Also on a superficial note, why hasn't she jumped Lenny Bruce already? Dude is fire.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

photoshopgrl said:


> Also on a superficial note, why hasn't she jumped Lenny Bruce already? Dude is fire.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

Mikeguy said:


>


Your reply made me think it was yet to happen. Joke was on me when I finished the season and he never even showed back up. 

I liked it but what was she thinking with that act...... it was clearly over the line talking about chiffon and makeup and judy garland shoes during that era.


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## zalusky (Apr 5, 2002)

I just finished the binge tonight. I enjoyed a lot of it but I could done without the Sophie Lennon story. The singing and dancing did not bother me as the production quality is so good on this show.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

I guess my main complaint is looking back over the seasons, I feel like we got less of her actually doing the stand up and more of the singing and dancing. I definitely could have done without the Sophie storyline only because it was such a build up with Susie trying to juggle managing both of them, that it seemed to take up space that could have been filled with other characters. I would have also liked more with Benjamin and Midge. I liked their dynamic even if not as a couple.

Don't get me wrong, these are minor complaints. Even the singing/dancing didn't bother me THAT much. I still love the show and wish there was more than 8 episodes, especially since we'll have another year to wait for a new season.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

photoshopgrl said:


> I guess my main complaint is looking back over the seasons, I feel like we got less of her actually doing the stand up and more of the singing and dancing. I definitely could have done without the Sophie storyline only because it was such a build up with Susie trying to juggle managing both of them, that it seemed to take up space that could have been filled with other characters. I would have also liked more with Benjamin and Midge. I liked their dynamic even if not as a couple.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, these are minor complaints. Even the singing/dancing didn't bother me THAT much. I still love the show and wish there was more than 8 episodes, especially since we'll have another year to wait for a new season.


I agree, I felt like there was less actual story content because of the singing and dancing filler, but I still enjoyed the season. I just wanted more content and less filler.


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## MScottC (Sep 11, 2004)

hummingbird_206 said:


> I agree, I felt like there was less actual story content because of the singing and dancing filler, but I still enjoyed the season. I just wanted more content and less filler.


More content AND more filler would have been nice... 10 episodes would have been a nice round number.


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## dcheesi (Apr 6, 2001)

Gunnyman said:


> I don't think Midge realized what she was doing to Shy Baldwin in her performance at the Apollo.
> I have to wonder if Shy fired her or if it was all Reggie.





hummingbird_206 said:


> One of the things that makes Midge so funny is she has no filter when she's performing. As soon as she went down that path I figured there would be repercussions. I think if it was Reggie doing the firing that Reggie would have said so. And if Shy hadn't wanted her fired then she wouldn't have been fired. So I think it was Shy.


My guess is that Shy got upset and "fired" her, in the same way that he fires the band every other night. Reggie was the one who made it stick.


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## mooseAndSquirrel (Aug 31, 2001)

On balance I liked this season a lot more than Season 2. Two was weird with the trip to France and the Catskills went on too long.

What I loved:

It's a visual joy to look at; so beautifully styled and artfully filmed (e.g. the overhead shots)
Part of that style is the incredible fashions
Whoever cast Shy Baldwin did an amazing job; it's like they found a time machine. What a voice
I like how they developed the Joel character; it was great that Midge gave him a shoutout at his club. I like his relationship with May and I like her character. 
Even the gambling, which initially irked me, had the payoff of Susie telling Joel "because you love her" and a quick resolution with burning the house down.
I like the history, as stylized as it may be. I was born in 1958, so it was fun to see some of the issues (e.g. Shy pointing out that they can't stay at the same hotel as Midge)
I could happily live without the in-laws situation (and they were in financial trouble, pulling money out of hiding places, but it turns out they live in a mansion in Queens) and I always hated the Sophie Lenin character. The penultimate episode with the radio voice-overs was pretty bad, and it was a very weird lack of transition. The Abe story arc is also bizarre.

I hope it comes back for another season. I could see Midge hitting reset with NY performances at Joel's club.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

mooseAndSquirrel said:


> I hope it comes back for another season.


It's been renewed for another season.



mooseAndSquirrel said:


> Shy pointing out that they can't stay at the same hotel as Midge)


I was actually thinking about that an episode or two before it came up.


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## dcheesi (Apr 6, 2001)

pdhenry said:


> I was actually thinking about that an episode or two before it came up.


Yeah, I was expecting it to come up in Vegas. My understanding is that the hotels there were segregated, at least until Sinatra put his foot down wrt Sammy (not sure what year that was?).


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Google tells me that the Moulin Rouge was the first integrated hotel-casino in the US when it opened in 1955.

Also, integration of the Strip and downtown took place on March 26, 1960


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

I love this show.

I loved all the song and dance stuff. They got really elaborate this season and I kept thinking what a great job they did with all the details. The success of the show clearly led to more production money!

Obviously, I love the fashion - so spectacular and on-point. 

And Lenny Bruce - holy-moly hotness alert. Sexiest character by a MILE. Yowzer!!!


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

I've only watched the first episode so far, but I'll probably binge on it over the holidays along with a few other shows. I took a chance and watched it with my wife who tends to get easily offended by anything anti-religious or liberal. I could see she was actually enjoying the show and then they had the sequence with Lenny Bruce. You can imagine how well that went over. She won't be watching it with me again. Personally, I love this show. I love the quick, snappy dialogue between characters. It's kind of like an Aaron Sorkin type of show in that regard.


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

mr.unnatural said:


> I've only watched the first episode so far, but I'll probably binge on it over the holidays along with a few other shows. I took a chance and watched it with my wife who tends to get easily offended by anything anti-religious or liberal. I could see she was actually enjoying the show and then they had the sequence with Lenny Bruce. You can imagine how well that went over. She won't be watching it with me again. Personally, I love this show. I love the quick, snappy dialogue between characters. It's kind of like an Aaron Sorkin type of show in that regard.


Which is typical of the Palladinos who produce and write the episodes.

All of their shows feature snappy dialogue mixed with pop-culture references.

Very Sorkinesque in pacing and style.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

nyny523 said:


> Obviously, I love the fashion - so spectacular and on-point.
> 
> And Lenny Bruce - holy-moly hotness alert. Sexiest character by a MILE. Yowzer!!!


The fashion makes me wish it were 1960 again.
Also it's probably best Lenny isn't an every episode character. I'd be far too distracted by him to fully enjoy the rest of the show.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

photoshopgrl said:


> The fashion makes me wish it were 1960 again.
> Also it's probably best Lenny isn't an every episode character. I'd be far too distracted by him to fully enjoy the rest of the show.


You are far too young to remember the fashions of the 60's. Tie-died shirts and bell bottom pants are in my distant past. Platform shoes anyone?


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## mooseAndSquirrel (Aug 31, 2001)

mr.unnatural said:


> You are far too young to remember the fashions of the 60's. Tie-died shirts and bell bottom pants are in my distant past. Platform shoes anyone?


Right, I grew up in the 60s and don't remember seeing anybody dress that well. I was a middle class kid in a suburb of Philadelphia and not a wealthy lady in Manhattan, but still.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

This season's shows were set in 1960 -- when the bohemians were all "On The Road" beatniks rather than tie-dyed hippies. The Beatles don't show up in America for another 4 years. Kennedy hasn't even been elected POTUS yet.


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

mr.unnatural said:


> You are far too young to remember the fashions of the 60's. Tie-died shirts and bell bottom pants are in my distant past. Platform shoes anyone?


I'm not. And tye dye and bell bottoms was the late 60s. This was 1960.



mooseAndSquirrel said:


> Right, I grew up in the 60s and don't remember seeing anybody dress that well. I was a middle class kid in a suburb of Philadelphia and not a wealthy lady in Manhattan, but still.


I was a middle class kid in NYC, and women all wore dresses and hats and heels when they went out. Perhaps not as glamorous or expensive, but that was the style of the day.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

The point of the '60s is that 1960 was nothing like 1969.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

mr.unnatural said:


> You are far too young to remember the fashions of the 60's. Tie-died shirts and bell bottom pants are in my distant past. Platform shoes anyone?


I wouldn't say FAR too young. I was born in 1969.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

photoshopgrl said:


> I wouldn't say FAR too young. I was born in 1969.


That can't possibly be a recent photo of you then unless you've discovered the fountain of youth. Nobody can look that good at the age of 50. 

If you can remember fashions from the year you were born then you have a far better memory than the rest of us. Personally, I was attending rock concerts of classic groups from the era such as Led Zeppelin and The Who in their prime. Saw most of the groups that played at Woodstock just two weeks prior at the Atlantic City Pop Festival. Got to see Janis, Creedence, Jefferson Airplane and many others. It would have been Crosby, Stills, and Nash's first public gig but one of them got sick and they had to cancel. Most people aren't aware of it because it was much better organized and didn't turn into a disaster area. Good times.

FWIW, I do remember fashions from 1960 as I was 9 years old at the time. I still remember watching the Beatles and the Stones on Ed Sullivan in the early 60's.



pdhenry said:


> The point of the '60s is that 1960 was nothing like 1969.


Can I get an Amen?


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

mr.unnatural said:


> If you can remember fashions from the year you were born then you have a far better memory than the rest of us.


It's my job. I work in the Fashion Industry, so I need to know all about fashion.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Finished it last night, and loved it. The writers had fun with the characters. The historical references were a ball. We saw more hilarious standup and more lavish stage productions due to more popularity and more budget. I just wish there were more episodes in the season.

Minor nit to pick, given how hard they worked to generate a realistic — if artfully fantastic — portrayal of the era: all the Chinese heard in Chinatown would have been Cantonese and Seiyap. Hearing Mandarin drove me nuts. Even today you're more likely to hear Mandarin in Flushing than in Chinatown.

Nice to have the Lenny Bruce character pop up again, for more historical perspective. Being based on a real person, of course he and Midge couldn't get involved. His last words to her, "before I die?", were particularly poignant given that Lenny Bruce died of a morphine overdose in 1966 at age 40.

Spoiler for Shy fans: I noticed in the credits that his singing is dubbed by Broadway vocalist Darius de Haas. And yes, I do believe Shy would have fired Midge. Like Lenny Bruce, when she's on a roll onstage she's not entirely in control, and she crossed the line into his secret life more than once that night. This is supposed to be the early 1960s, when his career could have been completely derailed by coming out.

Not knowing the series had been renewed, I had decided I could live with the open-ended ending being the last we ever saw of Midge and co. It was well done. The Casablanca-style airport scene was a bit over the top, but that was fun too, and what about this series hasn't been fun and over the top? I am betting — and I don't have a gambling problem — that they can maintain the same level of excellence next season.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

mr.unnatural said:


> That can't possibly be a recent photo of you then unless you've discovered the fountain of youth. Nobody can look that good at the age of 50.


It's from this past summer, so not quite a year old. Granted, I have a filter on the picture but yeah.... I look much younger than my age. Shocked faces never get old when I tell people. 



Pokemon_Dad said:


> Nice to have the Lenny Bruce character pop up again, for more historical perspective. Being based on a real person, of course he and Midge couldn't get involved. His last words to her, "before I die?", were particularly poignant given that Lenny Bruce died of a morphine overdose in 1966 at age 40.


Well that was info I could have done without knowing. 

Also the show will without a doubt get another season, at least.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

photoshopgrl said:


> Well that was info I could have done without knowing.


Sorry, but don't worry, Luke Kirby is still waiting for you! ;-) 'Maisel' Guest Actor Emmy Winner Luke Kirby Honors Lenny Bruce's Memory - Deadline



photoshopgrl said:


> Also the show will without a doubt get another season, at least.


Yes, that has been confirmed! 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Renewed For Season 4 By Amazon - Deadline


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## Craigbob (Dec 2, 2006)

We just finished watching it last night. Loved this season. Our favorite episode was the one where Shy had to do his "Stool Set". It was emotional.



Pokemon_Dad said:


> Nice to have the Lenny Bruce character pop up again, for more historical perspective. Being based on a real person, of course he and Midge couldn't get involved. His last words to her, "before I die?", were particularly poignant given that Lenny Bruce died of a morphine overdose in 1966 at age 40.


I was thinking the same thing. Sad that he only has 6 years left.

I never realized how tall Zachary Levi was, he looked so much smaller in Chuck.

I loved how Susie handled Sophie Lennon.

Sad to hear Brian Tarantina died recently if a drug overdose. R.I.P Jackie. 
Brian Tarantina died from effects of multiple drugs, medical examiner says - CNN


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

zalusky said:


> I just finished the binge tonight. I enjoyed a lot of it but I could done without the Sophie Lennon story. The singing and dancing did not bother me as the production quality is so good on this show.


I agree. I think the Sophie Lennon story was kind of a waste, and really pretty pointless. But we enjoyed it, but not as much as the other seasons. It just kind of meandered a bit. I liked Joel's story the best I think.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

nyny523 said:


> Which is typical of the Palladinos who produce and write the episodes.
> 
> All of their shows feature snappy dialogue mixed with pop-culture references.
> 
> Very Sorkinesque in pacing and style.


Said the same thing to my wife, very much like Sorkin in style, with a lot of quick snappy dialogue and circular conversations, often repeated later in the episode or series.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

nyny523 said:


> I'm not. And tye dye and bell bottoms was the late 60s. This was 1960.
> 
> I was a middle class kid in NYC, and women all wore dresses and hats and heels when they went out. Perhaps not as glamorous or expensive, but that was the style of the day.


We talked about the fashions. The women's obsessions with hats. The fact that a man wore a suit when he went out, and often a hat. If I recall men's hats went out of fashion with Kennedy. Not sure when women's hats went out of fashion. I couldn't imagine a woman dragging along a taxi's worth of hat boxes like Midge did at the end. That's crazy.

The one thing that kind of annoyed me is that after her parents lost their apartment, they went to the inlaws with their housekeeper/maid (not sure what you want to call her) in tow. I'd have thought she would have been the first to go? How could they afford her? And then they take off on spontaneous trips on a train to who knows where, and to Miami. But whatever, I just go with it, it's only TV.


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## billboard_NE (May 18, 2005)

They lost the apartment because it belonged to the university, not because they were broke.
Don’t think they wanted to admit they are in financial trouble just yet.


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## jdfs (Oct 21, 2002)

photoshopgrl said:


> I guess my main complaint is looking back over the seasons, I feel like we got less of her actually doing the stand up and more of the singing and dancing. I definitely could have done without the Sophie storyline only because it was such a build up with Susie trying to juggle managing both of them, that it seemed to take up space that could have been filled with other characters. I would have also liked more with Benjamin and Midge. I liked their dynamic even if not as a couple.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, these are minor complaints. Even the singing/dancing didn't bother me THAT much. I still love the show and wish there was more than 8 episodes, especially since we'll have another year to wait for a new season.


Most of her stand up is not very funny anyway.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

Craigbob said:


> I never realized how tall Zachary Levi was, he looked so much smaller in Chuck.


I know. It's like he never took off the padded suit he wore in Shazaam



> I loved how Susie handled Sophie Lennon.


Susie is starting to remind me a little bit of Arnie on the Larry Sanders Show, but with a lot less confidence. She's one of the best characters on the show.



billboard_NE said:


> They lost the apartment because it belonged to the university, not because they were broke.
> Don't think they wanted to admit they are in financial trouble just yet.


They were indeed broke because Abe left his job at the university and Rose cut herself off from her family. They had no source of income after that.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

jdfs said:


> Most of her stand up is not very funny anyway.


That's interesting--I enjoy the stand-up bits, in a dramedy sort of way, and am amazed at Rachel Brosnahan's performance in the bits.


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## jdfs (Oct 21, 2002)

Mikeguy said:


> That's interesting--I enjoy the stand-up bits, in a dramedy sort of way, and am amazed at Rachel Brosnahan's performance in the bits.


I enjoy the show and I know mostly she and Bruce are doing commentary rather than a straight up routine, but I never find the audience reaction matches up with the material. I have been slow to get into this season. So far it has taken me 3 sittings to get through the first episode. Not sure about the communist storyline either.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

jdfs said:


> I enjoy the show and I know mostly she and Bruce are doing commentary rather than a straight up routine, but I never find the audience reaction matches up with the material. I have been slow to get into this season. So far it has taken me 3 sittings to get through the first episode. Not sure about the communist storyline either.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


The standup and story had me laughing to tears and stitches. If this is not for you, then don't push yourself.


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## warrenn (Jun 24, 2004)

Overall I liked the season. I even liked the artistic fluff they added. But I'm getting really tired of her parents. It's almost like they belong in a different show. I thought they acted like terrible guests and their friends should have kicked them out for being so rude and ungrateful. Especially since the mom willingly gave up her trust which really put them in a financial bind. I was starting to get tired of them in season 2, and season 3 really ramped up the stuff I didn't like about them. I typically just tune out when it comes to their storylines.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

I agree. The arc they took with the father was really implausible and silly.


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## mooseAndSquirrel (Aug 31, 2001)

Agreed about the parents. Last season was also bad with the ridiculous time in Paris.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

IMO there's no question that it was Shy who wanted her out. He came out to her and then she was the ONLY person in the world he could be completely free with: even though Reggie knew, Shy still had to hide it from him. Then she goes on stage and all but outs him... I'd be surprised if he ever talked to her again after that. Devastating betrayal.


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## Cainebj (Nov 11, 2006)

jdfs said:


> Most of her stand up is not very funny anyway.


I have to say that was my biggest takeaway this season. She's not that funny. I still like her from a story telling point of view but if I put on a Mrs. Maisel Netflix stand up special, I am not sure I would make it to the end.

I thought the season was OK. 
It has not been living up to how good season 1 was.


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## Ruth (Jul 31, 2001)

Yeah, this season was pretty disappointing for me.

As a period piece, as a visual feast, it remains great. The costumes and cinematography are fantastic and it's fun to watch. 

But honestly, I don't like any of the characters much, and none of them have displayed any significant personal growth or change at all during the show's tenure -- which makes it easy to feel like the show is stagnating. 

I do find the stand-up funny (if unrealistically polished, as it has been from the beginning). But Midge as a person, beyond being attractive, lively, and funny? Really, not much there that's great. She treated Benjamin horribly, she treated Susie horribly, she's stringing Joel along, she lacks any self-awareness whatsoever about her privilege, and what she did to Shy Baldwin in that routine was truly horrible -- and I don't for a second buy that she is so naive and clueless that she had no idea what she was doing. She's 100% willing to sell anyone out for a laugh, always has been, and when there are consequences that result from her decisions, she only thinks about herself -- like in that last scene. Is she upset that she's outed and personally betrayed Shy (a man she thought was a friend), what it means for him, what it means about her as a person? Is she remorseful? Has she learned anything? No. She's 100% only upset about her career. 

And really, the writing has taken all the parents and turned them into nothing but comic relief in subplots that don't make much sense and aren't funny and are given waaaay too much airtime. A real waste of interesting characters and some talented actors IMO.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

I do have to admit that the part about "if you hurt my daughter, I'm going to punch you in the mouth. It's not going to hurt. I'm not a strong man. But you will have to live with the embarrassment that you were punched in the mouth by a not-strong mathematician" had me in stitches. 

I may not have gotten the quote just right and I'm too lazy to look it up


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Ruth said:


> Yeah, this season was pretty disappointing for me.
> 
> As a period piece, as a visual feast, it remains great. The costumes and cinematography are fantastic and it's fun to watch.
> 
> ...


I agree with a lot of this. But in many respects, it reflects a lot of what we see on TV these days. Even shows that are ostensibly comedies are dark. I think a lot of what this show is about is privileged, and how shut off from the world someone who's wealthy and has no idea what life is like without money should and shouldn't behave. We see it in most of the characters. I think the only one who kind of "gets it" is Joel. The rest of self absorbed snobs, and each in their way, you have to hope, ends up getting it. For Midge, she's upset about her career but maybe she comes back next year realizing what she's done. But that's been her character from the beginning. She spends little time with her kids, she's always pushing them off to someone else, parents, ex, whoever. I think her comedy is funny, but I agree it's too polished, and it's also very borscht belt in approach too.


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## Philosofy (Feb 21, 2000)

Here's a theory (well, more conjecture, actually.) What if this is the stand up version of Breaking Bad? Remember how Shy's manager told Susie she would be in his place someday? And the selfishness of Sophie? Is that foreshadowing to Midge becoming a huge star with a big head and insufferable ego?


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

Ruth said:


> ... and what she did to Shy Baldwin in that routine was truly horrible -- and I don't for a second buy that she is so naive and clueless that she had no idea what she was doing.


 I don't disagree with Midge's character flaws, but just to say I don't think Midge tried to tell anyone she had no idea what she was doing.

Reggie told her that these were Shy's people, they knew him like no one else, and she could talk about Shy here in ways she couldn't ever talk about him anywhere else. She interpreted that to mean they knew enough about him to allow for some ribbing of his more "feminine" traits, even if they maybe didn't think he was outright gay. Obviously she was badly mistaken and if she'd any amount of real thought to it she'd have seen it.

But, I don't think she threw Shy under the bus just for her set. She misunderstood what Reggie meant.


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## wprager (Feb 19, 2006)

Exactly. This was Harlem. She would never have said any of that unless she heard that speech from Reggie.

Also, hey standup is, by-and-large, very funny. If you don't find it funny, well, is not for you. But the vast majority think it is funny. So, it's not us, it's you.

People, for God's sake, it's a tv show, and a comedy, at that. Stop saying how implausible specific story lines are. My wife kept saying "who's minding the baby" several times every episode. It was beyond annoying. Don't be like that. Just turn up your funny receptors and turn down the others.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

wprager said:


> People, for God's sake, it's a tv show, and a comedy, at that. Stop saying how implausible specific story lines are. My wife kept saying "who's minding the baby" several times every episode. It was beyond annoying. Don't be like that. Just turn up your funny receptors and turn down the others.


I think they need to dedicate a full episode to the "who's minding the babies" theme, it's so prevalent.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

wprager said:


> Exactly. This was Harlem. She would never have said any of that unless she heard that speech from Reggie.
> 
> Also, hey standup is, by-and-large, very funny. If you don't find it funny, well, is not for you. But the vast majority think it is funny. So, it's not us, it's you.
> 
> People, for God's sake, it's a tv show, and a comedy, at that. Stop saying how implausible specific story lines are. My wife kept saying "who's minding the baby" several times every episode. It was beyond annoying. Don't be like that. Just turn up your funny receptors and turn down the others.


Agree. I rarely care if something is implausible, or spend a whole lot of time on those types of things. But we come here and we all tend to over analyze. We've all become minor league critics. that's fine, and I usually take what people here say about a show much more seriously than i do from a professional critic. But still, as you said, it's a TV show, and while I might point out something that makes little sense, it almost never "takes me out" of a story.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Mikeguy said:


> I think they need to dedicate a full episode to the "who's minding the babies" theme, it's so prevalent.


That would actually make a pretty good episode! You can show the kids being passed around from this person to that, first Midge, then Joel, then her parents, then his parents, maybe to the landlord at Joel's club, then in the end to Lenny Bruce


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

Not only is it a TV show, it is also from the Sherman-Palladino universe.

In those worlds, there are a lot of very odd, quirky characters who talk too fast and behave strangely. It is part of their charm. 

Watch Gilmore Girls. Watch Bunheads. A lot of snappy dialog and crazy characters. 

Are their people perfect? Not by a long shot. I think this is what endears them to the audience.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Bunheads deserved better.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

Steveknj said:


> That would actually make a pretty good episode! You can show the kids being passed around from this person to that, first Midge, then Joel, then her parents, then his parents, maybe to the landlord at Joel's club, then in the end to Lenny Bruce


Now I really need this.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Steveknj said:


> That would actually make a pretty good episode! You can show the kids being passed around from this person to that, first Midge, then Joel, then her parents, then his parents, maybe to the landlord at Joel's club, then in the end to Lenny Bruce


And to Susie--a weekend with Susie could be an entire episode itself!


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## Craigbob (Dec 2, 2006)

Steveknj said:


> That would actually make a pretty good episode! You can show the kids being passed around from this person to that, first Midge, then Joel, then her parents, then his parents, maybe to the landlord at Joel's club, then in the end to Lenny Bruce


oh ghods... that would be a hilarious episode. I'd watch that in a heartbeat. But you missed them going to Susie. They have to go to Susie at some point.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Craigbob said:


> oh ghods... that would be a hilarious episode. I'd watch that in a heartbeat. But you missed them going to Susie. They have to go to Susie at some point.


I realized that I missed Susie after I posted that. Susie would definitely be in the mix


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

OK, who has contacts with Amy Sherman-Palladino?


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

Just finished this. We kept putting it off because we knew once we started, we would HAVE to watch some every day (we limit to 1/day to make it last) and we wanted a week when we were not too busy. Anyway...

I thought the Sophie story line was a waste. Not sure what it brought to the overall arc. Maybe to give Suzie more confidence, but not much else. I found her character too unbelievable.

The other thing that drove me nuts is that she could be fired, after months of performing with Shy, because they had not signed the contract? That was so ridiculous that it soured that whole ending. They could have said she broke a clause, or paid her a penalty or something. But not having signed the contract? Please.


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## crazywater (Mar 7, 2001)

The problem with this show is the problem with most shows today. Season 1 was a terrific story of a woman who stumbles her way into a stand-up comedy career after finding out her husband was cheating on her. The parents were secondary characters and mildly amusing. And it mostly stayed away from political commentary or it wasn't in your face. Season 2 and 3 have been the opposite. They veered away from being primarily about Midge and put the parents front and center with ridiculous story lines that were not believable. And they decided to start pushing their political agenda which just seemed to be there for exactly that reason. I think this shows running out of steam and probably will be done in 1 more season unless they get back to the basics of Season 1.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

I've also been surprised by the amount of attention the show has given to the parents, in later episodes--it almost feels, at times, as if the show could be renamed "The Maisels." I really like the performances of both Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle, but it "unbalances" the show for me and I wish that Mrs. Maisel would more be the centering post.


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## wprager (Feb 19, 2006)

Is there really not a thread for S4? I've just got 1 episode left to finish it off and was wondering what people thought of it.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

wprager said:


> Is there really not a thread for S4? I've just got 1 episode left to finish it off and was wondering what people thought of it.


Apparently there is not a S4 thread. Maybe some folks are tired of it, but I was glad to see all those characters again. Some may feel this series has gone over the top and jumped the shark at this point, but I enjoyed it. Since you have one episode left I won't comment on that specifically, except to say that if they hadn't already renewed for one more season (announced after two episodes of S4 had been released) I could have been happy with where they've left us, but I'm sure S5 will be fun too.


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## zalusky (Apr 5, 2002)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> Apparently there is not a S4 thread. Maybe some folks are tired of it, but I was glad to see all those characters again. Some may feel this series has gone over the top and jumped the shark at this point, but I enjoyed it. Since you have one episode left I won't comment on that specifically, except to say that if they hadn't already renewed for one more season (announced after two episodes of S4 had been released) I could have been happy with where they've left us, but I'm sure S5 will be fun too.



The show effectively is about the decade of the 50s around comics. This season especially hinted about how where they are time wise with references to


Spoiler



the Kennedy Nixon election


. Sort of like the Masterpiece show "Call the Midwife" is primarily about the changes in the 60s. I will be curious if Mrs Maisel does anything about the 60s or if it just ends there.


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## Craigbob (Dec 2, 2006)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> Apparently there is not a S4 thread. Maybe some folks are tired of it, but I was glad to see all those characters again. Some may feel this series has gone over the top and jumped the shark at this point, but I enjoyed it. Since you have one episode left I won't comment on that specifically, except to say that if they hadn't already renewed for one more season (announced after two episodes of S4 had been released) I could have been happy with where they've left us, but I'm sure S5 will be fun too.


I noticed that there wasn't a S4 thread, and I was considering starting one now that I've finished the season. I think I will once I put my thoughts about the season in order, unless someone else does it first.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

zalusky said:


> This season especially hinted about how where they are time wise with references to
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


I had trouble with the continuity concerning that plot point.


Spoiler



Clearly the two candidates were nominated but it was pre-election (probably between early September and late October 1960). Yet there was a significant snowstorm in NYC.


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## Craigbob (Dec 2, 2006)

pdhenry said:


> I had trouble with the continuity concerning that plot point.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


Lenny Bruce's Carnegie Hall show was on February 4th 1961 at midnight. I don't know if it is Feb 3/Feb 4 or 4th/5th. The full show is available on YouTube. 






Lenny Bruce at Carnegie Hall


Lenny Bruce’s famous Carnegie Hall show exemplified his garrulous and goading comedy.



www.carnegiehall.org


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

That certainly fits. I guess they just skipped the events that I had assumed were yet to occur.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

Craigbob said:


> I noticed that there wasn't a S4 thread, and I was considering starting one now that I've finished the season. I think I will once I put my thoughts about the season in order, unless someone else does it first.


Do it!


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## wprager (Feb 19, 2006)

The start of E01 threw me for a loop. Certainly looked like she was headlining at some packed house and talking openly about the Baldwin Breakup. Then the rest of the season she starts working at the strip joint (which was not at all packed at the start) and I don't recall seeing a "3 months earlier" or something similar. I think it was fairly obvious that the S4 opener was "in the future" w.r.t. the rest of the season but (unless I missed it) it was odd not seeing it explicitly stated.

Overall I really enjoyed the season. Moishe appeared to be much nicer and I have to admit that scene between him and Abe (after Abe read the obituary he wrote) had me reaching for the hankies.


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## getbak (Oct 8, 2004)

wprager said:


> I think it was fairly obvious that the S4 opener was "in the future" w.r.t. the rest of the season but (unless I missed it) it was odd not seeing it explicitly stated.


I don't believe it was.

I think the beginning and end of the episode took place at the same gig at the old club she used to work at, where she met Susie. After the intro, we got the flashback/catch-up to the cab ride back from the airport through to her reading the story about being dumped at Penn Station in the paper. Then, the episode ends with the rest of the gig that opened the episode.

I was confused by this as well and had to rewatch it to piece it together.

As far as I can tell, the entire first episode is self-contained and happens before the rest of the season and only the one little segment to start is out of order with the rest of the storyline.


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## wprager (Feb 19, 2006)

Interesting take. Maybe I should rewatch.

It's just that the old place (Gaslight?) had switched to mostly folksy type performers, didn't it?


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## jamesbobo (Jun 18, 2000)

Since there is no season 4 thread, I'll ask this here. 


Spoiler



Shy gets married. Mrs. Maisel is offered $12,000 to keep quiet. But in an earlier episode, it's reported that Shy comes out of the closet. So, what's to hide?


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

jamesbobo said:


> Since there is no season 4 thread, I'll ask this here.


I'm pretty sure that's not accurate. I don't remember him doing that at all, quite the opposite actually.


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## jamesbobo (Jun 18, 2000)

photoshopgrl said:


> I'm pretty sure that's not accurate. I don't remember him doing that at all, quite the opposite actually.


I could swear there was a scene where Midge watched a report on TV (or was it a newspaper article) where Shy came out. This made Midge even more furious.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

jamesbobo said:


> I could swear there was a scene where Midge watched a report on TV (or was it a newspaper article) where Shy came out. This made Midge even more furious.


I recall her seeing him announce his engagement to a woman on TV.

(This new blurry iSpoiler thing is fun.)


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## jamesbobo (Jun 18, 2000)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> I recall her seeing him announce his engagement to a woman on TV.
> 
> (This new blurry iSpoiler thing is fun.)


Apparently I thought I saw something that I really didn't see. But I'm not going through the trouble of going back and trying to find it.


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## wprager (Feb 19, 2006)

Entertainers didn't come out in the early 60s. Elton John said he was "bi" in '76.


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