DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel episode “Everything Is Bellmore” has spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Tits up! The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel returns with a firecracker of an episode. “Everything Is Bellmore” serves as an homage to the late, great Brian Tarantina, who played Jackie, The Gaslight’s lovable curmudgeon. Alex Borstein delivers her best work on the series thus far. It’s a devastating, visceral and poignant performance that encapsulates the grief experience perfectly. Her portrayal of Susie in this outing profoundly resonates with me.
Besides effectively depicting grief and the touching homage for Tarantina, “Everything Is Bellmore” is bitingly funny. I especially dig the hilarious bar mitzvah confrontation. The “Rock Paper Scissors” bit kills me, as did the scene with Rose and Susie.
Ready to dig deep into “Everything Is Bellmore”? Let’s get to it.
RELATED: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Recap: (S04E02) Billy Jones and the Orgy Lamps
We open with Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) performing standup at the strip club, her brand spankin’ new gig. The place is a hot mess, and Boise (Santino Fontana), Midge’s boss, doesn’t seem to care. Not to worry, folks — if anyone can whip something into shape, it’s Miriam “Midge” Maisel!
Meanwhile, Susie (Borstein) gets an unexpected visit from Nancy (Maddie Corman), Jackie’s sister. She reveals that Jackie passed away suddenly. Susie appears to experience all the stages of grief simultaneously, especially that good ole denial.
Midge hosts a colorful container party with Imogene (Bailey De Young) and Rose (Marin Hinkle) when Susie calls her over to the apartment. Midge, accompanied by Zelda (Matilda Szydagis), tends to the distraught Susie. Jackie just borrowed money from her the day before!
Midge invites Susie to stay with her for a while. Susie joins Midge, Rose, Abe (Tony Shalhoub), Joel (Michael Zegen), Moishe (Kevin Pollak) and Shirley (Caroline Aaron) for dinner. While everyone dons formal attire, Susie sports a snazzy set of PJs. She mostly sits in silence, seemingly catatonic, until she occasionally chimes in about death and decay.
Abe informs the group that he has tickets to the opening night of Buzz’s (Brandon Uranowitz) musical as the resident theater critic for The Voice (not to be confused with the reality series). Buzz toiled on this project for several years, staging an annual production at Steiner.
Guess what? Everyone’s invited to attend, including Susie!
Next, Midge teaches her parents how to play “Rock Paper Scissors” so that they can decide who takes Susie with them to work. Naturally, the Weissmans struggle to absorb the concept of the game, incorporating tools to destroy “paper” that aren’t “rock” or “scissors.” Fire is an effective tool for decimating paper.
Rose loses the game, so she takes Susie to the club, wherein she performs her matchmaking duties. Susie acts like a petulant child, and the banter between Borstein and Hinkle is top-tier here.
Later, the gang attends the opening night for They Came; They Danced: A Musicale Set in the Mountains. Joel’s none too pleased; he must sit with Susie and listen to her drone on about the futility of life. Abe dons a delightful cape to the theater, and, folks, he works it.
After the show, Buzz addresses the crowd, and our crew bestows the creator with a glowing review. It’s also a Steiner reunion, y’all!
Susie returns to The Gaslight to retrieve a box of Jackie’s belongings while Abe heads straight to The Voice headquarters to type his review of Buzz’s musical. Despite the raucous, emphatic fanfare and gushing Buzz received, Abe feels differently about what he saw.
However, he fears the wrath of his family and community, so he attempts to get away with a vague, one-sentence review. His editor urges Abe to write how he feels and, fueled by purpose; Abe tosses his first draft and pens an eloquent albeit scathing piece.
RELATED: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season Premiere Recap: (S04E01) Rumble on the Wonder Wheel
Later, Midge and Susie attend Jackie’s funeral, and they’re shocked to find only Nancy and the priest. The priest delivers a short message to open the proceedings. Then, he ushers Susie front and center to give the eulogy as “Jackie’s best friend.”
Susie transports the group to the funeral across the hallway, boasting a significantly larger crowd. She delivers the moving eulogy Jackie deserved. I’m gonna get honest with you, readers. My grandpa passed away earlier this week before I watched my screener to prepare for this recap. He helped raise me. The death was sudden, like Jackie.
My vision of Susie’s speech was blurry. I’ve never cried that hard while watching something, but then again, I’ve never watched a show that spoke directly to me after losing a loved one. I also spoke at my granny’s funeral a few years ago, and, like Susie, I struggled to get through it.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel gives Tarantina a beautiful sendoff, and Borstein churns out a tour de force performance. Brava.
Next, Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) shows up at the strip club where Midge works and gives her one of his peculiar pep talks. Everything is Bellmore! He sits in the audience while Midge does her bit and vows to make eye contact with her. The chemistry between these two is off the charts — get together already!
So, Lenny persuades a few fellas to throw various paraphernalia at Midge while she performs because he’s five years old and obviously in love with her.
Later, the Weissmans and Maisels attend a bar mitzvah, and the crowd derails and veers the ceremony away from the poor 13-year-old boy whose front and center, in favor of Abe’s perceived written slight. Yes, they read his incendiary review of Buzz’s musical, and everyone feels Abe betrayed his community.
Amid the crowd’s takedown of Abe, Midge also gets thrust into the spotlight for her poor acting in past productions of Buzz’s musical at Steiner. So what if she’s no Jessica Tandy? Abe’s the one on trial!
After the family departs the bar mitzvah, Abe receives a call from Asher (Jason Alexander) regarding his review. Abe let slip about his less-than-legal behavior as a radical alongside Asher in the 1920s. He implicated them both when he mentioned burning down a government building. Now, the FBI wants to meet with them. Uh oh.
Midge and Susie drink to Jackie at The Gaslight as the episode closes with a photo of the man himself. May he rest.
RELATED: 8 Reasons Why The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Should Be Your Next TV Obsession
Do you think we’ll get a Midge/Lenny romance sometime this season, even if it’s a fling? Will Abe recover from writing a review everyone loathed? Is Boise’s last name “Idaho”? Join me next time while I recap The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel here on Geek Girl Authority, where everything is Bellmore!
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel streams Fridays on Prime Video.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/geek-girl-authority-crush-of-the-week-midge-maisel/
[email protected]
What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
- DOCTOR WHO Recap: (S02E02) Lux - April 19, 2025
- Prepare to ‘Look Up’ in Behind-the-Scenes Teaser for SUPERMAN - April 18, 2025
- SURREALESTATE Recap: (S03E03) Death Does a Refi - April 17, 2025
