Tatiana Maslany says Paula's desire is on trial in finale
The Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed star discussed Paula and Carl’s custody showdown in a Mashable Say More interview.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Paula Sanders walks into the Season 1 finale of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed with a custody fight already stacked on top of a wild pileup of trouble.
As Mashable reports, Tatiana Maslany’s character has spent the Apple TV show’s first season being scammed, getting arrested, shooting a man and being pulled into a criminal conspiracy. Through it all, Paula has also been battling her ex, Carl, played by Jake Johnson, over custody of their daughter, Hazel, played by Nola Wallace.
The finale takes that fight to court. According to Mashable, Paula keeps custody of Hazel in the episode, though the hearing drags her private life into public view through her financial dealings with cam boy Trevor, played by Brandon Flynn.
Maslany discussed the scene with Mashable Entertainment Reporter Belen Edwards during a Say More interview, describing the courtroom moment as one that lays bare a double standard around Paula’s choices.
“Reading [the scene], I'm like, oh, Paula's in a situation where Carl would never be questioned for the affair he had, because his affair has landed him with a woman who has a lot of money and a good life,” Maslany told Edwards.
Maslany said Carl’s affair has brought him a steadier situation, while Paula’s own sexual life has “derailed” her and becomes part of what the courtroom examines.
“The impulse to seek out connection or sexual gratification — that's almost more on trial than anything else,” Maslany said of the custody hearing. “It's a wonderful thing [for Paula] to be able to articulate, in sort of clumsy language, a retort to that, and that she doesn't just acquiesce [and say], 'Yes, I shouldn't have done that, and I'm bad, and I'll never do it again.'”
That response, as Maslany framed it, is part of what makes the scene more than a custody ruling. Paula is forced to answer for conduct that Carl, in Maslany’s view of the scene, is not scrutinized for in the same way.
Mashable’s interview also covers Maslany’s broader reaction to Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed and how she approached playing Paula.
All episodes of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed are now streaming on Apple TV, according to Mashable.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.