‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Season 2 Pays Tribute to Wyoming
As most Amazon Prime users (and TV awards snobs) are aware, Amazon released the second season of the wildly popular "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" for streaming on Amazon Prime this week. For those unfamiliar, the show documents Miriam "Midge" Maisel (played by Rachel Brosnahan) as she makes the transition from housewife to stand-up comidienne in the late 1950s after being left by her husband.
As an avid fan of gorgeous period pieces and witty banter, I was immediately drawn in and already have finished the 10 episode installment, so minors spoilers ahead. And for anyone that wants to see the references, but maybe doesn't want to sit through the whole show, I've done the hard work for you and found the exact times Wyoming is referenced in each episode. It's a hard job, but someone has to do it.
I thought the first reference might be a fluke, since Wyoming wasn't called out by name. But then, I heard the Cowboy State pop up a couple more times, each one directly.
*****************Spoiler Alert***********************
Without further ado, here are 3 times Wyoming was mentioned in season 2 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
- 1
We're Going to the Catskills!
The first reference pops up in episode 4 as the Weissman family (plus Midge's ex) make their way to Camp Steiner in upstate New York for their annual summer vacation. After dinner on the first night, a very drunk Abe Weissman (played by Tony Shaloub) can be heard singing part of the University of Wyoming's unofficial school fight song, "Cowboy Joe". Abe can be heard singing it about halfway through the episode, at 31:24.
I smiled upon hearing this, but didn't think much of it. Maybe the song was more popular than I had realized, but then, the show made a couple of more direct references, leading me to believe that this wasn't a fluke after all. Although it does seem fitting that the song was drunkenly sung, as it often is at UW Football home games.
- 2
Someday...
Midge and her manager, Susie (played by Alex Borstein) are preparing for their first road tour, and due to the fact that they are driving a stolen car, are offered a variety of out of state license plates to tack on their vehicle to evade authorities. Midge suggests the Wyoming plates because the state is "full of cowboys and tough hombres" and therefore makes it less likely that the cops will pull them over.
After a couple more quips about the state, Susie discreetly tells her friend to dump the Wyoming plates, leading me to wonder if there is in fact a Wyoming writer on staff or maybe a Coloradoan taking the opportunity to make a joke at Wyoming's expense.
Though Wyoming isn't mentioned until the 2:35 mark, it's best to start at 2:00 to see the whole bit, as there are also a suggestion made for Utah plates.
- 3
All Alone
After getting kicked off of a stage in the season finale, Midge heads to a bar to drown her sorrows and runs in to Lenny Bruce (played by Luke Kirby), who is lamenting the warrant out for his arrest in Chicago. He then proceeds to joke to Midge that the only place he'll be able to work is Wyoming and "who knows what the people of Wyoming will do at the sight of their first Jew?"
Based on Lenny's comments, I think his statements about the Pope and interracial marriage would have caused more problems for him in 1959 Wyoming than his Jewish heritage, but I guess we'll never know. Though Wyoming is name dropped at 33:53, the scene starts around the 31:00 mark.