Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Recap: I’ll Be Watching You

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed
Rosebuds
Season 1 Episode 6
Editor’s Rating ★★★★
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Everyone is watching Paula in this episode. From the PI surveilling her from across the street, to the serial killer stalking her home, to the gaggle of moms and kids who descend upon her house for her performative pizza party, her life is under a microscope in every way possible. The watchers are even watching the watchers, as we learn when Mallory’s PI spies Dennis snooping in her apartment. It’s scrutiny and threatening situations all the way down. 

The sinister vibes looming over Paula’s life clash nicely with the kids’ pizza party that she throws in order to present a front as the perfect mom. The intro sequence juxtaposes Paula’s frenzied prep for the party with her prep for a potential attack from anyone associated with Trevor’s murder. Amidst buying balloons and cakes and allergy-friendly pizza ingredients, she also sets aside some time to learn to shoot her gun at a local range. She’s not a terrible shot, but she’s not great, either. Paula isn’t quite sure who might be after her yet, but she’ll know by the end of the episode. 

Dennis is truly at his most terrifying this week. In his quest to eliminate Paula, he first hangs out at her apartment, consuming all of Hazel’s squeeze pouches and lining them up neatly on the table as he waits. This is very on-point serial killer behavior. Then, he draws a pretty impeccable house on the Etch-a-Sketch on Paula’s dining table before he realizes that someone is watching the apartment. Obviously, the PI is not the caliber of super spy that Dennis is, and he accidentally gives himself away when his scope reflects light on the wall of Paula’s apartment. Dennis immediately clocks this, but also makes an ill-informed decision to walk over to the window to peek out. The PI snaps a picture of him, but it’s sketchy and shadowy … just like Dennis himself. 

Later, the PI brings these images to Karl and Mallory at a strategy meeting with their team of custody lawyers. Karl has no idea that Mallory has hired a PI — this woman scores yet another Evil Stepmother point — and he’s also continuing to keep mum about getting called into the police station to chat about Paula. When the PI reveals that Paula might have a new man in her life, Karl flips out. Does this man still have feelings for his ex? Why is he protecting Paula from Mallory? Why is the idea that she has a new boyfriend so abhorrent to him? I feel like Karl secretly doesn’t want to move to Boise, either. I mean, who does? (Sorry if you’re from Boise.) 

Dennis is definitely not Paula’s boyfriend, but he does have some feelings about the PI. The next day, he goes up to the roof where the PI was perched, but not before harassing some young lovers in the elevator. You’d think that if you were committing a murder, you’d try to blend in as much as possible, but not Dennis! Dennis ogles the two boys as they hastily stop making out, and then waxes poetic about how “the only thing that makes the horror and misery of the world worthwhile is kissing the person you love.” Then, in a commanding tone, he orders them to kiss. It’s the second time we’ve seen him intimidate someone in an elevator, and both have been seemingly innocuous encounters, yet steeped with the potential for real violence. As Dennis demands that they kiss, the two guys nervously look at one another and almost lock lips. But then Dennis tells them that he’s joking and laughs it off as they scamper out onto their floor. The menace that this man has in a single eyebrow could power a high-rise. 

Once Dennis gets to the roof, he jams a chef’s knife through the base of the PI’s skull. Earlier in the episode, we see Paula search for her “sharp knife” when Steve is helping her chop toppings for the pizza party, and she can’t find it, so chances are that Dennis stole the knife from her apartment, and she might be on the hook for yet another murder. On paper, this woman is basically a serial killer. 

Dennis isn’t done for the day, far from it, but we don’t see him again until the end of the episode. Meanwhile, Baxter and Gonzales uncover Sky’s body and a whole mess of evidence at the motel, and Geri and Rudy find Ashley’s burner phone with Dennis’ phone number in it. It feels pretty apt that the amateur detectives are closer to uncovering the truth than the real detectives, and I think it would be great fun if the two teams met up at some point. 

Geri and Rudy are doing Paula’s dirty work because she’s hosting her pizza party. From the start, there’s a looming sense of disaster over the proceedings. Not only is Paula stressed about how everything might turn out, but we viewers also know that Dennis is out for Paula’s blood, and that he could strike at any minute. Paula’s guests start arriving, and then a new type of chaos enters the chat. Before the gaggle of girls swarms her apartment, there’s a sweet moment when Steve drops his daughter off early, and the two divorcees engage in some flirty banter over pizza prep. Then, the moms and daughters ring the bell, and the party begins in earnest. 

The party itself seems to go really well, with the girls creating insane pizza combinations that include M&M’s and other bonkers foodstuffs. The moms are getting pleasantly buzzed, and the kids are running around and being kids. One mom even stops to tell Paula that she’s doing a great job. This feels like a big win, especially because we know that she needs those character letters for court. It would all be super sweet and wholesome if Dennis wasn’t lurking. 

Things start to go south when Karl stops by to drop off Schmooey, Hazel’s favorite stuffed bunny. Paula greets Karl at the elevator and he unloads on her about her mystery boyfriend. She isn’t sure how to respond, stammering that she’s not seeing anyone, but Karl doesn’t believe her. He says, “Whatever you’re doing, please do better.” Ouch. 

Paula’s brain is at capacity, reeling from Karl’s accusation and what it could mean for her custody situation, and also from the idea that a mysterious man was in her home without her knowledge. She tries to take a beat to process this information, screaming into Schmooey, but she’s interrupted mid-scream by Hazel, who bops into the hallway, telling her that her heart pizza is ready for the oven. Paula turns on a dime, expertly masks her horror, stress, and despair, and puts on a smile for her little girl. This is a startlingly accurate depiction of motherhood. Emotional catastrophe gets put on hold so we can present a picture of normalcy and safety for our kids. It’s a skill. 

As the party begins to wind down, Paula sets Hazel up for a sleepover at a friend’s house (smart), and then she starts to clean up after her guests. However, one of the girls is having an allergic reaction to pineapple (undisclosed, Paula would never), and the mom asks Paula to run down to the bodega to grab some Benadryl. Paula can’t very well tell this woman that she has a dangerous killer stalking her, so instead of saying no, she dutifully heads down to the store. She grabs a handful of items and starts to walk back. A trunk pops open, breaking her concentration for a moment, and Dennis leaps out of the shadows, snatching Paula and shoving her in his trunk. Paula does everything right — she screams for help and even is able to stab Dennis’ beautiful face with the broken Benadryl bottle — but he’s strong and big and New York City streets are often indifferent. 

Dennis drives into city traffic, and it feels like the episode is going to end there in a maddening cliffhanger. But it doesn’t. After the screen goes to black for a beat, we see the murderous man navigate into a vacant lot, park, and open the trunk. Paula springs into action. All that gun range practice pays off as she shoots him directly in the face! Get it, girl! Don’t mess with the soccer mom. 

Red Pencil Marks

• If this truly is the end of Dennis, I want to reiterate how amazingly terrifying Murray Bartlett was in this role. The scene with him driving into the lot, unbothered by the blood and medication dripping down his face, was truly the stuff of monsters, and I will miss this menace terribly as the season draws to a close. 

• Speaking of monsters, when Gonzales and Baxter find Sky’s body, it looks like something lifted out of Stranger Things. This show is incredibly gruesome when it wants to be.