The Cleaning Lady - Sins of the Father - Review

WARNING: Spoilers. 

WE ARE BACK! Season 2 of The Cleaning Lady premiered Monday on Fox and once again, not a single second was wasted. Picking up right where they were left off, we dive straight back into tension, action and emotions — and the writers' choice to reunite mother and son at the end of this first episode came with a high price to pay for our characters but opens up so many possibilities.

"Sins of the Father" opens up with Arman and Hayak in jail, doing laundry and mopping the floor. Arman knows it’s only a matter of time until his boss finds out about the deal he made with the feds, especially with guards on his payroll, and in those first minutes, Hayak already seems to be suspicious. While her husband slowly feels the noose tightening, Nadia shares her concerns and mistrust about Thony taking care of the money as she has been ignoring her calls. And for good reasons. The future looked so much brighter for our main character until she came home to Luca’s empty room in the season finale. She now has her hands full again trying to get her son back. The De La Rosa’s teamed up to try and locate Marco and Luca but Thony sees no other choice but to involve Garrett when a credit card alert informs her that her husband purchased airline tickets to the Philippines.

At the airport, Luca is asking for his mom, and the scene only hits harder when you remember Thony's promise that they'll never be separated ever again. Marco wasn’t lying when he said she would join them — he knew Thony would never bare to be away from her son, and if it had come to that, she would have followed him to the Philippines, or anywhere really. 

His entire reasoning was cruel, and his smile when he saw his wife was just sickening. After the initial joy, Marco is quickly brought back to reality when he spots Garrett and the police following her. He runs off once again with their son, leaving Thony with only Luca's stuffed turtle that he lost in the rush. Throughout the episode, Fiona can't help but play the devil’s advocate, and it’s completely understandable — despite the pain he inflicted and still inflicts to her family, he is her brother. 

If there was any doubt until now that their marriage was over, Thony made it clear to everyone, including her husband, that she was done. She knows her worth, what she wants, and definitely knows what she doesn’t want. Going back to Manilla would mean being stuck in a life she doesn’t want, with a man she wouldn’t be able to get away from since divorce is illegal there. Things are far from being perfect in the States either, but she has a healthy and loving family environment, opportunities with the cleaning business she wants to open with Fiona and a purpose with the clinic that will allow her to be a doctor again and help others — but those things can only happen once Arman is safely out of jail.

We already learned at the end of season 1 that Arman had a very good chance of getting out of prison quickly, but he now needs Thony to withdraw 2$ million from the crypto wallet she’s handling for him. Nadia is doing everything she can on her end while dodging Garrett’s threats, but without money to bribe the judge, there’s not much she can do. Arman was clearly anxious and frustrated when he called Thony but softened up when he stopped focusing on his own problems and used his heart to read between the lines and understand that something was wrong. For the first time, Arman felt helpless and had no solution to offer her but still expressed his need and will to help if he could — words that Thony appreciated but almost felt unnecessary because she already knows how deeply he cares. She reassured him by telling him about the APB Garrett issued that keeps Marco from leaving the country with her son — something that seemed to hurt Arman as she found someone else to help her out.

Speaking of Garrett, we are slowly being introduced to the Cortez case and to his former informant, Maya, who's now lost in the world of a drug dealer after he was pulled back from the case for technicalities. Russo had to remind him that sleeping with a CI isn't a technicality, and if it weren't for her, he would be selling insurance. Did he forget that this is the main reason why he has to share his kids with his ex-wife's new boyfriend? I can't wait to learn more about all of that, but for now, the focus is still on the Barsamian organization, or what's left of it, and our FBI Agent is running out of time and evidence to keep Arman locked up. He knows the money from the gun deal is still somewhere out there and will be used to free him as the judge in charge of the case is corrupted. He pays Arman a visit that was cut short, but the few words that were exchanged gave Hayak’s little spy the evidence needed to confirm his suspicions...

With the guards being on Hayak's side, Arman gets thrown into general population, where he quickly catches the eye of other detainees and gets attacked while cleaning up the kitchen, leaving him badly wounded. Hayak is obviously trying to get rid of him without getting his hands dirty, and in the meantime tries to cut a deal with the FBI by giving them access to the crypto wallet he knows they want thanks to the listening device that recorded Arman and Garrett's conversation earlier.

After finally hearing from Marco who agrees to meet with her once Luca falls asleep, Thony can focus on helping Arman with Fiona by her side. Despite Fi's concerns about Marco, Garrett, Arman, the mob, and Thony's involvement with all of it, the relationship between the two is still stronger than ever. They both work together to withdraw the 2$ million that are needed, but are stopped when the FBI freezes the account. 

Back home, and while trying to figure out their next move without the amount of money necessary to get Arman out, Thony gets a call from Marco to set up the meeting — insisting that she comes alone this time. As his sister, Fiona is convinced she'll be able to get through to him in case things escalate and decides to join Thony regardless of his instructions. Chris was terrified of never seeing his cousin again and decides to come with them to be there for Luca. At the motel, after fighting with his wife mostly over Arman and her decision to stay in the U.S., Marco once again puts his hands on Chris who finally has enough and pushes him violently, forgetting about the case of stairs that was behind him...

Fiona and her son were clearly in shock, and Chris has now to live with the guilt of killing the father of the cousin he loves so much. Will he be able to look Luca in the eyes after that, even though he didn’t mean to and it was an accident? Thony took control in a heartbeat, completely pushing her emotions aside. We will probably be in for a ride once she finally lets it all out but for now, there was only one thing on her mind — protecting her family. She was impressive and quick-witted — to make it look like he was mugged and robbed, she took the money and credit cards Marco had in his wallet...and even his wedding ring. She then asked the motel owner that was watching her to call 911 — both as a way to justify her presence and to make sure Garrett gets to Luca, who was still sleeping, while she waits close enough to keep an eye on her son but from far enough to not be seen.

After identifying her husband, she takes the little boy home, and we once again witness how strong their family bond is as they promise to protect each other and keep the secret of what really happened. But trouble isn't far away...the camera footage showing Marco's fall is in the hands of the motel owner, who will surely use it to blackmail the family...

MISCELLANEOUS

→ Nice little touch of irony to see Arman cleaning at the beginning of the episode. I have to admit they had me fooled thinking it was Thony and he’s pretty good at it too…maybe give her a hand next time Arman? 

→ Katherine Russo resisting the urge to roll her eyes when Garrett said he dismantled the Barsamian syndicate by the book.

→ So...Isabel owns the club, and except for the money Thony and Fi got before the account got frozen, they have nothing left and are back at square one now...

→ Why didn't Hayak tell Garrett that Thony was in charge of the money?

→ Chris once again standing up against Marco to defend his family? Yes please. I can't wait to see what's in store for his character as the focus slowly shifts on him and Fiona.

→ I have to admit I'm sad that Jaz is being left out of the secret, I'm sure they're trying to protect her but from what we know about her, she's smart and supportive, and it's only a matter of time until she figures it out on her own.

→ How long until Thony’s composure cracks? 

Underrated guilty pleasure? Watching Garrett and Arman get on each others nerves.

Highlight of the episode? Definitely Fiona bringing her entire wardrobe and wig collection in the van to withdraw the money! I can not wait for her to get deeper into Arman's world!

Alright, that's all for now! I missed this show so much and this episode was the perfect way to kick off the season! We'll be back next week with episode 2: Lolo and Lola. We'll get to meet Marco and Fiona's parents but also new series regular Naveen Andrews' character Robert Kamdar and Chelsea Frei as Maya - Garrett's former CI!

What did you think of the season premiere? 

Let me know in the comments!