Eight birthday candles protrude from a Trader Joe’s chocolate cake, two of which’s wax are carved into an aquamarine eighteen.

The new kombucha flavor we just got done exciting over sits half-consumed on the counter, accompanied by two mugs filled with peachy-tinted blood orange soda.

My mother’s room is coated in glow stick luminescence and birthday decor fit for a 5-year-old, and as we climb back into bed, our voices intermix with sounds of excitement and bittersweet goodbyes.

The finale of season four of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is about to begin.

From the vibrant costumes to the plot and its many pivotal characters, it’s no wonder that Mrs. Maisel will always remain the show I expressly recommend to anyone looking for fresh content. The program revolves around Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a young housewife living with her husband and two children in Upper West Side Manhattan in the 1950s. Throughout the pilot episode—which originally aired in 2017—the audience is introduced to Midge’s perfect life alongside her partner, Joel (Michael Zegen), who has aspirations of becoming a successful stand-up comedian.

However, after a bad set and a harrowing discovery, he leaves her.

Left to pick through the rubble of this bomb on her lifestyle, Midge stumbles to the club that Joel once performed at and gives a hilarious performance, one that sparks the curiosity of one of the workers, Susie (Alex Borstein).

From there, the two work to create a space for Miriam in the world of stand-up, and the show slowly follows alongside them.

And even if this slight synopsis seems run-of-the-mill and unintriguing to some, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a production that breaks down the barriers of modern television and re-defines the roles of women during a time when they had almost none. Despite the critical acclaim that it has gained, I continue to stress that it is a criminally underrated show—one that utterly outdid itself through the release of its newest season.

After the heartbreaking cliffhanger that finished off season three, the spotlight focuses on Midge at a crossroads in her career. This dilemma acts as the backdrop to the season as she begins emceeing at an illegal club in the city, now refusing to censor herself on stage in the name of making money or gaining success.

While this point is one of intrigue and interest, what I found most captivating were the quintessential B-plot arcs that make this show what it is. Whether it be Midge’s mother, Rose (Marin Hinkle), and her soaring matchmaking business or Susie’s repeated attempts to expand her managerial trade, each second of this series has something for anyone.

Furthermore, the thematic elements utilized throughout to fully capture New York in the late 50s and early 60s help strengthen its overall credibility. The exquisite costumes, picture-perfect settings, and catchy soundtrack all allow viewers to get into the mindset of the personas they see on screen.

Each Friday, I found myself racing home from school to watch the newest set of episodes as they rolled out on Amazon, allowing this series to utterly consume my life.

And then there was the finale.

As my best friend and I curled up with our blood orange sodas, we had no idea the emotional journey we were about to go on. Within the hour-long run time, the web of stories this season had created were all woven together. It was a shining spectacle of everything this show has to provide and one that I simply cannot sum up in words.

That is why I will always adore The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Looking past the inherent message of the story, the entire series is permeated with a depth that I think virtually any demographic could benefit from viewing.

From its standpoints on gender roles to its array of discordant characters and relationships, it is a look into the idiosyncratic elements of life that we can all inherently relate to.