The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 3

[frelling_tralk]

I have noticed that a lot of people seem more frustrated with the character and the show in season 3, but I still found it very entertaining to watch with this latest season. I absolutely loved the set design and the cinematography, Shy’s songs were so catchy that I certainly had zero complaints about the time spend on them. I can see now why Amy wasted so much time on the musical in Gilmore Girls as it’s obviously something that she’s really into, but while I hated it on that show, I thought it fit perfectly in the world of Mrs.Maisel

Also love Suzie, and love the double act between her and Midge of course, the friendship is so adorable and heartwarming to me. Midget attempting to teach Suzie to swim was an especially cute touch! I did think it was weird that Suzie losing all of Midge’s money didn’t come up with them though, I was expecting a dramatic revelation in the final episode when Midge found out about it, instead it seemed to be pretty much handled after Suzie burnt down her mothers house for the insurance money? I guess that could still come up as an issue again in season 4 though? NOT a fan of Suzie asking Joel to handle Midge’s money from now on though, wtf??!

I still don’t really care about Joel as much as the show seems to want us too, I find it hard to sympathise with a character whose main trait seems to be feeling insecure around confident women... I did like Mei’s character as I thought the actress was very good, but I wasn’t won over by their romance particularly, honestly I thought it was a bit odd that a show set in the 1960’s would have nobody bringing up the interracial controversy? It was nice to see it accepted of course, just didn’t seem very realistic.

Oh and Lenny Bruce’s guest appearance and his almost romance with Midge absolutely stole the show for me in episode five, their chemistry is just insane. My interpretation of Midge turning Lenny down was that it was for the sake of her career, and not wanting to be accused of getting fame through her romantic attachment to another comedian? At least it is after she asks what Lenny thought of her set that she seems to make the decision to leave?

I’ve seen some complains about the writing of Midge’s parents in this season, but I enjoyed them anyway 🤷‍♀️ I thought it was especially nice to see Rose deciding that she could no longer be patronised by her family following the example of her daughter, and while some of Abe’s storyline dragged for me at times I guess, overall I thought it was pretty funny when he was dealing with those young people and trying to go back to the ideals of his youth. And I enjoyed seeing them having to cope with living with their in laws as well, I thought that led to some hilarious moments

My biggest complaint would be that I thought that Sophie Lennon was very overused. I liked her cameos in the past, but you can definitely have too much of a good thing, and I didn’t particularly enjoy watching Susie having to work with her and her ridiculous demands as much as she did, although there was a good payoff at least when you see how hurt and frustrated Susie was at Sophie not believing in herself enough to commit to a dramatic performance away from her usual character

And then of course there’s the ending...I actually found it really hard to watch, I had such a feeling of doom from when Reggie first suggested that Midge just joke about Shy and talk about what goes on on tour, and I had to watch most of her set through my fingers. I did think it was well handled in how you think that Midge just about got away with it, and then there’s that final gut punch when Reggie tells them that Shy doesn’t want Midge opening for him again after that. And really ouch at Reggie and Shy waiting until they got to the airport with all of their luggage before breaking it to them!

But I 100% got why Shy would have felt betrayed, it was hard enough for me to watch Midge constantly skirting too close to the edge and praying that she wouldn’t go too far, so goodness knows the tension that Shy would have been going through backstage! I got that she was very nervous about the audience and just going with what she saw as working, but she did take it way too far and she showed zero awareness towards how Shy would feel about her winking towards how feminine he came across as


And sorry that I’ve sucked so much at posting and commenting lately! I actually haven’t been visiting LJ hardly at all lately, I find myself spending more and more time on twitter these days in fact, but ultimately it is nice to come back to a blog when you can ramble on to your hearts content and not have to constantly worry about editing yourself down to fit the word limit *g*

Comments

[rromantic.livejournal.com]

Very well said, this neatly sums up my experience of season 3 as well. :)

Joel lost my interest completely when he asked Midge to tell her parents about him walking out on her vs telling them himself. I know the dialogue might have been meant as banter but she did end up telling them (he didn't) and Joel remains a total coward to me, a soft and weak character. Him jumping up on stage at the Catskills was just too little, too late.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Yep, I can see where they’re going with trying to redeem his character in seasons 2 and 3 and show his reasoning more, but you’re just never going to create a favourite character to me out of someone who left his wife for his secretary because he felt overshadowed by how witty and brilliant she was. It would have redeemed him more for me maybe if they showed that he had changed his old patterns with Mei, but instead he was still caught up with exactly the same obsession with feeling intimidated and not wanting to be shown up by a more gifted partner

Joel’s treatment of Midge obviously left its mark on her too after we see her breaking off the engagement to Benjamin partly because she was convinced that no man would ever be happy with his wife having a career as a stand up comedian, just because Joel couldn’t cope with it. I was really glad that they brought Benjamin back to have his say actually, the actor did such a heartbreakingly good job there of telling Midge how she had broken his heart. I know that Midge gets a lot of crap for being a flawed and self absorbed character, but I do feel like the show is aware at least of her less than perfect moments, and she generally does get called out for them (sulking over Suzie having another client until her friend points out the reality of Suzie’s situation, her standup at her friends wedding effectively ending their friendship, Shy breaking off their contract after her routine went too far etc etc)

[violateraindrop]

I eventually want to watch the show, so I'm skipping the entry for now.

However, I'm glad that you still come back here to ramble! I love reading people's elaborate thoughts on shows and movies :D

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I do want to at least try and make more of an effort with LJ, I guess that I’ve just been been more drawn to twitter lately because I feel like that’s where most of fandom is these days, but really there’s no reason that I can’t try and keep up with both platforms

[eiffels.livejournal.com]

I actually couldn’t believe that ending either. A proper cliffhanger.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It will certainly be interesting to see where they go from here!

[tabaqui]

*waves*
Hi hi hi! Nice to see you back! :D

I adore TMMM and really have enjoyed all three seasons equally. I think Suzie telling Joel to deal with the money was smart, because i thought they made it pretty clear that she has issues with gambling and felt she couldn't trust herself to have that much money 'on hand', as it were, in the future. I loved her taking Sophie down, that was delightful.

I was very sad about the ending. I truly think that Midge was pretty clueless re: coded language and whatnot. I don't think she really *knew*, and was probably just repeating things she'd heard and/or just making jokes she thought were harmless. I don't think she had the slightest idea that it would be that big, obvious of a 'thing'. I really was pissed they waited until they were on the damn TARMAC to tell them. Cowardly.

Suzie being terrified, and then actually just hanging out in the pool was *awesome*!

I like Joel. I think he has his issues, as we all do, but i think he recognizes them and is trying to work through them. He's not perfect, but that's okay. I liked Mai a lot. I know that the interracial stuff is a bit off, but i like that they're not hitting it hard. Most of the show is from Midge's pov, and i don't think she's terribly aware of it.

I thought her parents were delightful, and homg, I so sympathized with them. I could never live in that house, either. *flails*

I look forward to more seasons, I hope!

*waves* :D

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :waves back:

It did make sense for Suzie to decide not to deal with the money herself, it just struck such a weird note for me for her to go to Midge’s ex husband behind her back to ask him to take care of her money. I suppose that part of my issue there is that I don’t like Joel and Joel/Midge as much as it feels like the writing wants you too, and it felt kind of forced to me to have Suzie declare that he was the best person for the job because he still loves Midge. And plus it just felt like a weird choice to secretly go to Joel when Midge was trying to establish an independent new life for herself

Midge and Suzie’s friendship is one of my favourite parts of the show otherwise though, it was just that particular moment that felt jarring to me

And I could really see both sides when it came to the ending, I think that Midge did saw it harmless banter that the audience weren’t picking up on and so no harm done, but to Shy he would have just heard her making him the butt of the joke and riffing on him for her entire opening act. It did seem like Midge was possibly mislead when it came to Reggie telling her that everyone in that audience knew all about Shy and it was fine to be open with them, but even so surely she should have been more aware that Shy’s sexuality was completely off limits and that wasn’t what he meant? Reggie wasn’t even aware that Midge herself knew! Clearly everyone on tour with him had no idea except for Reggie, and Shy had told her that it was a huge secret that he was trusting her with. You don’t then go on stage and joke around and wink towards that

I did think that it was a low move to wait until they were at the airport with two paid for taxis though, but I assumed that was Shy lashing out and deliberately wanting to punish Midge after feeling that she had betrayed him and his trust in her? It would seem to be a risky move though as Midge could very easily choose to out him afterwards as payback, although I guess he knew her well enough to trust that she wouldn’t be that vindictive

[tabaqui]

Yeah, i just dunno if Midge was *that aware* of it all. I mean - she was shocked he was gay to begin with, had *no* idea, and i think the 'secret lingo' of gay in the sixties probably eluded, for the most part. Who knows!

I have almost never literally laughed out loud at a tv show, and I have at this one every season. I dunno if there's to be another season, but i hope so.

Tangentially - i LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors and style of the whole thing, *so* gorgeous.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I thought that the Judy Garland joke and the ‘he has a man for everything 😉’ made it seem like Midge believed that the hometown audience were aware of Shy’s sexuality, and it was more of an unspoken thing that they could snigger and wink wink nudge nudge about. She never came out and said it, but some stuff was so strongly implied that it did come across to me like she misunderstood what Reggie meant about this audience knowing all about Shy, and so thought it was the kind of thing that it was okay to joke about as an inside joke between her and the audience. Incredibly obtuse really though when you look at Shy’s coming out scene with Midge, and how he was clearly trusting her with something very private and painful to him

Totally agreed on the look of the show and how stunning it is!

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

I liked some parts enormously but felt it was too much dead time which just stretched out. I don't care for Shy's kind of music, so all those songs dragged terribly for me- but I can see it wouldn't if you like it. :)

I like Joel, but I feel he had way too much time. I like it best when he and Midge are happily divorced, as it reminds me a lot of how I and the Ex finally became and I like that, but I have a feeling the show is setting up Joel and Midge as endgame, and I don't like that at all.

I completely agree with you when it comes to Sophie. lots of time spent on a sub-plot which didn't really go anywhere.

Loved the Lenny bruce bits and though he was terribly underused. I would have loved seeing a bit more of him and less of Sophie. My interpretation of Midge walking away was that she didn't want to spoil their relationships. From her POV she doesn't have a very good track record at the moment. She didn't get back together with Joel, and she dumped Benjamin in a very cowardly manner, and I feel she finds her relationship as it is with Lenny, too good to spoil. (I wonder if the producer regrets making Lenny Lenny. I know they had originally only planned to use him in the pilot, but his chemistry with Midge made them rethink. now they are stuck with a real-life character- if they had used a made-up comedian they would have more leeway for a Midge/Lenny romance).

Speaking of Benjamin; it annoyed me we had to wait until the end of the season to find out how he reacted to it all. I like him, and I agree when he said Midge never even gave him the chance to see if he could handle a wife with a career.

Hated the ending with Shy. I know Midge is naive, but I don't buy she's so clueless she didn't realize how dangerous it would be to joke about his sexual orientation.

But the sets and clothes was gorgeous, and the acting so good. I loved all the interactions between Midge and Susie, and I adore Midge's parents. I Joel's secretary- she's a complete hoot!

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Honestly I did feel like that a little towards the end with some of the dancing segments *g* I very much enjoyed all of the singing, but I do remember some of the dancing and choreography seeming never ending in a later episode, so I suppose it all depends on what you’re into really.

I talked about this more with my season 2 thoughts last year, but I do feel like I’m very much at odds with how the show wants you to see Joel and his relationship with Midge. When they talk in interviews about the happiest time of Midge’s being when she was married to Joel, I just don’t see that at all. I don’t know if they’re being set up as endgame necessarily, but I do get the vibe that very much want you to see Joel as the love of Midge’s life/the one that got away, whether or not they do end up together in the end, and it’s hard for me to see that when the show is introducing all of these actual catches for Midge like Benjamin and Lenny who are far more on her wavelength. I suppose that the heart wants what it ends at the end of the day though 🤷‍♀️

And yes, absolutely loved the episode with Lenny Bruce and feel like he is very underused. I’d love to think that a romance with him and Midge could happen, but again I’m not sure if I’m on the same page as the people involved with the show. Amy has talked about never wanting to consumate it, and apparently Rachel also approached her to say that she would prefer that they stay just friends, so the vibe I get is that they are more interested in the Midge and Lenny partnership in respect to their mutual admiration for one another as comedians and a man and woman being friends. At the same time though, episode five did push their attraction to one another heavily enough that I don’t see how they can really deny that it’s more than just a platonic friendship...

And agreed again on Benjamin, that whole confrontation with Midge felt like it was much needed and a response to what fans had been saying, and I liked that he had a chance to get it all out there. Also it broke my heart when he told Midge’s mother that Midge was right for him, he just wasn’t right for her :(

And yep, I do think the show pushes Midge’s naivety past the point of believability at times, it was the same in season 2 when she started joking about pregnancy and sex with the priest at a catholic wedding. There’s no way that she wouldn’t be aware of how taboo those topics are, and it does feel a bit OT at times with how carried away she gets. Maybe she could have got away with a couple of jokes about Shy being a bit of a dandy, but making his perceived effeminacy the focus of her entire opening act was obviously not going to go down well with someone who was deeply closeted

[sometimesartist.livejournal.com]

I marathoned this so quick! I still enjoyed this show a lot and the ending broke my heart but fair. I'm interested to see where they take it form there if they come back for another season.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I found it to be a really quick watch as well, these kind of lighter comedy shows are perfect for bingewatching really, which is probably why I find myself regularly rewatching Gilmore Girls every year *g*

And yeah the ending was definitely a tough one, but a lesson that I think Midge needed to learn. She seems to keep putting her foot in her mouth over and over again when it comes to carelessly hurting the people close to her, and the fact that it will bring about real consequences this time will hopefully give her more of an idea of where she needs to draw the line, because I don’t think that she does ever mean to hurt anyone

I read somewhere that it has been renewed for season 4, so it is definitely coming back thankfully! I’m not sure how many more seasons we’re going to have after that though, but I’m sure that Amazon will want to keep it going for a while longer if the creators are still onboard, it is one of their most critically acclaimed shows after all