'The Marvelous Mrs Maisel' Season 3 Episode 3 Review: Midge's rise after big fall is a lesson on how to handle failure
Spoiler alert for 'The Marvelous Mrs Maisel' Season 3 Episode 3 'Panty Hose'
Good times finally roll for Miriam "Midge" Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) as she sets her foot down in Las Vegas for the grand tour with Shy Baldwin (Leroy McClain). Episode 3 gets the show grooving with the "funny lady" out in the world. An established comic, Midge is on the road. As the flight glides into the clouds, her manager Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein) holds her breath and Midge tries to comfort her. "This is the first of the million flights and million tours." Susie answers, "We're on top of the world!" Indeed, the comic is flying high.
The 52-minute episode begins with Susie's meeting with her new client Sophie Lennon (Jane Lynch), who demands a new Broadway stint. When she looks at Susie's shocked reaction, she quizzes her, "Do you not believe in me?" She also commands her to "prioritize her over everyone else." At that instant, Susie transforms into a shrewd, clever businesswoman from an honest manager when she repeats the same line she told Midge: "Look, you're always going to be my number one." Her close friendship with Midge is a catalyst to be true to her words whereas, with Sophie, it is just professionalism. Only time will tell if her loyalty for the two rivals clash and ruin her reputation.
Due to lack of funds, Rose Weissman (Marin Hinkle) and Abe Weissman (Tony Shalhoub) are forced to leave their apartment and move in with Joel's parents, Shirley Maisel and Moishe Maisel. While their son, Noah (Will Brill) asks them to move in with him, Rose and Abe take a dig at his cramped space. In an emotional scene, Midge bids goodbye to the beloved apartment with all her childhood memories. Later, Rose and Abe's struggle to adjust with the Maisels is on another level, especially when the two are dictated to jump out of bed in the wee hours of the morning and comply with the deafening sound of both, television and radio, at the same time.
Divorced couple, Joel and Midge, still have a deep connection, unfathomable by people around them. Before Midge leaves for the tour, the two lovingly look into each other's eyes, Joel gives a peck on Midge's cheek and says, "You're gonna be great." However, Joel seems to have found a new attraction in his middlewoman May, who finally reveals her real name, Madeleine.
Reggie's (Sterling K Brown) sassiness continues on the flight. In a scene where Midge asks if their hotel room has twin beds or double beds, he says, "The answer is that's below my paygrade." But soon, he does make them comfortable by arranging two gin and tonic drinks. In another scene from the press conference, Reggie shows his stern side and even heats up when journalists put up nonsensical questions.
From Blossom Dearie's 'Manhattan' to Julie London's 'Fly Me To The Moon' and Frank Sinatra's 'Luck Be A Lady', the background score mingles with the vibe of the 1960s in which the period comedy-drama is set up in. Louis Prima's 'Pennies From Heaven' adds a lovely vintage feel echoing the grandiose outing. Vibrant hues and colors breathe life into the vivacity of Vegas, jam-packed with luxury casinos and soul-soothing spas.
The first set gives Midge the heebie-jeebies. Until the very last minute that she walks up to the stage, she wonders if she should wear gloves or skip them. Not too happy with hairdo, she asks Susie, "Is it noticeable?" Mocking her fancy bun, Susie remarks, "That your hair has a boner? Yes!" The performance bombs as Midge is too shy and the crowd too preoccupied to notice her. Finally, in the end, she tells the crowd, "You don't like me much, what are you, my ex-husband?" and leaves the audience in splits.
Meanwhile, Shy's performance leaves everyone spellbound. To cheer Midge up, Susie drags her to another crowd, considerably smaller in size. As she comes to the stage, she honestly confesses how she failed and immediately grabs all the attention. Her rise after the big fall is a lesson on how to handle failure. "Failure is how we grow. Actually it's how men grow. Women shrink," her jokes are peppered with a spirit of feminism and that makes her a winner. Later, Shy invites Reggie to show his singing skills to which he says, "People will know who the real star is." Even with less screen time, Brown makes every frame worthwhile as his confidence, verve and nerve shine through.
Rachel's over-the-top expressions are a joy to watch and Alex is marvelous in her stint of a supportive manager and a single woman trying to fill too many shoes. The direction and writing in this episode are one step ahead of the first two episodes, each of which was trying to simply set the tone for Season 3. In all, the 52-minute episode manages to catch the zest and zeal of an overseas tour with just the right dose of drama, humor and socio-economic messages.
