She ended Season 1 on somewhat of a high with a killer stand-up gig at the Gaslight introduced by none other than Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby), but when we pick back up with Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), her world is in upheaval. A potential reunion with estranged husband Joel (Michael Zegen) looks destined not to happen now he has heard the types of material about him that she includes in her act, she’s been relegated to the switchboard at her department store day job and her mother has walked out on her father … all the way to Paris.
Destined to pick up a lot more attention locally now it has several Emmy Awards under its belt, the second season of the 1950s-set comedy really hits its stride, with Midge and dad Abe’s (Tony Shalhoub) sojourn to France to convince Rose (Marin Hinkle) to return home featuring some of the show’s best scenes yet, particularly an impromptu bilingual routine at a drag club.
While Brosnahan gets all the flashy, fabulous, fast-talking set pieces, Alex Borstein continues to impress with her understated performance as Midge’s manager, Susie, who wriggles her way out of the latest effort to shut down Midge’s burgeoning career in unique style in the first of this season’s eight new episodes. 
(On Amazon Prime from Wed., Dec. 5) 4.5 stars
