The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 4/ Episode 6 “Maisel vs. Lennon: The Cut Contest” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Sophie approaches Miriam with an offer she’ll find hard to refuse as Rose comes to learn her business is causing conflict.

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Aired	3/4/2022
Network	Prime Video
Directed By	Amy Sherman-Palladino
Written By	Daniel Palladino, Amy Sherman-Palladino
Introduced This Episode
L. Roy Dunham	Hari Nef
Terrance	Daniel Oreskes

Recap

An Encouragement That Has Long Felt Foreign – Alfie, Sophie, Susie, Miriam, Joel, Dinah

Between a high tolerance for BS and a stubbornness that can’t be helped, Susie is the best kind of manager for her rag-tag bunch of clients. Heck, even in terms of Dinah, who is superb at her job but has her niece running around, you can add her into the mix of the eccentric characters Susie has invested in.

But, despite these people easily getting on anyone’s nerves, Susie fights hard for them. With Alfie, she uses what camaraderie she has with Joel to get him a spot, and when he bails, she doesn’t get overtly pissed with him. Even with him being 32, she recognizes that he is a bit stunted, and like all of her acts, he just needs some care, patience, and encouragement. Something he has probably been lacking for a while, hence his struggles. Well, that and drinking since he was 12.

And it is because of how Susie treats Alfie and the work she does with Miriam all these years that Sophie wants her back. For after getting her on the Gordon Ford show, she got her that NBC gig as a game show host. This leads to TONS of gifts, to the point they are filling Susie’s office and only making her feel more assured in the decision to not take Sophie as a client. Even when Sophie has a Cadillac delivered.

What It Takes To Get Ahead – Mei, Joel, Miriam, Sophie, L. Roy Dunham, Boise, Terrance

Mei is pregnant, and the timing couldn’t be worse. She is due for a residency interview in Chicago, and with her getting checked by a doctor, this isn’t a faulty pregnancy test situation – so she is freaking out. Luckily, Joel is supportive and encouraging in her continuing to pursue her dreams, but with this happening, more than ever, you can see Joel needs to have Mei meet his folks. I mean, bad enough a secret girlfriend, who isn’t Jewish, but to add in a bastard too? Moishe better prep a stretcher since Shirley will have a heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, something!

Getting back to Miriam, when it comes to the burlesque club, while Boise has taken to her changes backstage, which the dancers love, what he doesn’t like is the shift in clientele. Miriam types now fill the front end, asking for drinks with umbrellas, which is a major problem for an illegal strip club. But, while looking through the books, one of the owners, Terrance, sees all the good Miriam has done in sales, tips, and stuff like that, so despite Boise’s worries, Terrance says they are staying the course and should go full speed.

This is a blessing to Miriam, especially the possibility of her getting a cut in all this. However, once again, with L. Roy Dunham writing a sordid review, there is the need to question this man’s problem? Revise that – upon heading to the newspaper, Miriam finds out it has been a woman all along, and she has built a career off flaming Miriam. I’m talking about a better desk and even gaining social equity in her office.

In some ways, Miriam is impressed, but at the same time, she doesn’t appreciate getting dumped on and tries to get some kind of support from woman to woman. However, just as Miriam struggles in her male-dominated field, so is L. Roy Dunham, so they are at an impasse. But then comes Sophie wanting to be an unlikely champion. Why? Not to make proper amends, but because the only way to secure Susie is through Miriam, and Sophie is desperate. I’m talking so desperate she’d hire Miriam to warm up the crowd of the game show for her and make sure she is paid a ridiculous number to make it so, within a year, she could be debt-free.

Trying To Play Nice Is Hard – Rose, Miriam, Sophie, Susie

Now, for Miriam, despite her hating Sophie, it is hard to deny her getting to do a clean act, under the NBC banner, and then doing her act, her way, in the evening. So she convinces Susie to consider the offering, but things go awry quickly. Sophie, watching Miriam win over her crowd, brings out the talons and goes from nipping at Miriam to attacking her, and so begins a rather vicious back and forth. One Susie misses since, while in NBC’s building, she decides to try her luck on getting Miriam on the same talk show that got Sophie her big break. Problem is, where can the guy see Miriam beyond a strip club?

Which leaves us to Rose. Her getting Solomon’s daughters, who we meet this episode, causes the Matchmakers of Manhattan to call her into the circle, to tell her to bug out. They have carved territories to avoid conflict, and her taking a Jewish client is messing with their balance. So she is coerced to say she’ll stop, but let’s be honest – she won’t stop. If anything, she’ll just be more discreet to get around these bullies.

Things To Note

• Lenny Bruce is in the episode, and with him crossing boundaries with Miriam, due to him seeing her home/ domestic life, he seemingly is disgusted with himself. This confuses Miriam, but she just taps out since she has so much to do. Even though Lenny mentioning he has a daughter raises an eyebrow.
• Imogene and Abe form a partnership in which he’ll write, and she’ll type it up – at 80 words a minute.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. So is L. Roy Dunham a means for the paper to take a crap on a female comic without worrying about being considered sexist? Assuming that is even a worry in the 60s for a newspaper?
2. Also, have we ever seen Dunham in the audience for one of Miriam’s shows, or does she have someone else go on her behalf, if not a source report back to her?

What Could Happen Next

1. Someone seeing that Sophie and Susie back and forth and thinking that could be something the people want to see
2. Rose still matchmaking and starting a war
3. Joel struggling with what to do if Mei gets that job in Chicago

Review

Highlights

Dinah Being A Hot Mess But Good At Her Job

Could you consider Dinah highly inappropriate at her job? Hell yeah! Bad enough she is babysitting while working, but those kids are running in and out of the office, making noise, and a mess too? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a multi-tasker who can deliver a high level of output while dealing with kids. But Dinah is definitely taking advantage of Susie’s need for a secretary and her low-key enjoying chaos.

Recognizing Susie Is Such An Asset Due To Being Married To Her Job, With Her Kids Being Her Clients

The gangster guys giving Susie an office she can sleep and work in was both a blessing and a curse. It’s a curse since now Susie really isn’t going to have any reason to pursue a personal life. Yet, at the same time, she is married to her job, and her clients are her kids. I mean, look at Alfie eating in her bed, with the demeanor of a 6 year old excited by all the candy in the house?

What about Sophie, who delivers gifts, like Miriam had to in order to get back on Susie’s good side, like the daughter who recovered from addiction, is doing well, and desperately wants to make amends. Heck, through Miriam in there as the one who stuck around momma, left, came back, and feels a bit uneasy sometimes about not taking the easy road, which would have made things easier. Susie, clearly has her hands full, and like with Dinah having kids running around and that madness, Susie likes the chaos of her clients and their lives.

Why? Well, you could say it is due to her upbringing or that Susie has a thing for messy people living up to their potential. I mean, Susie found Miriam at her lowest point, got involved with Sophie at her lowest, and Alfie is no different since he has potentially been an alcoholic since his first drink at 12. Yet, look where two out of three are? Sophie has a nationally televised game show that Rose and Abe are enamored with. Miriam is turning an illegal strip club into the place to be.

Now, Alfie, admittedly, hasn’t gotten his break yet, but the talent is there. It’s just something broke Alfie, confidence-wise, that Susie has to fix like a sputtering car. And sooner or later, he will get to Joel’s club and kill it. Even if Susie has to drag Alfie up there and be his assistant. Because she is willing to go that far.

L. Roy Dunham

Wasn’t that a good twist? L. Roy Dunham, who has been on Miriam’s like a catcaller who thinks they have a shot, is a woman! One who seems to have made a career off of going against Miriam, almost like a shield so that the paper can trounce a female comic without worries of what can be said against them. Which, I know, is seeing things with modern eyes, for the care of Dunham’s pieces coming off sexist might not have been on anyone’s radar. Yet, you can’t deny that there is a pattern forming here. Because Miriam is so free and talented, she finds herself at odds with the Sophie and Dunham types who can’t achieve that level of freedom.

Which, yes, comes from Miriam being privileged due to her upbringing, being considered attractive by most, and being a white woman. This is in comparison to Sophie, who, even with a modest heel, towers over most men, and Dunham, a woman in journalism. A place where, while Miriam is trying to get men to listen to her talk, Dunham is trying to get them to read what she wrote. Something that may be harder than what Miriam is doing since her hook is a headline, not a dress that flatters her figure.

So here is hoping, despite outright saying she may not find Miriam funny, Dunham continues to poke, prod, and give Miriam press, even if it is bad press.

On The Fence

The Matchmaker Monopoly

I know I should appreciate Rose getting her own story and the possibility of seeing a war between older women who are all in their prime, career-wise. Yet, there is the need to worry what may come of this. When it comes to Abe and Rose, consistency isn’t just about their development but the quality of their storylines. So while interested in seeing Rose start a war and fight with the other woman who handles Jewish matchmaking, can it be as interesting as is pitched, or will it fall flat? If not peak midway and then, like so many other storylines Rose has had, be forgotten or fade out?

Imogene and Abe Pairing Up

Imogene is an absolutely adorable character who is sorely missed. Yeah, she does pop up often enough to not wonder where she is, but considering what is going on with her husband and her pursuit of having a job, there is so much going on with her we’re missing out on. That’s why her pairing up with Abe seems like a good way to bring her into the fold, but it’s Abe.

Something we’ve realized with having time between the two episodes released weekly is that Abe, like Rose, is made for that limited release market. The people who go see films that only release in New York and Los Angeles because they would otherwise flop in wide release, or their production company can’t afford to do more than awards circuit qualifying run. That’s the humor those two appeal to and why we rarely find them funny.

But, getting back on point, this blessing for Imogene hopefully can bring something to Abe, who has long lost his luster.

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