Spoilers ahead for the Season 4 finale of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Midge Maisel and Lenny Bruce’s will they, won’t they romance finally heats up in the Season 4 finale of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
There’s been a ridiculous amount of sexual tension between the two since the first episode of the show, when Midge bailed Lenny out of jail and he told her comedy was a “terrible, terrible job” with a mischievous grin on his face. Lenny inspired Midge to make the leap into becoming a full-time comedian, and since then he’s acted as both her mentor and cheerleader, often dubbing her “sensational” and always showing up at key moments when she needs a boost of confidence. Benjamin might have been a healthier and more stable romantic choice for Midge (RIP to that relationship), but Lenny gets her.
Considering that the real Lenny Bruce died of an overdose in 1966, the role was initially meant to be a cameo. But Maisel co-creator Amy Sherman-Palladino said that they kept Luke Kirby on because he and Rachel Brosnahan (Midge) had such natural chemistry. Since then, Lenny has grown to play an important role in Midge’s life. He gives her validation as “someone who is the best of the best” and as “the guy pushing comedy into the next phase,” Sherman-Palladino said, yet has always looked at her as an equal and as a friend.
In Season 3, Midge and Lenny spent an intimate night dining and dancing at a Miami club, almost taking their flirtationship to a physical level. Nothing happened, but as the two parted ways, Lenny promised her, “Before I’m dead.”
Lenny fulfilled that promise in the Season 4 finale. The episode begins with Midge finding out that Moishe had a heart attack (he’s fine), which leads her to give an emotional performance at the strip club. When she goes backstage, she finds Lenny there with his friends. They banter about Lenny playing Carnegie Hall, and he tells her they even gave him his own hotel room. He then reveals that because he’s playing Carnegie, he’s offering his “dream gig” to her: opening for Tony Bennett for five nights at the Copacabana night club.
Police raid the club while they’re talking, so Lenny grabs Midge’s hand and they run out into the snowstorm together and take refuge at his hotel room. Inside, they share a drink. When Lenny notices that Midge is perched on the edge of a chair, he asks why she won’t sit down. She admits it’s because she’s wearing her “show corset,” which she jokes is prettier but harder to breath in than her “going to the dentist corset.” Lenny responds, “Yep, it’s always the pretty ones who try to kill you.”
There’s a pregnant silence and a long, lingering stare. Lenny claims he didn’t plan this, and Midge says, “What, getting me back here? You mean you didn’t alter the atmosphere, causing it to snow, and organize a raid at the exact moment I came off stage?” She asks if she’s not important enough for all of that.
“You are more important than God,” he tells her earnestly. And then he says, “Midge, I gotta see the show corset.” She hesitates for a moment, then makes him promise that if they have sex, he will “never, ever forget” that she’s incredibly funny.
“I will be laughing through the entire thing,” he promises. Then he kisses her.
It’s a satisfying climax, but there are already signs that the two won’t last. After they sleep together, Midge finds drugs in Lenny’s bathroom, hinting that the show will eventually portray his 1966 death. (Season 4 takes place in the early ‘60s.) The season also ends with a major blow-up between the pair. Lenny finds out that Midge turned down the Tony Bennett gig — despite him going to bat for her — because she has a “plan” and doesn’t want to open for anyone anymore. Frustrated, he accuses her of hiding herself away and missing out on a major opportunity. “If you blow this, I swear you’ll break my f*cking heart,” he says before storming out, leaving her standing alone in an empty Carnegie Hall.
It’s tough to hear, but it’s exactly what Midge needs. Compared to her past relationships, Lenny is the first man who is actually disappointed in her for not performing — proof that, in a way, she needs him just as much as he seems to need her. We can only hope she doesn’t let him down in the show’s fifth and final season.
