As the 9th episode of Maid begins, Alex (Margaret Qualley) lays on the couch while Regina (Anika Noni Rose) knocks on the door and calls her name. Sean (Nick Robinson) walks into the room and opens the door before Regina asks if Alex is home. Regina says Alex hasn’t showed up to her house for four weeks and she came to visit after getting her address from Value Maids. Sean lies when he says Alex isn’t there and he doesn’t know when she is coming back. Regina explains she has Alex’s notebook, and she wants to give it to her in person so she can check on her, but Sean insists Alex is just fine. Sean says Alex is sitting on the other side of the door shaking her head no because she doesn’t want to see her. He immediately shuts the door in Regina’s face. When Alex gets up, she sees Regina outside and Regina sees her. Alex asks Sean if she can have her notebook. Although he calls her crazy, he tells her where it is at.

He complains that it is late, and they’re not dressed for the day. He scolds Alex for not having Maddy dressed. Once Sean leaves, Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) colors and Alex sits with her. Then, they head outside to look at Maddy’s plants, Candy and Sandy. They jump in the puddles nearby. When Sean returns home that night, Alex remains in bed with Maddy and doesn’t move. Later, Hank (Billy Burke) comes over to spend time with the family. Alex is out of it and not interested in family dinner. Hank tells them that Sharlene made it, but she couldn’t join them because she is busy with the twins. Alex says she isn’t hungry and would rather lay down for a bit. Sean gets up, gets in her face, and tells her she is being rude. Alex relents and sits down at the dinner table. Hank witnesses everything but refuses to say anything. Dinner is soon over, and Alex is again hiding in Maddy’s bed when Sean comes home.

Alex gets up, looks out the window, and sees Sean hugging another woman. She says nothing. Next, Sean comes home early with beer and tells Alex he got fired. As they go inside, Sean says he messed up the count when he closed Thursday and that is why he was fired. Alex recommends calling Phil to explain, but Phil is the one who fired him and also accused him of being drunk behind the bar. Sean admits he was buying back shots for his regulars. He reminds Alex this is when she should be trying to make him feel better and telling him everything is going to be fine. Alex confesses she isn’t sure everything is going to be fine, so Sean takes that as her trying to make him feel bad. Sean suspects everything will be okay when he starts working as a carpenter. They begin arguing because Sean brought beer and not food for Maddy.

He throws a glass at the wall before storming out of the trailer and leaving. Alex begins looking for Maddy and eventually finds her hiding in the cupboard. That reminds her of herself and her mother. Alex decides to flee with her daughter once again. She carries Maddy to a gas station before asking a stranger if she can borrow his phone. Regina picks her up nearby a few moments later. She asks Regina to take her to a specific address. Regina offers to let her stay in her guest room, but Alex says she needs to go to that address if it is okay with her. Once they arrive, Alex hits the buzzer and waits for Denise (BJ Harrison) to come out. Regina watches as Alex goes inside. Denise takes Alex to one of the rooms and turns on the lights for her. Denise asks for her cellphone, but Alex doesn’t have anything. Denise agrees to get them some pajamas before leaving.

Once Maddy is down for the night, Alex steps outside and realizes she is in room 23 which was the one Danielle was using when she was last there. When they get up in the morning, they find breakfast sitting outside the door. They spend some time there before visiting Denise who says she has 21 days to notify him that you’re in an emergency shelter. Maddy is going to do some arts and crafts while Denise and Alex can do some intake and go shopping. Denise takes her upstairs and explains many women come there with only the items on their back, so they’ve created their own shop with secondhand and donated items. Alex learns that everything is free, and they only have tags for decoration.

Alex tries to leave without getting anything but the woman working there helps her pick out a few items. The woman explains their circuits are fried when they come in here so it took her weeks before she could remember her favorite color. After she gets the clothes, Denise gives her a refurbished phone that has been wiped clean, but she’ll have to take it outside to use it. Denise tells her about the FCC’s lifeline program for low-income Americans and the fact that there is a lot of red tape. Alex is worried about what she’ll find in her inbox and that someone can find her phone number, but Denise says it is only about getting her a phone and nobody can look her up. Later, Alex takes the phone outside to call Paula and leave her mother a message. Then, she phones Regina and asks if she meant it when she said she could call her at any time.

They meet at a restaurant a bit later. Regina tells her to get whatever she wants because she is paying although Alex feels she should be paying because Regina has done so much for her. Regina learns she dropped her off at a shelter that night and Alex hasn’t been out in 16 days or so. When asked how that feels, Alex admits it is weird. Regina offers to get her out of there so they leave. As they walk along the pier, Regina talks to Alex about the writings in her notebook and confesses she couldn’t put it down. Regina finds it funny that her house was called the cunt house and admits it is a good name for her back then. Alex tells her she left the notebook there when she was applying for college. Although Alex got into the Montana College of Fine Arts, she isn’t going because she never responded. Regina believes that is an easy fix. Alex admits Sean would never let her go since they have joint custody.

Regina doesn’t think Sean should have a say in the matter though and admits she knows a good family lawyer who can help with that. Alex says she can’t afford her, but Regina says the lawyer wouldn’t take her money anyway. Regina convinces her to try to get into the college so she begins calling and working on that right away. Denise checks on her later before Alex tells her she didn’t get any emails from Sean. She checks her inbox and finds a message from someone interested in her cleaning services. She visits the woman, Penny (Gloria Garayua), who makes it clear she can’t pay any more than $10 an hour. Penny says she can’t afford it at all, but her sister let her have the money and she is too pregnant to do it. When Alex steps inside, she finds out that Penny has been hoarding stuff. She is introduced to Penny’s son Stu (Beau de Zwager) and told she has two more at school. Penny is moving to a smaller place and she can’t take all the stuff which she says is her kids’ childhoods.

Although Penny doesn’t want to let it go, Alex says she needs to give her kids space to grow. Once Penny agrees to let her help, Alex goes to work. Penny stops her after a few hours to explain she is out of money and Alex will need to quit. However, Alex says she is into it now and she isn’t going to stop. When Alex finishes, Penny tells her she is a member of an online support group for hoarders and it is often hard for them to keep cleaning ladies. She offers to recommend her services to the others. Alex likes that idea. While she waits for the taxi outside, she gets several messages from people in Penny’s support group. Later, Alex goes down to the curb to arrange her college stint. We also see she keeps cleaning for other clients. She gets her student loan and racks up money while cleaning the hoarder houses. Then, she buys a vehicle for $400.

She takes Maddy for a ride and asks her what the name of the vehicle should be. Maddy calls it stinky pot pie, but Alex believes she should be called Jade. They listen and sing their song together before meeting Regina’s lawyer friend at Regina’s place. Alex is told that Sean can’t stop her from moving, and they’ll send him a notice of relocation. Once he agrees, they can amend the parenting plan and Alex will be free. Sean has 30 days to object to the notice. If he does, they’ll have to go to court. Alex admits she doesn’t have 30 days because she enrolled in a summer session, and she believes Sean will object. The lawyer says she’ll get a no contact order against him and move for Alex to get emergency custody of Maddy because he is an abuser.

She also says they can file a police report, sue him, and go on and on. It will be faster for Sean to cooperate and sign though. Alex asks if she can serve the notice to Sean in public or something because she wants him to see she isn’t afraid of him anymore. Once that conversation ends, they go looking for Paula (Andie MacDowell). She still seems upset and says she never left town. Paula says she used Basil to get her out of jail before kicking him to the curb. Alex is introduced to Paula’s new boyfriend. Alex asks if she can come back later, but Paula says she doesn’t want to talk to her. Paula says fine but they’re going to Portland because her boyfriend Micah (Steve Bacic) has a booth there. They agree to meet around 6 before Alex goes back to the DV shelter for a little shopping. Alex tells the cashier that the shirt is sky blue, and it is her favorite color. After getting dressed, she meets with Sean so she can serve him the papers.

She tells him she is serving him and she is taking Maddy to Montana for college. Sean tells her she can’t hold Maddy hostage in a DV shelter and she is obligated to let him see his daughter. She says otherwise. Alex warns him it is going to get really ugly for him if he doesn’t just sign the papers. She tells him about her fancy lawyer and knowing what he did and the fact that she has PTSD from it now. She tells Sean he will never control her ever again so he says he’ll see her in court. Later that night, Alex meets with Paula who tells her about Micah blowing glass and how amazing it is. She says she is going to take her time with Micah because she got burned by Basil and he is still living with his ex-wife for many messed up reasons. Then, she tells her daughter about the collective of artists and living with them. Paula insists everything is going well for her and the ordeal with Basil was a turning point.

Alex thinks she is having one of those as well. She tells her mother she is going to Missoula where she is going to attend college. Alex took out a student loan, got family housing, found a daycare program for Maddy, and will still be cleaning houses when she can. Paula says she couldn’t be prouder before saying she gets bragging rights for teaching her how to bend toward the light. She tells everyone in the pub about her daughter going to college. Before they split that night, they agree to do it again before Alex leaves. Alex notices her mom’s vehicle is filled with stuff, so she follows her to the Walmart where she is sleeping in her car.

 

Maid Review

Maid is finally coming to an end and viewers can see the light at the end of the tunnel for Alex and Maddy. Sure, Maid has had its share of problems, but its core is still deeply emotional. Anyone willing to overlook these issues will develop a relationship with the main characters and allow the show to tug on their heartstrings. The episode had some excellent scenes especially those between Regina and Alex as the relationship has been a driving factor throughout.

There really isn’t much else to say considering the next episode is the finale. If you’ve enjoyed Maid this far, you likely enjoyed this one as well since it was emotionally deep and enjoyable. I’ve like to see more shows like this since there are so many similar stories out there. The episode was very good, so I am giving it an 8 out of 10. Don’t forget to catch up with previous recaps of Maid on Reel Mockery here.