Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Season 5 Episode 9 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Four Minutes

What happens to Lenny Bruce?

In 1965, Lenny Bruce does an act in San Francisco. But due to his drug addiction, he’s lacking his usual quick wit and charm. Susie is there to witness it, and she checks on the comic after his act for Midge’s sake (while she hides her presence from Lenny).

Susie offers to leverage her connections to get Lenny performing in important spots again. But he wants her to keep those favors and use them on someone worthy of them.

She then reports back to Midge that Lenny is a mess. Midge tears up, but she doesn’t feel like talking to him. 

What is Susie’s history with Hedy?

Back in 1961, Susie is arrested for sleeping on a park bench after her interaction with Hedy made her so distraught. This is what Midge had to rush away from work for: to bail Susie out of jail.

Susie tells Miriam she asked Hedy to get her on the show, then goes into a long, vague rant about Hedy. She used to bus tables while on a scholarship at Pennbrook. Hedy used to come in every day just to talk to Susie.

They fought all the time, but they had plans to move away together after college. Susie really thought it would happen. But Hedy got engaged in college instead. So Susie moved to New York and never looked back.

Does Midge get on The Gordon Ford Show?

At work, Gordon gives Midge the news that she’s going to be on his show tonight–and he’s not happy about it.

This throws Midge into a frenzy to get ready in time. She immediately gets a dress, tells Susie, then plants herself in Susie’s office to call Rose and make sure that she comes to see her.

Midge shares her exciting news with Joel, and he gives her his blessing to talk about him all she wants. She invites him to come see her at the studio. After she hangs up, she notices she’s ruined her dress by leaning on Susie’s windowsill.

Dinah runs to Bergdorff’s to get Midge a dress so she can get to the studio, where she and Suse put together a set.

Do Moishe and Shirley make up?

When Moishe and Shirley meet Joel and Archie at the factory, they are supported by canes, and Moishe is in a cast. They explain that Moishe slipped in the shower. He called out for Shirley, who slipped and fell right on top of him.

Since the cleaning lady wasn’t coming until later, they simply lay there and talked. For the first time in a long while, they listened to each other. In the end, Moishe was convinced to sell the business and retire. He wants to, for his wife.

Does Rose go to see Midge on The Gordon Ford Show?

Midge calls Abe to tell him she has tickets for him and Rose, to which Abe expresses wholesome excitement (character growth!). Abe immediately goes to find Rose and tell her the plans, but she doesn’t want to go. If Miriam wanted her there so much, she thinks, why didn’t she try to tell her herself?

It turns out she has been trying to get in touch with her a myriad of ways, but Rose’s phone has been off the hook. Realizing how much Midge cares, she and Abe rush out the door and do everything in their power to grab a cab, and end up settling for a bus.

Does Gordon prevent Midge from doing standup?

Right as Miriam prepares to go on the show, Gordon corrects a misunderstanding. He doesn’t want her on the show to do her act. He’s having her come on the show so he can interview her as one of his writers.

Susie tries to negotiate with Gordon, to no avail. She tries Mike too, but it’s out of his hands when Gordon lays down the law.

What happens on The Gordon Ford Show?

Gordon introduces Midge as the show’s “resident lady writer,” as her parents watch proudly from the audience, unaware that this is not how tonight was supposed to go. When Midge makes the audience laugh, an angry Gordon cuts to a commercial four minutes early.

Mike berates Gordon for ending early; he has four minutes to fill when they come back. And Midge has an idea for those four minutes. During the break, Midge pulls Susie aside to tell her she has a risky idea that could ruin both of them. Susie tells her she started her career by saying things no one wanted her to say, so why should she stop now?

So when they return from commercial, Miriam commandeers the segment to do her act, noting to Gordon beforehand that she’s never been good at following rules. With a tight four minutes of standup, Midge makes an incredible impression on the audience. Even Gordon can’t ignore how funny she is, so he invites her to sit down so he can properly introduce her to his viewers–all while Susie watches proudly, a hand over heart.

What happened between Midge and Lenny?

Six months earlier, Midge and Lenny were eating dinner together on the night of the snowstorm. Lenny takes her fortune cookie and reads aloud her fortune about how the spotlight waits for her. She takes the fortune from him; it actually lists her lucky numbers. But he reiterates his sentiment. She’s going to be successful.

How does ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ end? Does Midge become famous?

Lenny was right. In 2005, Midge is booked solid for worldwide tours. It’s a somewhat lonely life, but she has a ritual with Susie that makes her happy.

Susie is retired now (and extremely successful herself by the looks of her living space) but remains close friends with Midge. Every week, they tape Jeopardy so they can watch it together and catch up on life.

The season ends with Midge laughing uncontrollably over something Susie says.


The Episode Review

While the series finale of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel doesn’t wrap up everything perfectly–ultimately, I think the season needed to spend more time on individual character arcs–it ends in a fitting, heartwarming place. The closing scene with Susie and Midge is exactly where the series needed to end, in fact.

When Midge was preparing to marry Philip Roth, she ultimately couldn’t do it because he didn’t make her laugh. So, in the final seconds of the show, it’s clear that Midge has found her soulmate, as she laughs uncontrollably at something Susie says.

In season 4, Miriam had a lot of growing up to do. She didn’t examine how her actions, or lack thereof, would affect her manager. But this time, while preparing to go back onto The Gordon Ford Show, she asks. She waits for Susie’s approval. And the two of them jump together. With that, the comedy drama shines the spotlight on the relationship of central importance in Midge’s story, and makes Midge’s and Susie’s success in the industry all the sweeter.

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You can read our full season review for Marvelous Mrs Maisel season 5 here!

 

  • Episode Rating
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4.5

11 thoughts on “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Season 5 Episode 9 Recap, Review & Ending Explained”

  1. As the credits begin to roll at the end of the episode, there is a whispered word. What is it?

  2. Excellent summation of this episode. As much as we’ve grown to love Midge & company, this series ends on a high note. My wife & I loved it.

  3. Thank you, reading this is helping me process my feelings about the end of this wonderful show. Just want to remind the person who read this post before watching the episode & is complaining about spoilers: it is very easy to just not read before watching, and you should make better choices next time.

  4. Um, you realize this is released before the show? Like, I’m reading this at May 25th, 11pm. Not cool

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