The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s finale has finally landed on Amazon Prime Video after five magnificent seasons, finding concluding Miriam’s story of a journey to stardom - but what exactly happens? Here’s the finale - and those final moments - explained. And be warned, spoilers ahead…
In season five, episode nine, Four Minutes, the show opens up with a heartbreaking moment with Lenny Bruce in 1965, just one year before the real-life comic’s death from a drug overdose. Clearly intoxicated, he does a shambolic act then refuses Susie’s assistance, who has come to offer him help at the request of a concerned Miriam, who waits outside. This is the latest point in Lenny’s life that we ever see him, serving as an indicator that this is the last time Miriam will ever see him before his death in the next year.
So, onto Miriam’s quest for fame. Our Midge has finally got her shot at the big time. After emotionally destroying herself by asking her one and only ex for a crucial favour to get Miriam onto The Gordon Ford Show, a bailed out and bereft Susie finally opens about her relationship with Gordon’s wife Hedy. They were a solid couple, before Hedy broke her heart by getting engaged without telling her. Susie vows that she will never love again, and Miriam tells her that she is certain that she will one day.
© Philippe Antonello/Prime VideoMidge is thrilled to land a spot on the show, and invites everyone including her mother Rose and father Abe, Joel, Archie and Imogene and Joel’s parents Moishe and Shirley. However, she soon discovers that Gordon is furious that he has been strong armed into having Midge appear on the show, and has reduced her appearance to a brief, dull chat about working in the writer’s room.
© Philippe Antonello/Prime VideoIn a scene reminiscent of her first ever stand-up act in season one, Miriam instead grabs a microphone and - in the four minutes from the finale’s title - performs a stand-up act to rapturous applause and to the delight of her proud parents and ex-husband.
Deeply impressed, Gordon ushers her to join him on the couch, interviewing her properly as a guest. Calling her the “magnificent, the magical, the marvelous Mrs Maisel’ to rapturous applause, Midge and Susie smile to each other from across the room - knowing (as viewers also know) that Miriam has finally made it big.
© Philippe Antonello/Prime VideoIn a final flashback of Miriam and Lenny, the pair discuss Miriam’s planned rise to fame, with Lenny telling her that he is utterly certain that she is going to get everything that she wants. He says: “You mark my words. Very soon, in the not too distant future, you will be paying for the Chinese food.”
The story then jumps forward to 2005, where an aged Miriam lives in a grand apartment in New York City, and is still spending her days filled with work, including a comedy tour taking place in London.
© Philippe Antonello/Prime VideoWhile the final scene radiates loneliness, with Miriam irked by having a free day with no plans, passing by a beautifully made long table only to eat alone in the kitchen, and looking fondly at a photo of herself and Joel on their wedding day, hinting that he is no longer with her, the show’s final moments conclude with Miriam calling Susie, who is now retired, and the pair watching Jeopardy together, making each other howl with laughter over the phone - and confirming once again that Miriam’s relationship with Susie is the most important of her life.
MORE: Everything you need to know about the fifth and final season of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
MORE: Marvelous Mrs Maisel: fans devastated as they spot heartbreaking detail in Lenny Bruce scene
© David Giesbrecht/Prime VideoDiscussing the finale on Twitter, one person wrote: “Let's be real, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was a love story between Midge and Susan. That's how you end a series, ladies and gentlemen,” while another joking: ‘The minute Gordon Ford says ‘the magnificent, the magical…The marvelous Mrs. Maisel' was more impactful and more powerful than anything that has ever happened on succession lol.”
© Philippe Antonello/Prime VideoA third person added: “The Midge scene at The Gordon Show was SO good like you could see how happy she was and proud, and Susie & Abe crying and it was the first time they said the name of the show THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL!”
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