As the second episode of Maid begins, Alex (Margaret Qualley) attends an open mic night to talk about her childhood. She reveals she nearly drowned after the ice broke when she lived in Alaska, and some believed the dog saved her. Others suspected Paula (Andie MacDowell) finally remembered she had a child and saved her. Some thought Alex punched her way out but she wonders if she ever made it out at all and has been a ghost all these years. Sean (Nick Robinson) seems to be the only one listening to Alex’s speech. When she gets off stage, he asks her coworker and friend about Sean. She asks Tania to find out what Sean is reading before asking for a pitcher of beer. Seconds later, she learns Sean is reading Charles Bukowski’s Love Is A Dog From Hell. We jump back to the present and Alex and Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) continue sitting in the lobby.

They’re approached by Nate (Raymond Ablack) who was also in the pub during Alex’s reading, but she barely remembers him. Her phone has died so she gets the time from Nate and tells him why they’re hanging out on the floor. He asks about the vacuum, so she explains she is just really into vacuums right now. He offers to help with her stuff, but she claims she is going to take another ferry before saying she is just going to let her daughter sleep a bit longer. When he offers to take her out to breakfast, she turns him down but eventually relents. In the car, Nate says Maddy can watch Frozen in the car. However, Maddy doesn’t like Frozen because she is afraid of the ice creature. Nate says his son Brady likes that part since he is a psychopath. Alex learns he is Nate’s only son and will likely be the last since he just divorced his wife.

Nate mentions Sean and Maddy looking just like him. When asked, Alex confirms she is still writing. As for Nate, he is working as a structural engineer now. Alex checks her phone and finds a handful of missed calls from Yolanda (Tracy Vilar) and an unknown person. Once they arrive, Alex gets the vacuum cleaner and Nate offers to help. She thanks Nate who gives her a phone charger and makes sure she has his number. As soon as Alex steps through the door, Yolanda calls her the Dyson thief and tells her not to bring the kid in there. Alex explains her vehicle was totaled and she has a picture of the car to prove it. Yolanda says she can’t pay since Regina (Anika Noni Rose) didn’t pay her. Alex keeps ignoring unknown calls while asking Yolanda for another shift, but Yolanda isn’t willing to help. Once the conversation ends, she answers the phone and learns Sean has an attorney named John Marshall (Alessandro Juliani).

There will be a preliminary hearing tomorrow for Sean to get Maddy back. Marshall warns they’ll file another petition to forgo all her parental rights if she doesn’t show up to the hearing. Alex goes to Jody (Amy Reid) and learns anyone can get a lawyer as long as they have $1,500. Jody says it is going to look bad that Alex doesn’t have a roof over Maddy’s head, so they need to fix that immediately. When told about the domestic violence shelter, Alex says she’d hate to take a bed from someone who has been abused for real or beaten up. Jody asks her what fake abuse looks like before telling her to call the domestic violence hotline herself and a car will pick her up at the nearest police station. Moments later, they ride in a taxi and meet with Denise (BJ Harrison) who tells her she can breathe now that she is there. Alex is taken inside and introduced to Cal (Anthony Scardera).

He is always there, and his desk has the sign-out book that she’ll need to use when she leaves and enters the facility. Denise explains her phone will have to remain here and she’ll need to leave to use it because they’re trying to protect the confidentiality of the facility. Then, Alex is taken to their new room. Denise says she’ll get clothes for Maddy who begins wailing. Once Denise is gone, a woman knocks on the door to give Alex a bunch of dolls that were left behind. The dolls do the trick and stop Maddy’s crying immediately. They settle in, play with the ponies, eat, and bathe. Later, Alex leaves and goes to the girl with the ponies to thank her. Danielle (Aimee Carrero) introduces herself and says the ponies are creepy. Danielle has a 7-year-old son while Maddy is almost three. Danielle says she is doing lashes as a side hustle before offering Alex if she needs anything, but Alex says they’re all set. She asks if Danielle has anything to wear to court tomorrow and her new friend immediately agrees to help. She goes to court the next day and Sean’s family doesn’t seem happy she brought Maddy, but Maddy is happy to see her father. Sean tells her children aren’t allowed in court and his family is there to support him because it has been hell for him. They agree they want what is best for Maddy before John Marshall tells Sean they should head inside.

Doreen stays outside with Maddy. Once she steps into the courtroom, Alex quickly realizes she is in over her head without an attorney. Marshall serves Alex and begins speaking legal lingo that Alex simply doesn’t understand. Alex is asked about her plan to provide for Maddy since she removed her from her home in the middle of the night. She tells the commissioner she is figuring that out and they’re currently living at the McMullen House. When Marshall objects, Alex admits she went there after it was recommended by social services, and she didn’t file a police report. She doesn’t have witnesses to back up her claims and she never filed any report against Sean. When Alex admits to the car wreck and being out of the car at the time, the court grants Sean’s petition. Alex rushes up to the commissioner for clarification before being told she has 7 days before the next hearing.

She is told to get employment and create a plan to care for Maddy during that time. Maddy will stay with Sean until then, but Alex can see her with a 3rd party in attendance. Alex rushes out to tell Maddy she is going home for a week but coming back after that. When Alex returns to the DV house, Danielle asks how it went but Alex says nothing and continues to her room. Danielle follows her and says 7 days isn’t bad since she has heard much worse. Danielle admits she didn’t get visitation rights the first time she left, and Alex is a great mom. Alex complains she should’ve never left, Sean is a great dad, and she never filed a police report. Danielle warns her that Sean would’ve been hitting her next. She shows Alex her scar and says her boyfriend tried to strangle her, but it didn’t start out like that. When Alex says she lost Maddy, Danielle tries to force her to get up since she knows how it feels to be down and out.

When Alex starts getting up, Danielle tells her what she needs to do before the next hearing, but Alex is worried they’re not going to listen to her. Danielle wants her to get angry because what Sean did to her was messed up. Danielle agrees to help so she grabs the notebook nearby and demands to know one thing Alex is angry about. She tells Danielle about Regina not paying her. That convinces Danielle that they need to go make Regina pay her for the work she did. When they go out there, they find out they’re having an open house so Alex doesn’t think they should go there. Danielle does but she is surprised Alex is doing this for $37.50. Danielle empties her purse to make space while Alex says she doesn’t steal. When Danielle goes in, she asks the woman at the door if she is ready to make a sale. Alex says she and her wife are friends of Regina from spin class and she told them they had to come check out the nursery.

They use two obviously fake names before being allowed to look around. Regina has stepped out. Danielle tells Alex to keep them distracted so she can look around. Alex wastes time until Danielle returns, and they leave. Danielle reveals she stole Regina’s business card so Alex can text her. She also has something else in her bag. Alex is shocked to see a small dog in Danielle’s bag and immediately demands to take it back. They call Regina so they can meet and give the dog back. Danielle is upset with her boyfriend calling, saying he loves her, and asking to see his boy. She admits she wants him to see Max but says that is messed up. She finally answers his call just as Regina shows up.

Regina is thrilled to see her dog but can’t believe Mister Darcy escaped and ran that far away. She doesn’t recognize Alex at all, so she brings that to her attention. Alex accuses Regina of stiffing her and admits her slightly insane friend took the dog. Regina gets angry and threatens to call the police. Alex tells her to do that, and she’ll tell them Regina is a thief since she never paid. She is accused of not coming back to the house so Alex tells her everything that happened including losing her car and daughter. She tells Regina what she can do to herself before Regina silently goes back to her car. Then, Alex and Danielle go to Sean’s place, and we see a flashback of better times with Alex and Sean. They talk about Sean wanting to bike 40 miles a day and Alex wanting to complete school and get out of Montana.

Alex tells Danielle the trailer wasn’t always this bad so she doesn’t want her to think she chose this for her daughter, but Danielle believes Maddy is lucky because she has Alex. Then, she tells Alex she should be proud of herself for finally fighting back. Alex thanks her for getting her off the carpet. Before Alex goes inside, Danielle reminds her not to miss curfew. When she knocks on the door, Doreen tells her they’ve already bathed Maddy and put her to sleep. She admits she gave her cough syrup because she had a cough, but Alex says she can’t have it. Noreen refuses to let her in and slams the door in her face. Alex hits the road and keeps walking into the night. She stops by Sean’s workplace and looks through the window as he serves guests inside. She makes it back to the DV shelter and spends the night alone. When she gets up, she grabs her phone, checks out, and leaves the facility. She joins the other women down by the curb and finds a message from Yolanda confirming Regina paid for the cleaning.

She is thrilled and runs back inside to tell Danielle about it but her friend’s apartment is cleaned out. She confronts Denise in hopes of finding out what happened. Alex realizes she likely went back to her ex even though he strangled her. Denise explains it takes most women several tries and it took her five tries. It was Danielle’s third time here. Alex goes back to her room and sits down with her notebook. She begins talking about the armchair in the yard and the fact it belongs to her. Sean sat her down in the chair when she told him she was pregnant and promised to hold her hand every step of the way. When she told him she wasn’t going to get an abortion, he took the chair and the rest of her belongings and threw them out in the rain. Then, he screamed at her and called her the w word.

Sean said she was ruining his bike trip and his life. He also said he would never forgive her and he hasn’t. We see a flashback of a violent Sean cursing and screaming at Alex. She has been afraid of him every day since then. She tells the ponies this is just something she is working on right now and the episode ends.

 

Maid Review

Maid is interesting and has a lot going for it. It focuses on an important topic that is often ignored. The cast is pretty good as well although a few of the minor actors and actresses are a bit shaky. Still, the main cast members are solid and help bring the characters to life. Perhaps the biggest complaint I have with Maid is the show’s unwillingness to remain grounded.

Was it fun to see Danielle steal Regina’s dog to get even with her? Yes, but it is unlikely and unrealistic. Since Maid streams on Netflix, viewers had to know they’d get some of these humorous but unrealistic moments. Maid would be served better by digging deeper into the primary issues a bit better. I’d like to see Alex work with a lawyer, find employment, prepare her case, and work hard to get her daughter back.

Nevertheless, we can always find something to bicker about and I think most will agree that the pros outweigh the cons here. So far, Maid has been entertaining with a blend of humor, bleakness, and a difficult story that will likely touch viewers. Overall, I’ve enjoyed Maid and think most people will although it still has plenty of room to improve. The episode deserves a 7 out of 10. All recaps of Maid will be available on Reel Mockery here when finished.