The Lion’s Den – The show begins with Thony (Elodie Yung) measuring out medicine for her son, Luca (Sebastien LaSalle). They play airplane and dinosaur until he takes his medicine. He doesn’t want to sleep, with a bit of convincing, he gives in.

Fiona (Martha Millan) worries about being late for work because her keys are missing. Jaz (Faith Bryant) says Chris (Sean Lew) took her van. Chris, Thony or Fiona have valid driver’s licenses. Fiona scolds him as he walks in the door for driving without her. She refuses to sign his driver’s ed authorization form to avoid being late for work.

Fiona and Thony are cleaning up in a bowling alley. Thony tries to get a refill for Luca’s antiviral medicine. Luca is scheduled to start stem cell therapy in about a week. Fiona tries to score some birthday cake when they are alerted of a clogged toilet. They play rock, paper, scissors to determine who will unclog the toilet. The job goes to Thony. Garrett Miller (Oliver Hudson) asks if he can utilize the woman’s bathroom to change his baby’s diaper. Garrett identifies himself as an FBI agent. He asks if she knew Theo. She worked at the warehouse for only three weeks before Theo went missing. The FBI knows she attended Theo’s funeral and gave his daughter, Sylvia a present. She claims Theo asked for help in finding Sylvia a sweet 16 gift.

Arman Morales (Adan Canto) leads a group of men into a room filled with guns. Armenia has more snipers than any other country. Their best sniper is Roman Yerelekian (Eduard Osipov). Morales suggests he have the best and turns to leave the room. Mateo (Ivo Nandi) alerts him of missing AKs and AR-15s. Half of a truckload is missing. Viktor Nazaryan (Vic Sabian) becomes suspicious and asks if there is a problem. They go to Arman’s office, where they learn about the missing guns. Viktor believes they are trying to short him on the guns. He reminds them of Hayak Barsamian’s promise to get him the guns. Arman tries to explain they only need a few days to get the guns. Irate, Viktor pulls his gun, prompting Mateo, Roman, and the other men to do the same. Mateo is shot when he jumps in front of Arman. Viktor and Roman stand with their guns pointed at Arman and Carlos (Harold Nieves Fisch).

Garrett shows Thony pictures and asks if she recognizes the Arman and several other men. He hurriedly puts the phone away when Fiona enters the restroom. Arman calls to alert her a driver is on the way to pick her up. He doesn’t care that she is at work. Thony walks in while Mateo’s body is wrapped in a plastic bag. He orders for Mateo to be buried in Greenwood. Carlos is ordered to find out who stole the guns and bring him to Arman. The thief is responsible for Mateo’s death. Thony requests Arman to release her from the cleaning deal. He agrees to release her, without protection. She says you couldn’t protect Mateo, how are you going to protect me. He back her up against a door, saying do your job, so I have a reason to not kill you.

She puts on her gloves and starts cleaning. Jimmy (Tom McCafferty) approaches to ask why she didn’t leave with the others when a gas leak was reported. He accepts her cleaning excuse.

Arman visits his wife, Nadia Morales (Eva de Dominici) for lunch. They are scheduled to meet with Councilman Eric Knight (Jay Mohr). He tells about Mateo taking a bullet for him and the missing guns. Shocked, she asks what happened. Mariam tells Knight, they need more time to buy the hotel. He questions why Hayak Barasamian (Navid Negahban) is desperate to purchase the hotel. He believes they want to buy the hotel and casino for a money-laundering scheme.

Fiona is prepping a cake when a co-worker rushes in to alert them of a raid. She and several other workers rush out the back door and into Garrett. He tells them it is not a raid or ICE. The FBI just wants to ask them a few questions. She texts Thony about the raid. She stops what she is doing and runs out of the room. Garrett interviews Fiona about the night Thony was working at the warehouse when Theo went missing. Thony rushes into the room and asks Garrett what he is doing. She accuses them of targeting vulnerable people, utilizing scare tactics. Fiona has been illegally living in the United States for 15 years. He will only stop talking to Fiona if Thony is ready, to tell the truth. She ignores a text and escorts Fiona out of the room.

FBI Detective Renee Lawson (Esodie Geiger) questions Garrett about being in the bathroom with Thony. He laughs and calls it harmless. Lawson threatens him with an indiscretion that would result in him going back on the bench. FBI agents are not permitted to interview women without another detective. He will be removed from the case if Russo finds out. He asks Lawson if they need to find out. The case will go dead without an informant.

Fiona breaks down in the car. She thought it was over. Thony assures her she will not be deported. Fiona’s son, Chris believes he was born in the United States when he wasn’t. Jaz calls Thony to alert them of Luca’s declining condition. They arrive home to find that Luca had been coughing. He talks to his father, Marco while she calls the doctor’s office to get a refill for antiviral medicine. The doctor refuses to write a prescription without assessing the patient and recommends a visit to the ER.

Arman is in a meeting with Knight when he receives a call from Thony. He does not answer the call. Luca’s temperature continues to increase. She prepares to take him to the ER. Fiona warns her of the danger of going to the ER and offers to go along. She refuses the offer and gets Luca ready for the trip. She puts him in the taxi and promises to call Fiona.

Nadia offers the men a cigar. Arman turns around to see Thony holding Luca. He demands to know what he is doing at the club. She says, “He is dying.” He carries Luca to his vehicle as Garrett monitors from his car. They meet Dr. Daniel Saroyan (Antonio Jovani Leon) at the hospital. They monitor from outside the room. She tells him it isn’t necessary to stay. His father had a heart condition that required surgery. He would have died if Hayak didn’t pay for it. His parents refused to let him work for Hayak. They came to the United States to escape Mexico’s violence. He agreed to work for Hayak as protection for his family. He and his father have not spoken in years.

Chris assures Fiona they will be back. She doesn’t have a birth certificate for him because he was born in Manila, not the United States. He angrily stomps away, along with Jaz. Dr. Saroyan tells Thony the antiviral medicines are not working. His liver is damaged. If the treatment does not work, he will die. She sings Luca a song. When she stops, he asks her to sing again.  His symptoms are like an adenovirus. Dr. Saroyan refuses to treat him until the culture results come back. She turns around to find Carlos waiting for her. She is transported to a warehouse, where Arman and Hayak are in an argument about Luca being treated at the hospital. He accuses Arman of caring for Thony.

Thony tells Hayak and Arman about Jimmy at the facility she was cleaning after Mateo was shot. Carlos says Jimmy is at the loading bay. Arman walks up to him asks if he is heading out. He anxiously admits to driving to Reno. Arman asks what it is, his pay is too low. He denies knowing anything about the guns and immediately pulls his gun. Arman tells him to shoot and jerks the gun away. Thony is in the office with Hayak when she hears two gunshots. Jimmy has the stolen guns that will allow them to close the deal with Viktor. With the deal closed, they can buy the hotel. Hayak thanks Thony for her loyalty and hopes Luca recovers.

Garrett meets Lawson to show her the footage of Thony and Armon, with Luca. Lawson questions if she is sleeping with Arman. He will have to turn Thony for the case to stay open. The culture results prove Luca has adenovirus. She calls Fiona to update her on Luca’s condition. Arman asks if she is okay. She proved herself to Hayak. Luca waves at Thony. He asks if she is in as the episode comes to an end.

 

The Cleaning Lady Review

The on-screen relationships are developing very well. It is just unfortunate, it is difficult to ignore the continuous, excessive violence. The acting is spot-on, including the youngsters, Sebastien and Valentino Lasalle.

The show clearly has an agenda to entice viewers to sympathize with its undocumented characters. Unfortunately, the show is missing one very important point. US-based hospitals are required by federal laws to provide life-sustaining treatment to undocumented immigrants who are uninsured. The show portrays undocumented immigrants fearing deportation to the point, they are willing to put their lives in danger.

The show deserves a 6.

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