The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2 Review: Comedy Comes With a Price

Note: This review contains spoilers from the full second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. 

While the beginning of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2 moves a bit slowly at times, the show remains just as charming, funny, and smart as it was in the first season, if not more so.

Season 2, which has the clear style of Amy Sherman-Palladino all over it, has a bit more depth as it focuses on the complications of Midge trying to make a name for herself as a comic while also considering the impact that has on her family and the potential for a new relationship. 

As she figures out how to reinvent herself in this new way, the people around her are having somewhat similar journeys. Reinvention, discovery, and finding one’s identity become a common theme not just for our Midge, but for her parents and for Joel as well.

Maybe the most striking parallel is Rose’s need to move to Paris. She feels obsolete and moves away without her husband even noticing (a realization that’s both funny and sad for the audience) because she craves a purpose and an outlet.

It’s a storyline I wish would have been carried through more throughout the season, but still, her questioning and need for reinvention is more similar to what her daughter is dealing with than she realizes.

Abe has a realization of his own once his project is pulled away from him, deciding not to return to his job at the university either. It’s the same sort of quest as he thinks back to what it was he always really wanted to do with his life. Also, my goodness, that whole project and the reveal that his son is in the CIA spirals very quickly. 

And for Joel, he might just be opening up his own club, which does seem like a suitable next step for him.

The season spends a good bit of time developing those stories and those characters, sometimes taking a slower pace to do so than what feels necessary. It’s great fun to see Abe in his romper in the Catskills or giving his lectures back at the university, but Joel’s struggles with the family business and his mother’s treasure map all feel like a waste of time. 

There’s more still to learn about Miriam Maisel. The season would have been well served to spend even more time on her instead, especially since there are major developments with her character, like going on her first tour and nearly getting engaged!

Among the highlights of the season is, in fact, Midge’s relationship with new love interest Benjamin, played by Zachary Levi. All of their scenes are an absolute joy to watch, and the dynamic between them allows Midge to shine in new ways.

Plus it’s really intriguing to see Midge through his eyes — he loves that she’s “weird” and he genuinely enjoys himself by her side in a comedy show. He also thinks she’s funny and seems more proud than anything to watch her doing stand up.

Benjamin: Spectacular takes on a much different meaning once a person’s met you.

He gets her in a way many men probably wouldn’t, and they clearly have fun together. Otherwise, though, the development feels a bit too surface-level. There’s a lot to explore there considering her first marriage has only been over for about a minute and that she has children. (We rarely see them, but they do they exist.)

Regardless, it’s almost as satisfying to see her with a man who appreciates her for who she is as it is to see her take down the male comics who gang up on her or watch her rock a telethon in the worst spot imaginable. 

It is deeply wonderful to watch those moments because even though she’s flawed, she’s a character we can’t help but love, and because her talent really is there. Rachel Brosnahan brings her jokes to life in a way that’s so natural, ballsy, and sharp you wish you could be in the audience with her. 

Plus, she’s an underdog in this world. No one believes she’s a comic when they first see her, and no one wants to give her a chance. Even when they do and she does well, she has to contend with the patriarchal society that surrounds her pushing her back down.

On The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2 Episode 10, she’s told she can’t say “pregnant” or talk about her “female parts” on stage, for instance.

Those themes are an important part of the season — and the show overall, too. We may be looking at a different time period, but there are plenty of problems that remain relevant, such as Midge’s reveal to Benjamin that she’s learned to “just get used to it” when men grope her.

Much of the conflict that comes from the season comes from Midge’s desire to keep her comedy a secret from her family. Eventually, they do find out. Abe finds himself watching one of her routines, and interestingly she stays and she powers through even though she sees him right up front.

He doesn’t approve, but he does eventually seem to realize she’s good at this, and I really like those moments between them. 

She finally announces the news to the family at Yom Kippur, and the reaction is, though not positive, not quite as dramatic as it was built up to be. I do have to say, it seems strange her mother isn’t more understanding given her own recent journey.

More conflict comes from the gigs themselves. As mentioned already, she has a hard time being taken seriously until she actually has the chance to do her stand-up, and getting the gigs is a whole other issue. Her manager is an underdog too, who desperately wants Midge to succeed so that she can succeed, but she’s still figuring things out herself.

Susie gets the chance to do some great things this season, from her fake job as a plumber and her visit to her family to winning over the two men hired to hurt her by Harry Drake.

Alex Borstein shines every moment she’s on screen and keeps us laughing, but nothing quite compares to her scenes with Midge.

The road trip is another highlight of the season for that exact reason. The whole thing is a comedy of errors with two very different characters just doing the best they can.

The willingness to fight is ultimately what lands Susie an opportunity she doesn’t see coming, which is to represent Sophie Lennon, who wants her because she saw how far she was willing to go for a client.

That’s obviously an opportunity she can’t turn down, but it’s going to mean changes, especially with the new opportunity Midge has stumbled upon.

Make no mistake, Miriam Maisel is a flawed character. She’s the one we root for, and it’s remarkably satisfying to see her succeed, but she’s not without her faults.

She’s caring, but the follow-through is hard for her at times, especially with her focus on her career. Her cringe-worthy wedding toast, forgetting about her friend’s wedding show, and then making the decision to go on tour without discussing it with anyone else, these are just a few examples.

But that’s ultimately the point, and another major theme from the season, which is the note we end on. A career like this — a career in comedy — is going to mean making sacrifices.

And it could very well mean she’s going to be alone. 

Overall, the season is as a fun and funny as it is meaningful and thought-provoking, and it’s impossible not to remain invested in our Miriam Maisel and feel triumphant every time she proves the masses wrong by being incredible on stage. 

What did you think of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is currently available for streaming on Amazon.

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