‘The Cleaning Lady’ Leads ‘Resetting The Board’ With 2 Serious Deaths And A New Mission For Thony In The Season 2 Finale

SPOILER WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the Fox Season 2 finale The cleaning lady.

Season 2 of The cleaning lady Monday night concluded with a two-part finale that killed off two main characters and left it to Thony (Elodie Yung) to pick up the pieces.

Despite warnings to stay away from Robert Kamdar (Naveen Andrews) when the FBI caught up with him, Thony once again took matters into his own hands. While Arman (Adan Canto) was finally able to bring him down, FBI agent Garrett Miller (Oliver Hudson) was also killed in the process – severing Thony’s connection to law enforcement and ruining her chances of getting her sister Fiona (Martha Millan) from save deportation after the two are caught stealing medical equipment and administering an experimental drug to Thony’s son to save his life.

Arman and Thony must work together to bring Fiona back to the United States, but Arman wants to hide her plan from Nadia (Eva De Dominici), who has just inherited all of Robert’s wealth.

“It really resets the board in an interesting way,” co-showrunner Melissa Carter said.

Carter and her co-showrunner Miranda Kwok spoke to Deadline about the decision to take the big step of killing off two main characters with one stone and how it will have a ripple effect with consequences for those left behind.

Reporter: Talk to me about the decision to kill off two main characters in this final episode.

MELISSA CARTER: We always knew that Naveen Andrews’ character would be someone who would become just that [in the series] one season and we wanted it to be an exciting ride. We wanted him to really keep Arman under control. There is a possibility of romance with Nadia, and so we wanted to feel that satisfaction that finally, [the story] brings Arman and Nadia together again to take revenge on him. I think the inspiration for taking down Garrett is the unpredictability of this world. We just want to show how unsafe the world of crime is and that someone’s life is in danger at any moment. So that was the big, the big reason and the desire for a cliffhanger at the end of the season. But the other part of the motivation is that with Fiona evicted, Thony no longer has that law on her side. She couldn’t get Fiona back, which will eventually drive her deeper into crime.

MICHELLE KWOK: We love Oliver. He’s been such a supporter of the show and I think part of that decision is that it would be so heartbreaking and devastating to lose one of our main cast members. [It’s about] how important it is to show not only the unpredictability, but also the consequences [of Thony’s actions]. Thony is a character who is always the smartest person in any room. She is so resourceful. She has all the chess pieces moving, and [Garrett’s death] really show her that she’s not always in control. She has no control and that she will make mistakes. For the past two seasons, Thony has walked that moral tightrope between the law and the criminal world, trying to navigate both. She’s always hesitant and ended up making these choices that didn’t work for Fiona or Garrett.

Reporter: Will Garrett’s death and Fiona’s deportation help Thony realize that she needs to step back and sometimes follow someone else’s lead?

KWOK: That is the big question. Which way is she going? Did she learn from her lessons or not? Garrett is someone who has tried time and time again to get her out of this life of crime and break her from these bad choices she keeps making. Now that he’s gone, what will she do? At the same time, now that Fiona has been suspended, Fiona must make even riskier decisions and potentially more damaging mistakes in order to get her back. It’s going to be that push-pull, but more intense, elevated and complicated.

Reporter: Naveen Andrews plays such a great villain. What do you think he added to this character?

CARRIER: When we saw Naveen inside The FalloutI was really excited because he really gave Sunny Balwani so many layers. His portrait really surprised me. We were looking for that nuance, and he embraces the villain character with so much enthusiasm, so much fervor, and he really enjoys it. It’s right on the edge, almost a little campy, but not. It is grounded. He was a pleasure to work with and just kept busy. He was just willing to try anything and so it was fun to create this character who is really so nihilistic.

KWOK: Robert is someone who absolutely hoards money for power, and he has, and that’s why he’s untouchable now. Or he thought he was. It’s just this really beautiful, nuanced character, someone who’s so unpredictable, and a different kind of villain. Someone who can be so calm and then take off is what we were looking for and he really delivered for us.

Reporter: What are you looking for in future opponents to add for later seasons?

KWOK: I think we’re always interested in someone who can challenge Thony and Arman and push them a little bit out of their comfort zone to do things they wouldn’t normally do. But at the same time, hold up a mirror to them. Arman and Thony hold up a mirror to each other and show each other who they really are. So I think with every villain we bring into the game, we want to bring something that also allows our characters to reflect on themselves.

Reporter: So, Arman and Nadia are back together, but Thony and Arman are now starting this mission together. What does that say about the future of this trio?

KWOK: I think we’re going to continue to have a very interesting love triangle and now the stakes are higher for everyone. Well, for Thony, she always tried to save her son. Now she’s trying to save Fiona. And Arman is even more attached to her than before, and he also feels responsible, even though he knows that Kamdar had to die to be safe. He knows it was his responsibility too. This will bring all three into conflict, which are just fun things to delve into.

CARRIER: Nadia is also now in a position of power. Arman and Nadia are not legally married. She inherited everything from Robert. I have a feeling nothing beats the aphrodisiac of power and money that will keep Arman close to her too.