LadyRose

Anachronism note: the Republic of Croatia didn't exist in 1960. It was part of Yugoslavia.

The advice Lennie gives Midge in this episode is the opposite of what Midge lays out in the first episode. She won't do opening acts, and she wants to change the business. Lennie tells he that to get ahead, she needs to do those opening acts and work within the business. Midge's vision of her career has come full circle...I hope. That was the arc this season: Midge learns that changing the business isn't the way to succeed in it, at least not yet. But the way it gets there is disjointed. Does she learn anything from the strip club, or was that just an excuse to stage all those fun dance numbers? She does gain a following. She also changes the club...by making it run the way a club should be run, in other words, by not changing the business.

A lot happened with Susie this season. She got the office, hired Dinah, took on new clients.

It was sweet how Abe revealed his changed feelings about Moishe. He spent years thinking Moishe was a schmuck, but finally realizes what a mensch he is. And gets to tell him. I was touched. Abe didn't spin his wheels this season. He started a new job,very different from his previous ones, plus the Moishe reversal.

There's no way Susie would let Rose set her up with anyone. Look how she reacted to Midge taking her to that lesbian bar. I don't think Rose is interested in fixing Susie up, anyway. She's so different from Rose's usual upper middle class clientele. But if Rose did try, or even just suggested it Susie, the scene would be hilarious! Rose asking her usual questions and making her usual type of remarks and Susie answering in ways Rose can't handle. ROSE: Have you ever considered wearing a girdle? SUSIE: Sure, just like I've considered wearing a suit of armor in a thunderstorm. F***, no! ROSE: If you want a husband.... SUSIE: You think I can't find some a**hole to live with? I found one at the Gaslight and he died on me! Right now I'm focused on finding better gigs for that numbskull daughter of yours! (I wish I knew a Yiddish word for a stubborn woman.) I'm no writer, obviously, but I can still imagine a hilarious scene.

Agree. And LOL at the Batman reference!

It's going to be interesting to see what happens with Mei's pregnancy. I doubt she'll have an abortion. It seems like TV shows these days avoid having characters have abortions. They may think about it, even go to the appointment, but change their minds. If she does have an abortion, well, she's a medical student and has connections in her community. She should be able to find a place to get a safe (but still illegal) abortion. Or even a legal one with a proper medical excuse. Or...she'll have a convenient (for the plot) miscarriage before she and Joel tell anyone about the pregnancy. Or she and Joel will get married and have the child, and the whole situation will be treated heartwarmingly but unrealistically. Moishe and Shirley will be horrified for about 10 seconds, and then Shirley will gush about having yet another grandchild. Mei will find surprisingly convenient child care arrangements, much as Midge has. I bet Mei and Joel argue for the next two episodes about telling their parents, and at the beginning of Season 5, we find out that Mei had a miscarriage between seasons.

About the $12K Midge turns down and Susie's gifts from Sophie that she could turn into cash but doesn't..I don't think that's so contrived. For Midge it's a matter of principle. She won't take money from Shy's people for keeping quiet when she already promised Shy personally (and sincerely apologized). She doesn't want to be bought like that. As for Susie, she feels that Susie's gifts come with way too many strings attached and she doesn't want to get entangled. Yes, they need the money, and it seems foolish to turn it down...but in their minds the money isn't worth it in these situations. They think they can make it another way that doesn't compromise them.

The show starts in the fall of 1958. In her first, drunken "set" at the Gaslight, Midge says that Joel is her "husband of four years," so they got married in 1954. Judging from the summery bright green bridesmaid's dresses at the wedding, it was probably in June or July. Ethan was probably born the following year, in 1955. In S. 4, E 1, Midge says Ethan's birthday is in November. Season 4 starts in 1960. Ethan would be 4 , almost 5, which tracks with him starting school. I just rewatched a couple of relevant episodes (S1, E 7 and S2, E8). In the first, Midge and Imogene are putting together treat bags for Ethan's birthday party. Imogene gushes about she can't believe their babies are turning four. That doesn't make sense. If he was born in 1955, he should be turning 3. If he's turning 4 in 1958, that would mean he was born in November of 1954, which means midge would have been at least 4 months pregnant at her wedding...which she was not. In S2,E8, it's Yom Kippur 1959, and the grownups are scolding Midge and Joel for giving Ethan candy in temple. "But he's four!" They both protest. Yom Kippur is in September or October. If Ethan's birthday is in November, and he was born in 1955, he would still be three. I call continuity error.

We don't see Imogene Aren't Imogene and Archie still having problems? She probably doesn't want to go to the club because she's still angry with Archie for spending so much time there. Or maybe she isn't going because she has 3 kids and she's going to secretarial school. That wouldn't leave much time for clubbing. I hate how Abe (Rose, too) can't remember Imogene's name. It's not funny and makes them look like jerks. It reminds me of GG where Emily could never get Lane's name right. She referred to her as "Jane" or "Rory's Asian friend," as if her name wasn't worth bothering to remember.

I'm no expert on burlesque or dance history...but I'm guessing they usually weren't, and the ones in the show are because ASP loves to direct dance numbers. She has a great choreographer and great dancers. I love the dance scenes and the singing, even though some fans say they slow the show down. They're just fun to watch!

I have mixed feelings about it. I remember how Bunheads very quickly started to turn into Gilmore Girls West, with GG actors in roles similar to their GG characters: Kelly Bishop, Liza Weil, and the guy who played Kirk. MMM has avoided that for the most part so far.

Of course Sophie knows how the elevator works. She was manipulating Susie into pushing the buttons for her. She plays dumb until people do what she wants them to. (If she can't actually order them to do thing, like she does her servants...or did.)

Aarrgghh!!! You're so right! Maisel is slowly turning into Gilmore Girls. Noooo!!! I hated those town meeting scenes and the insufferable characters (almost everyone). One thing I liked about the first three seasons of Maisel was that for the most part, it wasn't a GG clone. The scene in Season One where Rose passive- aggressively disapproves of Midge's job at B. Altman was dangerously close to an Emily Gilmore redux, but Rose is generally warmer than Emily. Bunheads became a GG clone almost immediately; Kelly Bishop's character was Emily Gilmore in a leotard, and other GG actors quickly joined the cast, more or less reprising their roles. I was afraid Liza Weil would turn out to be another Paris in Season Three of Maisel, but to my relief, she didn't. Kelly Bishop will be appearing sometime in Season Four. If she turns out to be a third version of Emily...just, no.

One thing Midge is not doing is raising the kids on her own. Her parents watched them in the first two seasons when she was living with them, working during the day and going out at night. What's more, her parents had no idea where she went at night. (Yes, she's a grown woman, not a teenager, but in my mind it's a matter of consideration for the people she lives with and concern for her own safety, to let them know where she'll be.) In the third season, the kids stayed with Joel or at their Maisel grandparents' house while Midge was on tour. Childcare arrangements are surprisingly easy for Midge. That said, I agree that Joel is a lying, manipulative cheat and that Midge's parents are overbearing. OTOH, they are not irredeemably horrible, nor is Midge beyond reproach.