I think plastic surgery has already been referenced in the flash forwards.
Well, it’s over. I did realize there were only going to be 9 episodes. I’m satisfied with the finale. It was nice seeing everyone rally around Midge. Rose even went out for the night without changing and rode a bus! 
I really liked the finale scene with Midge and Susie (in a dress.
That did finish strong.
I think the final bit was a nod to Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. They were getting together until the end to watch Jeopardy.
It felt like they dialed down the look-how-snappy back and forth banter this episode, particularly the first 15 minutes or so where they were being relatively serious with Lenny and Susie’s backstory. I think that’s why I liked it so much more than I thought I would. I mean, I know this is an Amy Sherman-Palladino show so you’re getting that shit whether you want it or not, but it makes me wonder how much better the show could have been if they hadn’t always forced it in at every opportunity.
The “The Graduate” joke was gratuitous but still made us laugh a lot.
…Really thought this thread would have been popping more now that the finale has aired…
Couple of things-- Palladinos sure do like to waste time sometimes huh? I didn’t need Abe and Rose rushing around trying to find a taxi for 4 minutes…You can’t even pretend like it was to give the actors something to do since both had plenty of spotlight scenes lately and even earlier in that episode.
Also, it felt like a mistake to have Carol Burnet appearing on the episode the Midge makes her big national debut. Yes fantastic impersonation… but almost low-key insulting to Burnett who in the real world is one of the biggest female comedians of all time. It just struck me as odd–maybe I’m crazy.
I think it was a very meta joke to have the kids literally abandoned at home while every conceivable adult who would be babysitting them went to the show that night. It couldnt have been oversight by the writers.
Also…is Midge just a billionaire in 2005?
Yeah, I can’t decide if that last bit is set in her actual house, or if she has a large, permanent suite in a hotel or resort somewhere. I’m not convinced Windsor Castle has a kitchen like the one she wandered through.
One of the Jeopardy categories was “Billionaires”. I don’t think that was just random.
Her show debuted in 1967. In ‘65 she was known as a musical theater star on Broadway with frequent appearances on The Garry Moore Show and her tv special of Calamity Jane.
I was wondering if that was archival footage and was actually surprised it wasn’t.
It seemed to me to be a tribute to Burnett who in real life broke through some major gender related barriers, like the fictional Midge was doing.
Just be thankful those 4 minutes weren’t actually 9 minutes, which was the length of Midge’s 4 minute segment.
What I liked about Midge’s character arc for the show is that she started out in just a large Manhattan apartment, but ended up in a tremendously large Manhattan apartment.
Doesn’t the episode mainly take place quite a few years before that? Only the beginning scene with Lenny Bruce takes place in '65.
You’re correct. That Burnett appearance is sometime late ‘61 to early ‘62?
Point then more strongly made. Burnett had been mostly Broadway musicals and just started appearing on the Garry Moore show. No tv specials of her own yet.
She was also in process of breaking through.
Excellent casting for Burnett though (Leslie Kritzer, or so the internet tells me). She really nailed it.
I thoroughly enjoyed that, though… but I’d watch an entire show of Abe and Rose hijinks.
I thought it was a pitch perfect series finale. Wrapped up things very well. I think maybe the only thing I’d do is more of the Midge and Suzie Jeopardy scene earlier and end with the 4 minutes.
OK, finally caught up with the final few episodes.
Completely agree on the Abe and Rose looking for a cab - wasted screen time. Also, not sure why Moishe wasn’t in the audience at the end - scheduling conflict? I did catch the Graduate reference, and my wife said the same thing about Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. Was Dinah, Susie’s assistant, running the show for Midge at the end?
Joel remained a mensch, why didn’t she get back together with him? The scene with Abe and the 3 guys from the Village Voice in the restaurant was pretty preachy, but well written. My wife had a very different reaction to it than I did. She thought that although Abe’s heart was in the right place, he was still very focused on how he could have had impact on Midge’s life.
I liked the ending. It’s tough to live up to expectations but they did very well.
Tits up.
Short answer: “It’s complicated.” They loved each other but as a couple were terrible together. Initially this is Joel’s fault for the affair but Midge as a spouse and a mother is also a fucking nightmare for the rest of her life, from what we see (Philip Roth really dodged a bullet there).
Looks like Moishe not being in the Gordon Ford audience was a choice, not a scheduling conflict.
Gordon calling Midge to the couch was a nod to Johnny Carson - when he liked a comedian he would call them over. It was a sign that your career was on the upswing.
It’s a weird choice to have Shirley there but not Moishe, especially considering the way they framed the answer as those 2 already having had their “big last moment.”
From the comedians at the roast, we know that by 1990 Dinah was running the New York branch of Susie’s agency, but I don’t think it was ever explicitly said that Midge went back to Susie’s agency.