Rachel Brosnahan Says "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"'s Finale Was "the Perfect Way to End"

Amazon Prime Video's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" has captured the hearts of audiences since its debut in 2017. The series, brought to life by "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, follows Miriam "Midge" Maisel as she pursues a career in standup comedy, putting her role as a wealthy 1950s housewife on the back burner. "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" boasts beautiful outfits, vintage tunes, and, of course, incredible acting from Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein.

"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" has garnered a strong fan base and widespread critical acclaim throughout its run, including its fifth and final season. It aired its final episode on May 26. Ahead, find out how the series ends, why it ended, and what the cast and crew have said about the show's finale.

In the final episode, Midge finally gets to perform a comedy set on "The Gordon Ford Show" (despite Ford's objections) and she launches her comedic career into the stratosphere. The final episode also features flash-forwards into her life, which show that she's a legendary comedian and Susie is just as successful as a talent manager. Sherman-Palladino told TVLine that the last scene shows Midge and Susie together because "we felt like we wanted to end on the bigness of their friendship." The last thing fans hear is Midge laughing at Susie's joke.

One moment fans don't see in the flash-forwards, though, is when Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) dies in 1966. "Everyone knows he dies. They know what his sad end was. What we wanted to do instead was show the decline," Sherman-Palladino said. Fans see Lenny struggling in the months before his death but are also reminded of his connection with Midge.

Producers Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Daniel Palladino, always had an idea of when they wanted to end Midge's story. During an interview on podcast "TV's Top 5" in February 2022, per The Hollywood Reporter, Sherman-Palladino broke down their original outline: "The first year was her discovery, the second year things unravel, the third season she goes on tour. Amazon . . . had already heard the bullet points for what the seasons were going to be."

However, on the May 25 episode of the "WTF With Marc Maron" podcast, Sherman-Palladino said it wasn't her decision to end the show now. "It wasn't me. But things come to an end. I understand. But you know, there's orcs to pay for. There's a lot of orcs running around. They gotta pay the orcs," she said, referencing Prime Video's Lord of the Ring series "The Rings of Power."

She added, "Maisel was a very expensive show by the end. All those bells and whistles. Doing period shows are very expensive." Sherman-Palladino added that her goal for the fifth and final season was to "land the plane." "Let me make sure that if people liked the show, and if people watched the show, at the end, they feel like their journey was closed. That was very important to me," she said.

In a February 2022 statement about the show's end, Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, said: "Amy, Dan, and 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' have blazed an unparalleled path, elevating the stories we tell about women, challenging the norms in our industry, and forever altering the entertainment landscape with their one-of-a-kind storytelling. The dozens of awards cement 'Maisel''s legacy in many ways, but what's even more enduring and poignant are the characters Amy created and the joyous, brilliant, singular world she and Dan brought to life. This series has meant so much to Prime Video and the effects of its success will be felt long after its final season."

On Feb. 17, 2022, Brosnahan, posted on Instagram about the news of the series ending. Along with a picture of the script and an appropriately themed cookie, the actor wrote, "A few days ago we started shooting Season 5 (!) of 'The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.' It's bittersweet. The band is back together again and we can't wait to share season 4 with you starting tomorrow . . . it's also going to be our last rodeo. Rest assured our tits are up and it's going to be a hell of a final chapter. Stay tuned."

After the finale aired, Brosnahan reflected on the show's conclusion, telling Variety that filming the last episode was "emotional" but "special." "We had to land the plane together, have our big feelings together and say goodbye to this thing that has changed all our lives. It was the perfect way to end," she said.

Brosnahan also spoke on how Midge changed throughout the series, explaining, "While Midge has always been somebody who's been confident, it's been nice to watch her get a little more comfortable with this new stage of her life. More confident in her ability to take up space in a way that feels different from how she used to."