What Happens to Alex and Maddy?

October 19, 2024

The Big Picture

Maid is a captivating Netflix drama based on an abused single mother's journey to escape her situation and build a better life for her and her daughter.
Alex builds her client base for her maid business and gets support from a therapy group while facing challenges in the ongoing custody battle with her abusive ex.
The series ends on a hopeful note as Alex and Maddy start a new life in Montana, leaving viewers with a sense of optimism, although the show will not have a Season 2.

There are a lot of shows to watch across so many streaming services nowadays, and many are just there for entertainment purposes or to turn off your brain and not have to think for a while. However, some shows leave a lasting impression and resonate with many who watch. Whether you know someone who feels reminiscent of the protagonist or if you personally can relate to what's happening in the show, you watch and feel everything. Maid is one of those shows. Maid is a 2021 Netflix drama series that follows Alex (MargaretQualley) and her young daughter Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) as they escape an abusive relationship with Alex's long-term boyfriend, Sean (Nick Robinson).

With very little in her pocket when she walks out the door of the trailer she shares with Sean, Alex knows she is alone but better off taking care of Maddy. She becomes a maid in order to provide for Maddy and help build a life for them away from abuse. The show chronicles some intense highs and lows that Alex experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse and single mother and how she can progress and escape their current situation. Based on Stephanie Land's memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive, the ten-episode miniseries is truly captivating to watch.

Across the episodes, Alex and Maddy end up in a women's shelter where Alex struggles to receive childcare benefits or prove that she is fit to be Maddy's primary caregiver. Alex grapples with her mental health, dealing with Sean being mentally and physically abusive, and struggling with being a maid and the clients she has to work with. As Alex tries to grow her business as a maid, she begins writing about her clients and eventually joins a therapy group that has her imagine a better life for her and Maddy. This pushes Alex to apply to college in Missoula, Montana, where she was previously accepted before she got pregnant. Alex gets in and knows it's time to get everything straight, so the two can get out of Washington. What happens in the end for Alex and Maddy? Let's break down the final episode.

Maid

Drama

Maid is a 2021 Netflix mini-series starring Margaret Qualley as Alex Russell, a young, single mother who finds a job as a maid after escaping an abusive relationship to support her daughter, Maddy. The series comes from writer Molly Smith Metzler, who previously wrote for Orange is the New Black and Shameless.

Cast Nick Robinson , Anika Noni Rose , Andie MacDowell , Billy Burke , Margaret Qualley Main Genre Drama Seasons 1

Alex's Client Base and Personal Growth

In the last episode of the emotionally jarring series, Alex is freed from the shackles of abuse and can finally breathe again. In this last episode, Alex cleans a hoarder's home even though it is far more work than the client can pay for. Since the client is also a single mother, Alex helps her clean her entire house without overtime pay. Because of this, the client introduces Alex to the hoarder group she attends, giving her a client base to work with. Alex is also teaching a creative writing class to others at the domestic violence shelter she was staying at, showing her passion for writing and how writing is her ticket out of her abuse.

Sean Realizes His True Colors

The ongoing custody battle between Sean and Alex also comes to a head. With the help of one of her clients and lawyer, Regina (Anika Noni Rose), they serve Sean with a restraining order because of his abuse. Sean argues the motion, and now Alex must prove that Sean was abusive, which drives her to ask her father, Hank (Billy Burke), to testify about the abuse. Because Hank and Sean are both recovering alcoholics, Hank refuses to testify against him, even though it could mean Alex isn't able to make it to Montana for school on time. Alex realizes that Hank won't testify against Sean because Hank was also abusive to Alex's mother in the past in the same pattern that Sean is to Alex. Birds of a feather flock together, and Alex severs all ties with her father for her mental health's sake.

When all seems lost on being able to keep Maddy from Sean, his abusive tendencies shine through. During a court-ordered visitation between Maddy, Sean, and Paula (Andie MacDowell), Alex's mom, Sean loses his temper. Maddy throws a tantrum in a playground and because Sean was 24 hours without a drink, he loses his temper with Maddy. When Alex and Sean speak about what happened, Sean revealed that if Paula hadn't been there, Sean would've taken Maddy with him to a liquor store or bar to get a drink. At that moment, Sean realizes what that relationship with Maddy would be like and signs away his rights, giving full custody to Alex.

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Paula Changes Her Mind... Again

Alex keeps trying to get Paula to come with her and Maddy to Montana after finding her mother sleeping in her car in a Walmart parking lot. Paula tries to say she sleeps there because she likes living a nomadic lifestyle, but Alex knows differently. Alex wants to help care for her mother, as she can't do it herself. Paula turns her down at first, not wanting to leave where generations of their family have lived before. After the visit with Sean and Maddy, Paula changes her mind and tells Alex that she will come with her daughter and granddaughter to Montana. This is short-lived, though, because Paula decides to move in with her boyfriend, Micah. Micah finally kicks his wife out for Paula and moves her in. Even though Alex knows Paula is in another relationship that won't last, she stops putting herself last and continues with her plans to move to Montana with Maddy.

The Final Move For Alex and Maddy

The episode concludes in a very heartfelt way. Alex picks up the last of her things from the shelter and from Sean's trailer. Even though Alex extends an olive branch by saying Sean can visit the two whenever he wants, he says he won't until sober. Viewers realize that Alex isn't the only one who has grown across the season and that there may be hope for Sean after all. Throughout the show, a money tracker appears on the screen so the person watching can keep up with how much money Alex has or doesn't have.

At the end of the episode, the money tracker changes to a mileage tracker as Maddy and Alex get in her station wagon and make the trek to Montana. As they're driving, the show flashes back to Alex's last day in group therapy, where she talks about her happiest day. Alex had written about a future happiest day instead of choosing a happy day from the past. This day includes her and Maddy hiking up Sentinel Mountain as they get to gaze out across their new town and begin anew. This part flashes back and forth between Alex's writing and the mother-daughter duo actually getting to live out that happiest day.

Will There Be a Season 2 of 'Maid'?

The show ends on such a light and promising note, leaving anyone who watches feeling full of hope. Anyone who has experienced anything similar or knows anyone who has experienced similar can see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for all. While there is no Season 2 in the works at Netflix, Alex and Maddy's story was left open-ended. Even if this is the end of the road for Alex and Maddy, Maid is a show that will stick with anyone who watches.

Maid is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

Stream on Netflix

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