Dhruv Trivedi
‘Maid’ on Netflix follows the struggles of a young mother as she fights poverty and homelessness in a bid to provide a better life for her young daughter and herself. The heartwrenching mini-series follows Alex’s day-to-day life as she navigates the unfathomable red tape required to get government assistance while also trying to take care of her daughter and hold down a job that barely covers her expenses.
Unable to depend on her family or the father of her daughter, Alex is grateful when an old acquaintance, Nate, steps in. However, it sometimes feels like Nate is only helping Alex because he is romantically interested in her, which makes things awkward. So do the two finally get together in ‘Maid’? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Do Nate and Alex Get Together?
Nate comes across Alex right after she has been forced to spend a night at the ferry station with her daughter Maddy. Having seen Alex in a better situation many years ago, he initially doesn’t realize that she is homeless. However, he soon understands that she needs help and quickly becomes one of the few people that Alex can rely on. Unlike most of the people in her life, Nate provides the young mother with much-needed stability. He goes so far as to give her his mother’s old car, allows Alex, Maddy, and Paula to live at his house, and even volunteers to pick up and babysit Maddy multiple times.
When asked about his relationship, Nate quickly (and rather pointedly) tells Alex that he is divorced. He is also increasingly affectionate towards her and asks her out on a date when he gives Alex the car. The young mother is put in an awkward position because she needs the car but doesn’t want to take it if she is expected to repay it with affection. When she tells Nate as much, he steps back but doesn’t stop pursuing Alex.
It is revealed that Nate’s affection goes back a long time when Sean, in a fit of jealousy, tells Alex that Nate is only helping her because he’s wanted to date her for many years. Though she denies it, Alex seems to be aware of the fact and is careful not to make it seem like she’s using Nate’s affection to support herself. However, with Paula’s constant badgering, the young mother does admit that Nate is “relationship material,” which shows that she is perhaps not completely opposed to being with him.
Though Alex even begins to fantasize about him at one point, nothing happens between the two. Because of all the help he has bestowed on her, as Alex explains to Nate, the dynamic between them is not one of equality. Therefore, Alex continues to reject his advances so that he doesn’t confuse her thankfulness for affection.
Considering one of the show’s central themes is Alex’s hunt for independence, it makes sense that she doesn’t end up with the man who overwhelmingly supports her. In fact, the young single mother even mentions that she wants to live her life without being dependent on a man. Hence, Alex and Nate don’t get together in the end despite the two professing feelings for each other. For Alex, who has just come out of a rough relationship with Sean and wants to be independent, this seems like the best course of action and eventually results in her moving away to begin university in Montana.
Read More: Is Netflix’s Maid Based on a True Story?
