Mrs Maisel - Season 3

[John Adams]

Although the continuing plot lines are very good, what I'm most impressed with are the technical aspects of Season 3.

The camera work is ah-ma-zing. The shots that follow Mrs Maisel's arrival to the USO show are exciting and really drew me in. Many more examples of that kind of camera work throughout the series.

I'm also very taken with the color pallets for costumes and sets. Mostly pastel (or washed out color of the period) with pops of brilliant, bright colors. I.E., the red, white and blue costumes for the tap-dancing ensemble of the USO show are not truly solid reds and blues. More pastel/washed out tones, but the red of the accent on Mrs Maisel's dress is vividly red, allowing her to stand out in the frame. In ep. 5, when Mrs Maisel enters the lounge to meet with Lenny Bruce, the brilliant teal of the tablecloths really pops, and is echoed as she gets to the bar (with its warm, golden yellow bar stools) in minor accents of the cocktail stirs on the bar, and lighting of the palm fronds against the back wall. SO BEAUTIFUL!

Also the design of Mrs Maisel's costumes... Can't say enough about how much I adore them. My favorite (so far) is the billowing, cape-like accent of her dress in ep 4, when she arrives at her hotel in Florida. It billows and flows so gracefully behind her, like a breeze. 

For me, this series is the most visually stunning so far (sets, costuming, lighting, etc). Although I like the storylines, I'm finding that they take a (minor) backseat to the technical production values of lighting, costuming, camera work, etc.

PS: Forgot to mention the music this season. SO much "live" (in context of the plot) performance and production numbers. A lot of original songs, all really, really good - to the point that I'd buy a CD of this season's soundtrack.

If there's a quibble, I'm finding that I'm much more drawn to the technical aspects (lighting, costuming, music, et.al) of this season than I am to the storylines (which I don't feel are really progressing in any 'must watch' direction). Honestly, right now, I can't really tell you much about where Mrs Maisel has progressed from last season, as much as I can tell you about how beautiful she looks going wherever she might be going since last season...

I think that makes this a 'guilty pleasure' season for me...?

[John Adams]

Standout new cast members:

Liza Weil - Is this really Bonnie Winterbottom? Amazing.

Sterling K Brown - such a strong characterization. Two things broke my heart in ep. 6: the song (with its 'coded' lyric) that Shy sings in his "stool set", and Sterling K Brown's face when he asks, "Why is he doin' the stool set?"

[dramamama611]

LOVING Sterling!