The Cleaning Lady Review: Coming Home Again (Season 1 Episode 9)
Garrett bites off more than he can chew on The Cleaning Lady Season 1 Episode 9, “Coming Home Again.”
There’s seemingly unbreakable tension between Marco and Fiona, and Arman both physically and metaphorically fights for his life. Also, Thony is stuck in Mexico.
We have fun on The Cleaning Lady.
Don’t Poke the (Mama) Bear
Once Chris discovers Fiona’s lawyer is completely ripping her off, it’s over for him. Literally.
It’s about time we see Fiona get back into being the badass mom she is, instead of always waiting for a phone call from Thony or Marco.
We love Fiona as Marco’s sister and Thony’s sister-in-law, but there’s much more depth to her than we’ve acknowledged this season. Like how she sold drugs once and then never again — that we saw.
There was no closure to it, and hopefully, that’s something the writers intend to touch on in the season finale or a Season 2.
On the one hand, watching Fiona stand up for Chris and herself with the skeezy lawyer is excellent!
On the other, it’s heartbreaking to think about the fact that they’re going to have to do this entire thing again; find a new lawyer, pay new fees, and dedicate more of their time.
Chris has had a great transition this season, from being in the background to standing up to his mother (even if it was a hasty reaction) to now defending her in front of his uncle.
Though maybe not by choice, Chris has grown into an intelligent young man for as long as we’ve known him.
Siri, Play Cars That Go Boom by L’Trimm
After Arman blows up, because that’s a casual thing to say, he spends about a week floating between being awake and being out cold.
A week is not a long time in the grand scheme of things. When you’re stuck in Mexico with your son, though, or just when you’re hiding out in a seedy hotel — time is fake, and nothing is real.
I consistently come into The Cleaning Lady wanting to feel bad for Nadia. And on some level, the adultery level, I do. But she knew who Arman was when she married him. So why now is this becoming an unsettling dealbreaker?
Every time Arman tells Nadia that he’s doing everything for her and they’re going to be together, it’s like a balloon deflating. We know that’s never going to happen.
Obviously, he’s (partially) committed, and Arman loves Nadia, but it’s 2022; divorce isn’t that big of a deal anymore.
Garrett Miller Is Still an Idiot
Every week, I sit on my little couch, I play my little recording of The Cleaning Lady, and I think to myself, “Surely Garrett can’t get any worse this week,” and every week, I am somehow shocked when he does.
On “Coming Home Again,” Garrett does what every white person ever tries to do and explains to a woman of color why his life as a straight, white male is just as difficult as hers. Deep breath in, deep breath out.
The problem for Garrett, deep down, is that he genuinely believes he is a good person. He thinks that because he’s specifically not a murderer or a gun trafficker, he’s a good person. Except he isn’t.
Throughout Season 1 of The Cleaning Lady, we’ve seen Garrett break the law multiple times. Garrett has already faced repercussions in sleeping with a previous informant, and we’ve watched him flirt with his boss.
He had a woman deported to her home country away from her children because she was associated with Thony.
Then, to top it off, Thony is arrested at the end of “Coming Home Again” because Garrett tried to smuggle her into the country with her consent.
The Good Place taught us that there is no set standard, no rule book for being good or bad, but I’m pretty sure a reasonable person wouldn’t do all of these things.
I’m pretty sure a good person would step back and question why these terrible things keep happening around them.
Overall, “Coming Home Again” is a good but maybe not great penultimate episode before the finale. There are many things still open, which can be suitable for closure, but bad if anything ends on a cliffhanger.
I’m a staunch believer in allowing first seasons to never end on cliffhangers. However, I’m afraid we have been given too much this season for everything to be in a bow by the end of the finale.
Stray Thoughts:
- It is a crime in and of itself for Liza Weil to look that beautiful while arresting Thony. I want to be mad at her, but she’s so pretty.
- Marco is lowkey a big, sad loser, and I’m sick of watching him mope around.
- Not that I’m a pro with professionalism, but a border control officer leaving in the middle of holding a passport is peak unprofessionalism for me. Can you imagine if someone did that at a register you were checking out at?
- Luca is so cute, and I loved seeing his array of masks.
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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 Mondays at 9/8c on FOX.
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Laura Wanberg
Laura is a homebody who loves everything about TV. Some of her favorite shows include Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Parks and Recreation, and The Morning Show. With her ever-growing list of new shows to watch and books to read, her favorite thing to do is to cuddle up with her cat and get lost in someone else's world.