Heartwarming / The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

"You are spectacular."

Season 1

• Despite him being a yutz and leaving her for his mediocre secretary, Joel and Midge really do/did love each other. Earlier scenes showed them being very close to one another and enjoying sex and their interests in comedies.
  • The smile Joel gives Midge after she causes chaos at their wedding after announcing there is shrimp in the egg rolls was this: this is a couple that really loves to play around.
• Lenny comes through for Midge twice, after she bails him out in the first episode. First, he springs her from jail in episode 3, then, in episode 8, he gets her back onstage at the Gaslight by doing a free set and having her open for him.

Season 2

• In the first few episodes of season 2, Rose runs away to Paris due to the way Midge and Abe left her out of the loop and due to feeling like she has nothing to live for there. Abe ends up staying with her to convince her to come home, but the two end up having a wonderful time together while living in the city. While Rose is saddened when Abe finally convinces her to return to New York, he surprises her with a class enrollment to his university's art department and the promise of dance classes for the two of them.
• In that same episode, we see little Ethan join Susie while she has a sandwich and a beer while watching a TV show, after he takes his seat with her, she, without missing a beat, hands one half of her sandwich to him to eat. Later they are seen walking hand-in-hand down the hallway before they go off separately to their bedrooms (Susie is staying over the apartment because goons are after her and his grandparents are in Paris). For anyone who has watched the show and has become concerned over Joel and Midge neglecting their children, it's a nice sight to see.
• Midge and Joel have a "last dance" at the Catskills to mess with other people. They are clearly Amicable Exes.
  • Midge offers Joel her parents' sun porch until he gets a cabin or room after he arrives at the Catskills and figures that he forgot to reserve a room because he's still getting adjusted to living separately from Midge. That she's able to come up with that solution instantly for her ex-husband is sweet.
  • Upon learning that Midge has been kicked out of the swimsuit competition on account of her separation potentially causing scandal, Joel decides to take the podium, announce to the resort that while he and Midge are separated, they are amicable, and please stop gossiping. He also shames Paulie for his poor decision, saying Midge donated her winnings from the pageant to an orphanage in the Bronx that won't be getting such funding any more. Rose later admits to Midge that she finds it "surprisingly manly", although wishing that Joel would keep his and Midge's relationship private.
  • Joel also supports Midge's career, immediately jumping to asking her about how her performance at the Concord went when she tells him about Abe being there. He continues to be supportive as she goes on the road and after she tells their families what she is doing during Yom Kippur dinner, even to the point that Midge can ask him for help dealing with a jerk who stiffs her payment and locks Susie in a closet. This is significant growth from the beginning of the season, where Joel was reluctant to get back together with Midge because he couldn't stand having a wife make fun of him in front of strangers.
• During Polynesia Night at Steiner's, Joel and Shirley have a nice, quiet mother-to-son talk where she urges him to stop punishing himself and move on with his life, he deserves to be happy and date other girls. It's a rare moment to see Shirley be a tender, comforting mom.
• After Susie follows Midge to the Catskills, she gets in by simply buying a plunger, which makes everyone think she's a plumber at the resort. After disappearing for a night to help Midge headline at the Concord Lounge, the employees welcome her back warmly after organizing a search party. They clearly see her as one of them.
  • Susie is pleasantly surprised and touched that the staff are so concerned about her absence. Even more so in hindsight after we meet her family in the next episode, and learn that up until then, pretty apparent that nobody in her life had ever cared much about her, except maybe her sister.
• Midge finds a supportive and even Feminist partner in Benjamin, who she tells about her stand-up career, it's really something for Midge as she deals with people who may not understand or support.
• During her telethon set, Midge's family and friends end up watching her in awe, proud of her fame and comedy. Even Abe gives a smile at what his daughter is doing.
• In "All Alone," Midge stumbles upon Lenny, who is feeling miserable because of his ever-escalating legal issues and ensuing financial troubles. She first offers him a loan, which he rejects. Then, when he mentions being invited to perform on The Steve Allen Show, she offers to accompany him for moral support, which he accepts. It's clear he's touched at her concern, and he quite genuinely tells her she's lovely.

Season 3

• Midge genuinely telling Astrid it would be her pleasure to put her hand on Astrid’s pregnant belly, after everyone else had denied her request to do so.
• Midge consoling a nervous Susie on their flight to Vegas, assuring her the noises are normal and to put her feet up and then letting her relax by viewing through the window.
• Midge taking care of Shy after he's assaulted by a man he brought back to the boat with him from a bar. She's very genuinely concerned and sweet to him, and he even tells her his real name (Dwayne).
  • Directly afterward, Shy singing a romantic song about hiding his feelings and directing it at Reggie, his childhood friend and manager whom he clearly loves.
• The sheer ease and joy that Midge and Lenny share during their night on the town in Miami. Midge manages to make him crack up from off-camera, they seamlessly improvise a bit playing off each other, they're able to both just have a rare moment of quiet in each other's company, and when she finally gets him to tell her what he thought of her act?
  Lenny: I thought it was sensational.
• The duet between Reggie and Shy.
  • It's the first time we (through Midge) see Reggie loosen up at all, and he clearly enjoys getting to step on to the stage every now and then. Her face when Reggie starts to sing tells the whole story: first shocked, then impressed, and finally delighted.
  • It's also the only time we see Reggie and Shy act like friends (as opposed to celebrity and minder), and the duet encapsulates their long history together.

Season 4

• In spite of their past conflicts, Susie gets genuine props from Harry for managing to get Sophie Lennon's Broadway show produced and set up when everyone doubted her, even if it ended up a disaster, and tells her he will make the possible lawsuits against her from investors go away.
• Midge gets invited to Shy Baldwin's wedding, and confronts him about how he treated her after the Apollo show. Midge calls him out, not to claim she did nothing wrong, but to fully admit that she was completely at fault and Shy had every right to be angry with her, and that she is more angry that he didn't give her a chance to apologize. Especially hurtful because she thought they were friends. When Shy tries to reestablish their bond, Midge coldly rebuffs him. What makes this a Heartwarming moment is that afterwards Midge is taken to Shy's management team, who tell her that they have essentially isolated Shy from every aspect of his old life in order to "Protect" him and keep his secret from getting out, and they are prepared to offer Midge a ludicrous amount of money to keep her mouth shut. Midge- who is in desperate need of money- outright refuses, even as they up the amount, telling them that she promised to keep Shy's secret because she was friends with Shy. Money be damned, Midge will not betray a friend- even a former one- and she will not stab Shy in the back again.
• Bracing himself for Moishe's possible death, Abe does his best to have his obituary printed in the New York Times as he wanted, but fails. So instead, he writes one himself to print in The Village Voice. It turns out to be unnecessary since Moishe pulls through, but Abe still reads a summary for him and the other family members in the hospital room. He especially thanks Moishe and Shelly for taking him and Rose in when they needed a place to stay. Moishe quietly thanks Abe for the warm words and is clearly moved by them.
• Lenny helps Midge escape from a raid at the strip club, then takes her to his hotel to dry off from the blizzard. They’ve only just made up after a fight, and they’ve got all sorts of tension between them. That’s when Lenny tells her exactly what she means to him, in their own way.
  Lenny: (referencing her act) You are more important than God.
  Midge: You paid attention.
  Lenny: To you? Always.

Season 5

• The final scene of the series sees an older Midge and Susie on the phone with each other in 2005 as they prepare to watch Jeopardy. Even after all they’ve been through and everything we know Midge will go through, it’s nice to know the two eventually reconciled and are still best friends.
• Also a bit of a Tear Jerker, the penultimate episode has Abe meet some friends for dinner and reflect on Midge's growth since her marriage to Joel ended and how she managed to not only push through it, but come out stronger. He realizes that he never encouraged her to dream like he did with her brother, but she still turned into a remarkable woman. He spends the rest of the series actually showing real support for her career in comedy and expressing her admiration for her when opportunity arises.
  Abe: My daughter is a remarkable person, and I don't think I've ever said that to her.
• Just before going on The Gordon Ford Show, Midge finds a fortune cookie fortune that falls out of her notebook. She smiles, then tucks it into her corset by her heart. In one of the final scenes of the series, we find out the origins of it, flashing back to the night Midge and Lenny went out for Chinese food after finally sleeping together. Lenny admits that "[his] head turned a long time ago," then "reads" Midge’s fortune. The paper just has lucky numbers, but he makes up his own very sweet prediction of her success:
  Lenny: "A spotlight waits for you center stage. All you have to do is step up and claim it.Once you do, everyone will know who you are. They will know your wit, your intellect, your smile, your great, expressive eyes. They will be helpless to your charms. They will fall at your feet and worship at the altar of you and your show corset."