The Cleaning Lady Review: Kabayan (Season 1 Episode 4)

Less crime and more De La Rosa family locks in what the show is excellent at on The Cleaning Lady Season 1 Episode 4, “Kabayan.” 

At the core of “Kabayan” is Luca, unable to begin the trial that will save his life. Even though he gets very little screen time, he’s the reason this is one of The Cleaning Lady‘s best episodes yet. 

Don’t Be Suspicious, Don’t Be Suspicious

Thony, a person who was vehemently anti-crime during The Cleaning Lady Season 1 Episode 3, “Legacy,” has now taken information from a doctor’s computer after the doctor states he’s not legally allowed to share the information. Honestly? Go Thony. 

She almost instantly implicates herself by visiting this man at his place of work, begging him to reconsider donating. He says no, Thony is heartbroken, and such is life.

Until Thony tells Arman and he kidnaps the man, guest star Lou Diamond Phillips. Arman is always keeping it classy, always keeping things under wraps. 

This is your episodic reminder that Arman is married to someone who isn’t Thony, and kidnapping a man goes past the whole “I’m only doing this for your son” thing. 

Arman fighting so hard for Thony and, in turn, for Luca proves that he really is a softie under all of the crime that surrounds him. Giving us depth into his character is something The Cleaning Lady does wonderfully, and getting to know Arman makes us love him even more.

We get better insight into Thony as she immediately tells Arman to let Joe (Lou Diamond Phillips) go. Thony would go to the ends of the earth to save her son, but not if she’s harming someone else, even a stranger she knows nothing about.

Joe eventually comes around after hearing Thony sing a lullaby to Luca — the same one his late wife sang to their daughter. 

In a beautiful moment that showcases Thony’s selflessness, once the transfusion is complete, Thony reveals that Joe’s daughter, who hasn’t spoken to him in months, has come to pick him up. 

Thony always sees the best in people, even if they present her with their worst. It’s a highly admirable trait that more people (cough, cough, Garrett) should have. 

This Is a Garrett Miller Hate Account

Garrett Miller shows us how little his care extends from himself on “Kabayan.” 

Once again, blackmailing Thony, he gets what he needs to arrest Eric Knight, a frequent flier at the club Arman works at. An unashamed misogynist, he makes it clear multiple times that he doesn’t care for the women around him, whether he knows them or not. 

Towards the end of the episode, Garrett finds out that Knight has been stabbed and killed in prison, and the first reaction he has is to be angry about his case. 

He is an FBI agent, so it makes sense. However, he’s also a human, and he didn’t care at all that Knight was dead or that the man’s family would be forever impacted; he’s just angry that he can’t move on with his case.

 

Then there’s the most glaring issue of this episode, which I’m personally not sure is an issue or just me looking too far into it. 

Garrett has the necklace that fell off of Thony when she was doing Knight’s dirty work, but it’s sitting on his desk, and he’s openly touching it. No gloves, no evidence bags, and presumably now, no fingerprints. 

Did Garrett even log the necklace, or will it stand in court if he says he found it in a hotel room belonging to a now murdered man? 

He also reminds Thony more than once that lying to an FBI agent is a federal offence, but is he forgetting that intimidating a witness is also a crime? There is much to think about. 

“Kabayan” ends up being The Cleaning Lady‘s most put-together episode thus far, focusing more on the family dynamics between Thony, Luca, and Fiona, instead of showing Arman committing crimes for the shock factor. 

Stray Thoughts

• Fiona gives the immigration lawyer his deposit: [crowd cheering.] Remembering that it’s coming from her selling drugs: [crowd booing.]
• Imagine my surprise finding out that donating bone marrow takes as little as two hours after the hullabaloo about it. 
• As much as I love her, I know Fiona would sell LuLaRoe. I know she’s that exact type of person. 

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What did you think of this episode of The Cleaning Lady? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Cleaning Lady airs Monday at 9/8c on FOX.

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