3 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel nominees who deserve that Emmy gold

Amy  Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel  has dominated the Emmy nominations again. In particular, it seems like they’re getting recognition for what they do for female representation in TV and movies.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has scored 20 Emmy nominations this year, surpassing its 14 nominations from last year. And the show won eight Emmy awards then. Among the many nominations, there are three that are especially worth noting.

These nominations are related to acting, and the nominees are all women. If these nominees win in their respective categories, it shows the entertainment industry that these types of characters are wanted by the public.  Each character represents a side of the female experience we don’t get to see often on television.

Rachel Brosnahan: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 

Rachel Brosnahan plays the lead character on the show, Miriam “Midge” Maisel. She won an Emmy last year for the same category. Although Rachel has already won this award, how she portrayed Midge this second season of deserves some attention.

In Mrs. Maisel‘s second season, we saw more scenes of Midge killing it during her standup routines. These scenes are some of my favorites because I love seeing Midge, a well-dressed feminine woman, telling  jokes that aren’t  “ladylike.” There are still men in 2019 that think women can’t be funny, and the character Midge represents how false that statement is. Having a refined stereotypical 1950s housewife telling jokes on a smokey stage — and killing it — embodies this falsehood. Women, even at their most feminine, are more than their makeup and smiles.

Brosnahan also does a great job at showing Midge’s class and femininity, even when she is being a comedian. She doesn’t assimilate to the male-dominated clubs, she brings all of herself to it — and that’s important for women in every industry to see. Midge is a character that should inspire more well-rounded female characters on television.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Marin Hinkle

Marin Hinkle’s character and Midge’s mother, Rose Weissman, transformed this second season. Her nomination is the one I am most excited for because the character represents a housewife experience that modern women can relate to.

In season one, Rose’s character was paranoid, irrational, uptight, and judgmental. She was really involved in Midge’s life, but she fixated on the wrong things (well, wrong from a 2019 perspective). Toward the end of the first season, Rose was feeling unappreciated by Midge and her husband Abe Weissman (played by Tony Shalhoub, who is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor).

Midge was discovering herself as a single woman and comedian, and Abe was being a clueless husband who only wanted to focus on things he could solve, which makes sense since he is a Mathematics Professor at Columbia University. Because Midge and Abe were occupied with their own concerns, Rose didn’t know where she fit into the  family.

At the beginning of season two, we learn that Rose moved to Paris to start a new life, since she felt like she had no life back in New York City. We, along with Midge and Abe, were surprised to see Rose thriving in a small, dingy Parisian apartment, where she had to share a bathroom with other residents and store her milk and butter outside because she had no fridge.

My perception of Rose as a fragile woman was gone.  Midge ended up going back to New York, and Abe stayed with Rose for a couple of weeks to rekindle their love. Abe learned how to love his wife  better, and Rose was able to immerse herself in art and French culture, which she fell in love with when she was studying in Paris during her college years.

Rose’s story is important because it shows that wives can have their own lives separate from their family and they can ask for what they want from their husbands. Although moving to Paris seems like a lot, she stood up for herself. And that must’ve been hard for her when she didn’t say anything in their long-term relationship.

I loved how Marin played Rose’s transformation. During the rest of the season, she played Rose with more confidence and with more smiles. Although she was still worried about Midge and was still uptight in certain ways when she came back to her upper middle class life in New York City, I still noticed Rose was more at peace.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Alex Borstein

Alex Borstein, like Rachel, is nominated for the same category she won last year. While Midge represents feminine-presenting women, Susie, Alex Borstein’s character, represents a more masculine-presenting women. Susie is poor, lives in a box of an apartment, works at a bar, and is just trying to survive. She is the one who told Midge she could make it as a comedian, and once she became her agent, her focus became Midge and making money from those gigs.

It makes sense that Susie wouldn’t be as luxurious as Midge; her lifestyle doesn’t allow for it. Susie and Midge have a friendship, but Susie doesn’t open up much. Borstein’s acting shines through when we see Susie’s vulnerability crack through her shell just a little, though. The “little” is important because transformation happens in small increments.

Although Midge’s feminine presence in stand-up is important, it’s also important to see women who aren’t stylish or put together. Susie deserves respect and love despite her not being traditionally beautiful or stylish. We see her get that respect while she is navigating the comedy world for Midge. We see her get that love from Midge and the happy-go-lucky workers at The Catskills. I love that the creators of Mrs. Maisel  give us both Susie and Midge to represent strong women.

What do you think of the Emmy nominees for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel? Let us know in the comments.