Maid spoilers follow.
After being put through the wringer and then some in Netflix's Maid, Alex was able to breath easy, for a moment at least, when she walked out of Sean's trailer for the final time and left town with her daughter Maddy.
As the pair sat under the giant M overlooking their new stamping ground, we couldn't help but emit a giant sigh of relief ourselves. For the first time in a long time, their shared future was bright, until the next bump in the road, anyway. But what will that "bump" entail? Are there plans to revisit the duo for round two?
Here's everything you need to know.
Maid season 2 release date: When will it air?
Netflix hasn't revealed whether Maid will be back for a second outing. The series, based on Stephanie Land's memoir, is currently marketed as a limited series and it feels unlikely that will change given how it wrapped up (more on that later). But we wouldn't bet our bottom dollar on this being the end.
If season two is given the greenlight, we'd expect it to air at the end of 2022, or early 2023.
Maid season 2 cast: Who's in it?
If more episodes are on their way, Alex (Margaret Qualley) and Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) will obviously be back, and we'd expect Sean (Nick Robinson) and Alex's mum Paula (Andie MacDowell) to feature. Plus, Regina (Anika Noni Rose) and Alex's dad Hank (Billy Burke) are also possibilities.
Andie MacDowell recently talked to Collider about her role as Alex's mum, who is described as undiagnosed bipolar, and what it was like playing alongside her real-life daughter Margaret Qualley, who suggested her for the role.
"She [Margaret] knew that I've had personal experiences with mental illness because my mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia right after I was born and had shock treatments, and then came home to be really left alone. They didn't have the support system back then. It was an embarrassment to have any kind of mental illness. So I grew up in this really crazy environment, and Margaret knew that."
"I think we worked really well together. When I saw it, I was blown away by her performance," MacDowell said of her daughter.
She also chatted about her hopes for where Paula, Alex and Maddy's stories would lead if Maid gets a second season, and whether Paula would visit her daughter and grandaughter.
"We [MacDowell and Qualley] talked about that. She was like, 'What do you think?' I was like, 'No, she's gonna come. She's not gonna stay but she's gonna come. She'll show up in a Winnebago. She's gotta see her granddaughter. She's gonna come. She won't stay but she'll come."
We'd also expect a raft of fresh characters to pepper the new instalment.
Maid season 2 plot: What will happen?
In the finale, Alex waved goodbye to her old life and touched down in Missoula, Montana, with Maddy, where she was scheduled to take up her spot at college. Sean had relinquished control of both his former partner and his daughter after refusing to for so long, which gave Alex the freedom to explore life on her own terms, to a degree at least. It had been one hell of a journey but eventually she made it.
A new season means new challenges – juggling her responsibilities as a mother with work and education is no small feat – and there's always the potential for more drama with both Sean and Paula.
Alex, too, is still working through her own trauma, and we'd expect that to continue. There's no plaster or ointment on earth able to treat what she has suffered.
If Maid does get a second season, there is always the possibility it won't actually focus on Alex at all. In October, showrunner Molly Smith Metzler told Decider that she wouldn't necessarily want to revisit Alex's story, and would consider a new protagonist for season two.
"I will say this is such a labour of love, this show," said Smith Metzler. I'm in love with all these characters, and I could write Alex for the rest of my life. You know, she's just in my heart. But I do feel like we tell her story, so I'm not sure what it would look like."
"I do think there's a lot of maids out there, there's a lot of domestic workers who are experiencing stories that are as bad, if not worse than, Stephanie Lands," she said. "I think it would be very exciting and a dream world to get to see a different maid's story in another season. Someone from a totally different geographic with totally different life experience and who is probably a mom."
Maid season 2 trailer: When can I watch it?
First up, we need that all-important season two confirmation from Netflix.
Watch this space for updates.
