They continue to effortlessly bounce off one another with such zing, and a scene in which they realise that Zelda (Matilda Szydagis) getting married means Zelda no longer being their housekeeper is a cracker. Rose (Marin Hinkle) still prods a grapefruit at every breakfast and goes to new lengths to become New York’s finest matchmaker.

Abe (Tony Shalhoub) spends a whole episode distraught over a correction to one of his articles at the magazine he works for. There’s also the other terrific twosome: Midge’s parents. Can the pair make it over this last hurdle together? Brosnahan and Borstein have done wonders with their characters’ dynamite chemistry, even commanding the series’ most tear-jerking moment (although the finale wasn’t available to review, and it could easily – and likely will – top this). But there are also some big disagreements. Fans will smile/howl at plenty of satisfyingly nostalgic nods – most notably, a special shout out to Susie’s beloved plunger, ever present in season two’s Catskills episodes. Throughout this final stab at becoming a star, much of the focus is, as always, on Midge and Susie’s friendship – the odd couple who have been through so much to get here. So it’s back to the clubs for Midge and her 10 toes (phew!), where Susie pounces on a TV producer to secure her gal a job in a joke writing room for a primetime chat show.

That is, she is only expecting the performer to last another six months before she loses the will to carry on with comedy altogether. “Six months!” declares her agent Susie (Alex Borstein).

Having said no to the Tony Bennett gig because of her new “no opening acts!” manifesto, she is in bed, delirious with hypothermia, clinging to a frostbitten toe and full of regret. Some argue that along the way, the show’s quality has dipped in parts and run for one season too many – but a woman’s journey from being a doting 1950s housewife to a divorced standup comedian was never going to be swift.Īfter opening with a surprise flash-forward scene (a new one is cleverly used at the start of each episode to help tell the whole story), the series returns to the usual timeline and picks things up the morning after Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) got caught out in the blizzard that ended the previous season. Tits up! Amy Sherman-Palladino’s Emmy-winning comedy-drama, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, is taking a final bow with this fifth season.

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