The Cleaning Lady Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Spousal Privilege

The Cleaning Lady Season 2 Episode 8, “Spousal Privilege,” leads to one of the nastiest things Arman has ever done, and finally gives Fiona someone who cares about her. 

As upsetting as it is to see Thony and Fiona separated, this is what Fiona finally needs to realize maybe she doesn’t need to be tied to Thony entirely right now.

At JD’s place, he (metaphorically) sits Fiona down and asks about Thony, and once all is revealed, JD is shocked and upset; frankly, he deserves to be. 

Though Fiona herself has been part of what Thony is doing, it’s questionable whether or not Fiona realizes the danger Thony unintentionally put Fiona and her children in. 

It’s heartbreaking to see the kids confused about why they have to leave Thony, and their home, but in the long run, this should be an eye-opening experience for Fiona. She needs to protect her children first. 

Garrett gets a pass this week for being a jerk to Thony and Arman because of the grief of it all, but the sooner he realizes that their relationship is a symbiotic one, the sooner everyone is going to be more respectful toward each other. 

Garrett often speaks to Thony and Arman as a parent, showing his clear disappointment, instead of speaking to them like equal humans all working for the same goal. 

It’s unbecoming. 

Katherine Russo brightens up the screen every time she’s here and my fingers are crossed that we’ll learn more about her as the season goes on.

Speaking of women we know very little about… Nadia is fairly prominent on “Spousal Privileges,” and the episode does a lot to reaffirm that if Nadia and Arman do face an actual divorce eventually, I am on Nadia’s side. 

More than she should, Nadia obeys Arman. She listens to what he says and she takes it at face value and she doesn’t fight him on it unless she really thinks she has to. 

Nadia has stayed loyal to Arman throughout everything we’ve seen so far — FBI cases, blackmail, and now, ex-husbands. 

Arman very clearly cannot say the same thing, as he’s unable to even state whether he’s in love with Thony or not.

Seeing Nadia realize why Arman slept with her is excruciating. I sincerely hope her sudden prominence is leading to her going somewhere alone, and not where I’m afraid of, which is her death.  

Arman has been built up as a man who wouldn’t hurt the people he loves intentionally, and he does just that on “Spousal Privileges.” If he would do that to his wife, who’s to say he wouldn’t do that to Thony?

Nadia is smart, and she deserves the credit for being as intelligent as she is while she’s being pulled around by two men who don’t value her as they should. 

She’s made out to be the villain, the bad guy standing between Thony and Arman, but every time the two interact I think about how much it’s hurting Nadia, and I can’t even be on board anymore. 

Adan Canto and Elodie Yung have undeniable chemistry, but you can’t create a badass character like Nadia and expect people to be okay with watching her be hurt over and over again. 

With still no guarantee of when the FBI will get Kamdar, The Cleaning Lady is stuck in a repetitive loop that they need to find themselves out of before it negatively impacts the show. 

Right now, storylines repeating themselves isn’t a huge problem, but it is something that needs to be fixed. Even bringing in a new villain didn’t help emphasize anyone but Nadia. 

Normally, I love the unpredictability, but with The Cleaning Lady, it’s not clear if this is going to turn out to be something great, or if it’s all falling apart before it can really start.

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The Cleaning Lady airs Monday at 9/8c on FOX.

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