The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Review: Ethan… Esther… Chaim / How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall? (Season 4 Episodes 7 and 8)

Don’t break his heart, Midge.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 ends on a powerful, satisfying note that not only gives us the Midge/Lenny content we’ve been dying for, but that also may just be a turning point for Midge’s career.

But let’s back up a bit. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 Episode 7, “Ethan…Esther…Chaim,” opens with a long-awaited appearance by Milo Ventimiglia, yet another Gilmore Girls alumn. It’s an all too brief appearance as a “handsome man” who winds up being the reason that Midge learns what it feels like to be “the other woman.”

At first, it feels like a bit of a throwaway opener to the episode — Midge tells Susie the story because she wants to get her dress back — but it results in a payoff later. An awkward payoff, but one that lets us into Midge’s psyche just a bit more and reminds us how Midge wound up doing comedy in the first place.

Because while she’s been turning down gigs one after another, what she doesn’t turn down is the chance to do a set for Jackie Kennedy. Once again, though, she doesn’t know where to draw a line.

It’s among the most frustrating things about her character, and it’s almost hard to believe she’d keep making that kind of mistake. She’s doing so well and then crosses a line into territory she shouldn’t for the given audience. Surely, she’s going to learn this eventually?

Meanwhile, Rose is still being targeted by the other matchmakers in the area, who have made some very clear and serious threats that she isn’t to compete with them (including Gilmore Girls alumn Kelly Bishop, who is fabulous to watch here). They threaten Abe and the rest of his family, and Abe seems rightfully afraid. 

It’s all an interesting storyline for Rose, because she’s searching for her own new purpose in life. In fact, as Midge points out to her, her journey is not unlike her daughter’s. Rose is setting out to make a new name for herself and do something she loves, despite some pretty clear obstacles that are coming her way.

This could actually bring Midge and Rose closer together, and at the very least, Rose takes Midge’s advice. She’s not going to stop, no matter what anyone tells her.

Of course, that conversation only happens because of Alfie’s wildly surreal magic performance. 

As fun as it is to see Rose impersonate her daughter and nearly copy her entire act from the strip club, the magic is all a bit over the top. It has been all season. Even hypnotizing Rose into doing that act could work, as well as all that Alfie knows about her, but the images of the past and future go just a little too far for a show that is otherwise grounded in a reality.

Elsewhere on the episode, Joel has money troubles thanks in part to a mistake from Archie, and he’s yet to tell his parents about Mei and the baby they now have on the way.

This has all made Joel a more likable character, and it’s also revealing more about the dynamic that’s developed with Joel and Midge since their separation. It’s mature and friendly, and yet they are still so intertwined that it does feel a bit confusing. How much longer can Midge even really carry the name “Mrs. Maisel”? 

Joel finally tells his father about Mei just before his father, however, has a heart attack. That’s the moment that leads us into The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 Episode 8, “How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?” Moishe’s fate remains up in the air for much of the episode. 

This sends everyone else into their own individual spiral. Joel blames himself, and he isn’t the only one. Shirley and Abe discuss burial plans, and Abe becomes obsessed with getting Moishe the perfect obituary. 

He finally writes that obituary, and it leads to one of the most endearing moments of the entire series.

Moishe recovers from the heart attack after the obituary is written, and Abe is encouraged to read it out loud. It reveals the depth of their friendship and Abe’s appreciation for the man who took in his family and took care of his daughter when he didn’t have to. It’s an unforgettable heartfelt moment between these two men.

All of this talk of mortality and the worry over Moishe also leads Midge to do a comedy set that’s not all full of laughs. She decides to go to the strip club after Boise begs, and after she realizes that Joel has Mei to be by his side.

During that set, she becomes emotional about seeing the men in her life break down and seeing the women step up, comparing the doctors and nurses, and pondering over whether women have really been in charge all along.

It makes for a heck of a speech that speaks to a lot of what The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is really about at its core. It’s always been a feminist story and it’s always been about Midge breaking down barriers. 

And as he often does, Lenny Bruce shows up at just the right time.

He hears the whole set, and he’s there to grovel for Midge’s forgiveness over how he acted when she saved him before. He’s certainly convincing, and top of that, he’s created an opportunity of a lifetime for Midge: to open for Tony Bennett. 

I could really go on about Luke Kirby’s charisma as Lenny Bruce at this moment, confident and infatuated all at once. But what’s more important is what happens next. When the strip club is raided, he helps get Midge out of there and into shelter — there’s a snowstorm — in his room at Carnegie Hall. 

The chemistry between Midge and Lenny oozes off the screen as they attempt to keep a “safe distance.” That is until Midge reveals she’s wearing her “show corset.”

Lenny tells her he has to see that corset, a little sheepish and yet confident and endearing all at once. It winds up being a nearly perfect scene as they finally, finally sleep together after a fairly slow burn.

I only have one complaint here. Of all the scenes that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will allow to go on and feel rather indulgent, it’s too bad that we don’t get just a few more moments of Midge and Lenny together here.

I’d also take just another beat when Midge finds that suspicious bag in Lenny’s bathroom.

So far, the serious has taken great pains to be accurate in the depiction of Lenny Bruce and his real-life story. Now in the year 1961, what’s taking place is just a few years prior to Bruce’s death, so those details are even more important.

It’s becoming one of the most fascinating parts of the entire show to see how the factual story of Lenny Bruce is intertwining with the fictional story of Midge Maisel.

Even Lenny Bruce’s Carnegie Hall performance is given that kind of special attention. From the introduction he’s given to the way he opens the show is accurate to what actually happened that year. It’s a big show and we’re treated to some of Lenny Bruce’s real act from that night in 1961. (Even the terrible weather is accurate.)

Luke Kirby’s performance here is stellar, not just with the act, but in the scene where he hopefully gets through to Midge about the next steps needed for her career.

He’s upset to hear that Midge turned down opening for Tony Bennett, and more upset to see that Midge is ultimately sabotaging herself. While her “no opening acts” thing made sense at the beginning of this season, where it doesn’t make sense is for major opportunities like that way. Lenny sees that there’s more going on here, and he begs her to stop hiding. 

He is harsh but he’s right, and everything he says comes from a place of respect. He even reminds Midge of their night together and how she insisted that he remember her as a professional comedian over anything else.

It’s that respect for Midge, and the admiration of her talent, that has always made their relationship what it is. It’s also the reason, for me at least, that I am so interested in seeing them together romantically.

And if anyone can get through to Midge now, it’s Lenny Bruce. In a scene that is a bit reminiscent of the moment on Gilmore Girls where Jess tells Rory to go back to Yale, Lenny leaves Midge with plenty to think about.

From the looks of the final scene of the season, it seems it may have just worked. 

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

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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is available to stream on Prime Video.

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