The curtain closed on Amy Sherman-Palladino’s cinematic masterpiece, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” last week after five seasons. The final season, and especially its finale, elicited mixed reviews from critics and viewers.
I’ve been a faithful viewer from season one, episode one of the Prime Video show. The gorgeous cinematography and witty banter hooked me, and Rachel Brosnahan’s classically feminine wardrobe alone was enough to keep me watching. But by the start of season five, I started to lose interest, because — spoiler alert — as a 20-year fan of Sherman-Palladino’s shows, I already knew how it was going to end: “Midge” Maisel would certainly succeed, at least, she would succeed in her quest to become a famous comedienne. But her personal life? Not so much.
Indeed, the show whispers of Midge’s fate from the very start of season five, where the first few episodes open with “flash-forwards” to the ’70s and ’80s. We see an older (still impeccably dressed) Midge ascend to atmospheric levels of success and mind-bending wealth, yet we also learn of her quasi-estrangement from her two children and “four marriages” (we are not told whether the fourth marriage stuck, but the absence of a spousal appearance in these future scenes indicates it did not).
The season finale confirms what earlier episodes signaled: We flash forward to the year 2005, where an older Midge sits in a glorious penthouse surrounded by staff and advisers, discussing her upcoming events and travel schedule. It is clear that Midge (still impeccable!)
