DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5 Episode 2, “It’s a Man, Man, Man, Man World,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Tits up! Episode two, “It’s a Man, Man, Man, Man World” (a play on the 1963 film It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) introduces Midge to the world of late-night TV show writing. It’s sexist and frustrating. While most of the episode focuses on Midge’s first day at The Gordon Ford Show, we get some Abe and Rose side plot hijinks and see the aftermath of Joel’s beatdown.
“It’s a Man, Man, Man, Man World” brings new faces into the Maisel fold while keeping its finger on the show’s comedic pulse and maintaining that zany, nostalgic charm for which it’s known.
Ready to delve into “It’s a Man, Man, Man, Man World”? Let’s get to it.
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We open with Mike Wallace (Currie Graham) conducting an interview with Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) for 60 Minutes in, presumably, 1985. Wallace delivers a succinct overview of Midge’s career, which has launched her into the stratosphere. We see Midge touring overseas with Bob Hope during the Vietnam War, and she befriends stars like Sammy Davis Jr. and Carol Burnett. She sells out the Copacabana at 30 years old for 18 consecutive nights. Midge even makes it to Carnegie Hall in 1971, where she gets arrested Lenny Bruce-style for letting the obscenities fly.
Wallace also highlights Midge’s appearance at Woodstock and her extensive college campus tours. Esther (Alexandra Socha), now a doctor, chats with Wallace about growing up with Midge as her mother. She claims other kids were “oddly” jealous, and her days with Midge were filled with “laughter and warmth.” A complete 180 from her therapy session in the previous episode.
Additionally, we see Midge has remarried at least three times after Joel. However, the most intriguing aspect of this interview is her relationship with Susie. Or, should we say, lack thereof? A 25-year friendship and partnership — flushed down the drain. Midge jokes that they made the mistake of being friends instead of maintaining a manager/client relationship. At this point, Susie’s clientele includes Liza Minnelli, George Carlin and Barbra Streisand. But how did she and Midge sever ties? I’m curious to find out.
The segment ends with Midge showing off her dresses from crucial moments in the show, from her first performance at the Gaslight to the dress she wore when Shy Baldwin left her on the tarmac. We even see her dress from her first day at The Gordon Ford Show. Oh, and the money from selling said frocks will go to charity because Midge is all about helping kids.
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Next, the “children” comment cleverly segues into 1961, wherein Midge screams at Ethan to “Eat, damn it! You little bastard!” Midge has breakfast with Rose (Marin Hinkle) and Abe (Tony Shalhoub). Rose doesn’t understand how her daughter got a job writing for Gordon Ford. Isn’t he just naturally funny? Midge reveals she’ll be working five days a week now, so they’ll need more consistent help with Ethan and Esther. Zelda (Matilda Szydagis) loves helping when she can, and Janusz (Alexander Gemignani) enjoys picking up the kids from school.
Midge expresses her appreciation regarding his assistance. After he leaves the room, Midge asks her parents who he is. Abe and Rose, being the keen observers they are, have no clue. He’s now hanging around Zelda and caring for the little ones, so that’s something. Later, Joel (Michael Zegen) wakes in his parents’ house.
We hear Moishe (Kevin Pollak) and Shirley (Caroline Aaron) yelling downstairs. Joel notices he’s donning boys’ pajamas, and he’s in immense pain. He calls Archie (Joel Johnstone), who reveals he only saw Joel stumbling upstairs after performing an impromptu standup set. So, Archie took Joel to the emergency room and dropped him off at his parents’ home.
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Meanwhile, Midge drops off Esther and Eathen at the Maisels’ house. They see Daddy Joel looking worse for the wear. While Moishe and Shirley compete for their grandchildren’s affections, Joel tells Midge about Mei. Midge claims she had a gut feeling that Mei wasn’t ready for kids based on her behavior at the hospital following Moishe’s heart attack. Joel pins the blame on Midge, believing that if she hadn’t talked to Mei, she would still be here. Listen, bro. Mei left of her own volition. Stop blaming women.
Then, Midge frantically calls Susie (Alex Borstein) because she can’t decide what to wear for her first day at The Gordon Ford Show. Susie declares that the Weissmans aren’t allowed to call her before 10:30 am on any given day. Them’s the breaks. Susie coordinates an entirely red “sitting outfit” for Midge, the same one we saw in the opening sequence. Midge loves it.
Next, Midge encounters Sylvio (Milo Ventimiglia) on the subway. Initially, they’re in two separate cars and communicate with gestures and lip readings, à la Susie and Mike in the previous episode. Gotta love a running gag. However, Sylvio takes it a step further by chasing Midge through the subway cars. Midge doesn’t want anything to do with him after his wife walked in on them.
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Later, Sylvio finally catches up to Midge outside the subway station. He explains that he and his wife were separated then, and she was bringing their dog over. Unfortunately, she didn’t call beforehand. Now, they’re getting divorced. Sylvio apologizes to Midge, which she accepts. Perhaps they’ll run into each other at the park again. They part ways. Aw, at least he owned up to his mistake (oftentimes, the bar for men is low).
Then, Midge arrives for her first day at The Gordon Ford Show. She introduces herself to Mike (Jason Ralph), which looks funny if you remember Rachel Brosnahan and Jason Ralph are married in real life. Midge meets the writers: Alvin (Austin Basis), the head writer, Mel (Michael Cyril Creighton), Ralph (Josh Grisetti), Cecil (Lucas Kavner) and Adam (Eddie Kaye Thomas). Alvin orders the writers to disperse for a “20 in 1” session, meaning they must crank out 20 jokes in one hour.
After another frantic phone call to Susie, Midge jots down her jokes. Topical’s good, but nothing about Santa. Mike introduces Midge to George (Peter Friedman), the producer Mike loves to hate. Mike warns Midge to keep George at arm’s length, especially at parties. Then, Rose discovers someone burned down her precious tearoom. Could it be the mobster matchmakers? Midge rejoins the writers to pitch their jokes. Unfortunately, they fall flat with the menfolk.
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Meanwhile, Abe has lunch with Penelope (Lucy Taylor), who enjoyed Abe’s last review for The Village Voice. She’s planning on bringing Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party over to Broadway and would love it if Abe reviewed it. Before they part, Penelope places her hand on Abe’s thigh, making him uncomfortable. Shalhoub plays “awkward” so well. His comedic timing is impeccable.
Next, Gordon Ford (Reid Scott) cuts all the jokes during rehearsal. That’s one hour before showtime. Midge and the writers scramble back into the writers’ room to brainstorm more jokes for the opening monologue. Midge gets into a spat with Mel over whether her joke about Eisenhower was funny.
Abe reunites with Gabe (Chris Eigeman) at The Village Voice to ask him if the hand-on-the-thigh move is sexual in nature. Gabe believes it is. Abe wonders if he should tell Rose about it. He encourages Abe to keep the incident to himself. Before Gordon hits the stage, he approves the jokes he likes while someone jots them down on cue cards. Lights, camera, action! The show begins. Midge and the writers watch from the sidelines.
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Later, Rose calls her son Noah (Will Brill), an analyst for the CIA, about whether he can organize a “raid” against her enemy. He can’t do that since he’s an analyst. He can’t even discuss things of this nature over the phone. Abe takes Rose out to eat at the French restaurant, sitting at the same table where he and Penelope had lunch. She tells him about the tearoom burning down while he tries the hand move. Rose assumes he wants to get freaky. After all, it is after seven.
Midge and the writers hit up a bar post-show. She calls Susie to tell her about her day. When she hangs up, she joins the boys for drinks. The writers are glad that Gordon doesn’t frequent this establishment anymore. Well, until that moment, that is. Gordon waltzes in and ruins the dynamic. After palling around with the fellas, Gordon chats with Midge. He vows to support her if any of the writers cause her trouble. Mel and the others agree that Midge is the “X-factor.” She changed the formula.
Joel heads back to his apartment after sleeping the day away at his parents’ house. He finds what appears to be a pot roast in the fridge from Midge. Midge performs her set at The Wolford. She utilizes one of her jokes from her brainstorming session at work — the Eisenhower one that her fellow writers didn’t like. Guess what? It kills. Midge says her thoughts out loud in a brief break from reality: “I knew that was funny.”
The most interesting part of this episode is, without a doubt, the opening minutes. That 60 Minutes interview in 1985 is packed with info waiting to be dissected. What happened with Midge and Joel? Why wasn’t Ethan interviewed too? More importantly, what the hell happened with Midge and Susie? I imagine we’ll find out in the coming episodes, perhaps not in the current timeline, but in a flash-forward scene.
These flash-forward segments are intriguing, to say the least, and a fun way to tell this story nonlinearly. I always applaud creatives for taking big narrative swings and shaking up the episodic format. This season is about change and moving forward despite the desire for sameness. We’ve seen Abe and Rose try to embrace change since the beginning. Even Midge navigating a life change was the catalyst for her going into comedy. It’s seeped into the very DNA of this series. It makes sense that the writers would also allow audiences to adjust to change.
Do you think the matchmakers torched Rose’s tearoom? Will Susie ever sleep past 4 am? Will Janusz ask to be paid for his (currently free) services? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel streams new episodes every Friday on Prime Video.
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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.
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