Kabayan – Thony (Elodie Yung) and her sister, Fiona (Martha Millan) are driving to meet Dr. Ramtej (Kenneth Maharaj). Thony plans to convince Dr. Ramtej to give her the bone marrow donor’s information. Fiona doesn’t believe he can refuse their request if it saves Luca’s (Sebastien LaSalle/Valentino LaSalle) life.

Dr. Ramtej refuses their request, claiming there is nothing that can be done since the donor withdrew from the program. Without a bone marrow transplant, Luca will die. Dr. Ramtej explains there are laws that protect tissue donors’ privacy. After Thony and Fiona get in the elevator, they happen to see Dr. Ramtej leave his office. Thony refuses to leave without the donor’s information. She orders Fiona to remain outside the door while she accesses Dr. Ramtej’s computer. If he returns, occupy him until she is done. Fiona alerts Thony of Dr. Ramtej’s return before trying to keep him out of his office. She asks him about migraines. He denies being a neurologist, suggesting she get a prescription for eletriptan or naproxen. As Fiona writes down the medicine, Thony alerts her she got the donor’s information.

Fiona and Thony arrive at the donor’s house. Grace Fabora (Gracie Phillips) answers the door. She tells them that her father, Joe Fabroa (Lou Diamond Phillips) doesn’t live there anymore. Thony tells her Joe offered to help Luca. Grace doesn’t believe her father would offer to help anyone. She gives them his employer, West Coast Premiere Automotive. They promise not to tell him she gave them his employer.

Garrett (Oliver Hudson) meets with Renee Lawson to discuss the Barsamian case. He asks her about surveillance photos of Councilman Eric Knight (Jay Mohr) and Lexi Torres (Jessica Delgado). Garrett questions how Knight hooked up with Lexi, a La Habana dancer. Lawson suggests they team up with Lexi to find out what is going on inside the club. He believes it isn’t necessary because Thony is going to do it. She reminds him that Thony didn’t give them anything from the Barsamian wedding. He agrees if they can get Knight to talk, ASAC Katherine Russo (Liza Well) will back off. She says Russo is not riding my ass.

Thony and Fiona arrive at West Coast Premiere Automotive, where they meet Joe who believes they are interested in buying a vehicle. He admits his Tagalog language skills are limited to something Lola used to call him. Fiona interprets it as a “stinky monkey.” Joe is not happy when he discovers why they really came to the dealership. He denies enrolling in the bone marrow donor program, giving the credit to Grace. His relationship with Grace is strained. When Thony offers to pay him, he refuses to take anything less than $50K. They try to convince him, but he increases the bribe to $100K. He threatens to have them forcibly removed if they don’t have the money. Fiona says we are Kabayan.

Upon arriving home, they notice the lights are off and someone with a flashlight inside. Fiona grabs a shovel before they gradually enter the house. Chris (Sean Lew) and Jaz (Faith Bryant) burst through the door, scaring the bejesus out of them. They were playing flashlight tag. Luca waves at Thony as he talks to his father. Fiona explains the donor situation with Chris. Thony offers her savings to Fiona for an immigration lawyer for Chris. Fiona refuses the offer while trying to encourage her to be positive, they will figure out something. She suggests Chris’s dad, Brandon (Daniel Lissing) will agree to keep her employed, even though she will not sell ecstasy for him. Thony promises to tell Marco De La Rosa (Ivan Shaw) the truth about Luca’s bone marrow donor.

Marco promises to play flashlight tag with Luca later. Thony takes his tablet, kissing him goodnight. She tells Marco Luca’s liver condition is getting worse. It has been almost a year since he has seen Luca. He wants Luca to come home if there are no more medical options available. She assures him that it will not come to that, promising to figure out something. Fiona leaves Brandon a voicemail, requesting a meeting.

Garrett meets with Thony to discuss the Barsamian case. He informs her that his son, Sammy loved the walkie-talkies she gave him. He believes she is playing games, asking her to identify Knight. Looking anxious, she moves to get a closer look while grabbing her necklace. She denies knowing Knight. He reminds her that lying to a federal agency is a felony. She refuses to plant a recording device in the club. He isn’t taking no for an answer. The recording device is in the shape of an ink pen. She angrily grabs the ink pen before walking away.

 

Thony pulls out the ink pen while cleaning the club. Before she can drop it on the floor, Arman Morales (Adan Canto) approaches. Arman meets Elanie Moore (Kathryn Smith-McGlynn) and Knight. He explains the paperwork and capital are ready, they just need her client to agree to sell them the club and hotel. She informs him there are Chinese investors waiting to purchase the property. Knight explains Hayak Barsamian’s (Navid Negahban) offer is competitive. Arman leaves them to discuss the details. Arman asks to speak with her as she lays the ink pen on a table in close proximity to Knight and Elaine.

Arman doesn’t want her to clean the floor when guests are present. He asks about the stem cell therapy trial. She tells him Luca was ejected out of the trial because of his liver damage. He says they care more about success than saving Luca’s life. His immune system must be strengthened before he is eligible for a liver transplant. She tells him about Joe asking $100k for his bone marrow. He calls it extortion, offering to talk to Joe for her. She initially refuses the offer but eventually relents as long as he doesn’t hurt him.

Joe tries to sell Arman a vehicle. He asks him if he is a man of his word. Joe promises him a good deal. Arman offers to pay him 10K for his bone marrow. He refuses to sell his bone marrow, regardless of the monetary offer. Arman warns him that no is the wrong answer. Raising his voice, he orders Arman to keep Thony away from him.

Fiona meets Brandon at the pub to discuss Molly. She wants to be a cocktail waitress but believes selling Molly is too risky for her. He says it is too risky for him to keep her employed. She can score around $2K selling Molly. Someone yells for Molly. He says Molly is coming your way. She agrees to sell the drugs.

Thony lays the ink pen down on the desk in front of Garrett, saying I did it. He says I told you it would be easy. She refuses his offer for coffee before walking away. Laughing, he kisses the ink pen.

Arman kidnaps Joe as he leaves work.

Fiona arrives at the immigration attorney’s office to pay for Chris’s fees. She plops down a stack of cash on Wyatt Jennings’ (Dan Davidson) desk. He nods in agreement.

Lawson and Garrett meet with Russo to inform her Knight are working with Arman. They tell her about a recording of Knight and Elaine. Garrett cheers on their success. Russo asks if he heeded the rules. He denies doing anything wrong. She agrees they have enough information for a warrant to search Knight’s office and home. Garrett continues to boast about his success.

Arman has Joe held hostage. He describes Joe as being hard-headed. She scolds Arman for kidnapping him. When she removes the tape covering Joe’s mouth, he says you should be ashamed of yourself. She denies asking Arman to kidnap him. Joe is Luca’s only option. He refuses to put his life at risk to save strangers. She guarantees the procedure is safe and painless. She apologizes for letting things get out of hand. Arman refuses to set him free. Knight calls Arman to alert him about his property being raided by federal agents. He denies there is anything at his house, but on his laptop. Arman promises to get him out. He orders Thony to go with him to Lexi’s room in a local hotel.

Arman and Thony arrive at the hotel to retrieve Knight’s laptop before the Fed gets it. She takes a cleaning cart up to room 2006. Garrett and Lawson knock on the door when Thony locates the laptop. He orders Lexi to come out. Thony hides while they search the room. While they are in another room, she exits out the door. Garrett discovers her necklace on the floor. He approaches a cleaning lady, grabbing her shoulder to discover it is not Thony. She gives the laptop to Arman. Thony tells Joe she is going to take him home. Arman reminds him that he knows where he lives and works.

On the ride to Joe’s place, he tells her about his wife was guaranteed a simple hernia procedure, but she died. She apologizes for his loss. He says the doctors and hospital’s attorneys said they were sorry too. His and Grace’s relationship fell apart after his wife’s death. He blames their fallout on himself. He questions why she is angry at everyone. She says as long as Luca is alive, there is hope. They get a flat tire. He shows her how to do it. Her father was killed by the Khmer Rouge while her mother was pregnant with her. She because a doctor because her mother always claimed he was brave. Luca calls to ask her to sing him a song. She sings him a song while Joe changes the tire.

When they buckle their seatbelts, Joe reaches over to touch her. He tells her the lullaby she sang for Luca was the same one his wife used to sing to Grace. He breaks down, saying Grace loved his wife more than him. He agrees to donate his bone marrow to Luca.

Luca undergoes a bone marrow transplant. Joe watches Thony sing to Luca.

Joe is having dinner with Fiona, Thony, and the kids. Fiona can’t figure out how Thony convinced him to donate his bone marrow. Thony tells Joe she has a surprise for him. Grace tells Joe she is proud of him for donating his bone marrow to Luca. Thony feels for her necklace, realizing for the first time that it is gone.

Lexi visits Knight in jail. He promises to take care of her when he is released. She angrily walks away. He turns around to go back to his cells when an inmate attacks him. He is bleeding profusely.

Garrett receives a phone call, which makes him very upset. He curses, slamming his cellphone against the wall. He picks up Thony’s necklace as the episode comes to an end.

 

The Cleaning Lady Review

The show is becoming less convincing by the episode. Thony’s ability to evade Garrett and Lawson at the motel, losing her necklace in the process is just one example. Joe’s kidnapping was also ridiculously implausible. The list goes on and on.

There is enough going on to hold your attention, but some of the scenes feel a bit repetitive. For two undocumented immigrants trying to avoid deportation, Thony and Fiona are involved in risky activities. Fiona sells drugs while Thony breaches a hospital computer system. This is as far from keeping a low profile as you can get.

The appearance by Lou Diamond Phillips changed the outcome of the episode. However, I do feel the episode may have focused on him too much, which is understandable because he is a big name.

The episode deserves a 6. Get more The Cleaning Lady recaps here. Support ReelMockery by clicking the link.