Reviewing "Maid": A heartfelt series about the trials and tribulations of a struggling mother, anchored by a genuine performance by Margaret Qualley

Maid is a Netflix series starring Margaret Qualley, about troubled young woman Alex (Qualley) fleeing her boyfriend Sean (Nick Robinson) with her infant daughter Maddy. Desperate for money to support herself and Maddy, she takes up a job as a maid to make ends meet. Throughout the series, we see her struggle and try to make the most of out of an honestly sad situation. Along the way, Alex also has to deal with her relationships with Sean and her mother (Margaret Qualley's real-life mother Andie MacDowell), as well as her wealthy client Regina (Anika Noni Rose). The series tackles some heavy topics such as poverty, alcoholism, and abuse, but there are some great moments of levity. The series's depiction of poverty is absolutely heart-wrenching, exploring how people stuck in poverty will make you invested in Alex and her plight. 

The standout is, without a doubt, Margaret Qualley. Her performance as the perpetually down-on-her-luck Alex is very genuine and feels realistic, and the emotional beats throughout the series land perfectly because of Qualley's highly sympathetic performance. Alex's increasing frustration and frequent feelings of helplessness will endear you to her character as she tries hard to find a silver lining in her situation, and the series takes its time to give the audience and Alex hope for the future, only to have that hope cruelly taken away time and time again by circumstances usually beyond Alex's control. All the characters are flawed, even Alex, and all the major characters are sympathetic, even the easily-angered Sean.

The series is ultimately about poverty, about hope, and about perseverance in the face of despair and family trauma, featuring a moving and sympathetic performance from Margaret Qualley.

Score: 10/10