The Cleaning Lady: Season 2/ Episode 2 “Lolo and Lola” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Marco’s death may not be the only shocking one of the season, as Thony deals with her in-laws, which include a father-in-law ready to blame her for everything.

Aired (FOX)	September 26, 2022
Director(s)	Eric Dean Seaton
Writer(s)	Miranda Kwok
Introduced This Episode
Maya	Chelsea Frei
Judger Tuckerson	Carl Savering
Detective Lana Flores	Diane Villegas
Jacinto	Alberto Isaac
Alma	Princess Punzalan
Robert Kamdar	Naveen Andrews

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Recap

Bad Timing –  Detective Lana Flores, Thony, Jacinto, Fiona, Chris, Jaz, Alma, Luca

Almost as soon as they touch down, Jacinto, Fiona’s father, Thony’s father-in-law, is ready to dote on the kids he has never seen, love on Luca, and blame Thony for everything. This is especially true when Detective Lana Flores comes by the house for a short period to ask questions, and Jacinto learns about the APB put on Marco and Thony’s efforts to keep Luca from going to Manila.

This causes the kind of issues that leads Fiona to step in to try to take her father’s rose-colored glasses off when it comes to Marco. However, even when his gambling is brought up, Jacinto blames Thony. Which eventually makes Chris mad enough to cause a scene. All the while, Jaz doesn’t know what’s going on, and Alma tries to calm her husband down to no avail.

Only Some Get The Opportunity To Reconcile – Maya, Garrett, Alma, Fiona, Nadia, Robert

With needing $1.6 million and no easy way to get it, Nadia turns to Robert, with whom she seemingly has a past. One that makes it appear he sees her as the one who got away. But, that might be in Nadia’s favor since she is able to make a deal with Robert in which he’ll get some of the take from the gun business for a loan.

Now, whether or not he plans to be a permanent partner or until he gets his money back, that’s hard to say. All we know for sure is Nadia isn’t moving like she is desperate, so Robert doesn’t necessarily hold all the cards here.

However, regarding Garrett, despite his position, he isn’t able to reconcile with Maya as Nadia did with Robert. Yes, Maya lets him into her home, but she isn’t trying to hug, kiss him, and make up. She feels abandoned, pushed towards Cortez then left hanging, and Garrett being mad those two are still close is eye roll-inducing on so many levels.

But to end things on a happy note, Alma and Fiona have a much-needed conversation. One about Fiona seeming strong, hence why Marco was doted on so heavily, and apologies being exchanged between the two. Which, of course, doesn’t excuse Jacinto for his role, but at least Alma is willing to be the bigger person and admit she was an imperfect parent.

We All Want A Second Chance – Arman, Hayak, Nadia, Thony, Jacinto, Judge Tuckerson, Robert

Unfortunately for Thony, she finds herself having to get involved in getting the money from Robert to Judge Tuckerson, on the day of Marco’s funeral. As you can imagine, Jacinto isn’t happy, and considering he wants to take Luca back to Manila and blames Thony for his son’s death, this just adds fuel to his fire. But what can Thony do? Nadia says jump; Thony finds herself asking how high?

However, before Arman gets out, he faces off against Hayak, and the two, in the showers, fight, and Arman comes out the victor. So alongside Thony getting the job done, after an awkward encounter with Robert, Arman is free of Hayak.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Considering how many Hayak had on payroll, no one found a way to take out Arman or at least snitch to keep him inside?
2. How is Isabel going to react to her father dying, never mind eventually learning her ex, Arman, is the one who killed him?
3. What is Robert into to not only have millions of dollars to freely loan but be aware of Hayak’s business?
4. How did Arman’s towel stay on during his fight with Hayak? What kind of boy scout knot did he make?

What Could Happen Next

1. Jacinto trying to have Luca turn on his mother
2. Utter chaos in Hayak’s organization that Arman isn’t able to control
3. Detective Flores being the one who stops Thony from being blackmailed

Review

Highlights

Fiona and Alma Sharing A Moment

I got teary-eyed. Fiona has long struggled to try to be a better parent to her kids than what she received, and to have her own mother not only admit her imperfections but praise Fiona? You can see that meant the world. For while Alma isn’t like Jacinto, and she doesn’t adhere to the traditional depiction of an Asian mom, it could be because she has chilled out over time. And now she can finally be what Fiona has needed and wanted. Even if Fiona doesn’t need her as she did before.

Chris’ Struggles With What He Has Done

While Fiona and Thony know it was an accident, you can see Chris is wrestling with what he did. Luca is his best buddy, like a little brother to him, and yet he killed his dad. On top of that, since Jaz doesn’t know nor Luca, he is expected to keep playing this paternal/ big brother role and can’t process what he did or how he ultimately feels about it. Rather, he has to push his feelings down, and you know what happens when people try to suppress their emotions – they blow up.

The question remains, though, how will killing Marco change, Chris. Right now, he is just dealing with the fact it happened, but after he has processed it, what then?

A Peer Into Nadia’s Past

Robert only hints at what possibly happened between him and Nadia, but by seeing her speak French and establish a relationship with Robert, we continue to get peeks behind the curtain. Which with Arman now out of prison, hopefully, it doesn’t end just as Nadia is starting to establish herself beyond being Arman’s wife.

The Question of What’s Next With Hayak Dead?

With Hayak dead, it’s hard to say what’s next for his organization. At one time, Arman and Nadia were supposed to try to get out, and what better chance than now? Yet, with Robert involved, it can be assumed escaping Vegas and heading off to Central or South America may not be an option. Never mind, with Hayak having two children, there is always the possibility of them asking questions.

So can you imagine Hayak’s son wanting to avenge his father or daughter flipping out because of what he did? After all, even if it was in prison, Hayak’s murder has to be investigated since the drugs Arman injected him with would be found in his system. And even with the murder investigation aside, just consider the power vacuum from Hayak’s death and the chaos that could cause.

Yes, Arman may have sway and a recognizable face, but think of how many Hayak has squashed to keep his power who now can see a chance to get what should have long been theirs. Also, lest we forget, Hayak wasn’t just based in America. His organization is international. So I’d expect Cortez, among others, to clash with Arman in coming episodes, as the question of who will run things becomes a big storyline for Arman, and maybe also Nadia.

On The Fence

Garrett and Maya

This whole Garrett and Maya thing has very little chance of getting better. Garrett remains the snake he is, and Maya doesn’t bring anything to the table, so I guess we’re really just going to have to suffer through his scenes that don’t involve Thony, Arman, or Nadia.

Jacinto

Alma admitting her faults and Marco not being the kind of man who didn’t need extra attention and care could be seen as an anomaly. He is her only son, and yet, even without Fiona snitching on his gambling problems, it seems she saw her son and admitted to herself who he is.

Jacinto, on the other hand, you can see nothing but ego. He refuses to accept his son, his boy, was a trash human being and husband because of how he reared him. Instead, he’d rather blame Thony, surely blame Fiona if he could, and surprisingly didn’t throw Alma under the bus.

But, what makes Jacinto likable is you can see all the deflection is just an active defense. Processing his son’s death, potentially being his fault, is too much to bear. The idea that he will lose not only his son but his grandson, and everyone has pretty much sought to abandon him, is hard to process. After all, Fiona left and didn’t look back. Thony left and did the same. Jacinto, clearly a proud man, doesn’t want to admit this. He doesn’t want to reflect and realize he is a common denominator in why his family is falling apart and doesn’t raise him up or want to take time with him.

Heck, maybe in his lowest moments, he might question if the inability to get a divorce in the Philippines is the only thing keeping Alma from leaving?

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