The Cleaning Lady: Season 1/ Episode 9 “Coming Home Again” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

With Arman unable to help Thony, she gets desperate, and like when anyone gets desperate, it opens her up to making grave mistakes.

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Aired	3/7/2022
Network	FOX
Directed By	Steve DePaul
Written By	Melissa Carter
Introduced This Episode
Dave DePaul	Derek Webster
Mr. Jennings	Dan Davidson

Recap

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Face The Devil – Arman, Hayak, Nadia, Thony

While Thony freaks out in Mexico, due to Arman being unavailable for a week, it seems Arman’s near-death experience has brought him and Nadia closer. For the week he has been in and out of consciousness, she has been taking care of him. Also, despite all the recent issues in their marriage, including him being with Thony, this has given Arman some grace.

However, with him still worrying about Thony when he awakens, talking to her, and learning Luca’s surgery went okay, Nadia assumes he is done now. But with her still in Mexico, he feels his job is incomplete, so he tries to use his contacts to get her out.

But, stateside, Arman can’t strictly worry about Thony as there remains the need to consider Hayak’s next move. Surely he knows Arman isn’t dead, but rather than hide from him, Arman decides to face him, present the deal to Noah, and maintain some sense of value. Yet, to make it clear he isn’t one to be messed with, Hayak leaves Carlos’ corpse in Arman’s kitchen to be discovered.

As Desperation Settles In – Thony, Fiona, Marco, Dara, Luca, Chris, Mr. Jennings

Thony is at her wit’s end. While Arman’s contact gives Thony a fake passport, the person who was supposed to help her at the border was relieved of duty just when Thony got to the front of the line, and the border officer who took over spotted her fake passport immediately. So while Dara was able to get across the border with Luca, since she presented herself as his mom and had an American passport, Thony was stuck.

This news, as you could imagine, isn’t taken well. Fiona freaks out, and Marco gets rather upset with Thony and Fiona for keeping him out of the loop. But with Thony still upset with Marco for gambling with Luca’s money, she doesn’t have the time nor patience for him. As for Fiona? She has her own problems, which are far beyond Marco’s ego.

Chris brings up that Mr. Jennings, his DACA lawyer, has been scamming them. Fiona has been paying hundreds of dollars, including a so-called “Expedition” fee, when there is none. Yes, there is a fee to file but everything beyond that? It was all a lie. In fact, there is a need to question if he has even begun the paperwork and as a team, Chris and Fiona call him out in his office.

And it is perhaps Chris fully reconciling with his mom, after being lied to about his dad and citizenship, that causes him to face off against Marco, who tries to berate Fiona and guilt her for not being a dutiful sister to him.

You’re Not The Only One Who Has Had It Hard – Garrett, Thony, Dave, Katie

With no other choice, Thony contacts Garrett who tries to berate Thony, but with her in no mood for him trying to damn her for who she works with and involves herself with, she cuts him off. But, despite the disrespect and knowing she is feeding him information, Garrett tries to work the system through Katie to get Thony back in the United States. Then, when that isn’t happening quick enough, he allows Thony to talk him into bringing her back by having her in his trunk, and damn if the one time he crosses the border, that is when they check his car.

This leaves him potentially losing his job. Then Thony, per Katie and Dave DePaul, head of the Homeland Security unit for the California and Mexico border, charged with a litany of things like obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting, conspiracy, and illegal re-entry.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Is it possible Hayak didn’t order the hit on Arman’s life and only focused on killing Carlos to send a message?

What Could Happen Next

1. Arman puts into motion a plan which could imprison Hayak and save Thony and maybe get himself the freedom he has promised to Nadia for so long.

Review

Highlights

Chris Sticking Up For His Mom

For any family, it is one thing for you to bully or pick on your sibling, yell at your mom, or berate your dad’s flaws. It is a whole other thing for someone else to do it, and Chris exhibits how that dynamic works. Could he still be mad about his mom lying to him his whole life? Absolutely. However, let’s not forget Marco is a stranger. He might be Chris’ uncle, but with Chris never going to Manila and Marco only in the US to chase down his son and Thony, they are strangers who share a person.

Also, you have to factor in the person they share. They have two very different takes on her. Chris, at this point, gives his mother grace. She may not know as much as he wishes, but she is trying. Fiona is there and making the kind of effort Marco surely hasn’t. He didn’t step up before Luca was born and tried to be a paternal figure in Chris’ life. Heck, even in terms of Fiona’s, considering how quick he is to throw up her faults, while seemingly not knowing the whole story? That tells you so much about the kind of man he is – beyond Thony’s notable issues with him as a partner.

How Blind Garrett Is To His Privilege

Since the beginning, Garrett seemed to not get that Thony was between a rock and a hard place, and him exploiting her made him the villain of her story. Arman, who has been involved with multiple murders and the selling of weapons, is the only person since Thony arrived in the US who showed a real effort to save her son’s life. Everyone else, they wanted to know if he was American, presented these ridiculous prices, and never saw a desperate mother in a foreign country struggling to find a way.

But you know what Garrett sees himself as? A hero. Someone opposite his father, a murderer, and his privilege allows him to live in that black and white world. One where no deed the bad guy does means complexity, and no matter the destruction the hero causes, they shouldn’t be cast as the villain. The means justify the ends, and that’s all that matters.

Hayak’s Face When He Saw Arman Alive

I don’t know if Hayak did try to kill Arman. It seems likely, but I don’t see Hayak as the type of man who’d cheap out when someone tried to steal what is his bread and butter from underneath him. Add in whatever animosity he may have from Arman’s relationship with his daughter, and Hayak just asking for Arman’s car to explode seems a bit small time.

Yet, there is no denying that Hayak was shocked to see Arman alive and perhaps having the audacity to see him to show he is walking and fairly uninjured. Which pushes you to wonder if there will be a second attempt on Arman’s life and whether Hayak may handle the situation personally?

On The Fence

Marco

As Thony’s husband, Marco has worn out his welcome, and while I’m still not sold on Arman and Thony being a thing, I am perfectly fine with Thony getting a divorce. But, what is Marco’s saving grace right now is the shift towards his and Fiona’s relationship. Fiona is a bit of a mystery to us since her life is very much about her kids, being Thony’s only friend, and thus who she is as an individual is rarely put to the forefront.

However, with Marco mentioning their parents being ashamed of her, you’re reminded that Fiona is a person outside of what she is to her kids or Thony. She is someone who made mistakes, left her home country, and traveled across an ocean to start anew – without you knowing the reason why. Yes, there are limits to what can be offered to people without the minds like Thony. But why Vegas? What happened with Chris’ father, Jazz’s father? What led to a diverge in paths between Marco and Fiona?

Marco brings these questions to the forefront, and for that, we appreciate him.

Nadia Still Sticking Around

What I need, and Nadia too, is development. What is Nadia’s backstory has been a question I’ve asked since the beginning, and we’re not getting any closer to an answer. Could Carlos have been her brother, cousin, a close friend? Maybe he was the Arman to her Isabelle? We don’t know.

How did Nadia meet Arman? Did he pursue her or she him? How long have they’ve known each other, and what was her reaction to learning the truth about Hayak’s business? I ask these questions because Nadia is an intriguing character who has that special something. But, unfortunately, she isn’t given anything to really compete with Thony and make you feel torn over who Arman should be with. Especially since her relationship with Arman is only loving when she sees its benefits or fears losing them.

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