4x07 Ethan…Esther…Chaim

[6.0/10] So magic is real in the Maisel-verse. Let’s start there. As Susie might say, “What the fuck?!”

Part of me wants to applaud the chutzpah of going full on Magical Realism at this stage of the game. The show at least teased Alfie’s genuine mystical abilities in the first episode with Susie’s little jaunt into the calendar. But the fact that he can conjure images out of nowhere, predict the future, disappear into thin air, and most of all, hypnotize Rose into doing her act word-for-word is a bridge too far for me. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel already exists in a certain heightened reality. Going beyond some fanciful sleight of hand and making Alfie legitimately magical is just too much.

But you know what? Somehow not the most questionable thing in the episode. Midge is...really callous and oblivious here. I want to believe that the show knows this and is doing this intentionally to reveal a certain self-centeredness that’s going to come crashing down in some way shape or form, especially after how well the show handled the Shy Baldwin confrontation. I’m still a little wary of Sherman-Palladino protagonist blind spots though.

Let’s recap. (1.) She’s very harsh with Joel over the reveal about Mei. Granted, that’s the most fair one of the bunch, since Joel was brusque with her and hearing that your ex is getting married and having a baby would be jarring for anyone. (2.) Yet again, she doesn’t seem like she’s willing to listen to Susie, and even taking gigs without her. Again, granted, the Croatia gig was a legitimate non-starter. But Midge doesn’t seem to hear or care that Susie can’t promote her without Midge making the effort to climb the ladder, to be an opening act where Susie can nevertheless take bigwigs to see her. Midge doesn’t care, and won’t even close the door on her way out.

(3.) Midge’s act is pretty cruel to her family. Maybe you can say she never meant for them to hear that stuff, but it’s still personal and unflattering details to share in a public place without the consent of the people you’re talking about. Anyone friendly with creatives knows that parts of your lives will end up in their art, but there’s ways to handle that gracefully, and Midge’s is anything but. (4.) She’s oblivious to how the story of her accidental instance of being The Other Woman might be too racy for this crowd, no matter how they cheer, and more so might hurt none other than Jackie Kennedy. Now look, emotionally piercing a future first lady with your infidelity-based comedy isn’t high on the list of predictable social faux pas to avoid, but still.

(5.) Last but not least, you even have poor Dinah trying to work around Midge’s self-focus. Whether it’s adjusting meeting times to account for the fact that Midge is chronically late or Midge enlisting her manager to get her dress back from an accidental one night stand, an effort that “took some doing,” you get the plain sense that Midge expects the world to bend to her will. And hey, that’s even setting aside that she recruits mob guys to stalk her ex’s new squeeze, spilling the secrets she swore not to tell anyone in the process.

I think, I hope, that the folks behind the show see how selfish this all is. I hope, as I’ve hoped from the beginning of the season, that this will be an opportunity for Midge to gain some self-awareness. Rose is wrong when she told Midge to stop what she’s doing, but she was right when she told her daughter that they’re all connected. Midge’s choices have consequences for other people. And increasingly, it seems as though she doesn’t care about that, or anything but herself.

But by god, Susie does! In addition to going all out for Alfie, she recognizes the special talent of James, the stand-up Dinah takes her to see at a chicken and waffles joint. It’s enough to keep Susie from firing Dinah, which frankly seemed nuts since, despite Dinah’s controlled chaos, she seemed fantastic at working within Susie’s own brand of chaos and getting things done.

More to the point though, we can see in these things Susie making good on the promise she made at Jackie’s funeral. She’s giving people a chance who would never otherwise get one, people who have something special that she recognizes and wants to nurture. As Midge gets worse, Susie seems to get better, and I suppose I’ll take that trade.

In terms of serious things, that just leaves Joel and Mei. I have a feeling about where this storyline is going (which would, ironically, take it in the exact opposite direction of how Gilmore Girls used to handle these sorts of unexpected developments. Nevertheless, I like Joel freaking out about how his life is about to change significantly. He has no right to be rude to Midge about it, but expecting a baby right when you’ve been robbed at least makes it comprehensible, if not justifiable. Joel telling Moishe, replete with a fainting spell, is a little cheesy as an episode break, but their interactions remain sweet, and I have a feeling all of Joel’s confessions will amount to naught.

In less serious tones, I don’t know how to feel about Abe being strong-armed by the Matchmaking Mafia. It’s a ludicrous storyline to begin with, but then they take it someplace serious and meaningful. For however wrong Midge is for most of this episode, she’s right in telling her mother that if this thing makes her happy and fulfilled, she should fight for it. I’m curious to see where Rose’s arc goes this season, even if the tonal shifts are a bit awkward.

All of that said, this one’s...pretty funny? The gag runs for too long, but Abe accidentally taking communion and not knowing what to do with the wafer is some great Jewish comedy. Astrid’s provincial reactions to Alfie’s show are hilarious. Susie getting dressed completely on top but not on bottom is bizarre but makes for a funny exchange. And the comics, from Midge, to Lenny, to god help us all, Rose Weissman, do a good job in their acts. Hell, the cold open with Midge running into a Handsome Man (freakin’ Jess!) who turns out to be running a Dennis Reynolds play on her is a great comic swerve. For all the discomfiting material in this one, there’s at least some good yuks.

Overall, this isn’t a great lead-in to the finale, whether for the existence of magic, Midge’s self-centeredness, or some weird tonal balancing acts, but I’m still hoping against hope that, after a very good season up this point, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is going somewhere with all of this.