DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5 Episode 8, “The Princess and the Plea,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Tits up! It’s time for Maisel‘s penultimate episode. I can’t believe there’s only one left after this. How time flies when you’re absorbed in a fictional world. “The Princess and the Plea” is a step up from last week’s outing. This episode is all about nostalgia, reminiscing and introspection. It might be the only episode this season that doesn’t have a flash-forward sequence. It makes sense, given the theme. The men in Midge’s world reflect on their actions, i.e., Joel most certainly regrets cheating on Midge, as he’s expressed multiple times throughout the show, but it’s more acutely felt here.
Abe boasts significant development in “The Princess and the Plea” during his lunch with the fellas. He realizes he underestimated Midge and made a grave mistake by shoving her aside in favor of Noah. I believe this acknowledgment will motivate him to do better with Esther. Esther’s psychiatrist session in 1981 showed she had a great relationship with Abe. After Hedy puts Gordon in his place, it appears he’s genuinely considering putting Midge on his show. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what happens in the series finale.
Ready to delve into “The Princess and the Plea”? Let’s get to it.
RELATED: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Recap: (S05E07) A House Full of Extremely Lame Horses
We open with Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) and Joel (Michael Zegen) sitting in Mrs. Moyers’ office at Ethan’s school. They’re waiting for her to arrive for their meeting. While Midge launches into a tangent about the school mothers, Joel reminisces about introducing Midge to his parents in 1953. The pair are at Moishe’s (Kevin Pollak) garment company. Shirley (Caroline Aaron) whisks a younger (and blonde) Midge away to look at dresses while Moishe orders his son to hold on tightly to Midge. Joel reassures his father that he and Midge are forever (except not).
Now, it’s Midge’s turn to walk down Memory Lane in her mind. Joel rants about the school fathers, causing Midge to revisit a moment from 1955, where she and Joel are arguing about his friends in the back of a cab. Midge orders the driver to stop so she can exit the vehicle. She tells Joel she’ll walk back to Brooklyn. The duo fights over which direction the bridge is. Joel hears their song playing, “You Belong to Me” by Jo Stafford. He pulls Midge into a dance in the middle of the street while the cab driver looks on. Interesting how Midge’s and Joel’s minds wander to two distinctly different memories. While Midge’s started with an argument, it ended on a nice note.
Mrs. Moyers (Arden Myrin) enters her office. She tells them about how disruptive “he’s” being and a laundry list of other negative qualities. Surprisingly, the “he” isn’t Ethan but Abe. Abe’s also asking about enrolling Esther in school, too. Midge and Joel erupt into laughter, realizing how funny it is that Grandpa Abe might get booted from his grandson’s school for being troublesome. Joel travels in time to a memory in 1958. Penny Pann (Holly Curran) sits at her desk while struggling to figure out how to work a pencil sharpener. Joel is about to depart when he circles back to Penny, asking her if she wants to get a drink. That’s where it all started.
RELATED: 8 Reasons Why The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Should Be Your Next TV Obsession
After the meeting, Midge tells Joel she’s heading to a reunion at Bryn Mawr for the class of 1953. As he did with Penny, Joel backtracks before leaving and asks Midge if she’d like to grab a drink sometime to talk about non-kid-related things. Midge accepts the offer. Joel looks pleased. Meanwhile, Abe (Tony Shalhoub) and Rose (Marin Hinkle) observe Esther to see if she’s a genius. Perhaps she’s the grandson Abe’s been hoping for. Dinah (Alfie Fuller) chats on the phone with James while Susie (Alex Borstein) listens to their conversation. After Dinah hangs up, she reveals she promised James that Susie would visit him on set in Baltimore and take him out to lunch to mend fences. Oh, and she’ll get him on Jack Paar’s show, as promised.
Susie is still reluctant, doubling down on how it’s not James’ “time” yet. Dinah rightfully puts her foot down. Why should Susie sabotage one client’s career in favor of another? Plus, with James being a Black man, this smacks of discrimination, even though Susie is unintentional about it. Thankfully, Dinah persuades Susie to remedy the situation. At Bryn Mawr, Midge reunites with her college friends, Petra (Sarah Steele), Daniella (Dana Melanie), Tammy (Rose Jackson Smith) and Kiki (Caitlin Houlahan). They have lunch together and catch up. The ladies are captivated by Midge’s new life in a post-marriage world. They also gossip because that’s what you do at reunions.
While there, one of her friends mentions how this is a fun “chapter” in Midge’s life, as if it’s a phase. Well, guess what? It’s not a phase, Mom. Midge will be cracking jokes until they put her in the dirt. Then, the ladies take the dorms by storm. Midge even vacuums one room after discovering the state of the carpet. Naturally, the college students assume they’re older women looking for their college-aged children. As if being in your 30s means you have one foot in the grave (it doesn’t, youngsters).
RELATED: Where Do the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Shy Go From Here?
Next, the quintet retrieves notes they wrote to their younger selves and reads them aloud. Midge’s message simply says, “Don’t!” Intriguing and cryptic. Later, Midge bids farewell to her buddies and hopes they don’t wait another decade to see each other. In NYC, Mike (Jason Ralph) tells Gordon (Reid Scott) about something monumental attributed to his wife. Gordon calls for Hedy (Nina Arianda). When you think he will chew her out, he kisses her in front of the office. Gordon reveals to everyone that Hedy got Princess Margaret as a guest on the show as the Countess of Snowdon continues her American press tour.
Gordon tells Jane Jacobs (Alison Smith) that she won’t be a guest that night. If you recall, Jane appeared in two previous episodes of the show. In Season 1 Episode 4, “The Disappointment of the Dionne Quintuplets,” Midge chances upon a protest in Washington Square Park, spearheaded by Jacobs. The group protests Robert Moses’s plan to demolish the park and build a highway. Jacobs was real, and Moses was the Secretary of State of New York.
Gordon tasks the writers with developing skit ideas for Margaret since she wants to have some fun. As a bona fide royals expert and woman, Midge offers to jot down a list of skit ideas while the boys work on Gordon’s opening monologue. At the show, Midge reunites with Moishe and Shirley, who claim they now have access to every show because they’re terrific audience members courtesy of one of the writers. Gordon’s monologue makes way for Princess Margaret (Kate Abbruzzese), who performs a hilarious weather forecast for viewers. Abbruzzese is pitch-perfect as the British royal. Her mannerisms and accent are spot-on.
RELATED: 10 Theories for the Final Season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Later, while celebrating after a successful show (which Gordon hopes gets them an Emmy nod), Hedy chats with Midge at the bar. Midge learns that Hedy knows Susie, or “Susan,” as the latter calls her. Hedy asks Midge about the Princess Margaret bits and whether she wrote them. Midge only partially gives herself credit, prompting the response of “Don’t, don’t” from Hedy. Hmm. Nice callback to the Bryn Mawr scene. Hedy advises Midge always to take credit whether she did the thing or not because that’s what men do. Perhaps that’s what Midge meant by encouraging her older self to “Don’t!”
Next, Midge waits for Susie after she visits Baltimore. She confronts Susie regarding Hedy. How do they know each other? Susie says they were college roommates, although she’s unsure about that. Clearly, Susie’s trying to conceal her true connection to Hedy — their romantic relationship. Midge offers Susie an ultimatum: either Susie asks Hedy to talk to Gordon about getting her on the show, or their relationship (working and otherwise) suffers. Midge is tired of struggling to pry open the door. She’d gladly accept help from Hedy.
Meanwhile, Abe has lunch with Gabe (Chris Eigeman), Arthur (Kenneth Tigar) and Henry (Patrick Breen). Abe sits in contemplative silence while the other three chat about life. Gabe asks Abe what’s wrong. Abe launches into a monologue about his musings regarding women and how they adapt to change better than men. He regrets not doing right by Midge, pushing her to the side while he spent time fostering Noah’s development. It goes back to the “Weissman firstborn son” thing. Abe recognizes Midge’s brilliance now and that she’s pursuing her stand-up career with gusto. This is a significant character moment for Abe, with a stunning performance by Tony Shalhoub. Give him the Emmy now. Not to mention, Arthur talking about how his life had turned into piles of stuff hit me hard.
After one of Gordon’s shows, Susie approaches Hedy and asks for that favor on behalf of Midge. Side note: Is it just me, or does it look like Hedy’s chatting with Penny Pann? Perhaps it’s because she appeared at the beginning of the episode, but this woman resembles her. Hedy agrees to talk to Gordon about getting Midge on the show. Then, Hedy and Midge share a moment before Hedy visits Gordon in his office. I wonder if she thinks Midge and Susie are an item. Something in her eyes tells me she knows their bond runs deeper than a manager-comic relationship.
Hedy cuts to the chase re: Midge. She reminds him that he’s merely adapting George’s arbitrary rule. It doesn’t serve anybody. Hedy also reminds Gordon that he owes her. Presumably, he owes her because of his career. She comes from money. Irritated that Hedy played that card, Gordon wanders out of his office to watch Midge answer the phone in a panic. She leaves the office due to what sounds like a family emergency. It looks like the wheels are turning in Gordon’s head. Could they finally turn in Midge’s favor?
RELATED: Catch up on the comedic goodness with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel recaps!
“The Princess and the Plea” boasts a terrific callback moment to the pilot episode that I omitted above. During the Bryn Mawr scenes, Midge recites Lenny’s reason for doing comedy. It’s such a lovely nod to him and where this show began. Lenny Bruce is baked into The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel‘s DNA, a huge catalyst for Midge’s career. It’s nice to see the series recognize him.
This episode seems to be the kick in the pants Midge needs. From her “Don’t!” note reminder at Bryn Mawr to Hedy echoing that sentiment at the bar and her college pals believing Midge’s stand-up career is a “chapter,” our girl is getting the push she needs to bust down that door. If anything, she’s remembering that she can’t coast on talent alone. That’s certainly not enough to get you through that door as a woman in 1961. Hedy encourages her to act like a man in a man’s world. This newfound vigor from Midge spills through in her interaction with Susie at Grand Central Station.
I hope we get more context regarding Susie and Hedy’s story in the series finale. Perhaps we’ll see Gordon offer Midge a spot on his show, which will serve as her big break. And I don’t know about you, but I’m rooting for Midge and Joel. Their chemistry isn’t Lenny/Midge-level, but it’s still sizzling. I’ve also adored Joel’s growth throughout the show.
I’m not ready for the end. Thankfully, Midge’s big break will be just the start of her career.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel streams new episodes every Friday 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.
- TV Review: WYNONNA EARP: VENGEANCE - September 9, 2024
- Melanie Scrofano and Tim Rozon on What to Expect in WYNONNA EARP: VENGEANCE - September 9, 2024
- SNOWPIERCER Recap: (S04E08) By Weeping Cross - September 8, 2024
