Domestic violence, determination and the value of perseverance: a review of Maid

This review contains spoilers.

Maid is a Netflix Original Series that is based on the true story of Stephanie Land and her 2019 memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive. The show follows the main character, Alex, through the ups and downs of her journey to leave her abusive, alcoholic partner and make a better life for her and her daughter, Maddy. The show was released on Oct. 1, 2021 and is ten episodes long. 

This show, in my opinion, was a huge success, and for more reasons than one. First, this show brings awareness to the issue of domestic violence in an incredibly important way; one that validates the fact that not all domestic violence is physical. 

Firstly, in the beginning of the show, when Alex first attempts to get support for her and her nearly three-year-old daughter, Maddy, after leaving her abusive partner, she tells the government worker she can’t call the Domestic Violence hotline because she wouldn’t want to take a bed from someone who was “really being abused.” The government worker at social services gives her the number and urges her to call, validating her and her situation. This mirrors the thoughts and emotions many abuse victims experience resulting from gaslighting and emotional manipulation.

Second, something I loved about this show was how authentic it felt. It never tried to be performative for the sake of activism, and at no point in the series did I feel like anything in the plot was happening to just make a point. Alex was the perfect protagonist, and her flaws made her all the more relatable. 

Her path in leaving her situation and getting out of it and moving forward was anything but linear. Getting to witness it in the way that the show presented it felt incredibly intimate and ultimately rewarding. It was a reminder of how complex and challenging it is for people who are in this situation in real life, while never feeling like Stephanie’s story or experiences were being exploited simply for the drama or the emotionality rather than for substance and meaning. 

Another aspect of the show I really resonated with was Alex’s connection to writing. Throughout the show, as she begins to work her cleaning job more frequently, Alex begins to document her experiences in her journal. It serves as an outlet for her to vent about all of the crazy things she is experiencing while working this job, and a way for her to document her journey doing what she has to do to provide for her and her daughter in the face of adversity and abuse. 

Eventually, going to college for Creative Writing is what allows her to leave her old life in the rearview, and move to a new one with her daughter and begin a new life as an undergraduate student with full custody of her daughter. She is also able to teach other people in her situation to utilize the skill of writing as a tool for them to express themselves and cope with their situations. 

This is something that really resonated with me as someone who has relied on writing to get them through some of the toughest moments of their life, and someone who is about to graduate with a degree in creative writing. It was beautiful to watch that thread that is present throughout the show come to fruition for Alex.

The first season of this show stands alone as an important statement about domestic violence. It also, however, is a beautiful portrayal of the intricacies of human life. The relationships Alex builds with everyone from the woman who runs the domestic violence shelter to the people whose houses she cleans throughout are beautiful to witness. 

It also tackles the ways in which getting out of a situation like that can be so complicated and very rarely happens overnight. It was a gut-wrenching and ultimately heartwarming watch, and I would encourage everyone who hasn’t seen it to check it out.