SNAKES AND LADDERS (THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL, SEASON FOUR)

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Starting Season Four of Amazon Prime's 'The Marvelous Mrs Maisel' is a little bit like watching a game of snakes and ladders.

Having been on an upward trajectory for three seasons with the occasional setback, Rachel Brosnahan's stand up comic Midge Maisel suddenly finds herself sliding down the board.

Unfortunately, this setback is of her own making.

(PREVIOUS SEASON SPOILER ALERT!!)

Jokes made in the Apollo Theater at expense of Leroy McLain's Shy Baldwin's effeminate nature left Midge and her agent, Alex Borstein's Susie Myerson stranded on a runway at the end of Season Three as the singer shut them out of a flight they should have been boarding for Europe.

© Amazon Prime

To add to their woes, the money earned touring the US with Shy has also been gambled away by Susie.

In order to repay her friend and client, Susie cooks up an insurance scam with her sister, Emily Bergl's Tess.

Gutted by her firing from the European tour, Midge is forced to make a living doing stand up at a burlesque show.

However her sharp wit and keen observations about life as a woman soon bring a different clientele to the show.

Meanwhile Midge's ex, Michael Zengen's Joel's new club is proving a huge success.

© Amazon Prime

However that unnerves his Chinese landlords who fear it may lead to the discovery of their illegal gambling den in the basement.

Susie borrows money from Joel to pay back Midge who uses it to move back into her family's old Manhattan apartment with her parents, Tony Shalhoub's Abe and Marin Hinkle's Rose.

Abe finds a new lease of life writing theatre reviews for The Village Voice but some of his reviews offend fellow worshippers in his synagogue.

Rose develops a sideline too as a matchmaker and thrives as word spreads about her ability to pair eligible bachelorettes and bachelors.

She's so good at it, she suddenly finds herself the target of intimidation by matchmaking rivals drawn from a range of ethnic groups. 

© Amazon Prime

Joel's mum, Caroline Aaron's Shirley Maisel does some matchmaking of her own by regularly inviting him round to dinner with a succession of young women she thinks would make a good second wife.

Unaware he is dating Stephanie Hsu's Mei Lin, Joel struggles with how to break the news to Shirley and his dad, Kevin Pollak's Moishe that he has got a non Jewish woman pregnant.

After her disastrous attempt to pursue a serious acting career on Broadway, Jane Lynch's Sophie Lennon recuperates at a mental health institution but refuses to dissolve her contract to Susie.

Encountering David Paymer's agent Harry Drake, he advises Susie to seek more clients and grow her business.

When she isn't confronting Shy at his wedding about her unceremonious dumping from the tour or hiding her burlesque show gigs from her family, Midge continues to run occasionally into Luke Kirby's Lenny Bruce but discovers some uncomfortable truths about his lifestyle.

© Amazon Prime

After the high watermark of Season Three, the question raised by Season Four is whether 'The Marvelous Mrs Maisel' can go any higher.

The answer is no but that's not a bad thing because it probably keeps the show on the same level.

Amy Sherman Palladino, her husband Daniel and Kate Fodor's scripts remain punchy, maintaining a high strike rate for their gags and delicately balancing the moments of drama.

The characters remain well drawn and engaging and their story arcs make a lot of sense.

The Palladinos and Scott Ellis direct their episodes with the panache we have come to expect from 'The Marvelous Mrs Maisel'.

© Amazon Prime

And while it may lack the heft of 'Succession,' 'Better Call Saul' or 'Kin,' 'The Marvelous Mrs Maisel' remains a pretty decent, light hearted watch and a welcome respite from the much darker dramas that dominate our screens.

Now firmly established, Brosnahan has lost none of her sparkle and once again deftly negotiates the show's comic and more serious terrain.

Borstein attacks each episode with wit, intelligence and grit.

Zengen, Shalhoub, Hinkle, Pollak, Aaron, Hsu, McLain, Lynch, Kirby and Paymer contribute significantly to the show's success and gladly seize their moments to shine.

© Amazon Prime

Watching the fourth season, though, you can't help wondering how much legs it has left.

And that's why the decision to call it a day after five is the right one.

Having come this far, fans of 'The Marvelous Mrs Maisel' are entitled to one last hurrah.

But will it be the hurrah everyone hopes?

(Season Four of 'The Marvelous Mrs Maisel' was made available for streaming on Amazon Prime between February 17-March 11, 2022)

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