The episode opens with Joe Middleton (Cohen Holloway) in a conformation with Tane (Rafael Pascual Cajar Jnr.) inside Laura’s (Genevieve Kent) house. Wearing nothing but a towel, Tane pursues Joe down the steps. Outside, Joe sees a stolen vehicle surrounded by the police. As Tane emerges from the house, Joe seeks refuge behind an SUV. He alerts the police of the break-in. Joe waddles away from the scene when he encounters Melissa Flowers (Chelsie Preston Crayford) in her vehicle. She orders him into the boot. While driving, she sings along with the radio.

Upon arrival at the crime scene, DI Carl Schroder (Robbie Magasiva) learns the suspect left a half-eaten apple behind. DSS Robert Calhoun (David De Lautour) doubts it will be good for DNA, only bite marks. DS Brian Travers (Jordan Mooney) informs him that Melissa has been spotted in the vicinity over the past two weeks. DSS Rebecca Kent (Hannah Marshall) says Tane describes the culprit as a white man of average build wearing a baseball cap. Schroder suggests the suspect is watching and laughing at them.

As Melissa opens the boot, Joe recalls the site as being where she rearranged his private parts and closes the boot. She promises to not harm him. He says the copycat killer had access to the active crime scene. She suggests it is a cop and forces him at gunpoint to say he would miss her. While walking away, she tells him to keep the stolen car and reminds him of the deadline to find the copycat killer.

Joe eavesdrops as Travers tells Schroder that Tane could not help the forensic sketch artist create a composite drawing of the suspect. Calhoun says the response to new stolen car reports has been amped up. Rebecca tells them that Tane remembered the suspect had a briefcase in his possession. Joe conceals his briefcase in a garbage bag before reconsidering for fear of drawing suspicion. He pushes his cleaning cart down the hall when he spots Tane. Travers catches him utilizing a department computer. Joe asks if he can utilize him as a reference for a passport. Travers believes he has been working there for only a few months. Joe argues it has been two years but Travers refuses to believe him. Getting back to work, Joe questions which one of the detectives is the killer.

Joe spits in a coffee before giving it to Schroder. Rebecca says the IT report reveals Mike Walker was in the park when Daniela was killed. Irate, Schroder breaks and throws his pencil. Pretending to clean, Joe hears everything. After they leave, he takes the Crime Scene Log from Schroder’s desk to the copy room where Sally Galletly (Dea Doglione) finds him. When she offers to unjam the copy machine, he demands she leave him alone. She rushes out of the room. Constable Sam (James Kupa) reminds Joe of Sally’s brother dying and  Graham Galletly (Cameron Rhodes) being in the hospital. He urges him to apologize. In Joe’s mind, he regrets not killing Sally yesterday and apologizes to Sam for his behavior. Later, Joe marks unlikely killers – DS Shane O’Connell (Tom Eason) and DSS Wilson Hutton (Barry Tomkinson) – from the Crime Scene Log, leaving only Calhoun, Schroder, and Travers. He eventually rules out Schroder as the killer.

Joe accesses Calhoun and Travers’ personal files to get their addresses. Upon leaving the police station, Joe overhears Travers tell his friend (Ryan Carter) about his sexual escapade. He apologizes to Sally blaming his frustration on his injury. She offers him a ride to his doctor’s appointment but he declines. Later, Joe follows Travers to a house where he finds him having sex with another man. Ruling Travers out as Daniela’s killer, he grabs a beer and makes himself a sandwich before leaving.

Joe meets Melissa in a remote location of her choice. She demands to be present when he kills Daniela’s killer. He says no until she threatens him with a gun. He tells her that Calhoun is the killer before admitting to having ruled out Travers because he is into men. She says Travers having sex with men is not enough to rule him out as the killer. She suggests the detective trying their hardest to pin the murder on Mike is the killer. Calhoun, Schroder, and Travers are still a possibility. Later, Joe picks up a sex worker, Lisa “Candy” Houston (Maria Duplaa), and takes her to the Walker house. After killing her, he sets the stolen car on fire and walks away.

Schroder goes over the crime scene with the detectives. Distracted, Calhoun tells him that the preliminary report reveals Candy died of strangulation. Travers admits to not checking with forensics. Schroder sarcastically asks if they want to take the day off. He says the bite marks from the apple left at the crime scene match that of the apple from Daniela’s house. Rebecca suggests the real Christ Church Carver is telling them that he did not kill Daniela. Joe is eavesdropping from the custodian’s room. Later, Joe is cleaning in the hallway when a sex worker, Becky (Sophie Harris) greets Schroder. He greets her by name. Rebecca tells him that Becky and Jazi (Jazzi Jinks) are helping with the case.

Joe returns to his flat to find a message from Jennifer (Grace Bentley-Tsibuah) about Fluffy. Reluctantly leaving his briefcase behind, he goes to find a vehicle to steal. His first attempt rounds him with a car with its keys in the ignition. A short time later, he returns to where he picked up Candy. Unknowingly to Joe, Hutton has the area under surveillance. Hutton recognizes him and snaps a few pictures as they drive away. Melissa approaches his vehicle and asks for his help. At Everblue Hotel, Joe refuses Becky’s offers. He asks her about Schroder. She claims Schroder isn’t into sex workers but a cop got rough with her a few weeks back. She provides a description of the cop before they leave. A vehicle pulls in behind them. He drives to an alley where he contemplates letting her go but decides to kill her for fear of being recognized. He opens the boot to find a deceased Sam and turns around to see Melissa in a vehicle. She drives away. Joe curses as the episode ends.

 

Dark City: The Cleaner Review

As the far-fetched trend continues, the story progresses quite nicely. Joe is on a mission to identify the cop responsible for Daniela’s death. With one prospect left, he believes the murder is all but solved until Melissa challenges his method of ruling out potential killers.

As the deadline to find the copycat killer nears, Joe makes a dire mishap. If it were not for Melissa, he would be the primary suspect in Candy’s murder.

 

The episode deserves a 5.5. out of 10. Get more Dark City: The Cleaner recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Learn how advertising with us can help build your brand awareness. Join our newly established forum to get in on hundreds of discussions.