After a treacly, uneven third season, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (Amazon Prime) appears to have found its fangs again. “Revenge … I crave it. I am completely consumed by the need for it,” purrs Midge/Miriam (nobody seems to call her Midge any more), rediscovering her sharp edges, now back on a small stage in a dingy nightclub, with an act that is heavy on the F-word. This show is never better than when Miriam is having to fight tooth and nail for her spot in the limelight, and it is a welcome relief to see her having to do it again. “That’s life. Shit happens,” she declares, ending the routine on a surprisingly acerbic note.
I say surprising because, while the first two seasons were a lot of fun, Mrs Maisel found herself in a rut during the third, which paired huge set pieces with a meandering plot and episodes that felt far longer than they were. Season three all-but guaranteed that Miriam was going to make it big, until her seemingly certain path to stardom and home ownership hit not so much a road block as a solid brick wall, when she accidentally(ish) outed the biggest star in the world to his adoring audience. It appears that few picked up on the Judy Garland references that felt a little ahead of their time, but it was enough to get her fired from her fame-making tour, and bring her back to where it all started.
