We’ve all seen shows and movies that try to tackle topical subjects and fall flat while doing so. Sometimes they hit you over the head continuously with their surface-level messaging. Sometimes the characters aren’t fully fleshed out and are merely vehicles used to preach certain rhetoric the movie wants you to understand. What if I told you there was a new show that does neither of these things?
Netflix’s “Maid” tackles subjects like motherhood, class difference, addiction, and more, displaying an array of interesting and complex characters all the while.
Take, for instance, the character of Alex. At first glance, she’s a typical caring mom who will do anything to keep her daughter safe. While it would be easy for the show to present her as a perfect mother who can do no wrong, “Maid” quickly lets us know that this is not the case. Throughout her journey of escaping abuse and trying to provide for her daughter, our protagonist makes many mistakes. She leaves Maddy in a car parked on a highway, resulting in her getting into a car crash. She houses her in a homeless shelter filled with mould. Alex’s character debunks the myth of perfect motherhood. Parenting is a learning process and mistakes are inevitable. Despite her flaws, we, as the audience, continue to root for Alex because her struggles seem real. With this character, “Maid” does a perfect job of showing motherhood for what it truly is: imperfect.
Class difference is another central theme of the show, and one character that represents an upper-class foil to Alex’s new impoverished lifestyle is Regina. While it’s easy to pinpoint her as a snotty, wealthy, businesswoman, we quickly come to learn she’s much more than that. When we get to know Regina, she demonstrates just how much money she has to throw away by having Alex toss out all the food in her fridge before her three-day trip. She illustrates how the upper class hoards extra money that could change the lives of the lower class if distributed.
However, as the show goes on, we start to notice how incredibly lonely Regina’s lifestyle is. To live the life she does, she must be incredibly devoted to her work, which has put a strain on her relationship with her husband. We can also insinuate that her husband is an apathetic man, who sees her only as a provider of wealth as opposed to a life partner. On top of that, he ends up asking for a divorce because of her fertility issues, even after Regina found a surrogate mother to deliver their baby. Regina is in perfect opposition to Alex; while she has all the money in the world, Alex has the one thing she could never get: a child of her own creation. The character of Regina perfectly displays the dark side of wealth and the ultimate truth that money and privilege can’t buy love. Her relationship with Alex also demonstrates how people of different classes can help each other. While Alex teaches her to love and care for her new son, Regina helps Alex out of her abusive situation so that she can travel to Montana for college. Through Regina, “Maid” teaches us that the upper class should help the impoverished instead of profiting off of them and that the lower class has many things they can teach classes above them.
Lastly, moving on to Shawn, the father of Alex’s child, and one of the most complex characters in the show. At first, it’s easy to see Shawn as the villain of the story, the main source of Alex’s problems. However, we come to find that the problems that Shawn causes are rooted in his addiction to alcohol, which stems from a history of violence and abuse he endured growing up. Shawn has a certain self-awareness about his problems, which he demonstrates in one of the best lines from the series, “I’m not trash. I’m seaglass. Just give me time.” Shawn ends up seeking help for his addiction but falls back into his old ways when he returns to his job as a bartender. By the end of the series, however, he grants Alex full custody of their daughter, accepting that he needs to work on himself to become a better father and a better man. Shawn demonstrates that it’s okay to throw in the towel, stop fighting for things you can’t handle yet, and seek help.
Shawn isn’t a villain because, in real life, there are no villains; only people who do good things influenced by love, and horrible things influenced by hate.