Thony is the definition of “you gotta do what you gotta do,” and while it’s admirable how far she’ll go for the people she loves, it’s also concerning how easily she can dig herself into a mess that’s more dangerous than it may prove worthy.
On The Cleaning Lady Season 3 Episode 2, Thony is living on borrowed time thanks to Arman, who likely isn’t even living anymore, but the Sin Cara cartel doesn’t know that and seems to have big plans for him once they find him. The Sin Cara cartel, run by Ramona and Jorge, is only keeping her alive because of what she means to Arman—with the latter making it very clear that he’d rather have her dead in the desert than running around.
And Jorge isn’t entirely wrong in his assessment of her—Thony is desperate, and desperate people are a liability. She’s so turned around, she doesn’t even know which way is up anymore. She’s proved herself to be resourceful many times in the past—and once again delivered as promised—but the scope of the deal she made with the cartel is way above anything that’s ever been required of her before. It’s a good thing Thony was in the medical field and has the stomach because her first task of dismembering people and throwing them into acid is not for the faint of heart. Thony always pulls through, but I don’t know how much I have it in me to see her get put through the wringer once again. My nerves are just eating me up inside knowing that she doesn’t have Arman’s protection anymore yet she continues to put herself in these threatening scenarios.
I know that this isn’t the intended direction of the season and it’s the best they could do to provide context and closure for Adan Canto’s death, but I really wanted to see a different side of Thony this season—the one promised at the end of season 2 where we saw her flipping the game and owning her power. She’s paid the price and did the dirty work, so shouldn’t be at square one, constantly groveling and gasping for air—and this time, the gravity of the situation is much worse.
Thony offers to clean for the cartel—without fully understanding what that means—in order to bring Fiona and Chris home. It’s a move done out of desperation, though, I do think she could’ve figured out another way if she really wanted to. Why couldn’t she put her trust in Nadia instead? Arman’s plan already hinged on utilizing Nadia’s planes, so why didn’t she brainstorm that before going nuclear?
She’s also running into more issues when it comes to Luca as child services is now involved and a court case has been set to see if she’s deemed a fit mother, meaning she could lose him. It hurts my soul when she tells Luca that she’ll never let anything bad happen to him all while taking on these incredibly risky jobs that put both of them in the line of fire. She can no longer justify her actions by saying she’s doing this for her son because the negatives outweigh the positives.
I don’t want to say that Luca would be better off with someone else, as there’s nothing to replace a mother’s love, but she puts them both (along with all the people she loves), in some very questionable and costly situations.
Ramona literally entered her home and played with Luca before threatening his life—it’s concerning.
With Arman, there was also a level of trust and care there, so she knew she could count on him, but there is no guarantee with this new arrangement. She’s disposable to them, there’s no end in sight to this arrangement of paying back debt, and there’s the little fact that she and Arman crossed them before by stealing their shipping routes.
Her under-the-table deal with the cartel also drives a wedge between her and Nadia, the only other person that she could count on in the aftermath of Arman’s disappearance. They were never friends, but they were bonded through their love for Arman, yet instead of relying on one another, Thony made it very clear that she was hiding something from Nadia, which pushed her toward working with the FBI. Nadia, much like Thony, doesn’t have the protection anymore, so she’s going to do what she thinks is best when pushed into a corner. Together, they would have been a force to be reckoned with—and I wished we saw that play out.
THE CLEANING LADY: L-R: Eva De Dominici and Santiago Cabrera in the “For My Son” episode of THE CLEANING LADY airing Tuesday, March 12 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2024 Fox Media LLC. CR: Jeff Neumann/FOX
I’m all for honoring Arman with this storyline, but this storyline just seems like history repeating itself—and not in a good way. I’d almost prefer that they wrapped up Arman’s storyline swiftly, allowing the characters to grieve his death, and pivoting to Thony and Nadia taking over his empire and finishing what he couldn’t, all while getting revenge on the people that killed him.
Fiona was the proof that life could be simple again—it’s just a series of choices to get there. The mess doesn’t have to keep getting messier, nor do they have to stay in this tangled web that Thony’s weaved. They were so close to being free before getting pulled right back into the toxicity.
Fiona and Chris’ journey back home provided some much-needed levity in the episode, and I found it more enjoyable than watching Thony continue on the path of self-destruction for the purpose of self-preservation.
Chris’ time in the Phillippines may have been short, but it was enlightening as he finally met and connected with his father, and understood why his mother made the choices that she did, even if he wasn’t happy with the fact that she lied to him for years. He showed her plenty of grace when he realized it was the ultimate sacrifice for him to have a better life. We talk so much about the sacrifices and lengths Thony goes to for her boy, but we rarely acknowledge that Fiona is just as badass—and thankfully, more risk-averse.
When they got word that Thony arranged transport back to the US via a coyote that evening, it was heartbreaking to see their time with family cut short. Going back to the madness that is living with Thony isn’t going to be good for anyone, nor can I expect that it will end well for them. But if Thony stands a shot at making her case in court to keep her parental rights over Luca, she’s going to need Fiona in her corner.
What do you think about the third season of The Cleaning Lady? They’ve found a way to consistently ride audience nerves, but how much more can we all take? Will Nadia’s partnership with Katherine Russo prove to be a better strategy than Thony’s alliance with the cartel?