The Tantalising Tale of Lenny & Midge

After 3 seasons of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel there is still one thing that people cannot stop talking about: Lenny and Midge’s friendship. Or shall I say relationship?

We first saw Lenny back in season one when Lenny became almost like a mentor to Midge at the beginning of her comedic journey. And even though there was a friendly, flirty but not overtly flirty banter back then, for the most part, we were too busy focusing on Midge’s up-in-the-air relationship with her husband, Joel, to really notice and/or care. Season two is where viewers started hoping that they would end up together. Don’t get me wrong, most of us loved her new love, Benjamin, but after seeing Lenny & Midge support each other throughout the season, it was hard to not want them together. Midge was Lenny’s moral support when he was going through a rut and Lenny helped Midge come back strong after being blacklisted by Sophie Lennon. While they were simply acquaintances in season one, we saw them more as a solidified pair in season two. Their respect and admiration for each other felt as if it just oozed from the screen, along with the chemistry that these two have. In season three, the respect and admiration is still there but now with an added unspoken emotion: desire. There is no denying the feelings they have after watching episode five of season three. They stare attentively at each other in seductive lighting while a Spanish love song is playing in the background. And when these two comics slow dance with each other, for once on the show, they can’t think of anything funny to say. That in itself is so telling. So why the hell aren’t they together?

Amy Sherman-Palladino said that just because Lenny and Midge are friends of the opposite sex with sexual tension, that it isn’t necessarily going to go in that direction on the show. And Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Midge, says she “begged” Amy not to cross that line because it would be a cliche. But with that being said, making them end up together doesn’t mean that the respect and admiration for each other is going to disappear or be ruined. The sexual tension between Lenny and Midge is almost and just nearly on the same calibre as Fleabag and the Hot Priest. The only difference between the two couples is Lenny and Midge have had years for their feelings to develop. They have stronger feelings in terms of how they want the other to be the best they can be, both professionally and personally, which makes the sexual tension even more noticeable.

Image: The Metro https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/14/fleabag-hot-priest-better-off-breaking-10916879/

As writers, the Palladinos have a chance to control how they want Lenny and Midge to be and avoid making them into the cliche boy-girl-friends-turned-lovers trope that many other shows have done. And if anything, making them into a forbidden-by-choice love story and making Midge constantly go back to her ex-husband for three whole seasons is more cliche than making her end up with Lenny. I read a tweet that said, “Lenny looked at Midge with more love in his eyes in one scene than Joel ever looked at her the entire time they were together” (Shoutout @Chelstheasian). They admire each other. They respect each other. They truly understand each other to the point of near mind-reading and all of that for what? Just for them not to end up together? It makes no sense.

I want to make it clear that viewers of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel don’t just want the pair to have a one night stand and that’s it. We want them together. Why? Because they both deserve it.

Midge isn’t sure about what and who she wants. She wants Joel, she doesn’t want him, but she also does? She thought she wanted Benjamin but she used her comedic career as a way to get out of the relationship because she wasn’t sure about him after all. But do you know what she is sure about? Who she is when she’s with Lenny. She can be herself because he’s seen every version of her already. She’s never been afraid or doubted herself around him. And Lenny doesn’t just see Midge as another woman he can seduce and toss aside. He believes in her comedy and he believes in her. He wants her to be the best that she can be because she’s talented and she deserves it. And as we saw in season three - he’s hurting. It’s not a reach to assume that he’s lonely and wants to be with someone who understands him and truly makes him want to be better like Midge does. But he stops himself because he doesn’t think he’s deserving of her love and acceptance.

Image: Medium https://medium.com/pop-off/mrs-maisel-didnt-sleep-with-lenny-bruce-in-season-3-episode-5-and-that-s-important-e057f5d08c77

They deserve each other. They deserve to be together. Lenny especially deserves to have the ending that the real-life Lenny Bruce didn’t get the chance to have. Whether that be by getting them together and making his last few years joy-filled before his historically accurate end happens or better yet, rewriting his future altogether. That’s the beauty of fiction, isn’t it? It is Midge’s alternate world after all. If it means creating a powerful love story that will resonate with viewers for years to come, to hell with history.

By Blanca Reyes

(she/her)

Twitter: @blanca__star