Susie is the True Hero of ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has a heroine problem.

After three seasons, it’s clear that Midge (Rachel Brosnahan), the marvelous comedic talent in question, isn’t the show’s heroine at all. In fact, she’s kind of the show’s villain. She never thinks to learn from her mistakes or put the feelings of others in consideration. She has literal temper tantrums, toys with her ex-husband for fun, ignores her children, and refuses to apologize for any of her mistakes. All in all, Midge gets to glide through life. If she does stumble, it’s over her own ego.

No, the real hero of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel isn’t Mrs. Maisel. It’s Alex Borstein‘s Susie Myerson.

Since the first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, we’ve watched one character rise from nothing to something. Not Midge, who was born into the ease of her mother’s oil-fueled trust fund, but Susie. When we first met her, Susie was just a lowly employee at the Gaslight. However, she was an avid student of comedy. She could tell the hacks from the geniuses, and when she saw a glimmer of star quality in Midge Maisel, she pounced on her one shot to manage a great comedian.

If you’ll recall, Susie is the one who gave Midge the idea to pursue comedy in the first place. It was Susie who bailed Midge out of prison and said she had a talent for stand up. It was Susie who taught Midge about comedy, both the business and the art. She helped Midge hone her act, observe other comics, and book all of her shows. As we’ve seen this season, always, it is Susie propping Midge up, coaching her through her few setbacks, and fighting for her behind-the-scenes. Without Susie’s encouragement, mentorship, and unflagging support, Midge Maisel would have just gone back to the Upper West Side and been a glamorous divorcée. With Susie, Midge becomes the marvelous “Mrs. Maisel.”

Midge’s career aside, Susie is the one character who has shown the most real personal growth over the past three seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Technically speaking, she’s learned how to manage a stand up act, and take on another big star, Sophie Lennon (Jane Lynch). However, the biggest change in Susie is probably within. She was always tough, but now she’s confident. She can hold her own in board rooms and think her way out of binds. She single-handedly pulled together a Broadway show, without any experience, and she managed to juggle two demanding clients.

But also, we saw this season that Susie is softening. She’s beginning to trust other people and feel worthy of nice things. We see this when Jackie (Brian Tarantina) lives in her apartment and makes it over to be more livable, and in how she starts to actually wear the fancy dress blazer she got. Moreover, it’s the way she struts into the luxurious Hotel Fontainebleau, handing out money and promoting her fledgling company to anyone she meets.

Susie is hard-working, loyal, and bursting with talent. Without her, Midge doesn’t have a career, and the whole concept of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is bust. She’s not Midge’s sidekick, but her mentor. Susie Myerson is the true hero of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, even if the show itself doesn’t realize it.

Season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is now streaming on Prime Video.

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