Mamacita Reached Her Breaking Point On 'Feud'

Just when things couldn’t get any worse for Joan Crawford, her assistant, housekeeper, and basically only true friend, Mamacita, left her in the hospital and effectively walked out of her life. And while it was kind of a long time coming, there had already been so much between the women that you can't help asking, why did Mamacita leave Joan Crawford on Feud? Even she had a breaking point apparently, so when Crawford threw her vase of flowers at her head and it shattered against the hospital room window, Mamacita had had enough.

Honestly, that whole exchange between the two women was nothing short of heartbreaking and definitely a memorable moment for the season overall. Jessica Lange’s portrayal of Crawford was so realistic in mourning the loss of her movie role and then the loss of her only friend, while Mamacita finally walked away instead of trying to clean up her boss' mess yet again. Because, like I said, Mamacita leaving Crawford was probably way overdue.

She’d tried her hardest to be the voice of reason for the overly dramatic actress and while sometimes it worked, there were other times when Mamacita was left feeling the brunt of all of Crawford’s anger or frustration that really had nothing to do with her.

Mamacita even tried to help Crawford further her career by suggestings she go forward with Pauline’s movie proposition, but while Mamacita seemed to love the idea of a female-headed production, Crawford immediately shot it down. So when Crawford threw yet another fit and turned to the only person in her life to take it out on, Mamacita was basically like, "OK. I'm done." She had warned her employer that if she ever threw something at her head again, she would leave her for good, so when it happened, that's exactly what she ended up doing.

But Jackie Hoffman (who plays Mamacita) pretty much expected her character’s development to progress the way it did and she knew what she was in for. In an interview with USA TODAY, Hoffman said that she sent Lange an e-mail before they met, introducing herself as Crawford’s maid. "I said, ‘I’m Jackie, and I’ll be playing your maid. I look forward to having you throw [stuff] at me," Hoffman said.

Hoffman spoke to Entertainment Tonight about somehow turning what could have been a minor role into something much bigger and how she navigated all of those thrown objects. "I’ve always been the queen of small parts," Hoffman said. "There were no small actors, only small parts, but that’s because I’ve taken them all."

Even though the prop vases are made of sugar, Hoffman recalled trying to dodge them on-set for each take and for Episode 7, when Mamacita finally leaves Crawford. She apparently did several different takes for that moment, filled with different heights of emotion.

Hoffman also seems to love how much of an empowered character Mamacita turned out to be on Feud. "It was pretty outlined in episode four where [Mamacita] spends the little off time she has to do research in the library and see what’s going to happen to the female population," she told ET in the same interview. "She was just amazed at how this country affords people and women."

So will this be the last we see of Mamacita throughout the rest of the season? Can Crawford find a way to convince her to return? Fans will have to tune in Sunday night for the Season 1 finale to find out.