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Episode 6 of Maid begins with Alex in group therapy. She reflects back on an important turning point in her life, when she almost attended a writing program at university.
Alex’s life took a very different turn though, and now she’s on the cusp of losing her sanity altogether. She’s still staying with Paula, whose eccentricity is less than ideal. Even worse, she’s struggling to find accommodation. The only way to get a place to stay is through using Home TBRA, a government funded financial aid that pays a percentage of her rent. And unfortunately that’s something very few landlords are willing to give a look in.
Nate has been a constant source of help throughout the show but his intentions are still unclear, even now. Does he just want to get in Alex’s pants or is he genuinely caring and wanting to help her? That’s something Alex ponders when he suggest she switch daycares to the same one as his, given he can put in a good word for her.
Last episode, Alex confronted her reality and the dark past she’s dealt with. This episode the attention turns slightly toward Sean in this respect, who admits he’s been a drunk since he was 9. His father used to beat him with a tire iron and his brother was starving, forcing Sean to give up school and get a job.
This explains his moods, and AA is “shaking all of this out” of him. Alex does her best to reassure him – after an earlier spat in the diner – as Sean regrets not getting sober sooner for the family.
Off the back of this, Alex takes up Nate’s offer and checks out the daycare on Fisher’s Island. It’s perfect – but there’s a problem. In order to be accepted, Alex needs to be a resident on the island. She’s given 72 hours to get that sorted or the spot will be gone.
An unlikely carrot on a stick comes in the form of Regina. She’s not selling the house after all, with the house part of her divorce settlement. When Alex heads over to clean, she finds her up in the bedroom trying to assemble a crib. She’s also hiring a live-in nanny which would be perfect for Alex… but unfortunately Regina rejects the offer as she’s “quite far along” with an agency.
When a new house listing goes live for a studio, Alex manages to sweettalk the client into accepting her – on the tradeoff that she does yard work. After all that grafting, it’s a massive win.
Alex packs up her things, joyous that she’s going to finally catch a break, as she and Maddy start fixing up the yard. Thanks to her hard work, Vivian (the lady in charge of the house) allows Maddy to have her party at their place.
Nate is first to show up and he’s got mermaid party hats and even mermaid bath toys for Maddy too. It’s a really sweet gift but Alex is troubled. Paula and Sean both show up late, with the latter showing up with a date. Even worse, Paula jokes about a fight she and Basil has had, resulting in her husband leaving with the RV – which has all her stuff inside.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Alex’s date shows up with her friends, booze, and a whole lot of trouble. That’s obviously something that worries her, but thankfully she doesn’t lose her studio. At least not yet. Putting Maddy to bed, Alex smiles as her daughter admits that this was the best night ever.
In the morning, rapping at the door sees everything comes crashing down around her. Sean is passed out on the sofa, with a vase broken on the living room floor, and Vivian absolutely living. This single act from an incredibly selfish man makes her lose the studio apartment. Between this, and Paula losing her RV, the only other place to turn is Nate’s.
The Episode Review
Poor Alex. That heartbreaking ending with the party and losing the studio apartment she fought so hard to get in an instant is so tough to watch,
There have been so many moments in this show that have triggered me personally, knowing from experience how difficult it is to go through being made homeless and eking out a living with very little money.
Maid does an excellent job showcasing that and the anxiety and dread Alex feels during the party is identical to how many others will feel too watching this (including myself) and seeing everything take a downward turn after a few deep breaths of happiness.
Quite what will happen next now that Alex’s life is back in limbo is anyone’s guess but this show has been outstanding and a difficult one to watch.
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Episode Rating
(4.5)
It is really easily from the outside for people to just say ‘don’t do it’ or ‘just throw them out’. But the show has established that Alex has been caught in a cycle of this chaos and dysfunction her entire life. As someone that grew up in a similar way, it is a helluva lot easier said than done to just cut people off like that. It’s still her child’s father and it is still her mother. And she’s just now sifting through what is functional and what is not in her own young life. Believe me, unless you’ve been in that position, it is damn near impossible to understand what that feels like. I once told my therapist that it felt like being the only sane person in an asylum…well if you’re the only one that’s sane there, to the rest of them YOU are the one that comes off insane.
sorry…I don’t feel sympathy for Alex or in general people like her. You might say it’s not her fault, but in my books it is. She knows her ex-boyfriend is trouble (the reason why she’s into this mess first place), nevermind that she knows how unstable and troublesome her mom can be. When they offered her to host the party, the landlord didn’t know about these details but she did. Just politely decline the offer, say how humbled you are but have your bloody party in the park. End. Not worth the risk. I met many people like Alex in life. They are not the direct cause of the problem, but unfortunately they are too naive and need to take care of themselves better.
I sympathized with her. She probably did not want to ruin the party because of her daughter. They would not leave easily. She finally did kick them out, didn’t she?
Just finished watching it and yeah, how she could just stand there and let all that happen around her beggars belief. Up to this point the show had done a great job of depicting what Alex is going through and how hard it all is for her, but this pushed the boundaries too far.
The ex-boyfriend is the worst, though her mother and Ms I am Switzerland give him a run for his money
This episode was the most frustrating of all. Why would Alex lack the backbone to tell everyone to screw? I know that the entire series is about her growing strength, but where was the difficulty here? She had the best thing that has happened to her since she left her relationship,,, her child is in a safe, happy school.. they live in a space they can be proud of… she has a nice relationship with her landlords who treat her with respect… This is everything she wanted.. Yet she doesn’t want to anger the bar girls by throwing them out???? It was just so stupid… Not believable at all. No one, no matter how spineless would have trouble telling strangers to get out.
This episode drove me insane. I wanted to strangle her mother and her ex. But Alex’s lack of a spine also made me look away as another good opportunitywas squandered..