5x01 Go Forward

[8.0/10] It’s nice to see Midge Maisel humbled. I mean that in a nice way. I love Gilmore Girls, but my number one criticism of the show is that sometimes its title characters could be entitled and/or self-centered in a way that writing didn’t always acknowledge or address. Amy Sherman-Palladino and company aren't making that mistake again. In hindsight, I like Midge’s “My way or the highway” mentality last season, because it’s a valid emotional response to being screwed over and the double-standards that people like Lenny can get away with but that people with a “Mrs.” in front of their names can't.

But I also like it because it gives Midge a chance to see the “I’ll only take headlining gigs” position as the bout of hubris that it is. And whether it’s the frustration from Susie or the riot act speech from Lenny that did it, it’s nice to see her take their speeches to heart and accept the “Do the work” and “Go forward” messages.

To that end, I really like Midge effectively apologizing to Susie. I like her giving Suzie the credit for finding her, for seeing something in her, for going the extra mile to support her. Her words to Susie in her moment of hypothermic delirium seem earnest and true -- an authentic recognition of all that Susie’s done for her and how hard she’s worked to see Midge through it all.

I also love how that manifests itself in two ways. One, she basically tells Alfie not to leave Suzie for a bigger talent agent, despite concerns that she could be an “elevator operator”, i.e. someone you work with when you’re going up or down. Her speech about it being easy to see a diamond when it’s at Tiffany’s, but Susie being the kind of person who can recognize it in the rough, to where she deserves credit for that, is a great one.

But two, when Susie gets Midge a writing gig on the Gordon Ford show (as the only female writer no less), Midge accepts it even though it’s not the path she envisions. This is a television show, so I imagine Midge’s journey will not be without its drama. And Susie’s recognition of a look that says Midge might be six months from quitting without intervention suggests there will be more sparks to come. But for the moment, Midge having to wade into an all male writer’s room promises great material, and her willingness to trust the person who’s always been at her side is heartening after a season of hard-nosed self-certainty.

And hey, Susie continues to be a blast! Her frantic efforts to get the attention of Mike, the talent booker for Gordon Ford’s show, in pantomime, is a hoot. Her ambushing him at an Xmas tree farm, and his affronted reaction, is a hoot. And the way she parlays Gordon Ford coming to a burlesque show into the gig for Midge, with the panic of Midge’s rustiness turning into the usual smooth observational brilliance, and a death glare from Mike, is great too.

The only place in this thing where I have real trouble is (sigh) Joel. Look, my bet is that the Oscar-nominated Stephanie Hsu, who plays Mei, got bigger offers and wasn’t available. But it’s still a drag to see a character who I not only thought was great in her own right, but who made Joel, my least favorite player on the show, a better character, seemingly depart the series. Beyond that, the prospect of Joel marrying and having a child with a shiksa, and the effect it would have on his family and his ex and his kids is an interesting storyline that now cannot play out the same way.

Worse yet, it turns Joel into a complete ass again. Part of me wants to be understanding. Losing another love of your life, and the chance to be a father again with it, without any chance to brace yourself for it, would mess anyone up. But watching him get sloppy drunk, hit on random women, comment on his wife’s breasts via a public microphone, and generally make an ass of himself, is unpleasant and unsympathetic. I don’t want the show to shy away from realism. This behavior isn’t exactly off-brand for Joel. But it doesn't make me want to spend more time with the guy.

The other details we get here are more teases, but they’re interesting. Rose’s impending war with the Match-Making Mafia is apparently in full swing, from Abe’s shirt, to dead flowers, to their flight getting canceled. I dig how it slowly builds up, and how Rose is trying to manage the situation.

Moishe and Shirley getting divorced is sad, but the show takes such a comical and matter-of-fact approach to it that you can't help but laugh. As always, the show’s cracker jack dialogue is in full-swing, and Sherman-Palladino knows how to bake in the laughs and the patter across the setups for the new season and the amusing set pieces.

Abe’s insistence of getting their key back from Susie, the general ping-ponging exchange across the Thanksgiving table, and Susie’s veritable assault on Mike at the tree farm are all great bits. Abe (and Tony Shaloub) in particular was in rare form in this one, from his “They most certainly will not!” reaction to Midge’s declaration that her kids can “go fuck themselves” to his paternal wisdom to his grandkids that they should cherish the anonymity of the kids table for as long as possible. In its final season, the show hasn’t lost its comic touch.

That just leaves Midge’s necessary but awkward crossing paths with Lenny at the airport. Sherman-Palladino directs the hell out of the airport sequences, framing the very 1960s architecture and decor with an eye that emphasizes both the hustle and bustle of this waystation and the sense of it as a liminal space where Midge can send off her manager’s new protege, bump into her affronted parents, and have an awkward conversation with the mentor who slept with her and never called her back.

Their scene together is as uncomfortable and freighted with tension as you’d expect under the circumstances. I like how the episode underplays the moment, without a big blow up or dramatics, but rather two people who recognize the awkwardness of the situation and express it in their own ways, without overdoing it. Lenny having a sheepish but also emotional look in his eyes as he talks about going out west and seeing his kid helps sell the moment, and Midge (via Rachel Brosnahan) is steady but affected herself. It’s a good and standout scene in an episode that has a lot going on.

Speaking of which, color me intrigued by the cold open flash forward to Esther Maisel in 1981 complaining about (one assumes) her mother. The kids have mostly been props to this point, so it’s neat to see the show use this stylistically out-of-character approach to giving Midge’s daughter a voice, a character, and a problem with her mom. I’d expect it to tie into the series’ endgame, but for now, it’s just an entertaining tease to, in true Gilmore Girls style, suggest that these problems repeat themselves in different ways across the generations.

Overall, true to the airport motifs here, this is a nice launch point for the show’s final season, with all the patter, character, and challenges both personal and professional put back in play with aplomb. Just dear lord, please don’t let this be a bridge to her ending up back with Joel.