S05.E06: The Testi-Roastial

[Nidratime]

I have to say, I loved the closing song that played while the credits rolled. Had forgotten about that Elton John song. So beautiful.

[KittyQ]

I recently read Claire Bloom's memoir, which included a section on her marriage to Philip Roth, and Midge was right to back out of that marriage, even with the expensive cake!

I was glad to get the information about why Joel ended up in jail, and especially why Midge and Susie has that big breakup.  It did seem that Susie became harder and more callous through the years, but she was clearly touched by Midge's message, so there's hope that they will reconnect in some way. 

 

[mostlylurking]

On 5/4/2023 at 9:42 PM, kwnyc said:

And while Susie turned into a monster...or did she? She actually remained loyal to everyone who was loyal to her. Maybe when you deal with monsters in show biz, you become one.

I agree with you.  I do t think Susie turned into a monster at all.  She was loyal to her clients and to her mentor, and was greatly compensated for both.  Yeah, getting “mobbed up” was tricky, but I don’t think they left her much of a choice and again, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement that was probably super common in those days.  Maybe still today (allegedly).  Miriam was not a naive child, she knew what was going on.  She chose to stay oblivious.

The only thing I didn’t like was Susie calling Midge a C-word.  Other than that I think she stayed true throughout.  It’s only been five years since their falling out.  I think Susie was sadder and more lost because of the loss of Midge in her life.  I’m also hoping Midge wanting to meet up is not some sort of trap.

[bettername2come]

I love that she sent her enforcers out for Dinah's boyfriend. And that she was sending her care deliveries. 

The death scene with Harry Drake was moving. 

Darren Criss did some excellent work in his scene. His voice sounded so different from what I'm used to, I had to look up whether it was really him. 

I love that Joel looks after Midge still. And that Susie wouldn't press charges. And that he earned Nick and Frankie's respect. And he made sure Archie steered clear of the trouble. 

They really brought in the Gilmore Girls alums for this one.

"I am gonna beat you with a pineapple" is an excellent threat. I loved Midge's wedding pantsuit. That cake looked delicious and expensive. 

The FBI raided the temple to get Joel? Yikes. I loved "Dammit, Chava, I understand a decent amount of Hebrew." Susie and Midge's breakup was excellent. 

I love that Susie knows the B-52s. 

The Midge video was beautiful. "Tits up" almost brought a tear to my eye, which is not a sentence that should be true. 

[StarBrand]

On 5/4/2023 at 9:37 PM, AuntieMame said:

The only time they showed the Susie we’ve come to know in this episode was when her mentor was dying. 

I think the ruthless personna was something Susie leaned into to get her respect, and get her clients what they needed. She was not going anywhere by being nice and fluffy. Her public personna was the one everyone at the roast was recalling when telling stories. Consider how two people try and tell the story of how her menter signed away his clients to her-both of them involved tales of Susie being sneaky and somehow tricking him until doing so, going as far as forgery, when what actually happened was that he gave them to her freely, sound of mind, because she was the only one he trusted.