On Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Season 1 Episode 7, “Flighting,” Paula deals with the aftermath of a decision, while Rudy and Geri start to feel the emotional toll of helping Paula.
“Flighting” picks up immediately after the explosive conclusion of last week’s episode and largely deals with Paula trying to mentally maneuver it all. She’s being pushed further and further to the edge with each moment and it feels like this is the closest she’s ever come to completely crumbling.
In the opening moments, Tatiana Maslany is a rumbling, smoking volcano, pulling us all the way in as we ponder if and when she’s going to lose it in front of the remaining party goers. Week after week, Maslany demonstrates emotional athleticism on Paula’s journey and this week is no different.
Throughout the episode, Paula jumps between two fascinating states of mind. First, Paula is visibly shaken by potentially killing a man again. Maslany brings her to an almost manic place in a dance class that starts to frighten her peers.
Everything has spiraled so far out of her control, she has to perform being okay. However, she overcompensates with this performance where it becomes scary and disingenuous. In trying to pretend she’s fine, she’s actually making people more concerned.
Only a performer as adept as Maslany could take these moments and make them so uncomfortably funny and devastating all in one go. In her desperation to keep everything together, Paula’s ripping herself apart and doing it in a very public blaze of glory.
The other interesting shift to Paula is how fearless she becomes as she moves on. Perhaps it’s because she confronted the man hunting her down and won or maybe because the body is gone and likely not her problem anymore. Regardless, she’s operating like she has nothing left to lose.
When she negotiates a promotion with her boss, Paula is so brazen with how she navigates the conversation and throws all decorum out the window. It’s both jarring and impressive as she takes up space in a way we really haven’t seen her do before.
Few actors could pull off what Maslany does in this episode, going from utterly rattled and on the verge of breaking straight into an unapologetic confidence that can only come from being completely over it all. It could be easy for a performer to get lost in a series as tonally twisty as Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, but Maslany makes it look easy.
“Flightling” also feels like the first time Rudy and Geri feel like actual characters and not just quippy companions. It finally feels like there are some stakes in this for the duo.
Rudy in particular starts to feel the weight of his involvement in this scenario and wants to retreat back into his comfortable life. Him questioning his loyalty to Paula because of their friendship poses an interesting moment for their relationship. They don’t know each other well outside of work; does he actually owe Paula this, especially when his own safety is at risk?
It puts Paula’s lack of support system clearly into focus. She does not have anyone else in her corner both in her personal life and with this current ordeal. Karl and Mallory are actively trying to dig dirt up on her, she’s only befriended the other moms to get character testimonies. Geri and Rudy are the closest things she has to friends.
The push and pull between Rudy and Geri becomes even more interesting with Geri’s ulterior motives coming into focus. It adds an interesting layer to her character, her stakes, and her own relationship with Paula. She repeatedly posits to Rudy that they have to help Paula because they’re friends, but she stands to profit off of Paula’s predicament.
Rudy and Geri go from nosey coworkers to well-rounded individuals who are flawed and deeply human. They are selfish and have their own motives, but there is also a piece of them that likely cares for Paula. The question is, will they completely abandon Paula now that the law’s caught up to her or will they surprise us and show up for her?
With Paula now going to jail, her impending custody hearing is thrown into a precarious state. But is that all she has to worry about? Is Dennis a done deal or will his higher ups pose a threat to Paula moving forward?
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed streams Wednesdays on AppleTV.
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Adam Patla
Adam grew up less than 3 minutes away from a movie theater so he was always destined to love all things entertainment. He studied Broadcast & Cinematic Arts at Central Michigan University before working as a talent agent in the Chicago area until 2020. During lockdown he began discussing film and television on TikTok where he cultivated a platform of over 50,000 followers. He is currently a member of Chicago Indie Critics.