Snaps
Does Alex acknowledge that she’s a victim?
Episode 10 of Maid begins this finale with Alex watching as her mother wakes up in a Walmart parking lot, ready to get working. Alex does the same, heading to her group therapy session and opening up about how writing has helped her articulate how she feels. ..
Alex manages to connect really well with the girls, telling the other abuse victims to focus on writing like she did. By the time these scenes have finished, it’s fair to say that Alex has accepted that she too is a victim of abuse.
What happens with Paula?
Paula continues to deny the reality of her situation, despite Alex seeing her later on in the day with a cast sawn off. This is going to delay her recovery, which Alex points out. ..
“I’m not ready to give up though,” Alex says. “I think Paula should come to a doctor appointment the following day.”
Alex tries to get her textbooks for the upcoming term, but Tara confirms that a restraining order and an ex-parte order have been filed against Sean. However, there is a problem. Sean is not going down without a fight and as it goes to court, it’s turning into a win/lose case for Maddy’s custody. ..
Does Hank support Alex in the end?
Sean is granted visitation rights with Maddy without Alex present. She’s horrified and realizes that she could well lose her spot at school too, given she’s forced to stay for 14 days. Thankfully, Alex manages to turn Paula around to her cause at least, agreeing to supervise the playdate between Sean and Maddy. ..
In the wake of this, Alex heads out to see Hank, admitting the truth about being in the abuse shelter twice. Alex wants him to serve as a witness against Sean. Given she saw him shouting at her, and witnessed the abuse for himself, Hank completely lets her down.
He claims that Sean’s alcoholism is the cause of his behaviour and brushes off that sour dinner as a couple “going through a rough patch.” Alex demands he stand up for her in court and protect Maddy, asking again to do something for her. Hank however, refuses to do it. And just like that, it breaks what little trust and compassion was built between them.
Does Sean redeem himself?
Maddy comes back early to Sean, realizing that he is an alcoholic. This causes a rift between them, as Maddy wants to help Sean get his life together and Sean doesn’t want her interference.
Sean has realized that he’s been following in his Mum’s footsteps and is now considering giving up custody of Alex to him in order to save him. This triggers a powerful emotional response in Sean, which leads to him deciding to do the right thing.
After seeing Sean like this, Paula feels bad for him. She thinks it might be similar to Hank’s shaking and decides to go with Alex and his group to Montana.
Alex heads to Sean’s place to pick up her gear for her trip to Montana. Sean is getting himself cleaned up and promises to be there for his daughter when she leaves. “Good luck, Alaska,” Sean says as Alex drives off. ..
In the days after their relationship ended, Alex feels some sense of closure. She’s driving away from her abuser, and she has a feeling that this will be the last time they’ll see each other.
Why doesn’t Paula leave with Alex?
Alex leaves town, and thanks everyone she’s ever met – including Regina – for being such good friends. She knows that now that she has her own family, she’s doing better than ever before.
With all of that out of the way, the attention turns back to Paula. She’s over at Hank’s place but she’s so caught up in her art that she’s decided not to go to Montana anymore. She’s going to stay with her new boy, Micah.
Alex and Paula had a passionate night together, but now they’re in love. Alex asks her several times if this is what she really wants, but she keeps dodging his questions.
After years of neglecting her mother, Alex makes the bold decision to go without her.
Paula was never going to change – not really. And a part of Alex knows this. She’s been struggling to let go of her Mum all season long, and despite her best efforts, there’s nothing more she can do. As the old quote goes, “you can show someone the door, but they have to walk through it.” ..
How does Maid end?
It was a great day for Alex and she sat in therapy, talking to the others about the best day of her life. That best day includes looking out at a giant M at the top of a hill – something we see play out in real-time as Maddy and Alex make it to Montana to start their brand new life.
In a near-perfect series, Alex convinces her daughter that the M stands for Maddy and the difficult hike and climb to reach that point is indicative of their tough journey across this season to make it to the top. Alex has been through hell but through it all, come out better and brighter by the end. The perfect end to a near-perfect series!
The Episode Review
With a stunning conclusion, Maid leaves everything in a great place for the readers, leaving them with a really solid arc that wraps everything up in the best possible way.
Alex and Maddy’s story is great to see. Alex has overcome a lot in her life, and Maddy has helped others do the same. They are both inspiring and living their best lives because of it.
The late chapters of seeing Alex back under Sean’s spell were so hard to watch and thankfully Alex managed to come out of it the other side.
Despite her struggles, Paula manages to come away with a somewhat of an arc, even if she slips back into old habits by the final scenes she’s featured in. ..
In the end, Alex and Paula come to an understanding. Alex realizes that she needs a man by her side and Paula is proud of her daughter and wants her to live her own life.
Sean has been a real piece of work all season long, but he’s shown flashes of trying to make amends. Hank said at the end that alcoholism is a “beast” of sorts and something Sean is struggling with. ..
Sean figures out that he needs to stop drinking and spending time with Maddy before it gets too serious. Hearing him talk about how irritable and thirsty he is is enough for him to make the right decision. However, I wonder if the court would have sided with Alex if it had come to that. Tara being by Maddy’s side probably helped a lot. ..
This way, he can still have visitation rights with Maddy and try to mend the broken bonds when he finally does get sober – if he gets sober.
In the end, Alex’s dream comes true and she is able to live her dream. This provides a sense of closure for her and us as readers.
This has been an amazing examination of the broken welfare system, the cycle of abuse and mental health in general. Maid has been amazing, and easily one of this reviewer’s best shows of the year.
