Beginning
Maid is a new Netflix original series that tells a riveting story about a mother and her daughter escaping an alcoholic, emotionally abusive father.
Episode one starts off with a frantic Alex (Margaret Qualley) grabbing her daughter, Maddy (Rylea Naveah Whittet) in the middle of the night to drive away from Sean (Nick Robinson).
Sean runs out of the house, banging on the car trying to stop Alex with claims that she is “overreacting.” Alex drives away anyway, not looking back for a second.
Alex starts with a budget of $18. But after stopping to get gas, that drops to $12 to last her for the night and the foreseeable days. Alex attempts to stay at her friend Tania’s, only to find out that Sean is on his way to the mutual friend’s house as well.
Alex frantically drives away. “Shoop, mommy, shoop” says Maddy repeatedly. Speeding off, Alex pops in Maddy’s favorite song, Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa, which remains the background news for their journey.
The pair sleep in their car for the night only to be awoken by a police officer enforcing them to leave the premises. The next day, Alex visits a social worker to explain her situation and inquire on subsidized housing. The problem becomes Alex’s lack of a job.
Middle
The social worker gives her a card for Value Maids, a maid service that might be able to offer her a job. Alex takes it then heads over to her moms house to hopefully leave Maddy there as she goes to the Value Maids location.
Alex’s mother, Paula (Andie MacDowell) is a painter/sculptor living at an RV camp with her seemingly young boyfriend Basil (Toby Levins). Paula is a free-spirit, eccentric person who is very dedicated to her art and personal passions. This has often made her unreliable and an inconsistent parent.
Nevertheless, Paula takes Maddy for the day as Alex goes to Value Maids. As soon as Alex arrives, she is offered a job by the manager, Yolanda (Tracy Vilar). Immediately, Alex is assigned a shift and heads across the island on a ferry to arrive at a huge mansion owned by the incredibly rich Regina (Anika Noni Rose).
While on the job, Alex faints in Regina’s nursery bedroom (a showroom for prospective buyers of the property) due to the lack of food in her system. Regina suspects her of being a drug addict, but when Alex explains her situation, she hesitantly allows her to continue working.
At the house located in a grand forest, Alex loses location and has no way of contacting her mother and Maddy. When Alex finally gets service she has 13 missed calls from her mother. She speeds over to the trailer camp and finds her mother flustered and without Maddy.
After calming Paula down who is visibly angry at her daughter's lack of communication, she informs Alex that Maddy is with Sean. Alex furiously rushes over to Sean’s, her old house, grabbing Maddy back into her arms and away from the house.
Ending
As the pair are driving away, Yolanda calls demanding Alex to go back and clean Regina’s house because she was unsatisfied with the job. Alex will not get paid if she does not do so.
On the drive to Regina's, Maddy drops her beloved Schmariel (doll) out the window. Alex has to pull over on the side of the road to get it to stop Maddy’s screams. When she does, another car drives straight into her. Luckily, Maddy is okay. But now, Alex does not have a car, or place to sleep in for the night.
The only person Alex has to call for rescue is her father, Han (Billy Burke) who she is estranged from. Alex’s budget is at $1 at this point.
Hank picks up Maddy and Alex. The tension is at an all time high. Hank offers his place to stay but Alex, resisting help, asks him to drop her off at the Ferry station.
The episode concludes with Alex and Maddy asleep at the ferry station for the night.
Review:
From episode 1, viewers are brought into the flaws within the system. A single mother who is emotionally abused by an alcoholic is unable to receive assistance because she does not have a job. The reason she does not have a job is because her partner blocked her from taking part in the family finances. Without any viable escape options, it seems as if the only thing she can do for both herself and daughter is go back to the abusive household. This is a problem many people with abusive households face. They are confined to specific friends, finances and opportunities presented by the abuser leaving them with no escape options.
Maid does an exceptional job in putting these issues at the front of their show from the start of the series.
