Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Rosebuds

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Season 1, Episode 6, “Rosebuds,” is a masterclass in narrative tension and story buildup, bolstered by the consistently magnificent Tatiana Maslany. It’s the best episode thus far. I say this in every review ad nauseam, and I know I sound like a broken record, but Maslany is truly one of the best actors of my (Millennial) generation. 

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, “Rosebuds” 

We’re now past the halfway point in this inaugural season. Paula’s choices continue to come back to haunt her. Dennis breaks into her apartment and tracks her every movement. Mallory hires a private investigator to watch Paula from afar. The undercurrent of tension present throughout “Rosebuds” also contains an element of unwanted observation. “I always feel like somebody’s watchin’ me” is the theme of this outing. 

Paula tries desperately to pull off the pizza party with the soccer kids to prove she deserves custody of Hazel. But she’s also clamoring for a shred of normalcy.  

Walking the Tightrope

Geri and Rudy carry on the investigation into Trevor’s murder while she puts her day-to-day life first, but it’s quite clear that the threat of Dennis finding her is in the back of her mind. It’s a precarious balancing act for Paula, and Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed presents a clever meditation on multitasking for women. We’re forced to keep all these balls in the air while ensuring the spinning plates don’t crash on the floor. Society forces us to put everything else before ourselves. 

You see the double standards in the heated custody battle between Karl and Paula. No, Mallory, not everyone hires a private investigator for these proceedings. Karl isn’t dissected nearly as meticulously as Paula (Portland aside). While Paula has made terrible choices regarding Trevor’s murder case, nothing else outside of that screams “Bad mother.” Karl withholds his meeting with the detectives from Mallory, which will undoubtedly rear its head later on. 

“Rosebuds” brings Raymond Lee back into the fold. I’ve said it once, but it bears repeating: Lee has charm coming out of his ears. His chemistry with Maslany is natural and abundant. You’re rooting for it to work out between them — for something to go Paula’s way for once. 

Target Practice 

The tension in “Rosebuds” steadily builds with narrative momentum, rising to the fever pitch that is Paula’s abduction. Murray Bartlett doesn’t stretch his acting wings quite as much in this outing, but he makes for the perfectly formidable, imposing killer. We fear for Paula as she leaves for the bodega. It’s like a horror movie in that regard. 

While the episode could’ve easily ended with Dennis driving off with Paula in his trunk, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed chooses to conclude it with a literal bang. Paula’s shooting range visits come into play here. She shoots Dennis in the face as he opens his trunk to kill her. It’s surprising. After all, we have four episodes left in the season. 

There’s clearly a higher power pulling Dennis’ strings. Whether or not he’s actually dead, he’s off the board for now, and Paula will undoubtedly be in his employer’s crosshairs. To top it all off, our intrepid detectives have discovered Sky in the motel. They’ll discover Paula’s connection to his murder, too, putting a larger target on her back. 

Things are not looking so hot for our protagonist, and that makes for compelling, thrilling television. 

Stray Observations: 

• “If a lot of gluten kills you, does a little less make you blind?” Such a great delivery by Tatiana Maslany, and a hilarious line overall. 
• The markers of a serial killer must surely be drawing a perfectly-proportioned house on an Etch A Sketch and lining up your juice pouches after quickly slurping them dry. (I’m looking at you, Dennis.) It’s the trifecta if one can solve a Rubik’s Cube. 
• If Rudy has ODD, I have whatever the opposite of that is. I am the epitome of subservience. 
• Dennis was quoting “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick to the two lovestruck men in the elevator. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, indeed. 
• Gonzales suggesting that Baxter name his cat after his ex is cooold. 
• That poor little girl. She’s not getting her antihistamines any time soon. 

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Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed drops new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV. 

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