Is The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 worth your valuable viewing time? We’re diving in to find out in our Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 review!
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When last we left Midge (Rachel Brosnahan), she was stumbling through the snow, having just been lectured about her future by Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby). She will need to re-examine her life and how she plans to get to her eventual goals, but it seems she isn’t quite as rigid as she once was about how she’s going to get there.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 introduces a new element in the form of flash-forwards. Throughout the nine episodes, we see small glimpses that hint at where each character ends up, but still leave us with the mystery of how they arrived there. Joel (Michael Zegan) has one of the biggest mysteries from this story mechanic, but all is eventually explained.
Another new element this season is Midge’s children, Esther and Ethan. While they have always been a part of the series, their roles have always been minor. In this final season, we see them not only take on more active roles, but we see them as fully realized adults thanks to the flash-forwards. We also understand how their mother’s career has impacted them and their relationship to her.
The only people short-changed this season were some of the ancillary characters. Despite Imogene (Bailey De Young) being mentioned in numerous episodes, you only see her onscreen once. This is understandable as there was so much to do this season, but it still feels a bit noticeable as the season goes on.
Two moments, in particular, stood out throughout the nine episodes: A fight between characters that I don’t want to spoil in the least, and a monologue from Abe (Tony Shalhoub). The argument scene is short, direct, and has lasting impacts, but it has possibly one of the cruelest things I have ever said on television if you know this show well. It feels, real, and visceral in such a way that I am not sure I have ever seen an argument done on television before. Even as a viewer, it knocked the wind out of me and disturbed me in how biting it was.
And then there is Abe’s monologue. It comes very late in the season, but it sums up the theme of these final episodes for you. It’s a mixture of self-realization, acceptance, sorrow, regret, and, finally, an apology. Shalhoub has been a standout throughout this series, but this scene alone may win him another Emmy.
The Palladinos seem to have finished the series on their terms, a luxury they didn’t initially have on Gilmore Girls, and most certainly did not have on Bunheads. As the screen fades to black for the last time and the credits begin to roll, you feel closure. You have a genuine sense that the stories of these characters are not done, nor wrapped in neat little packages, but you have seen what you needed to see.
It is a very satisfying end, something that all too often we don’t get to say about TV series.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 will debut on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, April 14.
Disclaimer: Amazon provided The Nerdy with all nine episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 for the purposes of this review. We watched them to completion before beginning this review.
