As the first episode of Maid begins, we watch as Alex (Margaret Qualley) cautiously gets out of bed to escape her abusive boyfriend. She silently walks through the house, picks up her daughter, and gets in the vehicle outside. Her boyfriend comes outside and asks what she is doing just in time for Alex to speed away. Although she gets away, she soon finds out that the gas tank is nearly empty. She continues driving while her boyfriend Sean (Nick Robinson) texts her and tries to convince her to return. She stops for gas to fill up the tank and drain her wallet. She stops near a trailer before telling Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) she is going to find them a place to crash for the night. Her friend agrees to let them stay. Alex finds out that the guys from the Swan are there, so she decides to find another place to crash.

Ethan (Xavier de Guzman) gets upset and cruses her while her friend, Tania, tries to convince her to stay. Alex refuses and drives away. Once they get back on the road, Tania texts Alex to make sure she has another place to go. Mandy keeps saying she wants shoop. Alex manages to get the cassette player to work so her daughter can listen to that song. She has flashbacks to better times with her daughter. When the song unexpectedly stops, Alex says they can freestyle it. Once they finally stop, Alex finds six or so messages from Sean checking on her and Maddy. In the morning, they get woken up by a police officer telling them to move on. The officer tells them to go to the Walmart parking lot or social services if they have nowhere else to go.

They go to social services, wait a while, and finally get to speak to someone. Alex imagines the worker there calling her white trash and accusing her of wanting a government handout before she snaps back to reality. The worker tells Alex she looks strung out although Alex says she is clean. Alex says she isn’t homeless since she had a home but left it because Maddy’s dad is a violent drunk. The worker finds out that last night was different, Alex didn’t call the police, and Sean didn’t hit her. Alex says she isn’t abused so she wouldn’t be a good fit for a domestic violence shelter. She goes on to say she can’t stay with her mom Paula (Andie MacDowell) and would rather stay in her car. She is unemployed, went to six different high schools because her mom moved around a lot, and eventually got her GED. Alex is told she’ll need two pay stubs to get her on the subsidized housing program.

Until then, she is told to go to the mission in St. Carmel because they usually have a few beds open. The worker admits she really can’t do anything until Alex gets a job. The worker, Jody (Amy Reid), tells her to go to Value Maids because the local cleaning service has a lot of turnover and regularly looks for workers. Jody agrees to help set up an interview for her. Since she can’t take Maddy to the job interview, Alex has to get her mother’s help. She visits her mother’s place only to find out that a couple AirBNBed the place. Then, she goes to the campground and finds her mother there painting. Alex complains about her mother not telling her about the AirBNB thing or answering her phone since she called her about 14 times. Alex is introduced to her mom’s Australian friend Basil Desmond (Toby Levins). They argue briefly before Alex finally asks her mother to watch Maddy for an hour or so.

Alex lays out her rules for her mother to use her phone and stay put after Paula agrees to watch Maddy. She also warns her mother to call her and not Sean if anything goes wrong. After that, Alex leaves and meets Yolanda (Tracy Vilar) from Value Maids. Yolanda learns Jody sent her before asking about Alex’s criminal record which she says is clean. Alex learns she will be paid $12 an hour with a 50-cent raise once she is bumped to full-time after the background check. Yolanda explains company policy is 6 hours a day for full-time workers. Since the tourist season is over, Yolanda only has one position open on Fisher Island and it is a weekly three-hour cleaning job. The uniform is 25 bucks and that will come out of her first paycheck. Since this is a trial, Alex can’t get proof of employment for a while.

She also learns she’ll have to pay for gas and toll, but they’ll give her a ferry pass. Alex is warned to return the Dyson to them immediately after the shift or she won’t get paid. She’ll also have to pay for the cleaning supplies, gloves, and rags. Alex is shocked to find out she is going to start today, but she springs into action. She heads to the store for supplies. After paying for supplies and gas, Alex is already almost out of cash. Once Alex gets on the ferry, she calls her mother to check on Mandy. Alex tries to explain to Paula that she got hired and will be working while Paula goes on and on about Mandy painting. After the call ends, Alex drives onto the island and immediately finds that there is no cell service. Alex reaches her destination, but the client complains about her being half an hour late.

Alex promises she can get it done quickly while still doing a good job. She talks the client into letting her clean the house before getting to work. Alex rushes to clean the house while periodically checking to see if her phone has service. She throws a bunch of food in the compost but imagines eating some of it. Moments later, she steps into the daughter’s room and thinks about Maddy. Regina (Anika Noni Rose) soon finds her out on the floor. She asks if she is a drug addict but Alex blames it on skipping breakfast this morning. Regina tells her not to get up faster before getting a balance bar for her to eat and water. Alex asks about Regina’s daughter only to learn she doesn’t have kids and the room was staged by James since they’re getting ready to sell. Regina gets her back on task and makes sure Alex knows she has to get the lawn furniture as well.

Alex takes care of it and rushes back to the ferry without being able to contact her mother. When she finally gets service, she finds 13 missed calls from Paula. She tries calling but only gets the voicemail system. She rushes over and eventually finds her mother who complains about Alex not answering. Paula says she has a life of her own and can’t be watching children all day long. Then, she claims her daughter is always flirting with Basil who steps outside and says Maddy isn’t here. Alex is infuriated when she learns her mother called Sean so he could get Maddy. Alex immediately rushes over to Sean’s place and learns her daughter is sleeping. Sean says she is fine, had buttered noodles, and took a bath before bedtime. He invites her to have dinner with him before she looks at the hole in the wall and remembers Sean punching it while angry and drunk.

Sean says he is working on it and hasn’t had a drink all day. Ethan took him to a meeting today in hopes of fixing things. Alex reluctantly sits down for dinner while Sean admits he is surprised Paula had Maddy. Sean thought they had an agreement not to let Paula keep Maddy. Alex tells him about her new job. Sean asks her to eat a little and complains she is hurting his feelings. She admits she isn’t going to eat his stew while getting ready to leave. Sean says she left Maddy with an insane person, but Alex reminds him he woke her up in a rage last night. Sean promises he wouldn’t hurt Maddy while Alex says she doesn’t know that. As she tries to leave, Sean says he pays for everything and does everything for her. She knows she won’t have anyone if she leaves but she isn’t going to pick glass out of Maddy’s hair again. Sean tries to find out where Alex is going. She doesn’t give him any answers before leaving.

They end up driving around at night again until Alex gets a call from Yolanda. Alex learns that Regina complained about her cleaning, and she didn’t return the Dyson either. She wants Alex to come back and deal with it. Yolanda tells her she doesn’t have a choice if she wants to get paid. Maddy drops her doll from her vehicle. She doesn’t shut up until her mother agrees to stop and get it for her. While she is out of the car, another driver crashes into her vehicle. Alex runs back to the vehicle to check on her daughter who seems to be fine. The young driver gets out and checks on them as Alex curses the man responsible. Once the authorities arrive, EMS check on Maddy while Alex watches nearby. Alex is given a ticket and told parking in the meridian is illegal. She is also going to be forced to pay for her vehicle to be towed.

She is told to call someone to get her, or they can drop her off at home. Alex immediately grabs her items from the vehicle. Before long, she waits for someone to pick up her, Maddy, and the Dyson vacuum. She is picked up by Hank (Billy Burke). As they drive, Hank says he’d like to see Maddy more often. Alex admits they’re not going to go home before she is told it was reckless like her mother to pull over there. She asks if they can just not talk. Hank agrees to stop at the Dollar Store so Alex can pick up another doll for her daughter. Hank drops them off at the ferry moments later. She tells Maddy they’re going to get some rest before going on the boat. They sit down inside. They hang out and Alex gives her daughter the new doll. The episode ends as they sit together, and people stroll by.

 

Maid Review

Maid is respectable thanks to its authenticity and its desire to seriously cover the subject matter. Besides a few silly moments with Jody and Yolanda, the show was deliberate in its approach and felt grounded. The subject itself is relevant and relatable to so many people all around the world so it shouldn’t be hard for viewers to sink their teeth into the drama.

In fact, it was effortless to build an immediate relationship with Alex and begin sympathizing with the character. Many viewers will feel the urge to look away due to the tough subject matter, but they will likely keep thinking about Maid after it is over. Personally, I am not a huge fan of American television since it often lacks realism, but Maid is doing okay here.

The opening episode was a good starting point since it introduced the characters and Alex’s struggles. I am eager although a bit hesitant to see where things go from here. If Maid can remain realistic and deep, I could see myself recommending the series. It is too early to tell now though. The opening episode scores a 7 out of 10. All future recaps of Maid will be available on Reel Mockery here.