We've been following and rooting for Midge to get her big break for four seasons, and with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 set to be the acclaimed comedy's last, it's safe to say that we have an invested interest in how things turn out for her.
But it's not just Midge. Fans are going to want to know what happens to Susie, Abe & Rose, Joel & Mei and most of the fantastic ensemble that has made us laugh time and time again. We also want to know if we're going to need prepare for a certain real-life event.
Before the series finale hits, we're asking five big questions for the show (one of our 100 best TV shows of all time) and how we think they may turn out; we'll update this list if/when those questions get answered in the series.
Here are the questions that we need answered The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5. SPOILER WARNING, as we are going to be talking about season 5 details as they happen.
What happens with Midge's career?
Ever since Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) took to the stage for the first time, we, like Susie (Alex Borstein), saw a star in the making. Midge has enjoyed some career highs as well as suffered from a number of lows. But now that the end is in sight, we have to know, does Midge become the star that she has dreamed of being?
In season 4 Midge was refusing to be an opening act to anyone, even Tony Bennett. Instead, she was working as the emcee at a burlesque house. And while she was able to hone her act and help turn the originally seedy main show into something special, her future there could only go so far.
It isn't until Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) chimes in that Midge gets the proper perspective. Lenny criticizes Midge for not taking the Bennett gig and explains there is only a small window for comedians to snag their golden opportunity and if she misses hers because she's stubborn it would break his heart. After the talk, Midge finds herself standing in front of a billboard for The Gordon Ford Show as the season ends. So what happens next?
Our prediction: Based on that and the season 5 trailer featuring a good bit of Gordon Ford (Reid Scott), we can guess that Midge is going to work with Ford in some capacity and — because this is a comedy series — that'll lead to Midge's big break to stardom.
What happened: The flashforward shown during season 5 revealed that Midge not only gets her big break, but she becomes an all-time comedy legend. But it was in the finale where he saw how it happened. After Susie called in a favor with Gordon Ford's wife (a former flame), Midge gets a spot on the show, but Gordon spitefully doesn't plan on letting her perform, just interviewing her as one of his writers. However, when the show needs to fill four minutes of airtime, Midge takes a risk and outmaneuvers Gordon to do her set on the show. It goes over so well that Gordon invites her to the couch, calls her "the marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and fires her, allowing her to take the first steps in what her career will become.
What happens with Rose's matchmaking business?
Just as her daughter has been making her own career dreams come true, Rose (Marin Hinkle) has gone from a housewife to an entrepreneur, using her skills at pairing young couples up into an official matchmaking business. But as we saw in season 4, the world of matchmaking can be cutthroat.
Rose met a group of women who have already carved out the matchmaking game in New York, led by Benedetta (Kelly Bishop). They bluntly tell Rose to end her business or go to "war" with them. Rose ends up deciding to stand her ground and take on the ladies. So will she be able to come out on top in this fight?
Our prediction: It's not going to be easy and Rose, and by extension Abe (Tony Shalhoub), will take some licks, but we think she is going to win the day. Specifically, she may pull a Godfather-esque move (minus the murders) to seize control and become the de facto leader of the New York matchmakers.
What happened: Whether or not the fellow matchmakers were responsible for cancelling Rose and Abe's trip or burning down the tearoom where Rose does business, it gets her frazzled enough to seek help from Susie, which in turn leads to Susie's mob friends to frame Bendetta and the others. Following this, the other matchmakers agree to let Rose operate on the west side.
Do Joel and Mei stay together?
Joel (Michael Zegen) and Mei (Stephanie Hsu) seem to have gotten over the biggest hurdle of their relationship last season when Joel's parents Moishe (Kevin Pollak) and Shirley (Caroline Aaron) accept Mei and the fact the pair are going to have a baby. But Moishe does present one last wrinkle: he wants Mei to convert to Judaism. Could that spell doom for the couple or is it something that they can work out?
Our prediction: We actually think that whether it is the conversion aspect or something else, Joel and Mei are not going to make it as a couple. Thankfully Joel has grown since he left Midge, so it will probably be a little less messy this time around; plus he already has practice raising a kid while not together with the mother.
What happened: Well that didn't take long. In the season 5 premiere our prediction that Joel and Mei would split was proven correct and in heartbreaking fashion. Mei surprises Joel in his apartment, telling him that she is moving to Chicago to pursue her career as a doctor in earnest; that includes giving up the baby, with Mei having already had the procedure. They say a sorrow-filled goodbye and Mei walks out of Joel's life for good.
Who will Midge end up with?
If Joel does end things with Mei, does that leave the door open for him and Midge to get back together? Or will Midge find love with someone else? We saw that Milo Ventimiglia's flirtatious character popped up again in the trailer.
Our prediction: While Midge will have options to get remarried, we're betting she stays single and that her most important relationship is the friendship and business partnership she has with Susie. But we'll just say if Midge does end up with someone at the end of the series, we think she gets back together with Joel.
What happened: We saw that Midge got married a handful of times throughout the rest of her life, but none of them stuck. However, Joel remained a constant presence in her life, "the one that got away" she jokes to him. Still, as the series ends, Midge is single and despite a period of them not speaking with each other, Midge and Susie are the two most important people in each other's lives, with the series ending as the two of them watch Jeopardy! together over the phone and make each other laugh.
Will the Marvel Mrs. Maisel season 5 deal with Lenny Bruce’s death?
One person many fans have been hoping to see Midge end up with is Lenny Bruce. In season 4, those fans got their wish at least in part, as Midge and Lenny spend a night together in a hotel. But the next morning Midge found Lenny's stash of drugs, putting a cloud over their long awaited connection.
Lenny is a variation of real-life comic Lenny Bruce, who tragically died at the age of 40 from an accidental overdose in 1966. With reports that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is going to include some flash forwards from its standard timeline in the early 1960s, can we expect the show to tackle Lenny's death, and, if so, just how are they going to handle it?
Our prediction: Because of what Lenny has meant for Midge throughout the series, the show is going to have to deal with Lenny's death in some capacity; we think it'll be more passive. The show has briefly touched on Lenny's addiction problems a few times, but he has mainly been a kind of spiritual and comedic guide for Midge; there one moment, gone the next. While we hope to get at least one more great scene between the two, when it comes to Lenny's death we think the show touches upon it after the fact, when Midge has dealt with any lingering emotions and can remember the positives of Lenny.
What happened: The show never actually mentions Lenny's death, but it did provide its interpretation of the penultimate performance of his career in August 1965, a year before his death. He is struggling as he mostly talks about his legal troubles. Susie tries to convince him to sign with her and let her help him get back on track, but he refuses. Midge was at the performance, but she does not talk with Lenny. However, the final scene we see of Lenny and Midge is a flashback to the night they spent together, as Lenny teaches her how to sign an autograph at a Chinese restaurant. He pretends to read her fortune, predicting how far she will go, then gives her the slip that only has lucky numbers on it. We saw earlier that Midge kept the fortune slip and had it with her as she performs on The Gordon Ford Show, Lenny being there in spirit.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is available to stream exclusively on Prime Video.
