The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has done very little to make Midge a great character

The Mary Sue

"After these few years following the character, Midge has rarely been challenged or gone through any significant, lasting financial hardships, and she’s so beloved that it makes Rory Gilmore look like Boo Radley," says Princess Weekes. "Despite the immense charisma, star power, and beauty of Rachel Brosnahan, Midge has done very little to be a great character. Frankly, it’s time for us to have a conversation about the fact that series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino does not know how to challenge white femininity in a really engaging way. There have been times when I wondered if my criticisms of Midge were harsher because she’s a woman, and we do not allow women to be antiheroes or to just be unlikable—even unconsciously. We see this often with characters like Skyler on Breaking Bad, Carmela on The Sopranos, and any other wife or girlfriend character who is just as complicated as her male counterpart. Midge Is a different story because she is the protagonist of the story, and the story is completely on her side in a way that is almost brazenly empowering (if you squint). But even Lorelai Gilmore had to get called out once in a while, even Rory Gilmore had to be taken to town once in a while, and with Midge, it feels like no one is really willing to tell her 'Girl, you are full of sh*t.'"

ALSO:

• Rachel Brosnahan on why she doesn't watch Mrs. Maisel: "After we shoot the episodes, I tend to lay them to rest and I don’t watch the show," she says. "So, I often don’t know how something has turned out or what comes across onscreen as opposed to what we shot and how it felt on the day. So, it’s been a fun exercise over the last couple of years to try not to have expectations of what the audience might take away from each season. And then also to try not to let what ultimately they do take away inform too much of what we do as we approach the next season. Some part of me was nervous that audiences would certainly see maybe a much uglier side of Midge than they were used to in moments. Midge certainly steps in it over and over and over again this season, but I also appreciate this portrait of an incredibly flawed woman chasing her ambition as hard as she knows how. And I enjoy watching her stumble as a reader, and I also enjoy playing her crashing around like a bull in a China shop."
• Marin Hinkle credits Rachel Brosnahan for making her feel comfortable on set: "I tell everyone I meet that if they need an inspired person to look up to, it’s Rachel Brosnahan," says Hinkle. "I didn’t understand the depth she was doing with the stand-up until this herculean task of Marin playing Rose playing Midge playing Rachel. I sat there with my jaw dropped because I wasn’t given too much time to memorize the scene. I also wasn’t able to get any videotape of Rachel doing that stand-up routine. When we shot it, Rachel was so generous. When it seemed like I was going to fall apart because I was so scared I was going to do it incorrectly, she stood up from the audience and told me to breathe. She held me and played, like, a mother to me, frankly. I’m a theater actor, but I’ve never done comedy acts. I’ve never been that scared. You could’ve asked me, with a closed set, to be naked, and that would’ve been easier. A public stand-up act playing somebody else? Oh my God."
• Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino discuss booking Carnegie Hall and filming Midge and Lenny’s first sex scene
• Why did Mrs. Maisel's big-name Season 4 guest-stars get so little screentime?