The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Season 5 Episode 8 Recap & Review

The Princess and the Plea

In The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5 Episode 8, Midge and Joel recall their history together–good and bad–while waiting for a parent-teacher meeting to commence. The teacher has a problem with Abe, who’s been by several times to bother the school about Esther’s future enrollment there. Even at home, Abe has been testing Esther’s intelligence.

Meanwhile, Dinah sets up an apology from Susie to James and berates her for telling him it wasn’t his turn to shine on the Jack Paar show. She then convinces her to book James on the show. Just because Midge can’t break through, doesn’t mean James has had anything handed to him.

Midge goes to a college reunion with her old friends. At their old meeting spot, they find bottles with messages from their past selves, with things written on them like “Love like your life depends on it.” Midge’s message says only… “Don’t!” She can’t puzzle out what she meant. Her friends assure her she at least “didn’t” miss out on life. She’s recently had an adventure-filled chapter in her life. But Midge isn’t convinced that’s what her younger self was getting at.

At work, Gordon announces that, thanks to Hedy’s pulling strings, Princess Margaret will be coming onto their show. It’s Midge’s moment to shine, as she knows the most about the princess and royal family. In the end, the show goes incredibly well.

Afterwards, Hedy introduces herself to Midge to congratulate her on the bit she came up with. Midge tries to share credit with the men, but Hedy stops her with that word again. “Don’t.” Don’t let others take credit. Hedy then asks about Susie, informing Midge that they were once roommates.

This leads Midge to confront Susie about knowing Hedy Ford and not trying to pull any strings to get her on The Gordon Ford Show. Susie makes excuses, but Midge won’t have it. If Susie doesn’t do everything she can to further her career, she’s not doing enough. This isn’t just a fun chapter in her life, like her college friends implied. This is serious, and Susie needs to treat it as such.

At dinner with Gabe and his friends, Abe is preoccupied with his own failings. He shares how disappointed he is with the world. The others think he means how the world is changing too much for men their age. But Abe’s fear is that the world is as it always was. And men just didn’t see it. Their blindness has hurt people.

For example, Abe thinks he’s done exactly the wrong thing for both his children. Everything he thought about men and women has turned out to be wrong. He never took Miriam as seriously as he did his son. He never paid her much attention, and yet she has fearlessness and strength neither he nor his son have.

“What could she have been if I had helped her? And not ignored her? Ignored who she really is?” he wonders. “My daughter is a remarkable person, and I don’t think I’ve ever said that to her.”

Susie too knows what a remarkable talent Midge is. She made a mistake with James, and she can’t hold Midge back in the same way. It’s this reason that sees her begrudgingly going to Hedy. She cuts right to the chase, asking her to talk to Gordon and get Midge on the show. Hedy asks if Susan has feelings for Midge, which gets no response. She then says she’ll talk to her husband, but she can’t make any guarantees.

Hedy makes the request of Gordon the next morning, to his annoyance. He owes her, so he’s obligated. But before Gordon can say anything to Midge, she gets an emergency call and has to rush away.

The Episode Review

Tony Shalhoub is a treasure, and that dinner scene with Abe is one of my favorites in the entirety of the series. Abe is a stubborn man who usually believes he’s the smartest person in any room he’s in. It’s a surprise, then, to see him humble himself to the point of admitting a long history of wrongdoing–but it’s also some merited, heart-warming character growth. I only want Midge to hear that word for herself from her dad… “remarkable.”

And Midge has done some needed self-reflecting of her own. “Don’t.” Her past self could have meant several things, but whatever young Midge thought, the word has several implications for Midge now. Don’t give others credit for your own work. Don’t let life pass you by.

But I have my own idea of what Midge meant, and it’s tragic. Like some of her college friends, I think Midge had an idea of living a more aspirational life that never played out for her. It’s obvious now that Midge isn’t a great housewife or mother. So if “Don’t” meant “don’t get married,” or “don’t have children”–as Midge had always planned to do with her life–then what could she have done in her career up to this point? 

I’m not sure, but I hope she can follow the advice now. She’s so close to her big break, thanks to a difficult choice on Susie’s part. Don’t mess it up, Midge.