Episodes 5 and 6 of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel sees Midge Maisel encounter important people from her past and dig up old wounds, Susie is trying to get her burgeoning management business off the ground and Rose Weissman bags a big fish for her matchmaking business.
Episode 5 recap: How to Chew Quietly and Influence People
Susie is on the hunt for a new secretary even though she has no idea what she’s looking for or how to go about the hiring process. Maybe if she had a secretary things would be easier for her.
Midge receives an invitation to Shy Baldwin’s wedding, Susie gets one too. Susie’s idea is to just go there and enjoy the free food and booze. So basically do what every other wedding guest in the world would do.
Rose Weissman gets a call from a very influential Mr Melamid who wants Rose to set up his two thirty-something daughters. He insists that he will be very generous with her compensation as long as she is discreet and dignified regarding the whole affair.
Sophie Lennon is still trying to get a job as the host of a game show and Susie gets her a spot on a talk show to repair her image. Sophie needs to be ready to bear all emotionally, which is more shunned than bearing all physically.
Rose goes to see where Midge works and is completely appalled by what she sees, and I’m not talking about the nudity. She wants Midge to quit the gig because it would jeopardise her deal with Mr Melamid.
Midge and Susie go to Shy’s wedding and reluctantly have a good time. Midge catches up with Shy and finally gets to apologise, but when Shy tries to patch things up, she says that their friendship is over. Then they leave with a bunch of gift bags as any self-respecting guest would.
Joel Maisel and Mei are supposed to meet with his parents, but she gets sick from all the nervousness and he goes for dinner alone, making up stories about his girlfriend.
Sophie gets on the talk show and kills it, which means Susie accomplishes what she set out to do. She gets back to her office and finds a woman waiting to apply for the secretary position and hires on the spot.
Midge is headed home from the club and suddenly sees a man passed out on the side of the road. She stops the cab and decides to take him home.
Episode 6 recap: Maisel vs. Lennon: The Cut Contest
The man happened to be Lenny Bruce, who wakes up in the morning to find himself lying in a child’s bed with toys all around him. He’s in a completely dishevelled state and does not know where he is, but makes it a point to leave immediately.
Despite Midge’s pleas, he states that this is not his scene and would like to get away from this as soon as possible like he was talking about a radioactive red zone.
Susie contacts Joel to get her magician client a booking at his club. She’s nice to Joel on the phone, which is always a little discomforting. But whenever the two of them interact, it’s a riot.
Midge has got the cabaret bar close to tip-top shape and it’s attracting a lot more customers too. The manager wants to tone things down since their business is still illegal, but given the increased receipts, his partner disagrees. Money truly conquers all.
Susie is being showered with gifts by Sophie for helping her out but Susie doesn’t want anything more to do with that crazy comedienne. Sophie is as stubborn as a toddler wanting some candy.
Midge is made aware of another hit piece written about her in the paper, so she goes to meet this journalist and is surprised to see another woman. It was the male agenda all along to divide and conquer.
She comes back home to see Sophie Lennon waiting for her. Sophie wants to get on Midge’s good side so that Susie takes her back as a client. She offers her a job at her gameshow and uses Midge’s financial situation to get her to agree. You don’t get to the top without being a manipulative star.
Susie’s magician bails on the gig because of the nerves so Susie heads out to find him and talk some sense into him. Mei tells Joel that she’s pregnant and the two of them freak out for a bit before calming down.
Rose gets an invitation to a business women luncheon but it turns out to be a shakeup. The matchmakers from the five boroughs of New York treating their business like it’s a mafia tell Rose to back down from the Melamid listing. Old women can be truly scary when they put their minds to it.
Midge goes on to do her job and warm up the crowd before Sophie’s show but when Sophie sees the great reaction Midge gets she joins in and the whole thing goes as well as you’d expect. The two of them take shots at each other and it all goes downhill from there.
Review
- The opening montage of Susie hiring secretaries is hilarous. Watching her try to figure what’s happening and how she needs to go about things is a lot of fun.
- The visuals during Shy’s wedding are brilliant. His performance, followed by Harry Belafonte and well shot and a sign of good cinematography.
- Every time Lenny Bruce speaks, it’s a work of art. With the script already of the highest level, his delivery just seems to elevate it further, especially when he goes on a tirade like he did in the 6th episode.
- The concept of the Mafia matchmakers is side splitting humour. Those woman talking about territories threatening bodily harm in no uncertain terms to someone overstepping will have you rolling with laughter.
Rating: 3.5/5
Also Read: The Marvelous Mrs Maisel season 4 episodes 3 and 4 recaps & review