Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Paula Makes Some Bold Decisions

Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

For the first time yet, I’m on Team Paula.

I bet you thought you’d never read that! But Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Season 1 Episode 8 was one of those rare episodes that put motivations at the forefront, not just for Paula, but for every single character.

It was genuinely the best part of the season to do that, because it perfectly set up the final two episodes, which are sure to be bursting with twists and turns.

Watching Paula in jail was rough because, while I’ve hurled criticism her way for her chaotic actions, she really didn’t deserve to be locked up.

As viewers, we know there’s a far bigger story going on here, but for most of everyone in Paula’s orbit, all signs point to her being up to no good.

I can’t even begin to imagine what was going through her head after her arrest on Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Season 1 Episode 7.

It’s almost like she’s been waiting for the other shoe to drop and has gotten herself more and more immersed in this world with no way out.

Thanks to whoever I assume is Jennifer, posing as Paula’s lawyer, we know that Brian and whoever else is involved in this organization know everything Paula had in her arsenal about them.

Learning that you’d just spilled your guts to someone who is out to get you pushed Paula into a more desperate state than ever.

Paula Got Saved on Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed

The only glimmer of hope she really had was that Karl bailed her out because, without him, she’d still be locked up.

That said, perhaps a jail cell would be safer than whatever this merry band of villains has got planned for her.

Initially, I was skeptical of Paula’s chances of getting results by going back on the case so soon, but without her job, her daughter, and anyone to talk to, she had to do something.

If she sat at home and watched the four walls, she would go stir crazy trying to make sense of everything that had happened to her.

Seeing her spring into action when she noticed the Amazon truck indicated that she’s now allowing the law to take her fate into their hands.

While ordering a parcel to that sketchy lady’s house to get Dennis’ true address made practical sense, she’s using this “John Smith” account that has ordered dozens of items, likely to cover up some serious crimes.

What if, God forbid, that all gets tracked back to her cell phone? It could be the smoking gun that sends her down for a long time.

I respect her hustle to get answers, but she does need to think about the bigger picture here. If Jennifer and Brian can’t get close to her, they can make her take the fall for so many things.

Paula breaking into Dennis’s house was wild, but what else was she supposed to do? She needs to find tangible evidence that this man is a murderer and that she’s being framed.

I definitely expected her to cross paths with Ashley again, but I didn’t expect it to be this soon. Seriously, I figured that the mysterious figure also hanging around Dennis’s house would be someone else entirely.

From a storytelling standpoint, Ashley’s return worked because she’s one of the only people who can unmask this group that’s been causing problems for everyone on Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Season 1.

The flaw in Paula’s logic when she hauled Ashley to the police station was that for Ashley to tell all of this information to the police, she would need to come clean about everything.

For Ashley, that would have meant being arrested and very likely sent to prison. Ashley, Sky, and Trevor’s scamming operation would come back to haunt her in a big way.

Plus, although Ashley wanted to kill Trevor, she knew that her fate could also be called into question if the people Dennis answers to came after her.

Ashley is the wild card of the narrative for sure at this point because, if anything happens to her, the truth goes away with her.

I don’t know that Paula will continue pursuing her, because she seems to slip through the cracks every time. Still, at least Paula is now ready to fight back by getting all the information she can from the secret recordings of the cam-scamming operation.

Did Paula Seriously Expect to Get Ashley Interviewed?

Everything that could go wrong in the police station went wrong, but Paula going off on Gonzalez wasn’t on my bingo card.

It was a passionate speech about how the detective hasn’t done her job and has allowed the real killers to avoid facing the law.

It definitely struck a chord with Gonzalez because, let’s face it, the detective has long questioned whether Paula is capable of any of these crimes. But for her to help Paula, Paula actually has to tell the truth.

Hopefully, she and Gonzalez can find a middle ground and put this case to rest forever.

As for Geri, I’m so disappointed in her. Throughout Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Season 1, there have been countless hints that she’s an opportunist who will throw anyone under the bus.

And she royally did that with the story about her co-worker. However, Geri could have stopped researching the moment Paula was arrested if she truly believed Paula was the killer.

But Geri meeting the lady from college admissions that Dennis previously threatened indicates she’s getting close to unraveling the truth, assuming nothing happens to her first.

I don’t think she had anything to gain by lying to Rudy because it only forced him to break into her workstation to uncover the truth.

If Geri had plans to turn on Paula, I think his outburst about her story may actually sway Geri to do the right thing.

The issue now is that Rudy has stolen Dennis’s burner phone, connected it to the network, and is being tracked by Jennifer. That’s not a good thing, either. He’s in danger, and I don’t want any harm to come to him or Geri.

As for Mallory’s reaction to Karl bailing Paula out, is anyone actually surprised? Mallory started the series trying to be nice to Paula but has grown tired of her antics with each passing episode.

But there has been a fundamental change in Mallory and Karl’s relationship, in just how far Mallory has gone in using everything and anything against Paula.

Mallory is so laser-focused on her desire to move to Boise that she doesn’t give a crap about anyone who gets in her way.

Karl is evidently getting queasy about just how far Mallory is going. I’ve been theorizing for weeks that he’ll tire of Mallory’s vendetta, and I think we’ve reached that point.

What are your thoughts on Paula getting out of jail and then breaking the law again? Do you think the ends justify the means?

And what’s your take on Karl bailing her out? Do you really think he’s about to put his relationship with Mallory on ice? Are you excited for the final two episodes of this Apple TV thriller?

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
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