Episode 1 of "Maid" kicks off with a heart-racing escape, as Alex, a determined mother, scoops up her daughter Maddy and flees under the cloak of night. Amidst the chaos, shards of shattered glass glint like forgotten treasures on the floor, yet Alex's gaze remains steadfast, her sole focus a swift departure from her partner, Sean.
Midway down the deserted road, fate deals her a cruel blow—her car sputters to a halt, gas gauge empty. With just $18 to her name, Alex's every move at the filling station becomes a poignant testament to financial struggle, as the digits dwindle swiftly on the screen. Stranded and without a haven, she's left with no choice but to spend the night huddled in her vehicle.
Dawn breaks, bringing an unwelcome visitor—a police officer's knock shatters the silence, forcing Alex to abandon her makeshift shelter. Desperate for assistance, she navigates to the council offices, forms in hand, where Jody, a compassionate advisor, guides her towards a domestic violence shelter. But Alex's story doesn't neatly fit the mold; self-proclaimed not a victim of abuse, nor technically homeless, she finds herself in a precarious limbo.
This exchange, crafted with finesse, gradually peels back layers of Alex's past, revealing a childhood marked by adversity, a larger-than-life mother, and a string of transient high schools. Jody, in a show of kindness, offers a glimmer of hope: an interview opportunity at Value Maids. Yet, this opportunity is fraught with challenges, chief among them finding suitable care for Maddy.
Her mother, a free-spirited soul with a penchant for chaos, shares her roof with Basil, a questionable suitor, making her an unreliable option. Alex, determined, leaves Maddy in the capable (yet questionable) hands of Paula and sets off for her interview. The job, though promising initially, soon reveals its harsh realities—a three-hour cleaning shift that barely scratches the surface of financial stability, compounded by the ferry ride to Fisher Island and the burden of procuring her own supplies. It's a daily grind of making ends meet, each penny earned through grit and determination.
The house entrusted to Alex for cleaning is breathtakingly gorgeous, yet it is marred by the presence of Regina, its arrogant and abrasive owner. Regina chastises Alex relentlessly for her tardiness of merely thirty minutes and displays a cavalier attitude when Alex collapses from exhaustion while working upstairs. Undeterred, Alex labors diligently, meticulously scrubbing the mansion and discarding mountains of food waste.
Alex barely catches the ferry back, her phone suddenly buzzing with a flurry of missed calls from Paula as soon as she regains signal. Amidst the communication blackout and Paula's habitual disregard for listening, she had resorted to Sean, who has now taken Maddy under his wing at his trailer.
Stepping into the house, Alex is assailed by vivid, painful memories from the previous night. Sean, a vicious drunkard, had unleashed a reign of terror, shattering glass and hurling obscenities at her. The grim task of picking shards of glass from Maddy's hair had been Alex's breaking point; a harrowing experience she vows never to repeat.
On the road, Maddy's playful toss of a toy out the window sends Alex scrambling out of the car, frantically searching along the roadside. A jarring crash jolts her to her senses, revealing a vehicle that has collided with the rear of her car. To her immense relief, Maddy is unscathed, but Alex faces a hefty fine, towing fees, and the arduous task of salvaging personal belongings from the wrecked vehicle before its impoundment.
Left in dire straits, Alex and Maddy must salvage whatever they can and hitchhike their way to the ferry port, where they spend the remainder of the night, their fate hanging precariously in the balance.
