However, there is something called common sense, which is why she deserved to be kicked off the European leg of Baldwin’s tour. If the Palladinos really want to make things interesting, they’ll present Midge with a tinge of notoriety next season. I will admit that watching “A Jewish Girl Walks Into the Apollo” as a 2019 viewer made it a challenge to be, as Reggie would say, “objective.” I doubt Midge would’ve been terribly clued in to gay culture given her background and the fact that this is pre- Stonewall New York. It wasn’t that long ago when she was hustling for $35-a-week gigs, and now she’s insisting her two kids go to tony private schools that neither she nor Joel can afford? (I get that this is 60 years ago, but that snobby wincing act over Ethan and Esther going to Queens public schools is plain obnoxious.) It’s time for Midge to drop the sheltered, naïve princess act because not only is it messing with her career, it’s just not a good look, period. Second, to echo Sophie Gilbert’s observations in The Atlantic, too often the series hints at moving into more substantial territory only to back off at the last minute. First off, once again, “A Jewish Girl Walks Into the Apollo” clocks in at an inflated hour and 15 minutes. It’s getting harder for me to move past “like” into “love” with this series, especially after season three proved weaker than Maisel’s two previous outings. (For the record, Maisel has not yet officially been renewed, but between Amazon’s bottomless budget, the abundance of unresolved story lines, and the show’s recent Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe nominations, I’m going on the assumption that we’re getting a fourth season.) Altman? The show needs momentum, and while I can’t disagree with writer-director Amy Sherman-Palladino’s choice of plot twist for “A Jewish Girl Walks Into the Apollo,” I also don’t know if hitting the reset button is the right way to go, either. The downside of the creative decision to bring Midge back (or close to) to square one is that now I worry next season will be a rehash of seasons one and two: Midge pounding the pavement for comedy gigs, flashbacks to her sweetheart life before Joel cheated, maybe even a return to B. Not only has she lost her gig with Shy Baldwin, but her greatest independent and financial achievement to date - purchasing her old classic-six apartment from Moishe Maisel - has been snatched away thanks to Susie’s gambling problem. Maisel closing out on career highs, it was perhaps inevitable that season three would conclude with Midge being knocked down several pegs. With the first two seasons of The Marvelous Mrs.

Incredible miss maisy