What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 1, Episode 7 “Put That on Your Plate!” (B+)

It’s been over a month since I last watched this show, and now that I’m caught up enough on my newly-aired TV, I’m catching back up on all the Netflix and Amazon series I was watching too. This is the penultimate episode of this show that was already renewed for a second season before the first one started, and it’s just as good as ever. The opening montage with Midge workshopping her jokes and improving them to increased laughter and approval from Susie was very effective, and it’s clear just how much she takes events and interactions from her personal life and just finds a way to tell them that’s funny. Meeting Jane Lynch’s famous comedienne was eye-opening since the life she lives at home is so different from the unglamorous fat suit she dons during her routine, and Midge wasn’t at all convinced that women need to have a character in order to be taken seriously on stage. Her experience at Sophie’s mansion was really something, and that fur coat she made her take caused quite the scene with Rose during synagogue services. Deciding to change up her routine to vent her frustrations about her mother and reveal Sophie’s secret life was a bad idea, and now Harry is furious at both her and Susie. Joel remembering the glory days of his bar mitzvah only to wake up in his parents’ home was a sobering introduction to his very mature budget proposal for Abe that didn’t factor in any living expenses for him. I enjoyed Abe hearing every word of Midge and Imogene’s conversation and refusing to call Imogene anything other than Doty even after realizing that it wasn’t her name.