The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is taking her final bow, as the season 5 finale, which is also the series finale, is now available to watch on Prime Video.
For five seasons we've seen Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) and Susie (Alex Borstein) fight to make Midge a star, while also enjoying the antics of her family, including her parents Abe (Tony Shalhoub) and Rose (Marin Hinkle), ex-husband Joel (Michael Zegen) and more. So, with The Marvelous Mrs. Maise ending, what happens with all of these characters?
Using a number of flashforwards, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 showed us how Midge's career progressed through the years, as we saw very early on that she became a big success. The question heading into the series finale was what was the moment that her career really took off?
Read on to get that answer, as well as some other big question you may have had about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ending. Spoilers ahead.
How did Midge get The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel nickname?
Though Midge and Joel divorced, she kept Maisel for her stage name, introducing herself as Mrs. Maisel during her acts throughout the series. However, we never heard anyone call her "the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" heading into the finale. So how does the eponymous nickname come about? Through a gutsy career move.
After Susie begrudgingly asks her former flame Hedy (Nina Arianda) to help Midge get on The Gordon Ford Show, Gordon (Reid Scott) relents. But he is not happy about it and pulls a fast one to reassert some control, telling Midge she won't be performing, he's interviewing her as a writer on the show. Midge can only grit her teeth and go along with it, until Gordon tries to cut her segment short, leaving four minutes of air time that need to be filled. Gordon thinks he'll just carry on with the interview, but Midge spots her chance. With Susie reminding her that her career started by going up on a stage she wasn't supposed to and giving her an encouraging "tits up," Midge enacts her plan.
She quickly flips the table on Gordon and breaks into her act. With the cameras rolling, Gordon can only watch as Midge wins over the audience with a brilliant set. It's so good that Gordon can't even stop himself from laughing. When she finishes, he surprisingly invites her over to sit down on the couch and be a true guest on the show. Saying he should properly introduce her, he calls her "the magnificent, the magical, the marvelous Mrs. Maisel."
And so, a legend was born.
What happens with Midge and Susie?
The flashforwards used throughout season 5 offered us glimpses of what Midge and Susie's careers had in store. Midge became one of the biggest comedians of her generation and Susie became one of the most successful managers in the entertainment industry. But it is also alluded that the two had a falling out.
In The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 episode 6, we got more information on that. When Joel is arrested in the 1980s, he gives Midge a note that explains how he worked with the mobsters Susie knew to get Midge out from under their thumb. Midge then blames Susie for what her mob connections have done to Joel and wonders if Susie still pushes her to do things to satisfy her gambling debts. As a result, Midge fires Susie and the two don't talk for years. But, at the ceremony that Susie is given in the early 1990s honoring her career, Midge sends a peace offering in the form of a video, saying she hopes she and Susie can get together and talk soon.
The final moments of the last episode then take place in 2005. Midge takes care of some business with her team and then eats alone in her massive New York City apartment. But then she picks up the phone and calls Susie, who is living in some tropical location (probably Hawai'i). The two clearly made up long ago, as they watch a taped episode of Jeopardy! together, making each other laugh the way only two really good friends can.
What happens to Lenny Bruce in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?
Prior to the Mrs. Maisel season 5 finale, we only saw Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) in episode 1 when he said goodbye to Midge as he headed out west. But he appears in the opening moments of episode 9. It's 1965 and he is performing in a club in San Francisco. He is bombing, talking about his legal issues rather than the quick-fired and edgy jokes that he is known for. Susie talks to him after the show and offers to help him, but Lenny refuses. He asks if Midge is there, but Susie says no. However, Midge is there, waiting for Susie in the alley, who tells her Lenny won't accept her help, but she'll try again another time.
The performance Lenny gave actually happened and is believed to be one of his final performances before he died in 1966. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel never mentions Lenny's death, however, letting this scene serve as the example of the tragic end of Lenny's career.
But it is not the final time we see Lenny. A flashback shows a scene between Midge and Lenny after they spend the night together in season 4. They are at a Chinese restaurant and Lenny reads her fortune cookie, playfully, but sincerely, telling her it says she will go on to do great things. He hands her the fortune, which only has a series of lucky numbers on it. Earlier in the episode, as Midge is getting ready to go on The Gordon Ford Show, we see that she has the same fortune cookie slip, seemingly keeping it as a memento from Lenny.
Other The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ending notes
Some quick things that happens with some of your other favorite The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel characters:
- We see earlier in season 5 that Joel ends up in jail, but he and Midge remain close even throughout her multiple marriages. In the finale, Midge refers to him as "the one that got away."
- Abe and Rose are at Midge's performance at The Gordon Ford Show, immensely proud of their daughter. Abe made that realization in an incredible speech in episode 8, while Rose came around when in a fun bit she sees how much Midge wants to have her at this milestone career moment.
- Moishe (Kevin Pollak) and Shirley (Caroline Aaron) stay together, with Moishe finally deciding that it is time for him to retire.
All episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel are now available to stream on Prime Video.
