Can’t Miss Episode of the Week: ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Season 4 Premiere

Welcome to our weekly column Can’t Miss Episode of the Week! Every Saturday we’ll be spotlighting a different episode of television from that week that we thought was exceptional and a must-see. Check back to see if your favorite show got the nod — or to learn about a new one! Spoilers ahead.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 opens with the sound of laughing. It’s jarring because while we can assume stand-up comedian Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) just made a joke, we haven’t ourselves heard the punchline. Within moments, though, Prime Video’s Mrs. Maisel, which returned on February 17 after a two-year hiatus, immediately reminds us why this series deserves our laughter.

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The only thing funnier than Midge having a full meltdown about being dropped from the Shy Baldwin (Leroy McClain) tour, is her manager Susie’s (Alex Borstein) attempts to deal with her. “It completes the outfit,” Susie yells as Midge throws her own jacket out the window of their cab, among other pieces of clothing. Borstein certainly has all the best lines this episode–and delivers them with a perfect zing–as Susie continues to deal with her client’s temporary hysteria, and also has to figure out how to get Midge the money she owes her (she gambled Midge’s money away last season, unbeknownst to Midge). Susie has hilariously peculiar interactions with other characters because of the money problems, including being intimidated along with her sister Tess (Emily Bergl) by a shady insurance investigator–you know, for committing insurance fraud by burning down their late mother’s house last season–and begging Midge’s ex-husband Joel (Michael Zegen) for a loan.

This episode shows off, once again, creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s talent for writing quick and witty dialogue. The odd couple dynamic of Joel and Susie bring a fresh new energy to the scene, and who could forget Susie going toe-to-toe with Joel’s secretary (Cynthia Darlow), furious that Susie didn’t sign her guest book.

But the true hero of these scenes is Joel himself. While he was a pathetic putz when we met him in season 1, ever since then the show has done a great job of building him up to be someone who takes responsibility. Never underestimate the appeal of a man who takes care of the people around him, and he clearly still cares about Midge as he peppers Susie with questions of what happened to the tour and whether Midge is okay. And Joel is once again the man who takes care of things when he agrees to lend Susie the money, but only if Susie explains everything that happened. It’s enough to make me say hmmmm, maybe Joel and Midge aren’t done with each other, and maybe I’m even rooting for them to get back together.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Mrs. Maisel premiere without some sort of massive three-ringed circus of a scene, which comes as Midge attempts to explain to her parents (Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle), ex-parents-in-law (Kevin Pollak and Caroline Aaron), and Joel, exactly what happened with the tour, but has to do so while she and the whole family are stuck on a Ferris wheel at Coney Island. It’s just slightly too ridiculous to think that any of these people can hear each other as they shout from different points on the wheel, but it’s delightful enough that the show maybe gets away with it.

But this is a series about a stand-up comedian, so we probably should talk about the set Midge does at the Gaslight, which the episode opens and closes with. It’s filled with great quips like, “I realized that once again a man has stepped in and f***ed up my life, and just like the first time I was dressed magnificently while he did it.” Yet, the set is about getting revenge against Shy Baldwin and his people. And while leaving Midge and Susie standing on the tarmac as the plane took off without them was cruel–Midge realizes this episode that they did it just to humiliate them, since the tour had already booked another comic and leaked it to the papers–it does beg the question of who was in the right here.

This isn’t like the time Midge did a brilliant take-down of Sophie Lennon (Jane Lynch) in her set, exposing how awful Sophie really is. Midge got on stage and made fun of her closeted boss for being an effeminate gay man. Knowing a tiny bit of what Shy has been through in regards to his sexuality, it does make me wonder whether at some point Midge will see past her fury and realize that she was wrong.

Regardless, it is a relief to have this series–once again an explosive combination of colorful characters, clever writing, and absurd situations–back on screen after such a long break. As news has come in that the following fifth season will be the show’s last, I’m happy to drink in every last moment of every episode until it ends.

Other observations we thought made this episode stand out:

• The Weissmans’ rescheduling their grandson’s birthday to a time of year that worked better for them is something so unexpectedly ridiculous that only this show could come up with it, and it’s totally in character for the Weissmans.
• The journalist doing a hit piece on Midge seems like it’s going to be a recurring storyline, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.