i can't help but think does the show or writers have issues with Maya? it seems like whenever any of the main characters go through something, they always have someone supporting them and or all that ends well but when Maya goes through something, no one is there for her aside from Carina. Like sometimes she has little to no support and it takes multiple episodes for her to have a decent ending
It felt like it based on their writing but I don't know why? My only guess is that they just really felt forced/trapped to continue the narrative that Andy was the 'hero'/main of the show despite it being more of an ensemble cast and working best that way from the start and so they used Maya as a way to prop Andy up (which is a main reason why I never liked Andy and never found her character interesting whatsoever). But the double standards and sexism also drove me crazy and it feels like a problem throughout Shondaland for some reason despite them trying to insist they are all about powerful women and portraying that.
The best example is the way they had the team rally around Jack when he was going through his mental health spiral compared to how they treated Maya. Like yes they are different characters who handle things differently and Maya is much more close to the vest while Jack wears his emotions on his sleeve but still. The fact that they had Theo of all people calling it out as if no one else would notice or check in on her?? He knew her the least...it felt purposeful and not in a good way. There's only so many times you can excuse it as 'Maya just being Maya' and letting her deal with stuff in her own way. Even the unfinished cake that Andy made for her when she returned to work felt unnecessary and yet explained so much about how they felt about it.
