The Mrs. Maisel Appraisal: Episode 2

Though not as good as the first episode, this one was still a decent follower. Midge moves back into her old apartment and invites her parents to move in with her. Midge’s parents, Abe and Rose Weissman (Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle), are my two favorite characters in the show aside from Midge, of course. They hit close to home, reminding me almost too much of my grandparents, fellow New York Jews, and the actors are arguably the best on the show. In this particular episode, they’re hesitant at first to move in with Midge because of how humiliating it is to have your child financially support you, but after a rapid-fire conversation, they manage to turn the tables on Midge and agree to tell “people” (meaning the oh-so-judgemental 1960 New York upper-class society), that Midge is moving in with them instead of vice versa. This whole exchange happens very quickly, with Abe and Rose hilariously orchestrating their “cover story,” leaving Midge dumbfounded.

In other news, Midge gets arrested (again) for solicitation, even though it was a misunderstanding. She does put on quite the show in the holding cell though, doing a comedy set for the other women in there, angrily ranting about men and getting arrested. While I do sometimes appreciate Midge’s impromptu sets, I was disappointed we didn’t get an actual onstage set this episode since that’s usually where her best jokes come from.

While this definitely wasn’t one of the best episodes, since it lacked action and got a little slow at some points, I still appreciated the scenes with Abe and Rose and the throwback to season-one Midge when she got arrested.

Midge’s quip corner: “For me, it’s always about language. Tonight I said something, and I got busted. But you see, it’s not about what you say. It’s about where you happen to be when you say what you happen to say. And who happens to be around when you say what you happen to say where you happen to be. You know what I mean?”