Maid (2021), based on Stephanie Land’s memoir, follows Alex, a young mother who leaves an abusive relationship with her two-year-old daughter. Played by Maragaret Qualley, Alex’s story unfolds not in dramatic moments but in small, exhausting steps of survival.

The show highlights abuse that’s often unseen, not loud or physical, but controlling and silent. Leaving is only the beginning. Alex faces a system that should help but instead puts up walls: struggling to find housing, childcare, and steady work. Alex ends up taking a job cleaning houses, scrubbing the lives of people who barely notice her. The soft colours and simple scenes in Maid shows Alex’s inner state: tired, cautious, but still moving forward.

One of the most striking scenes appears in Episode 8, “I’m Just a Maid.” After a grueling day cleaning houses and battling exhaustion, Alex sinks slowly into her abusive boyfriend’s couch. The cushions seem to swallow her whole, a powerful visual metaphor for how poverty and trauma weigh down on her. It’s not about giving up; it’s about the heavy toll of carrying so much without support. The couch becomes a symbol of both comfort and suffocation, soft on the outside, yet pulling her under.

Another quiet but powerful moment is the ferry terminal scene, early in the series, where Alex and her daughter spend the night sleeping on the ferry station floor. With no safe place to go, the ferry becomes a temporary shelter, a liminal space between her past and an uncertain future. The scene captures the raw reality of homelessness, not through statistics, but through the hum of the engine, the harsh lights, and Alex’s efforts to keep her daughter feeling safe.

The show also includes moments like the “TRAPPED” visualization words surrounding Alex during a meeting with a social worker, that show how overwhelming and imprisoning the system can feel, even when you’re trying to escape abuse.

Some of the show’s most powerful moments are the smallest. We see Alex’s joy in playing with her daughter, her determination to write her own story, and her quiet pride when she takes steps toward college. But, we also see her setbacks, moments when the weight of bureaucracy, poverty, and trauma nearly pulls her back.

What makes Maid so moving is that it doesn’t simplify recovery into a neat ending. Healing is messy and slow. The show honours that truth, showing progress often comes in small, hard-earned victories.

Ultimately, Maid is about more than leaving abuse. It’s about the ongoing strength it takes to stay gone, to protect yourself and your child, and to imagine a life beyond survival. It’s a story of resilience that doesn’t shout but quietly insists: I’m still here.

Watch Maid on Netflix.

Feature Image: Photo by Charlesdeluvio on Unsplash