Midge at the Wolford - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 Episode 8
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Recap

Midge, Abe, and Rose rush through the hospital to find Joel and Shirley and Moishe's bedside. Abe gets coffee.

Shirley thinks he's going to die. Joel says the doctor didn't say that Shirley insists. Abe returns without coffee as he forgot his wallet. Midge orders him to stay and not talk.

Midge pulls Joel out into the hallway. Joel feels like he killed his father. Midge asks what happened. Joel takes her through the whole Halloween costume thing. She gets him to speed it up. Joel explains told his father about Mei.

Midge takes some of the blame, saying she laid the groundwork two weeks ago by telling Moishe she couldn't pay him back. The doctors go into Moishe's room just as Archie and Imogene arrive. Archie feels like he killed Moishe because of the money that got stolen.

Mei arrives late, waylaid due to poor translation. Joel and Mei hug. Midge watches, and Imogene pats Midge's arm. Abe comes out of the room calling for a doctor, but he's just paranoid, and the women help him back in.

Zelda and Rose head to Moishe and Shirley's house to pick up some of Shirley's things. Shirley stays at the apartment with Abe. Shirley checks the phone to make sure it's working.

Abe makes drinks. Shirley talks about her and Moishe's burial plots and urges Abe to get his and Rose's plots. Shirley mentions that Moishe wants an obituary in the New York Times, like Albert Einstein.

Shirley notes that they never got to Turkey -- they had a plumber from Turkey. Shirley mentions how cruel it is to be aware of death, comparing it to the film Casablanca. Shirley offers to help Abe if Rose goes first.

Dinah answers the phone, her niece and nephew run around. Alfie bothers James with magic tricks.

Frank and Nicky arrive with donuts, only to find no coffee. They tell Dinah that Susie should get a second line as the phone keeps ringing.

Maggie, the secretary in the building across from them, has a call about Alfie, asking if he does birthday parties. Frank gives Dinah's niece a lollipop. Susie tells Dinah Alfie does not do birthday parties, which Dinah relays to Maggie.

Dinah explains to Frank and Nicky that she tells people to call Maggie if they can't get through on her line.

Midge calls, Dinah tells her they have no bookings, and hangs up. Maggie calls over, saying Florenz Ziegfeld is on the line. It's Midge. Midge explains Moishe's heart attack, asking if Susie can get someone to cover for her at the Wolford. Susie offers it to James, but he declines.

At the Village Voice, the team contemplates frontpages based on the presidential election outcome.

Abe calls the New York Times, trying to convince them to write an obituary for Moishe. Isobel asks Imogene what she's doing here, and Imogene explains that she's Abe's part-time secretary.

Abe complains to Gabe that he can't convince the Times to run an obit for Moishe. Gabe says he'll call Simon Melman at the Times and call in a favor.

Gabe calls Simon. It goes poorly. Gabe says Melman is dead to them, and he selects the cover. Abe says he will write the obituary himself and insists the Voice publish it.

Midge brings bagels to the hospital and gives one to Joel. Joel is complaining about the doctors, so he's using Mei's medical textbooks to try and figure out what the doctors are saying. Midge notices Mei and Shirley playing Mahjong.

Joel says Shirley tried to make soup in the hospital kitchen, so Mei is distracting her. Mei comes out, asking Joel for money -- Shirley is winning. Joel goes to look for more money.

Midge offers Mei a bagel. Mei and Midge talk about how things will work with the new "situation." Mei is confused about Midge's implications. Midge says Mei will have some responsibilities since she'll be married to Joel. Mei is taken aback.

An announcement comes over the PA saying Midge has a phone call. Midge excuses herself to take it.

Boise is on the phone, insisting Midge come back, as the women in the audience want to see her. Mitzi, Gloria, and Bunny make jokes but have no comedic timing. Midge says she'll be there when she can. She returns to see Mei comforting Joel.

The dancers at the club perform a complex number to "Femininity," celebrating women who love each other.

Midge arrives at the Wolford, to Boise's delight. Midge says she'll do one set, and then she has to go.

Midge takes the stage and discusses her family situation, sharing about Moishe's heart attack. She talks about how strange it is to see the men in her life vulnerable and emotional and how the women pick up the slack and take care of everything.

Midge notes that the doctors act like gods, but nurses take the time and do the hands-on work. She suggests that maybe women have always been the ones running things but have just been told otherwise. After a moment, Midge introduces the next act.

Backstage, Lenny is there to see Midge. He apologizes for his previous behavior.

Midge asks him about Carnegie Hall. He tells her that the Carnegie Hall people even put him up at a fancy hotel and painted the hotel room blue as he told them it was his favorite color. Lenny asks her to be impressed, and she is. 

Lenny tells Midge that he has a gig for her -- opening for Tony Bennett at the Copacabana for five sold-out nights.

They hear loud noises coming from inside the club. Lenny looks through the curtain. The cops are raiding the club. Everyone makes a mad dash for it, grabbing their stuff and rushing out. Lenny grabs Midge's hand and they run off together into the snow. Boise stays, fiddling on the Titanic.

Lenny and Midge get to Lenny's hotel and go up to his fancy blue hotel room. Lenny gets Midge a towel makes her a drink. They flirt. She tells him she's wearing her show corset. The atmosphere gets intense.

Lenny quotes a line from Midge's set, saying she is "more important than God." He asks to see the show corset. She takes another drink and tells him that if they go ahead with this, she needs him to promise that he will never forget she is funny.

They kiss, and he sees the corset. They head to the bedroom and have sex.

In the night, Midge goes to the bathroom and finds Lenny's heroin kit. Lenny gets a phone call and comes in. He takes the kit from her and tells her they have to go back to "spring the riff-raff" from jail, and then they can go out for Chinese food.

Abe is asleep at the Voice. Isobel arrives to tell him the hospital called and he should go. Abe grabs the typed-up obituary from Imogene (also dozing) and rushes off to the hospital.

Moishe is awake, with Rose, Shirley, Joel, and Mei around him. Abe rushes in. Abe asks who Mei is, and Shirley explains that she's a Mahjong player provided by the hospital. Mei explains quietly to Joel that she froze.

Moishe asks about the paper Abe is holding. Abe explains that it's his obituary, and he wrote it. Shirley is disappointed that they couldn't get the guy who wrote Einstein's. Shirley wants to hear it, as do Joel and Mei. Moishe urges Abe to read it.

Abe summarizes it, including all the best things about Moishe, how Moishe and Shirley took him and Rose in asking for nothing in return, how he was a good man, and how much Abe cares about him. Moishe is touched. 

The man from the phone company is confused about the phone line in Susie's office. Maggie shouts messages to Susie from the other building.

Midge rushes in, letting everyone know that Moishe is on the road to recovery. Maggie calls over, saying Tony Bennett's guy is on the line and wants to book one of Susie's clients. Midge tells Susie that Lenny put her name in for the gig. Susie stresses that it's a huge deal.

Midge reminds her -- no opening acts. Susie tells Maggie to refuse. Susie gets Midge a coffee through gritted teeth. Frank and Nicky tell Midge she should take the Tony Bennett gig. Dinah continues to struggle with the man from the phone company.

Midge pulls Susie aside and asks why Frank and Nicky are always around. Susie says they got her the place. Midge says they don't do anything without a catch, saying they are mobsters. Susie tells Midge she is tired of listening to her and heads back in.

Abe, Rose, Shirley, and Joel help Moishe back to his home. Zelda has prepared the house and helps Moishe onto his bed.

Joel and Moishe have a chat. Moishe says the timing seems suspicious, but he doesn't care that Mei is Chinese, and though he's surprised she's pregnant, he's happy to get another grandchild. He insists Mei needs to be Jewish before she meets Shirley.

Rose brings Moishe some tea. Abe pulls Rose aside and kisses her passionately. He presents her with a gift -- a stationery set embossed with her name, job title, and roses.

Gitta, Molly, Miss Em, and Benedetta receive beautiful letters from Rose saying she will not stop.

Lenny performs to a packed house at Carnegie Hall. Midge watches from the audience. The show is a rousing success.

Midge finds Lenny after the show. One of the Lenny's friends asks about her father-in-law, and she tells him he's okay.

Lenny takes Midge to the stage, the audience now empty. She asks how it felt, he says amazing. He asks her why she didn't take the Bennett gig. Midge tells him she decided to do things her way. Lenny explains that this is a business.

Midge says he never compromises, and he tells her he hates how he doesn't know if people are there just to see him get arrested. Lenny wants to make people laugh. He says if she wants to play the big houses, she needs to keep working -- not hide away, but focus on the endgame.

He says people will perceive her how she presents herself -- whether with Tony Bennett or getting arrested at a strip club. She insists she's not hiding. He doesn't want her to blow her chance. Lenny leaves Midge on stage alone.

Midge heads out and walks throw the snowstorm. She loses her hat and umbrella. She sees a billboard that says, "Go Forward." The snow clears partially and reveals the Gordon Ford show billboard.

 

Show:
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Season:
Episode Number:
8
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