Relationship Deep Dive: Midge Maisel and Lenny Bruce

Type: Romantic
Show: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Featured Characters: Midge Maisel and Lenny Bruce

Sometimes, the best romantic relationships are the unexpected ones—the ones we know right from the start aren’t headed where we think they are—destined for doom, heartache, and failure. But maybe, in the words of Nicole Kidman’s AMC ad, somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this. (Would things be better if we got a happily ever after? Absolutely.) However, even when they don’t stay together, we still get concrete proof of the fact that something in this relationship transforms both parties for the better.

[Disclaimer: Whatever I address here, I’m only speaking of it in the context of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. While we know that Luke Kirby’s Lenny Bruce is based on the real-life comedian, I’m writing about show canon and what this represents solely within the confines of the made-up text. I am not speculating or referring to anything that involves the historical figure’s life.] 

Midge Maisel and Lenny Bruce Are Kindred Spirits

Two sides of the same coin, kindred spirits, soulmates—whatever you want to call them, in every way where it matters, Midge Maisel and Lenny Bruce share something no one else could understand. Maybe it’s the sheer, effortless ability to make each other laugh at any given moment. Perhaps it’s the undeniable attraction striking hard and fast every time they’re in the same vicinity. Maybe it’s love. Or, at the very least, a version of love that stays—lingers in the echoes after barking laughter simmers and subdues, and their worlds grow quiet.

For fans who shipped Midge and Lenny from the beginning, the inherently romantic tropes present during their initial meet-cute make it damn near impossible not to. The “my wife” of it all leads to a burgeoning friendship, which allows the two of them to enter into an unspoken partnership of sorts. You’ve got my back. I’ve got yours. Slowly, they start to look for each other in a crowded room, foraging for the support necessary to believe that the gig is off to a good—nay, best—start. There are countless quiet moments between Midge and Lenny that tell us something is consistently shifting inside, even when their interactions aren’t full of riotous butterfly-inducing moments. Yet, everything changes in Season 3, Episode 5, “It’s Comedy or Cabbage,”—it’s the place where it becomes abundantly evident that there is indeed something more between the two of them.

Related Content: Scene Breakdown: Midge and Lenny Dance in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s “It’s Comedy or Cabbage”

It’s an episode I’ve personally written about a lot because it’s one that dives deep into showcasing how electric it is when two people who can make the world laugh slow down and settle in a place where there are no words. There’s nothing funny about a moment where their quiet conversations do more talking than their wittiest jokes could manage. There’s so much about the scenes that rely on Rachel Brosnahan and Luke Kirby to convey a cyclonic depth of emotions through silence, and they deliver in a way that’s incomparable. 

It’s been years since the club scene—years since “You’re staring” and “So are you,” and yet, words still can’t adequately convey the magnitude of the characters’ feelings. Their walls are down in a way they’ve never been before, they’re stunned by everything firing from inside, and they’re sincere with each other in a profoundly memorable way. They’re showing each other how much they care by taking the moment more seriously than anything else, which later results in Lenny’s utmost earnest declaration of the fact that her act was sensational. 

As mentioned previously in the scene breakdown: “The ambiance. The lighting. The way they’re both so comfortable with each other is tremendously telling of what’s within. The camera panning to them as everyone else around simply dances while they savor every moment of this quiet bliss, coupled with the immeasurable heat that’s stirring inside. It’s transcendent. It’s how neither of them understands what’s fully happening as their bodies sway, only that wherever they’ve escaped, it’s easy to be there.

It’s the way the club lights go from burning red to orange right as Lenny gently moves Midge’s hand further into his embrace, toward his neck, as her head rests on his shoulder. It’s the symbolic showcase of warmth and heat and joy and balance. Something they both, to a degree, struggle with, and yet, at this moment, they’re so perfectly in tune with one another, with their bodies, that it’s liberating in every sense.”

Related Content: Scene Breakdown: Exploring Midge and Lenny’s “Maybe Someday” in ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’

Further, at the time, it’s unclear in the dingy motel whether “maybe someday” will come to pass, but it still promises and boldly shows viewers that there’s something beyond the humor. While much of their lives are coated with comedy, the tethers pulling them close are strengthed and tied with a rare understanding that allows them to feel safe in the other’s presence. Everything that transpires in the club and later in the hotel is effortless—Lenny doesn’t have to think twice about running his hand down her arm, and she doesn’t have to question resting her head against his shoulder. They don’t have to ponder the direction their bodies will move. It’s a culmination of both unspoken emotions and countless beats of wondering what if—it’s why, when they finally get together in Season 4, Episode 8, “How Do You Get to Carnage Hall?” there is no doubt about the fact that it’s something they’ve wanted for a long, long time.

So much unravels and nearly falls apart in this episode for various reasons pertaining to their individual character arcs, but their heartfelt time together is nothing short of—well, sensational. Only, this isn’t an act or a “just one time to get it out of our systems.” They are burning with a need to understand and feel what it’s like to give in to every molecule that has consistently gnawed at them to pay closer attention to the other person. It’s why it’s so crucial for Midge to mention that she needs him to think that she’ll still be funny because his philosophy on her comedy fuels much of the drive to understand that she can and should pursue this. It’s more than a gig to her, and it’s more than a one-night stand, too, whether they address it or not. 

So much of what both characters do individually is driven by this idea of what they should do. Before she takes the stage, drunk and unsure of what she’s doing in the very first episode, Midge does everything by the book. She behaves as she is taught that a woman should behave, following in her mother’s footsteps and becoming one herself. As a woman of the time, Midge doesn’t know that she can be something else—be who she wants and live as she pleases, but so much of that becomes her reality because of Lenny’s belief in her. A belief from which he gains nothing in return, making it all the more genuine.

And it’s this very belief that allows both of them to grow better and more decisive as comedians, giving and taking from each other without even realizing that’s what they’re doing. So much of what Midge Maisel and Lenny Bruce (affectionally coined MidgeLenny by fans) share is fortified on a foundation that stems from an unyielding expanse of trust. Midge could believe him when he promises something, but at the same time, he could feel comfortable enough to call her out when she’s outright wrong. They can tease and push and pull in a way that never staggers outside the consent they’ve bestowed on one another while still pushing the boundaries of their friendship toward a profoundly life-altering partnership.

Related Content: Scene Breakdown: Midge and Lenny’s First Kiss in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

It’s interesting to think about where the show could’ve taken Midge Maisel and Lenny Bruce’s relationship if we weren’t dealing with a character based on a real person. But it’s also pressing to acknowledge that how they ground and change each other doesn’t come close to anything else they find. In a lot of ways, Midge’s person is Alex Borstein’s Susie Myerson, but it’s Lenny’s faith in her that pushes her toward greatness. It’s knowing that she is backed by a legend—a man who isn’t threatened, intimidated, or put off by her success; instead, he’s fueled by it. She inspires him in the same way he encourages her, maybe even more.

It’s knowing that wherever they are, if they’re ever in the same room, their eyes will find each other, souls will connect, and everything that doesn’t make sense will latch back into place, ensuring that something quietly exquisite is bound to bloom. It’s knowing that if no one else believes in them, they will, with unwavering faith and full-fledged glittering belief. He’ll shower her with all the reassuring words in the guise of a fortune cookie, and she’ll show up in the places he doesn’t want her to be in as a reminder of the reality that she’ll always care.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel accidentally gives viewers something so indescribably special with Midge Maisel and Lenny Bruce that sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s not a fever dream. How it begins and where it ends leaves a mark because of the bolstering middle that heals two broken people in a way they never knew they needed. There may be things in their lives they don’t talk about, little details and demons they don’t share, but they communicate seamlessly in silence when it matters most. Sometimes, it’s the unspoken things that matter as much as the bold, humorous, yet sincere declarations like “to you, always.” As mentioned in our year-end reviews, when it all became a reality: “There are conversations happening even when no one’s talking—souls laughing, hearts overflowing, scattering pieces of themselves in a labyrinth from which there’s no exit—a place where those pieces of them will stay long after their bodies part ways.”

First Featured Image Credit: ©Prime Video