As the third episode of Maid begins, we see Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) running along the beach before jumping over to Alex (Margaret Qualley) who is curled up on her bed. When Alex gets up, she goes to a parenting class that should help her in court. The moms learn what they should feed their children before the class ends for the day. Denise (BJ Harrison) picks up Alex outside. Denise explains that all parents who’ve lost a child have to do a PEP class before Alex explains she had to turn down a job offer from Yolanda to attend it. Denise gives her a cup of coffee and they reach the restaurant and meet with Howie (Philip Granger). Howie’s wife has been making him donate his Wednesday to McMullen house for years. He quickly discloses that he isn’t representing Alex to protect himself legally.

Alex explains she wants full custody of Maddy although Howie isn’t sure that is possible since she took her daughter without permission. She also learns that accusing Sean of emotional abuse is going to be tricky because the state doesn’t classify it as domestic abuse. When asked about finding someone to speak on her behalf, Alex quickly thinks about her mother Paula (Andie MacDowell). Denise says they’re getting Alex into transitional housing tomorrow. Then, Howie hands Alex a bunch of paperwork that she’ll need to complete no later than 7 PM tomorrow. She is also going to need proof that she has SNAP benefits, so she goes to the office and gets a ticket. She waits hours and the computers go down causing Alex to leave before enrolling.

She goes to Yolanda (Tracy Vilar) and apologizes for being late. She learns she is going to be working with Kiara for the day and tackling a move-out clean. She goes outside where Kiara makes her sit on a seat wet with Mountain Dew. Kiara doesn’t understand how she doesn’t have a car. Basil finds out Alex has texted Paula who contacts her back to find out what she wants.  Alex wants to know about grandma’s furniture because she wants it. Paula admits she saw Sean at the store, but he never mentioned moving. She encourages her daughter not to leave a good man when he is trying before finally agreeing to let her use her vehicle. Alex and Kiara arrive at the house where someone has been squatting and the smell is terrible. Alex looks around and finds out that someone has been squatting in the nasty place with a young kid because toys litter the house and yard.

Kiara tells Alex she is going to be cleaning the bathrooms and the worst parts of the house because she is new. Alex sucks it up and gets to work right away. While Alex works, Kiara hangs out and chats with someone on her phone. Eventually, Alex runs outside, throws up, and admits she can’t do this. Kiara encourages her to tell Yolanda that she can’t do it, but Alex understands that isn’t possible. She gets it done and reeks by the time she gets on the bus that night. When the bus stops, she spots Sean (Nick Robinson) out with his friends drinking so she gets off to approach him. He blames her for him getting drunk while she complains he left Maddy with his drug addict mother. Although Doreen spent half his childhood hooked on Oxycontin, Sean says she is sober now. Alex doesn’t understand why he’d take Maddy away from her when he isn’t having anything to do with her.

They argue about Sean’s rage and Alex’s car wreck. When Alex leaves, she calls Doreen and gets to see Maddy sleeping. The next day, Alex attends another class and learns about stability and why it is important for children. She learns how instability from a parental split can increase the likelihood the children are going to experience emotional, psychological, and academic difficulties. When class ends, Paula is there to pick up her daughter and she agrees to let Alex run a few errands before they pick up the keys to her new place. They go to the food stamp office where Paula tells Alex about her encounter with the curator named Fey. He is running the Hummingbird and Paula thinks he wants to showcase her artwork at his gallery. Alex successfully signs up for SNAP benefits while her mother goes on and on about the Hummingbird and Fey. Alex finishes enrolling in the government programs before they leave.

Once they leave, they go to Alex’s new apartment complex and find out it is a halfway house with ex-cons. They meet with Luis who is in charge of the complex. Alex learns that she’ll have to submit her paystubs weekly and submit to urine drug tests. She is worried about bringing Alex to the apartment complex, but her mother believes it’ll be okay when they fix the place up a bit. She offers to paint a mural behind Maddy’s bed, so they bring the sunshine right in. As they drive to Larry’s place, Alex reminds her mom to fill out the forms because she needs them before 7. Paula fixes herself up and tells her daughter it might be difficult for Larry to part with the obelisk, but she is taking it for the art exhibit. Wicket jumps on the car’s hood and gives them a surprise. Larry apologizes for that and tells Alex she is all grown up now.

Paula doesn’t like hearing that Larry has more kids and a wife named Petal who she says looks like a beotch. Then, she asks about the big penis structure and learns it is outside in the barn with grandma’s furniture. They go into the barn and start looking through their old items. They load up the items, but it isn’t soon enough for Paula who complains she is running out of time to find true love. Alex tries to convince her that life is good since her work is going to be displayed at the art gallery. Paula agrees to fill out the paperwork and say Alex is a great mother, but she is hesitant to say Sean is abusive. Paula doesn’t understand emotional abuse, so Alex tells her about Sean taking away her bank card and saying he’d handle all the money. She says she was isolated in a trailer for several years without money and that is emotional abuse. Paula doesn’t know where she is coming up with this stuff and says it is the reason she doesn’t go to the doctor.

Paula offers no help with the sculpture and continues complaining about her ex who had depression. Once they go inside, they find out that Fey did not offer to put Paula’s work on display. Fey explains he was only being nice and wasn’t offering her a show. Alex asks if they can keep the sculpture there for a bit but Fey says no. Alex tries to cheer her mother up by saying Basil is coming with the paint and she can work on the mural. Moments later, they return to Alex’s apartment complex and Basil (Toby Levins) helps her take the items inside while they argue all the while. Alex doesn’t think his relationship with her mother is going to last, but Basil insists they’re in love so it will. When they finish, Paula drags everyone out to the restaurant for a burger and beer. She promises to fill out the form there. At dinner, Paula complains about the Hummingbird and ignores the paperwork for Alex. Seconds later, Alex stops them and says she has to get to the clerk’s office to submit the paperwork.

Basil gets the check and tries to force Alex to pay it since they helped her move. She says otherwise since they invited her out. She can’t pay it because she only has six bucks so Basil says she can at least pay for her burger. When Alex finds out her mom didn’t complete the form, she gets angry and explains she’ll have to write not applicable on it because that is what Paula is. She goes on to tell her mother she is the worst, but Paula says otherwise since she never lost custody of her kid. The next day, Alex attends class and learns about model behavior. The teacher explains a parent’s actions speak louder than words. In the middle of class, she gets a message from Ethan (Xavier de Guzman) and soon learns that Sean didn’t show up to work and Doreen doesn’t know where he is. He’ll get fired if he doesn’t show up for the night shift. She calls Doreen who confirms Maddy is with her. Doreen admits she last heard from Sean two days ago. Jasmine agrees to give her a ride so they can look for Sean and soon find his Jeep on the side of the road.

Alex walks through the woods and finds Sean sitting on the beach near some sea glass. She says he is going to be a mess when the coke wears off, but he isn’t like his mom. He says there is a lot of sea glass on the beach because it used to be a dump and the sea turns trash into treasure over time. He wants to know why she doesn’t like him anymore. Alex says she likes him enough to pick him up when he is drunk because he is Maddy’s dad. She tells him it can’t be fun all the time because Maddy is a big responsibility for both. He describes himself as sea glass and not trash. Sean says he just needs time to prove it before trying to stand up. Soon, she takes him back home so he can sleep it off on the couch. While she is at Sean’s place, she gets to look in on Maddy who is sleeping in bed. As she leaves, Doreen says Sean is just like his dad a bird that never flew. Alex leaves and meets with Denise who finds out she is missing a lot of paperwork, including her certificate of completion and her character witness statements.

Denise admits that is bad before Sean arrives and asks to talk to Alex. He tells her he just went to a meeting. He apologizes and thanks her for yesterday. Then, he admits he is going to drop the motion because he can’t be sober and handle Maddy. He also doesn’t want his mom living with him and trigging him constantly. He goes on to say that Maddy misses her since she is always asking about her mommy. They agree to do shared custody. He warns they’ll be back in court if she totals another car. She warns him that they’ll be back if he gets drunk while he is in charge of their daughter. Alex asks when she can get her daughter. She takes Maddy to her apartment immediately after that. Luis stops them to say Paula was there and he let her in, but he won’t do it again. When they enter Alex’s new apartment, they see that Paula finished the mural for Maddy. The episode ends while they hang out and play with the new mural.

 

Maid Review

Despite some issues here and there, viewers will find Maid mostly satisfying and deeply emotional at times. The duo of Margaret Qualley and Nick Robinson works exceptionally well as both show tons of promise and skill. The two alone make Maid worth checking out as both will likely climb to taller heights over the next few years.

One issue with Maid is the viewer’s inability to connect with the Paula character since it is so far out of left field. Viewers likely don’t know anyone quite like Paula, so I think that is going to be a problem. The character brings some comic relief, but it would’ve been better with a character like Doreen. Although unlikeable at this point, the Doreen character is more relatable and realistic since most people know someone like that.

While I’ve enjoyed each episode of Maid, I wish it had tackled the subject straight on without throwing some kooky storyline into the mix at every turn. Maid reminds me a bit of the British film, I, Daniel Blake, and Haley Squires’ character. The main difference is the fact the film remained grounded, but both have been at least enjoyable. Maid’s third episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. All recaps of Maid will be available on Reel Mockery here.