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idealisticrealism · 2 years

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TCL 2x01 recap

So I have many (many) thoughts about this show, and this season @enigmaticfox convinced me that instead of just bombarding her with them, I should post them here lol. So I hope that you guys enjoy my insane TCL spiralling, and feel free to respond to any of it if that takes your fancy lol

Firstly I loved that we got our usual cool cleaning montage set to badass music (aka the thing that is frequently used to represent Thony) and it turned out to be Arman instead?? I mean, he's cleaning, she's breaking the law-- what's that they say about couples who take part in each other's interests?? Lol. Though tbh I should have immediately guessed it was him in the montage bc the music was Spanish, duh

Hayak's comment about laundry was interesting, and given how he repairs all their trucks too I want to know more about his backstory. Why doesn't he respect Arman when it seems he also came from a working class background? Maybe because he feels he pulled himself up and yet Arman only rose with his help?

I feel it’s necessary to mention that Arman IS SO FUCKING PRETTY.

But maybe not super smart rn?? "I'll be running things in no time", like careful with your words there Arman, geez. Also him calling her The Cleaning Lady was kind of hot lol. It's like her superhero secret identity, or assassin name or something

(Okay where is this goddamn house???? Give me more landmarks, show!! I need to find this filming location dammit)

As much as I love Armony, Thony and Fi are the real central relationship of this show imo. Their scenes in this ep were hard to watch but so good ugh. And ugh Thony saying she and Luca belong with Fi and the kids makes me so happy (though lbr there's also someone else on her mind as well as she says this....)

It drives me nuts that I know exactly where this FBI building filming location is but I couldn't take photos in these spots lol

(Skips past garrett whining about his mistress)

"Nothing's going to happen to Marco" the moment I figured he was probably gonna die lol

Ok I'm used to Nadia and Arman arguing in Spanish but holy shit them talking all low and tenderly is actually really hot lol

Arman immediately defending Thony and making it clear that he trusts her is what I live for ugh. (Also, Nadia telling him he trusts people too much could be clever foreshadowing of her eventually betraying him late in the season, but I really hope not). But ugh his unhappy little face when she says Thony could be going to the airport-- reminds me of his wounded look in 1x03 :P

Also the cut between that line and Thony actually being at the airport was hilarious lol. Plus I love that I know exactly the spot they filmed the airport stuff in, I went into that hallway to go to the bathroom haha

Sigh Bash and Tino are growing too fast :(

God this was such inefficient searching by Thony and Garrett. He was RIGHT THERE

Lol very awkward to try to explain to Garrett why she doesn't want to leave the country where she’s an illegal immigrant.... also lol at her answering his statement that she’s still involved with Arman with "Arman's in jail". That means literally nothing Thony and you both know it?? Honestly her and Arman tying themselves in knots trying to find a believable explanation to give others about their connection is one of my favourite recurring themes in the show lol

I oddly loved hearing Nadia say "dammit, Thony"-- it gives the sense that they are getting closer in a weird way lol

Good job Chris dropping some truth bombs about marco being shit haha

Dude this Armony phone conversation is actually kind of hilarious when you realise that their whole "I guess I'm going to have to stay" hand-holding eye-lovemaking moment was literally yesterday, but her ignoring Nadia's calls has got him so freaked out that she's somehow changed her mind that he's now like 100x more desperate to get out of prison than he was just the day before haha

But oh god this phone call. Like seriously I'm forever in love with the pause and the shift of tone/sincere appeal in his "what's going on?", and then her trying to dismiss it with a sigh and a "nothing" bc she doesn't want to add to his burdens/ is so used to dealing with stuff on her own, but when he gives her even just one nudge to open up to him, she immediately tells him the truth. And ugh the clear agitation in his voice when he prompts "but what??" when she says Marco tried to take Luca on the plane. He needs to know if Thony really is about to get on a plane to chase after Luca. And then when he tells her he wishes he could be there to help her, it has that same rasp of emotion to it that was there in the 1x09 call, clearly responding to the fact she herself sounds close to tears. And THEN she says "I know you do" all gently like that???? Help???? And he asks her what she'll do now, almost like a do-over of yesterday, because he needs to know if her answer-- her plan to stay-- has changed. It's only after she mentions Garrett that he hardens again, clearly feeling jealous and replaceable (hence his commence about her not needing his help anymore), and then he orders her to call Nadia because "I need to get the hell out of here". Very telling that he's suddenly so desperate to be out, especially considering that at this point he thinks he's safe from Hayak for now, so it's clear that his desperation (whether consciously or not) has more to do with needing to be back on the playing board where he can be of worth to Thony again. And ugh Thony looks so sad when they hang up and I choose to interpret that as her wishing he was there with her rather than them being forcibly separated to both deal with things alone ugghhhh

(Super curious to know what, if anything, she said in response to him saying she didn't need his help anymore. Maybe nothing, or maybe she started to say something but he unintentionally cut her off when he spoke again, but ugh I bet she was definitely at least thinking how wrong he was)

Anyhow lollll at Arman's face when he discovers that the visitor that caused his call with Thony to get cut short and end on a tense note was Garrett. He really hates this guy and it's not just because he double-crossed him and put him in prison. Of course it's partly that-- mainly because prison is keeping him from thony-- but he really hates that Garrett now gets to be the one she turns to when she needs help, the one who is there for her and there with her. But oh my precious boy you are so blind if you think that Thony would ever willingly go to Garrett if she had any other choice lol

I feel like Fi saying Marco took Luca because of something going on between Thony and Arman– while not necessarily wrong– was pretty damn unfair? Like way to victim-blame there Fi (and lol I already posted a whole meta about this so I’ll leave it at that)

Honestly I expected Marco to call her out on the fact that she took Luca from him (and away to a foreign country) first

I'm so pleased the illegal divorce thing finally got mentioned! And it's probably nothing but I really like the way that the two times we've heard her vehemently say 'I won't!' were about 1) her refusal to betray Arman, and 2) her refusal to leave Arman the US :P

So when she says the key to everything is getting Arman out of prison, she basically means the key is her and Arman being together as a partnership again, right? We're all hearing that, right???

Ugh my poor boy knows he's fucked. I bet he wishes his phone conversation with Thony had gone differently now

At first I was confused when they didn't attack him when he was with Hayak but of course hayak needs to keep separate from it to keep his hands clean

I love Nadia for not selling out Thony to Garrett. Obviously it wasn't just for Thony's sake but I still appreciate it

Hey, it's the alley! I have a lot of pics of this spot bc I had no idea which parts would actually be in the shot lol

And aaaahh Fi goes back to the same cash place they used in 1x10! I walked right by there!

God I love this soundtrack. Also this montage of terrible disguises is great lol. And I think they actually even used one shot that is legit just Martha and Elodie laughing and I love it

It's funny that even when Garrett isn't being a direct antagonist against Thony and Arman, he's still fucking stuff up for them lol. But okay I assume when they say 'contact the exchange to freeze the account' they mean the site that hosts the online account, right? Because if they meant the physical place, then why wouldn't they have gone there to catch the person getting the money out?

I have decided that even though inmates get assigned their duties, Arman swapped whatever more desirable duty he got with someone else so he could mop instead, purely because it reminded him of Thony. (Shhh just let me have this.) And in which case that would mean that she indirectly saves his life because he then has the mop as a weapon when he's attacked lolll

I honestly yelped when the guy stabbed him. A beating I was prepared for, but not that! I literally yelled YOU FUCKING STABBED MY BOY! out loud and scared my dog lol

Also, this may earn me some judgement, but a bleeding Arman beating the shit out of two men?? That's hotttt lol

It's weird but cool to hear Fi say Nadia's name. The lines between Thony's worlds are blurring, indeed.

Fi and Chris insisting on coming with Thony is like that dude in Romeo and Juliet that doesn't get the message to Romeo in time. Just one of those small events that, if different, could have averted tragedy (though lbr I’m glad this particular ‘tragedy’ wasn’t averted haha). Also at first when Thony and Marco started arguing right outside the door I was like "why are you doing this right here, you'll wake Luca and probably other guests as well!" And then Chris came up the stairs and the shoving started and I was like "Oh that's why" lol

"It's him. Your gangster" I mean, gotta give Marco credit here bc he's kind of right?? Like lbr there's blind, baseless jealousy (like Arman towards Garrett, who is literally zero threat romantically) and then there's well-founded jealousy, and we all know Marco’s is the latter. It would be impossible to see Thony and Arman interact and not know there was some form of connection there; Marco's earlier mistake was in assuming it was just sexual in nature, but I think when he saw the way Thony pushed back against him (and against leaving the US) he started to realise it was more than that. God I wish we'd gotten to hear what she said in response to that accusation instead of having the camera switch to Fi, but from his comment about her twisting reality I assume she found a way to deflect yet again. (And in her defence, she IS also wanting to stay for Fi and the kids, and because going back to the philippines to be trapped in an unhappy marriage would be a nightmare. But still. That doesn’t negate the fact that there’s also Arman. lol)

I yelled "BYEEEEEE!" at Marco's death and my dog wagged her tail really hard lol. She knows what side to be on haha

God this cleaning job is NOT up to Thony's usual standard and it makes me so stressed lol. Almost as stressed as her literally going right up to the guy in the office and showing her face aaaaaahhhh

Also Thony seriously you need to go somewhere further away and at least change clothes and put up your hair if you're going to go back to the place where you just had a face to face conversation with a guy who would still be there! C'mon where's my brilliant doctor-slash-mob-wife lol??? (too traumatised to be thinking clearly, obviously). Also Garrett if you can't put this one together you're a terrible agent lol

Ugh obviously Arman will be fine but I still hate seeing him all stabbed lol. Still, getting Thony's reaction when she finds out will be worth it haha

Ugh I am living for these mama bears protecting their family <33333

Okay so surely the first question the cops asked at the motel was 'is there camera footage' and yet they don't appear to have it (which if they did, would close the storyline very fast)-- which means Mr Motel Moustache apparently lied to police and kept it to himself??? Why???? What does he gain from taking that risk??? He doesn't know Thony is rich and basically a mob boss, so it's probably not about blackmail, and he doesn't seem the type to go that far to protect a stranger. So why??? Is he doing sketchy stuff at the motel that he doesn’t want the cops finding out about if they get his footage?? I need answersssss lol

(Okay that’s all for week 1 haha, congrats if you made it this far lol)

#The Cleaning Lady #Armony #TCL recap #TCL 2x01 #yes I know I am DEEP down this rabbit hole lol #I have accepted my fate #TCL is life haha

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enigmaticfox · 2 years

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The Cleaning Lady : Fi & Thony in 2x01

This is unpopular opinion that will get me kicked out of fandom, but whatever.

My very first thought when I woke up this morning -- gaslighting. Fiona is being gaslit by Thony.

It's a chilling thought, but it's been percolating in my mind since the 2x01 scene where Fi calls her out on her connection with Arman, that Marco "knows something's going on with the two of you". It was a blink and you miss it moment, but I froze for that split second when Thony pointed a finger at her in response, her expression slightly twisted, a controlled, silent fury. A how fucking dare you say that to me. A loss of words, because she had no other words at that moment than to admit that Fi was right. And then, Fi backpedals, apologising for that accusation.

There's a whole other essay to be written about familial relationships and obligations in TCL -- a perversion of utang na loob, the 'debt of gratitude' in Filipino culture -- that complicates not only the way Fi feels about Marco (which stems also from her uneasy relationship with her father, a dynamic I hope we see explored in 2x02), but the way she feels obliged to speak to him (kuya not only denotes older brother, but is a honorific in Filipino culture that connotes respect) or about him to others. And this complicates her dynamics with Thony, her best friend and sister-in-law. Martha Milian nails it every time onscreen, in that uncertainty in her voice and body language whenever she broaches the issue of Marco -- or Arman -- with Thony.

In this episode, Fi was only one of the many people who questioned the armony connection -- Garrett had alluded to it earlier on, Marco would do it later on, and Nadia raised it with Arman during the jail scene. But for me, even though we could probably appreciate Thony's perspective about her connection with Arman (it's still so new and so fraught with many issues and emotions, and frankly, it's also no one's damn business), I couldn't help but be disappointed by her reaction to Fi. It's one thing for Thony to deflect the issue when Garrett brings it up -- the feelings aside, it makes sense when she needs to protect Arman from a legal, criminal standpoint. But it is galling that she shuts down her best friend with a raised finger, if not invalidating her opinion, then at least making her question it.

From a storytelling standpoint, I can see why it wasn't time for Thony to admit the truth to Fi. The escalation throughout the episode was interesting -- it started from Garrett to Fi to Marco, who with "how you twist reality, justifying your behaviour... it's insane" doesn't mince his words. Arman and Thony may have admitted their feelings to each other, to an extent, but it's time they admitted it to others. As much we want them protected in their bubble with each other, there are now repercussions that are hurting Fi, and also Nadia, the longer this goes on. I can't help but think how cathartic it would have been, if Thony had confided to Fi; to say yes Fi, you're right, something is going on with Arman. It would have broken that pattern.

To be clear, I love this depiction of Thony. A lot. So much has been said about her strength, her steeliness, the lengths she would go for Luca, but she is not infallible, nor should she be expected to be. She has her share of unattractive traits, as does every single person on TCL -- yes, Arman too, let's talk about it (@idealisticrealism, we had that entire discussion earlier about her talent and smarts, her experience being a surgeon while being a woman and the challenges that came with that, how it makes her short-tempered and impatient with those that are not quick to get on her level; Fi got that quite a bit from her in s1).

And with best friends, sometimes we are careless with one another, often we take each other for granted, because we know we have something solid at the base that is not easily broken. In fact, now that I've worked my thoughts through this, I'll revise my earlier point and say that I don't think Thony is gaslighting Fi on purpose, but it is the consequence of her reluctance of vocalising that truth to her best friend, effectively keeping Fi in the dark and unsure. If you can't talk about such things to your best friend, who can you do that with? I just feel that on this, Fi deserves a straight answer from Thony, not her anger and impatience.

#the cleaning lady #the cleaning lady meta #thony de la rosa #fiona de la rosa #arman morales #armony #in other news I'M SO HAPPY THIS SHOW IS BACK #twelve weeks of losing my mind over this damn show #send help

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