Fight Or Flight – As this episode of The Cleaning Lady begins, Jeremy Dolan (Brandon Jay McLaren) learns they have the drone over the Sanchez estate. There is no sign of an escape tunnel. Jeremy tells Thony (Elodie Yung) that the auto body shop was empty. They spotted Jorge on camera near Dante Avila. Jeremy wants to know more about Jorge Sanchez (Santiago Cabrera), but Thony insists she’s already told him everything. He mentions that Ramona holds a charity event every year. Based on the files Russo obtained in the raid, they believe the event is a money-laundering operation. Jeremy wants Thony to get an invitation and be on the inside when it goes down.

Thony tells Nadia Morales (Eva De Dominici) that she can’t go anywhere. Nadia accuses Thony of using her as a scapegoat to save herself. Thony says she doesn’t like this any more than she does. Jeremy explains to Nadia that they can set her up with a new identity and put her somewhere Ramona can’t find her. If Ramona finds out she’s still alive, they’re as good as dead. Thony goes home to find Fiona (Martha Millan) destroying the camera on the porch. Thony confesses she almost killed Ramona during the surgery. She believes she can work with the Feds and get Ramona locked up for good. Jorge approaches Ramona (Kate del Castillo) because he can’t believe Nadia overdosed. Ramona tells him that she was working with the Feds. She believes his judgment was clouded.

Ramona says she’s only the messenger here. If Derek said Nadia was a rat, Ramona believes him. Thony joins Ramona who thanks her for taking care of things. Ramona tells Thony she can reclaim the power she once had if she stays by her side. She wants Thony to take a bigger role in her organization. Ramona wants to know about her encounters with the FBI previously. Later, Jorge asks Thony if she’s working for Ramona now. Thony doesn’t think she can refuse. They talk about Nadia. Thony says she showed up because she wanted to know if Nadia was working with the Feds. Jorge believes Ramona was looking for a way to sabotage his working relationship with Nadia. When Thony returns, she tells Jeremy that Ramona thinks she killed Nadia so they’re family now.

Jeremy tells Nadia that she can’t leave until Thony does her part. They need an arrest. Jeremy learns that Nadia has escaped through the bathroom window. Jeremy tells Thony that Nadia pulled her SIM card. Thony goes looking for her. She goes home where she tells Fiona that she hasn’t found her. Nadia surprises Thony by showing up in her kitchen. She tells Thony that she has to help her disappear. Ramona tells Jorge that someone is targeting them. Thony steals a bunch of money from a safe. Once she returns, Nadia says it all looks good. Nadia thinks it’s odd that all of these things belong to Nadia, but she has disappeared. Thony doesn’t think anyone can make Nadia Morales disappear. Nadia says this is how they’re going to make her disappear. Chris (Sean Lew) asks Fiona if she’s going to tell him who that woman is.

Fiona insists she is only trying to protect her. She explains they’re just trying to help that woman get out of town. Fiona promises she’ll try to help him find Camila. Then, she gives Nadia wigs before Thony leaves to get her a passport. Thony tells Fiona to hide her. Ramona arrives at the door with Violeta who wants to tell Luca about the wonderful program they’re funding. Chris finds a picture of a person with Camila wearing a “Paradise” shirt. He speaks to his dad about Camila who didn’t just take off. Chris admits he’s going to go look for her. Ramona tells Thony about the program and suggests some of her cleaning lady friends could help. Ramona says she just needs to be smart, resourceful, and invisible. She wants Thony to be her eyes and ears to draw out the federal agents that come in. The kids find Nadia in the closet.

After a brief scare, Ramona leaves with her daughter. Nadia is distraught because the Feds marked all of her money. Thony thinks she should work with the Feds, but Nadia isn’t willing to do that. Paolo calls Fiona. He tells her that Chris wants to find this girl by himself and he doesn’t think it’s safe. Chris tells Fiona he’s going to leave to see a friend. She asks if he’s going to look for Camila. Chris calls Paolo to complain about him squealing on him. Paolo insists he was only trying to protect him. Fiona and Thony see Jeremy’s truck nearby. Thony says their secret weapon has arrived. Fiona and Thony confront Jeremy while the cleaning lady goes inside the motel room nearby. Fiona keeps Jeremy busy while the cleaning lady finishes what she’s doing.

Fiona and Thony decide to check the room. Thony grabs whatever the cleaning lady hid. Jeremy can’t believe they didn’t find anything in the room. He wonders if Thony has been withholding information from him. Once Jeremy leaves, the cleaning lady gives Thony a box. She returns the safe to Nadia who opens it. It appears Nadia now has everything she needs to leave. She doesn’t know how she’ll start a new life with this. When Thony admits she has to meet Jorge, Nadia pleads with her to get him to help. Thony argues you can’t trust anyone in the cartel. She tells Nadia she’s not doing it. Jorge waves Thony through and warns her that Ramona is there as well. Ramona introduces her to AJ Hynes who owns one of the big event companies in Vegas. His company has been hosting Ramona’s charity gala for years. AJ and Jorge talk about hitting the driving range.

Ramona got Thony a dress for the event. In private, Jorge tells Thony he believes he convinced AJ to come on board. He reveals someone has been trying to access Nadia’s insurance funds. Jorge wonders if Nadia could be alive. He believes Thony is hiding something from him. He’s taken to Nadia who wishes she could’ve told Jorge the truth. She pleads with Jorge to help her get the money. He can send the money to her new identity, Natalie Vasquez. Jorge admits it’s a big ask because of the risks involved. He also worries that Ramona might find out. Chris goes to the headquarters for Paradise Premiere Events. Chris is surprised and happy to see Camila in the kitchen. He urges her to leave and stay at his place. Camila explains that her mother is missing. Chris promises they’ll find her.

As they try to leave, they get stuck with a bunch of other people running through the hallway. Nadia gives Thony and Fiona stuff to thank them for keeping her alive. Fiona gets news about the college Chris wanted to go to. She tries to tell him only to find out he’s gone. Chris, Camila, and the others get locked inside a dark room. Jorge transfers $40 million to Natalie Vasquez. Thony takes Nadia to the location. Nadia hopes Thony can be free one day too. An airplane lands nearby. Nadia approaches it believing it’s her ride. Ramona steps out of the airplane and calls Nadia “the lady in the closet”. She accuses Nadia of betraying her. Ramona stabs her in the stomach. Nadia tells Thony to get Ramona for them and Armando. Thony is dragged onto the airplane with Ramona.

 

The Cleaning Lady Review

This episode of The Cleaning Lady was fairly tedious despite trying to set up the finale. Most of the episode focused on Nadia attempting to escape Ramona while getting help from Thony, Fiona, and Jorge. Some of the performances were flat despite the characters being in very risky situations.

The episode will likely be effective for viewers who genuinely care about the characters, especially Nadia and Thony. After all, these two characters faced death at pretty much every turn. Some of the writing here was pretty lazy considering how easy it was for Thony to get Nadia’s box.

Other parts were predictable since we all knew Nadia would never make it out alive. It’d probably be easier to care if the season was shorter and the episodes weren’t released weekly. I felt nothing for the characters in this episode even though they were so close to death and one was actually killed at the end.

The Cleaning Lady remains a guilty pleasure if nothing else. The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of The Cleaning Lady can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss The Cleaning Lady at the Reel Mockery Forum.