As the 6th episode of Maid begins, we see Alex (Margaret Qualley) driving her vehicle to Missoula and kayaking a few moments later. In reality, she is in a class with Denise (BJ Harrison) who is teaching them how to meditate. Denise explains that is a simple 5-minute meditation they can use when they’re overwhelmed or having a panic attack. Alex is allowed to talk and starts by telling everyone she is there because she needs therapy.  She admits she is trying to find out how she ended up living with her mother and kid in an RV. She goes on to say she almost left once when she went to Missoula to check out the college and hiked up to the big M. Alex admits she isn’t sure what happened to her. When the meeting ends, Alex goes to Jody (Amy Reid) only to learn that the Section 8 housing list hasn’t budged. Alex tells her how she is on government aid yet only has 9 extra bucks at the end of each week.

She complains she can’t keep living with Paula (Andie MacDowell) as we see a flashback of Paula keeping them awake at four in the morning. Then, Alex asks Jody about the assistance program called home TBRA or Tenant-Based Rental Assistance. Jody explains she’ll have to find a landlord willing to accept the vouchers, they’ll have to jump through many hoops, and the property will have to be inspected to ensure it is up to code. Also, Alex will have to be removed from Section 8. Jody says she’ll have to convince a landlord to participate so she’ll need to turn on her charm. She looks at several properties and talks to a few landlords, but nobody is still to accept the TBRA vouchers. When she takes a break, she goes to the daycare to pick up Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) and learns Rose has disappeared and likely quit. First, they bring out the wrong children. Then, it takes them 20 minutes or so to find Maddy.

She goes to the park with Nate (Raymond Ablack) and his son and tells him all about the mix-up at the daycare. Nate asks if Sean (Nick Robinson) is any help. He has met Sean and knows what he is like. When Nate asks if it is case closed between them, Alex admits it is. Nate says he tried to fix things with his ex, but Alex says she fixed things by leaving. Nate offers to talk to Brady’s pre-school to see if they have an extra spot for Maddy. They talk it over before Nate says he’ll talk to them about it. Then, the conversation turns to the number of times Nate asked Alex out on a play date and she says it was getting weird. When Alex leaves, she takes her daughter to Sassy’s Dinner to meet Sean but gets upset when she finds Hank (Billy Burke) there with him. Hank explains he goes to the same meeting as Sean, and they get pie together sometimes. It is a regular thing because Sean is going through a rough time and Hank is trying to help him out.

Hank wishes Alex would let him help her too since she is living in the RV with Paula and her boyfriend. He isn’t surprised to learn Paula got married to Basil (Toby Levins). When Hank leaves, she approaches Sean who tells her to relax because Hank is just checking on him. Sean says part of getting sober is talking about why you’re getting drunk. Alex questions whether that is her, but Sean says no and not everything in his life is about her. She keeps pushing until Sean tells her about the messed up stuff he only just remembers such as using Narcan on his mother before he was 12, his father beating him with a tire iron, and dropping out of high school to get a job because his brother was starving. Sean confesses to being a drunk since he was nine. Once they go outside, Alex apologizes for everything, and Sean admits he wishes he’d got sober much sooner. He alludes that they could’ve stayed together if he had.

Alex tries a few more landlords but ends up going back home to her mother’s RV. She finds Paula and Basil outside working on the car. When she tries to go inside, her mother tells her she needs to go because it is honeymoon time. Alex hangs out elsewhere and checks social media. She soon finds out that Sean is likely in a relationship with Frankie (Jessie Liang). The next day, she goes to Island Friends Preschool and meets Melody (Gillian Barber). She finds out that she’ll need to live on the island to get access to the benefits so she can pay Maddy’s tuition. Alex is given 72 hours to find a place to live on the island, so she leaves and begins frantically searching for suitable properties.

She tries a few places that don’t work out before visiting Regina’s place to clean. She soon finds Regina (Anika Noni Rose) in the nursery putting together a crib. When she asks Regina about the for-sale sign missing, she learns that Regina is getting it as a part of the deal, she is staying, and she is staging the nursery for real. Since she missed the delivery people, she is going to have to put the crib together on her own. Alex offers to help but Regina doesn’t accept it. Even when Alex tells her she is using a screw like a hammer, she refuses her assistance and sends her back to cleaning. Before long, she hears Regina screaming and cursing so she rushes over and checks on her. Regina relents and agrees to let Alex help her this time. They head to the garage to see if James left a drill somewhere. Regina asks Alex about the pee-pee teepee she received while Alex assembles the crib for her.

Regina asks her a few parenting questions and we learn that Maddy slept in a drawer for a while as a baby. Regina has 16 weeks of vacation time, so her friends are saying she’ll need a live-in nanny. Alex quickly recommends herself for the position and offers to do it for free so Maddy can go to the preschool nearby. Regina admits it is a good idea, but she is down the road with au pair service and already made the deposit. She agrees to tell Alex if she hears anything though. Alex wonders if Regina would let her use her address on the form, but Regina says no since that would be mail fraud and it could get her disbarred. Alex agrees to go back to work but heads to the bathroom so she can calm herself down. She calms herself and finishes before leaving and returning to Yolanda (Tracy Vilar). She tells Yolanda about Regina begin nice to her sometimes, but not other times.

Yolanda explains that you’re never friends with the clients and they’re always talking to themselves. She believes Regina wouldn’t notice if Alex died and she sent another girl. When she leaves, she checks out another property and finds out she is the first. The studio apartment is perfect, and the woman in charge is willing to work with her. She negotiates with Vivian who agrees to let Alex do the landscaping to pay for a portion of the rent instead of using the TBRA voucher. She dances and celebrates after leaving, getting her daughter, and getting her belongings from Paula’s RV. Paula makes her take the piece of art that she made with Maddy even though she got cut on it twice already. Paula agrees to come to Maddy’s birthday party on Saturday and paint the kid’s faces. Before Alex goes, she reminds her mother about the for-rent sign in her yard and Basil’s number being on it.

Basil has been denying it, so Alex shows her a picture of it. Later, Alex works in the garden when Vivienne returns with Sasha. They chat about Maddy and her upcoming birthday before Vivienne agrees to let them hold the party in the gazebo. Alex promises it’ll only be 10 people or so. The party begins and Nate is the first one there with his son. Nate surprises them with some mermaid bath toys and mermaid party hats. He puts on Alex’s party hat for her before playing with the kids. Ethan (Xavier de Guzman) and Tania (Christie Burke) argue while Alex tries to get in touch with her mother who promised to come. Alex goes over to them and they talk about Sean being late and she learns about their engagement. Sean shows up with his new girl Frankie. Alex doesn’t like the fact that he brought a date to Maddy’s birthday party. Tania tells her she wants to stay out of it because Alex has her story and Sean has his story. Nate finds that Alex is still trying to get in touch with Paula, but he says they’re having plenty of fun without her.

When Nate walks away, Sean comes over to ask Alex if he is the new boyfriend, but Alex says no, and she would never bring a boyfriend to Maddy’s party. Sean knows him because he used to bus tables at the Neptune. Alex says he is an engineer now and her friend. Alex blushes when Sean says Nate wanted to sleep with her now and still does. They argue about Frankie and Sean bringing her without consulting with Alex first. Sean is adamant that Nate wants to be her boyfriend before Paula arrives and interrupts. Paula calls Sean adorable before asking for the wine. Paula tells her daughter that she got into a fight with Basil, and he took off. She blames it on Alex for planting the ideas about Basil renting the house. Basil ran away with the RV, so Paula is homeless now, but she thinks he’ll come back in a few days. She asks Sean for booze even though he is sober. Frank speaks up and agrees to get her girls to bring some over and they do.

They end up drinking until late in the night while Vivienne watches from a distance. Nate keeps the kids busy while Alex stands by helplessly. Frankie wants the address so her weed guy can come over, but Alex says that isn’t going to happen and Sean agrees with her. Alex tries to keep everyone quiet while Paula starts the face painting. Later that night, everyone signs happy birthday to Maddy. She blows out the candle and makes her wish. Alex begins cleaning up. Nate tells her he has to go, and it was a great party although she isn’t sure about that. He asks if he can call her tomorrow, and she says okay. Alex finally breaks up the party, so the others decide to go somewhere else. Sean is drug away with the others before Alex goes inside where Maddy says it was the best day. In the morning, Alex is awakened by banging on the door. She learns from Vivienne and Sasha that Sean is passed out on their couch in his underwear.

She frantically gets him up and forces him to leave. Sean says something about his penis not working for Frankie because of Alex. That angered Frankie and she left him on the beach. Once Sean leaves, Alex apologizes profusely and promises to clean up everything. They’re forced to leave despite Alex’s pleas. Before long, they arrive at a house and ring the doorbell. Nate opens the door and invites them inside. Nate offers to go to the car to get Alex’s stuff and does so as the episode ends.

 

Maid Review

The 6th episode of Maid started off well and turned into an infuriating mess near the end. It was great to see Regina back because I am eager to learn more about the character and her current struggles. Unfortunately, Alex isn’t moving in with her yet. Instead, she miraculously found a beautiful rental on the island and somehow managed to convince the landlord to handle the landscaping to cover a portion of the costs.

The episode was littered with things that were too difficult to believe much like Nate letting her permanently borrow his automobile. It is hard to accept that Alex managed to find a beautiful rental on the island that was perfect in every possible way. I also find it odd that Alex doesn’t seem to understand that Nate has seriously fallen for her, or she just chooses to ignore it for her own benefit and the benefit of her daughter.

As for Maddy’s party, it was infuriating that Alex and Sean let it reach that severity. Why couldn’t Alex just have ended the party much sooner? The episode had some excellent moments though, including Sean’s revelations about his childhood, Alex helping with the crib, and Alex’s flashbacks. I may be nitpicking here, but these things did irk me so they shouldn’t be ignored. I think Maid might’ve been more impactful and hard-hitting if it had only been 5-6 episodes, so we could’ve focused on what mattered the most and less on stuff that didn’t. Still, it seems every show has weak episodes, and this could fit into that category.

The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Don’t forget to check out all recaps of Maid on Reel Mockery here.