Midge learns an important lesson in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

As the title implies, “Kind of Bleu” is an episode about important realizations, as well as disappointments. It starts with Midge waking up on a lawn chair to a group of synchronized swimmers practicing in the pool. The idyllic and beautiful routine is disturbed when Midge somewhat angrily and absent-mindedly throws a beach ball towards them, causing the whole ensemble to come falling down into the water. Not the end of the world, of course, but also a moment that causes a perfectly organized routine to end with a suddenly violent splash.
I was struck by how much Midge wanted to impress her parents throughout this episode, both of whom have been pretty blunt about their disgust for her comedy. At least Abe has gone to see Midge perform a number of times; Rose refuses to even admit that her daughter is the opening act for Shy Baldwin, preferring instead to make up a story that Midge is in charge of costumes. After learning that the family won’t be able to go to The Catskills this year (between Abe and Rose having no money, and Midge being on tour, it wouldn’t make a heck of a lot of sense) she tries to persuade Joel to bring the kids to Florida as a kind of family trip. Really, she is just feeling a little lonely and, perhaps, a little nostalgic for the way things were, especially since Susie is in New York working with her other client.
Midge is generally pretty self-absorbed, but in“Kind of Bleu” she is actually relatively responsible, helpfully setting her parents up with her in the hotel and trying her best to make sure they have a good time. She also works to befriend Shy, who has had a big temper tantrum and “fired” his whole band due to stress. Together, they go for a sail on his impressive boat and bond over their desire for a creative life and the meaning of being famous. Midge choosing to reach out to Shy, rather than join the rest of the bandmates, including Carole, is an interesting one, and perhaps born of vanity more than responsibility. She always takes great pride that she can fix things, even though, as in the case of her friend’s wedding last season, her actions often just lead to more trouble.
But her friendship with Shy is genuine, mostly because she treats him like a person, rather than a celebrity she wants to sleep with or get an autograph from. She even brings a houseplant (which she names “Fred”) as a gift. At first, these moments of connection may even seem like a budding romance, but, in the end, its clear that Midge’s tenderness towards Shy is not because she has a crush. When the rest of the band assumes that Shy hasn’t shown up because he is blowing them all off, Midge goes looking for him and finds him in his boat beaten up badly. After seeing that she is truly concerned about his well-being, Shy comes out to her and asks her to keep his secret, which no one in the band knows.