I never watch dramas. I don’t like them, they get intense too fast and I never pay enough attention to understand what’s going on. But when I saw a clip of Maid on TikTok I instantly went to Netflix. I was so captivated by the series I binged the whole thing in less than 24 hours.
Before I get into the review I want to give a trigger warning. This series deals with extremely sensitive topics such as abuse, mental health and addiction. If any of those topics are triggering, I suggest you exit this review and don’t watch the show.
The show Maid is based on a memoir by Stephanie Land called Maid: Hard work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive on her experiences leaving domestic violence. Molly Smith Metzler is the writer and producer of the show. Metzler has worked on previous shows such as Shameless and Orange Is the New Black.
The show follows Alex Russel, played by Margaret Qualley, leaving her abusive boyfriend Sean with her three-year-old daughter Maddy in the middle of the night. The show shows the struggles of leaving domestic violence. Alex struggles financially working a job that doesn’t pay a livable wage, faces pressure from friends and family to return to her abuser, is also consistently failed by the government and the justice system, and has to be a single mother on top of all of that.
The main character, Alex, is raw and vulnerable. I physically felt her struggle in the show and wished I could help her. I admired the true unfailing love she had for her daughter, Maddy, as well. There were several moments throughout the show I was in tears because of how well played Alex was. This is all thanks to the great acting of Margaret Qualley.
Not only was the acting amazing, but the show was also filmed beautifully. The show was set in Washington state and had beautiful shots of nature. I also might be crazy, but it looked as if the colors were muted while Alex was struggling but seemed too bright when she was happy, matching her mood.
I loved how the show brings light to how messed up the justice system is for victims of abuse. Alex is failed by the justice system time and time again, and at one point it even punishes her for leaving her abuser. It shows how hard it is for an individual to get justice for abuse and how some states don’t consider mental abuse as actual abuse.
While the show does a good job displaying issues with the government and the justice system, Alex always comes out on top by a miraculous circumstance. That doesn’t happen for a lot of victims of abuse. I wish there was something in the show that acknowledged how unrealistic that is for a lot of victims.
Overall, the show is beautiful and speaks about important subjects that our society likes to sweep under the rug. If you have any time I highly recommend watching Maid over break. Maid can be found on Netflix.