Warning! SPOILERS for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4, Episode 5 - "How To Chew Quietly And Influence People"
Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) finally came face-to-face with Shy Baldwin (LeRoy McClain) again in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 4 and it was perfect, in part because of Reggie's (Sterling K. Brown) absence from the episode. Midge hadn't heard from or seen Shy Baldwin since the night at the Apollo when they bantered in Shy's dressing room before her ill-fated set where she essentially outed him in front of his hometown crowd. Shy refused to see Midge afterward and left it to Reggie to fire and humiliate Midge and Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein) at the end of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 3.
Midge meeting Shy Baldwin during an arthritis and rheumatism telethon at the end of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 2 changed her life, for better and worse. Shy is one of the biggest recording stars in the world and he hit it off with Midge right away. Shy gave Miriam the chance of a lifetime to be the opening act of his tour and, despite Midge occasionally blundering introducing him on stage, they grew close. Midge even discovered Shy's real name is Dwayne and that he is gay, a secret she kept until her foolish stand-up set at the Apollo. Mrs. Maisel season 3 also introduced Reggie, Shy's childhood friend and manager. No nonsense and intimidating, Reggie eventually warmed up to Susie and Midge, and he revealed how he's protected Shy their entire lives. However, it was Reggie who was the hatchet man when it came to firing Mrs. Maisel, and the way he did it was humiliating, which included leaking the story to the press before Midge even knew she was fired. At Shy's behest, Reggie torpedoed Midge's career.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 4 teased that Shy was getting married but Midge and Susie were shocked when they were invited to the wedding. Originally, Susie and Midge went just to disrupt the wedding but the truth was Miriam needed to see Shy again and to say the things she wanted to say if only Reggie had let her on the airplane. Coming face-to-face in a restroom - just like how they first met - Midge finally got to offer a heartfelt apology to Shy for "f***ing up." Midge Maisel was also angry at Shy for not giving her the chance to apologize and for allowing her career to suffer as a result. It was a riveting conversation between Midge and Shy tinged with hurt, sadness, regret, raw honesty, and a couple of choice zingers.
While Reggie's absence was glaring considering how important he was to Shy, and Sterling K. Brown's charismatic star power was also missed, the episode worked better without him. Reggie is Susie's counterpart, not Midge's, and he would have been a distraction from what needed to be the real focus. Miriam finally confronting Shy at his wedding had to be about just the two of them and their broken trust and friendship, which resulted in Midge getting targeted in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel by a gossip columnist. After Midge left Shy, she and Susie learned that Reggie had been bought off by Shy's new management team, who took tighter control of his career. They insisted he get a new band and that Shy get married to reinforce his image as a heterosexual. Shy's people tried to buy Midge off for $12,000 (over $113,000 in today's money), but she turned their bribe down on principle.
In the bittersweet end, Midge walked away knowing she and Shy are not friends but not wishing each other ill will. If anything, Midge feels even sorrier for Shy, who will continue to live a lie in public. Worse, Shy no longer has Reggie or his trusted circle around him, just cold-hearted managers handling his career. Yet Midge also knows she can't be there for Shy. Midge mistakenly thought she and Shy were friends (i.e. equals), but after Mrs. Maisel was fired and lost the money she would have earned on tour, she realized that she was always merely Shy's employee who was considered disposable. It's not clear if Shy Baldwin or Reggie will reappear in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - if not, it was a powerful closure with Shy that Midge needed.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 streams Friday on Amazon Prime Video.