The Cleaning Lady Round Table: Lives are Changed Forever

After Robert forced Arman to shoot Maya, everyone’s lives changed.

Robert forces Arman to shoot Maya to prove his loyalty, and he saves Thony’s life on The Cleaning Lady Season 2 Episode 7.

TV Fanatics Jasmine Peterson, Whitney Evans, and Laura Nowak discuss if Arman will get over taking Maya’s life, how Maya’s death will affect Garrett and what storylines we want to see in the remaining episodes of Season 2.

There were so many twists and turns in this week’s episode. What surprised you the most, and what surprised you the least?

Jasmine: I knew Robert was diabolical, but they kicked it up a notch. I gasped when they suffocated that guy. And him forcing Arman to shoot Maya. That entire sequence was insane to me, and I was glued to the television.

However, Maya ending up dead didn’t surprise me, just how it happened. And in hindsight, I guess the only way they could get from beneath the Marco death thing was through Garrett.

Whitney: Maya’s death didn’t surprise me, but the way it all played out did because it puts Arman and Garrett on this inevitable crash course yet again.

The least surprising thing was no one was going down for Marco’s murder. This isn’t the kind of show where someone will be in prison long-term or involved in a court case, so I wasn’t shocked that Garrett looked the other way.

Laura: I knew as soon as Garrett hid Maya that something would happen to her, but like you, I couldn’t have predicted how she’d die. It was surprising and horrific the way Robert had Arman murder her.

While the resolution to Marco’s death was underwhelming, I was surprised by whom Chris ultimately broke down and confessed to.

Do you think the investigation into Marco’s death is over?

Jasmine: I think it is, which is meh. It was a very anticlimactic hand wave resolution. While I found the wrap-up underwhelming, I don’t see what they have to gain by keeping that storyline going any further if they don’t have anything else to do with it.

Whitney: I also think it’s over, and I agree with Jasmine that the resolution was very underwhelming. But I also never expected it to go anywhere too exciting.

Laura: I think so too. I’m glad it’s over. While Sean Lew excelled at the material, I’m excited to see how Chris moves on from this.

What are your thoughts on Robert now that he’s shown his true colors?

Jasmine: I knew he was evil, but we saw it in action, and it felt like such a game-changer. Until then, he felt like he was more talk than action. They had to show us that action to sell how dangerous he was, though, so in a twisted way, I’m glad they finally did that.

Whitney: Robert has always been a nasty man, so nothing he did here shocked me. He’s a very dangerous, selfish man, and the way Arman is afraid of him always told me that he was waiting for the right time to truly unleash his particular brand of evil.

He’s a bigger villain than Hayak, and the series needs that. This show is filled with anti-heroes who need a truly evil villain to go up against them so you can see the difference between them.

Laura: Robert upped the stakes in this episode. I knew he was evil, but he scared me with how menacing he was by killing Nick in front of Armony as a warning and then having Arman kill Maya.

It also worried me that he would have the drop go down at Nadia’s bar. He’s no longer shielding her and getting her involved in this dangerous game too. She needs to be careful.

Do you think Arman can get past killing Maya since he’s been trying to reform?

Jasmine: I don’t think he can. I loved that we saw how this kill affected him. He can typically rationalize his kills with them being bad people or necessary in some capacity. But he knew Maya wasn’t a bad person, just another victim.

This will eat away at him for a minute, and we’ll see a different side of Arman. As much as he wants out, it’s like he can’t get out, his hands are getting dirtier and bloodier, and his personal moral code is shattered, not by his own volition.

Whitney: I think he’ll get past it in his own way, so he probably won’t talk about it. He’s in self-preservation mode and doing whatever he can to protect himself and the people he cares about.

Arman’s story states, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” It’s the tale of many a conflicted mobster.

Laura: Whitney put it best since Arman thought he was out and got pulled back in. He killed all those other people because, as Jasmine said, it was necessary. He was protecting Thony here, but Maya was innocent, so this will haunt Arman for a while.

How will Maya’s death affect Garrett, especially now that he knows Chris’s secret?

Jasmine: I can expect that Garrett is going on a warpath. He’ll be his most unhinged. I wonder if his learning of the truth will affect his relationship with Thony, mainly because she knew and didn’t tell him when she got back that night.

He still has this fondness for Thony and tries to give her the benefit of the doubt while shifting blame to other influences around her. But I don’t know if their tenuous dynamic could survive this.

I don’t think the Chris element will factor into it at all. Garrett will be blinded by revenge, which may push him deeper into the shady side of things.

I also feel that up until that moment, he still wasn’t taking the gravity of the situation they all were in seriously and had underestimated how dangerous Kamdar was to all of them. This was a tragic reality check.

Whitney: I’m mostly wondering how long it will take until Garrett figures out it was Arman. Will they hold that reveal for a few weeks and then have it come up in the finale? Or will he figure it out immediately and go on the rampage?

Garrett has impulse issues, so there’s no way he doesn’t go on the warpath and take down whatever is in his way.

Laura: I also wonder when/if Garrett will find out Thony knew Arman shot Maya that night. As Jasmine said, he’s fond of Thony, and their friendship wouldn’t survive that. I pray Chris’s confession doesn’t factor in, but men blinded by revenge often do things they regret.

Hopefully, Robert is Garrett’s target. It could be interesting to see Garrett go darker and take down those that get in his way. I don’t think he realized how dangerous Robert and Cortes were and how he worsened the situation.

What do you hope to see in those remaining episodes, with only three episodes left this season?

Jasmine: This season flew by, and I’m still trying to grasp some of the core pieces of it. But I hope they keep the momentum of this episode going forward. The fallout from Maya’s death should be epic.

I would like to see Garrett get benched or fired after he goes on a warpath and becomes this wildcard rogue person who still has to work with Arman and Thony.

Nadia has been underused, but I’d love to know how she reacts to Robert or if she becomes a wild card who entirely becomes his second in command now. Robert and Nadia versus Arman and Thony would be insane.

I want to see Arman’s emotional fallout after killing Maya and how that choice affects his relationship with Thony even further.

Whitney: This season did go by very fast, but at the same time felt a lot slower than last season. It lacked some passion and action that I felt was a cornerstone of season one. But this episode was my favorite of the entire series, so I’m hopeful we’re in for an exciting end to the season.

For starters, I need Arman to choose. I love a slow burn, and I don’t mind the drama, but the love triangle is starting to get tedious because it’s so underdeveloped. The only person clearly stating their true, authentic feelings is Nadia.

Arman and Thony are dancing around each other. While I recognize the timing is terrible, it’s starting to get to a point where it’s losing its allure, which is a shame because the chemistry between Yung and Canto is still some of the hottest on television.

I want to see an even more reckless Garrett because why not? We get tastes here and there, but I want to see him totally off the rails.

Laura: It is hard to believe we only have a few episodes left. I agree with Jasmine that Nadia has been underused. Hopefully, we’ll see her react to Robert’s games and wrecking her party. While Robert and Nadia vs. Arman and Thony would be entertaining, I hope she stands on her own two feet.

I also need to hear Arman actively choose. We’ve seen more of him with Thony, but is it because Nadia left him or by his own choice?

What was your favorite part of this episode, and do you have anything to add?

Jasmine: I have to go with the whole sequence with Arman making that choice and after that. It was handled beautifully and had me riveted. I thought Yung and Canto did so well there, especially Canto.

Arman’s torment was so visceral. I loved that we didn’t see the shooting, but we saw disheveled Arman stumbling out, visibly shaken.

Thony has gotten to this point where she’s robotic because of all the trauma. Arman still tried to shield her (like when he tried to cover her face when Kamdar killed the other guy).

There was already this chemistry between Arman and Thony, but it has surpassed sexual and physical attraction. It’s trauma bonding and much more. When given the worst possible choice, they always choose each other without fail, and the cost and weight are high.

I loved that they kept in that Arman was crying and her holding his hand. That entire situation just gutted me.

Whitney: I don’t need to add anything to Jasmine because we often share a brain. My favorite part of the episode was those final scenes with Thony and Arman because it felt like what could be a big step for their relationship.

They’ve been placed in all these high-pressure and huge leverage situations, and this one was perhaps the worst of all. And it was just so brilliantly acted, and I was holding my breath. These scenes got me so invested in this series, and even though it was heartbreaking, I love this kind of crime drama.

Laura: This episode had lots to choose from, but I also loved the emotional fallout from Arman shooting Maya. That trauma bonded Arman and Thony and the emotions they displayed when they gripped hands. I’m a sucker for couples that come together in times of crisis, and Armony has that in spades.

They have such an emotional connection that shines through with their protectiveness of each other.

Remember, you can watch The Cleaning Lady online right here via TV Fanatic.

The Cleaning Lady airs on Mondays on Fox.

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