S01.E01: TNT

[Trini]

Thony (Elodie Yung), a whip-smart Cambodian doctor, struggles to make ends meet as an undocumented worker after coming to the U.S. from the Philippines in search of a medical treatment for her ailing son. After witnessing a murder, Thony cleans the crime scene to stay alive, then begins living a double life, cleaning for a crime syndicate while doing what is necessary to save her son.

Airdate:  Jan. 3, 2022

 

[AnimeMania]

[Irlandesa]

I felt like this pilot was pretty dark so I don't know how long I'll keep watching but it does have some things I liked. 

I liked the lead character, Thony, and her relationship with her son and sister-in-law.  They have a good rapport for a pilot episode. The struggles they have as undocumented immigrants resonated; although I felt like they wanted to be careful to establish Thony as a strong woman and didn't want to weaken her too much by circumstance.  That led to some moments which felt nonsensical to me like her telling off the restaurant manager, who could call ICE, or telling Adnan that he had better respect her followed by a gulp of alcohol.  They want her to be both a bad ass and a woman stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I hope it's just pilotitis.

She and Adnan do have potential for smoking chemistry if they ever do rise above the cheese factor.  And I saw an interview with Oliver Hudson where he said his character brings some levity to the show so I look forward to seeing how that balances out the show--if it does.

[Bulldog]

It was OK.  I'll give it a couple of more tries before deciding if I want to stick with it or not. 

I did wonder why Thony let the mobsters drive her to her actual address.  She had just seen them murder someone.  Why let them know where you live?  Get out somewhere else and call a ride or walk. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

The fact that they made me wait 1 hour to have Oliver Hudson say one line.  Sigh.

[OLynn33]

A throat punch and a bubble boy. I'll be back.

ETA: a lot of violence and other stuff for an 8pm time slot.

Edited January 4, 2022 by OLynn33

[paigow]

3 hours ago, Bulldog said:

I did wonder why Thony let the mobsters drive her to her actual address.  She had just seen them murder someone.  Why let them know where you live?  Get out somewhere else and call a ride or walk. 

She must have figured that the gang will find her anyway... Who will be stunt casted as Dr. Saroyan?

[AnimeMania]

They jumped into the criminal aspects so quickly and so heavily that the show didn't bother to answer some of the other questions that were on my mind. They were using her too much and they should have given her a crew to train.

Questions like how do illegals (undocumented immigrants) live, how do they get houses, cars, jobs, pay for appliances, etc. What can they do or are afraid of doing (slightly touched on), how is their life different from American citizens.

Questions like how does the plastic tenting work and how much of the house contains it, what are the special precautions you have to take to bring yourself, items, food through the plastic barriers.

It seems fairly convenient that Thony's new boss has unlimited money and seems to make fake identities.

Did the boss make Thony clean up a wild party at his own house?

[Snow Apple]

She seriously cleaned up that mess of a house/apartment in a sparkly dress and all that happened was limp hair? 

But yeah, this show is dark but trying to be sexy too. I admit the main character has chemistry with both the mob guy and his wife.

The lady at the hospital is a snobby bitch. This is about the life and death of a child. Even if she can't do anything, at least show some compassion! Maybe she's just jaded? Was she the same person on the phone later who acted all cheerful and concerned? She sure changed her tune when the "big guns" got involved.

I'll watch a few more episodes to see if it improves.

Edited January 4, 2022 by Snow Apple

[paigow]

6 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Did the boss make Thony clean up a wild party at his own house?

Even in Vegas, not every job is post-murder...

[Snow Apple]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

Even in Vegas, not every job is post-murder...

Yeah but couldn't he have given her 24 hours notice for normal cleaning jobs? He didn't even provide work clothes.

[One Imaginary Girl]

5 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

The lady at the hospital is a snobby bitch. This is about the life and death of a child. Even if she can't do anything, at least show some compassion!

I would have thought that a discussion like that would be in private in an office, not right out there in the open, but then, this is TV.

I liked the episode but hope it doesn't go the Good Girls route, where the main character(s) never get out of their traps for long.  What made Breaking Bad so interesting is that you never knew whether Walt was going to succeed or something would go wrong.

[Simba122504]

The pilot kept my attention. I'll see where it goes. The male and female leads have chemistry, but I hate it when ships move at the speed of light. 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Simba122504

[Medicine Crow]

OK, I'm in!!!

[chaifan]

I think the "pilotitis" this show is suffering from is the networks' need to cram everything possible into the pilot episode for fear that people won't stick around for a plot line to naturally develop.  It seems this has been the case for quite a while.  I think this show handled it reasonably well, better than most new shows. 

I like it.  It's different, not just another cop/firehouse/lawyer/hospital show.  (OK, I also said that at first about La Brea, and that show went downhill fast.)  I also like that they're using a group of immigrants that we don't often see on tv.  As someone mentioned above, I hope they do get into some of the issues undocumented workers face, but I forgive them for not trying to cram that into the pilot.  I like the sister in law, she's sort of a Filipina Rosie Perez.  I agree that they're pushing the 'ship too fast on the two main characters. 

Will we see Tamara Taylor guest star as Dr. Saroyan?  Are we really getting to the point where there are no new names for characters in tv shows? 

 

 

[greekmom]

Enjoyed the pilot as pilots go.

Thony is pretty stupid for handing the gift to Theo's daughter. She should have mailed it.

There is an attraction between Thony and her boss but they are both married. Wonder how that will go.

Hopefully the FBI doesnt catch up with her.

[paigow]

4 minutes ago, greekmom said:

Hopefully the FBI doesnt catch up with her.

Too late... They already have plans to make her into a rat...

[Trini]

I thought this was a good start. I'm in for now. No characters that I really dislike - yet.

One thing that I think might get tiresome in the long run is Thony (and her family) constantly being under threat from either a) deportation, b) unemployment/poverty, c) gang violence, d) sexual harassment, e) law enforcement, or all of the above (not to mention her son's health scares). Of course we want to root for the underdog, but the show's going to be too much of a downer if she has more 'downs' than 'ups'. I feel that eventually they need to take some of those dangers off the board.

One difference between this and Good Girls is that Thony seems to be really good at her criminal(-adjacent?)  activity.

 

21 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

...

Did the boss make Thony clean up a wild party at his own house?

Yeah, I'm a bit confused at that part of the episode -- I'm actually not sure whose house and whose wife that was?? And why the party had to be hidden?

[paigow]

Hayak is the guy that brainwashed Brody on Homeland

[Zonk]

So the boy has to be in a bubble but nobody has to wear masks when interacting with him? At that stage of health problem I'd expect hazmat suits. Maybe it's severe allergies? That's the only thing I can fanwank.

Why does she also have to be a doctor? Wouldn't a show about a smart cleaning lady also work? What is it with TV and doctors and/or cops? Why can't cleaning ladies have a hero?

On 1/4/2022 at 9:28 AM, AnimeMania said:

Did the boss make Thony clean up a wild party at his own house?

Didn't seem like he and his wife lived their and her boss said that his boss couldn't find out that the party had ever happened. So my therory, they were supposed to house sit and "his crazy wife" invited a bunch of her friends to party there.

12 hours ago, chaifan said:

I like it.  It's different, not just another cop/firehouse/lawyer/hospital show.

But she is a doctor! That's important for... um... reasons!

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, Zonk said:

Why does she also have to be a doctor? Wouldn't a show about a smart cleaning lady also work? What is it with TV and doctors and/or cops? Why can't cleaning ladies have a hero?

It's based on an Argentinian show and I suspect the doctor credentials will become more important as it goes on.  It may be what keeps her alive in a way that cleaning doesn't.

[Zonk]

30 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

It's based on an Argentinian show and I suspect the doctor credentials will become more important as it goes on.  It may be what keeps her alive in a way that cleaning doesn't.

I think it would be more interesting if she was just a cleaner and had to stay alive with those skills and her wits only. It's not like the writers couldn't write it this way. The pilot was already kinda farfetched in a few places.

[paigow]

6 hours ago, Zonk said:

But she is a doctor! That's important for... um... reasons!

Save sleazy guy from dying via tracheotomy... and sister-in-law from jail 

Save sexy boss from bleeding out

[Zonk]

44 minutes ago, paigow said:

Save sleazy guy from dying via tracheotomy... and sister-in-law from jail 

Save sexy boss from bleeding out

Yeah, but again: It's not like any of those were integral to the plot. The writers could have just left out those injuries and the plot wouldn't have changed one bit.

She didn't make herself usefull to the mafia with her doctor skills, she did so with her cleaning skills.

[SonofaBiscuit]

Sexy boss is quite yum, and I do see the chemistry there. I remember him from that horrible Kevin Bacon show where James Purefoy was a serial killer.

This was interesting enough for me to tune in again. I don’t have much to add, except that it was idiotic that Thony didn’t immediately switch her phone off or to silent as soon as that murder went down. I was like “you better hope your phone doesn’t ring...” But it was for plot reasons, so I guess I’ll just let that go! Anyways, I like the character and will be back next week.

 

[Tachi Rocinante]

I kept thinking the main drug lord is Michael Malarkey with an accent.  They could be twins.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Tachi Rocinante

[Raja]

I guess the main reason being a doctor isn't for the mob story, as they already had doctors on retainer, but for to argue for her son's treatment on a near equal basis

[Raja]

On 1/4/2022 at 6:44 AM, Snow Apple said:

 

But yeah, this show is dark but trying to be sexy too. I admit the main character has chemistry with both the mob guy and his wife.

 

Having Thony make a  T & A bra and patties shower shot seemed like old school TV. Every man, except for the big boss's son was already interested in her in her cleaning uniform. I guess she is too old for him.

On 1/4/2022 at 7:07 AM, paigow said:

Even in Vegas, not every job is post-murder...

Seeing as the FBI is already on to Thony having her clean up after the 13 murders a TV mid season episodes  would seem to be a bit much as they should have a case or given up on her already. I think I would have held the police finding out for a few episodes. I know it seemed that an extra 13 on CSI wouldn't raise eyebrows.

On 1/4/2022 at 10:09 PM, Trini said:

Yeah, I'm a bit confused at that part of the episode -- I'm actually not sure whose house and whose wife that was?? And why the party had to be hidden?

I took it as a test, in this case Thony was not in immediate fear for her life and additional payments would suck her further into the organization.

So I am guessing Cambodian to match the Elodie Yung's ethnicity after she got cast. Filipino because the show runner had experience with Filipino foreign workers in Hong Kong. Rather than there are fewer Cambodians around to play the supporting family roles .So we got a different group than we normally see with the undocumented stories all the way to the pilot title the slang "TNT", (tago ng tago) or  always hiding 

[MysticMoon]

On 1/6/2022 at 8:50 AM, Tachi Rocinante said:

I kept thinking the main drug lord is Michael Malarkey with an accent.  They could be twins.

I thought for sure it was J.R. Ramirez from Manifest! until someone here mentionned Canto.

[Zoe]

On 1/10/2022 at 8:31 PM, Raja said:

So I am guessing Cambodian to match the Elodie Yung's ethnicity after she got cast. Filipino because the show runner had experience with Filipino foreign workers in Hong Kong. Rather than there are fewer Cambodians around to play the supporting family roles .So we got a different group than we normally see with the undocumented stories all the way to the pilot title the slang "TNT", (tago ng tago) or  always hiding 

This is really nitpicky of me, but for as much as it's supposed to be showing the struggles of a Filipino family, only Fiona's actress and the boys playing Thony's son appear to be Filipino.  Would have been nice if they could have filled the other roles with similar backgrounds.

[phoenics]

On 1/5/2022 at 8:48 AM, Zonk said:

Why does she also have to be a doctor? Wouldn't a show about a smart cleaning lady also work? What is it with TV and doctors and/or cops? Why can't cleaning ladies have a hero?

I think it's because being a doctor and knowing about the chemistry of things like blood, etc, makes her a better "cleaning up a crime scene" cleaner than a regular cleaner would be.  When she initially convinced Arman to let her clean up the scene, she talked about using the right chemicals to break down the blood so it would be undetectable by police, etc... a regular cleaning person wouldn't have that kind of knowledge.

The other reason it's important is that she came to the US on a visa that she was able to get in part because she IS a doctor.  That gave her connections and put her higher on the list to get that initial visa (that has now run out because the first donor backed out and they're waiting on a new donor or this experimental program).  It explains how she got to the US.

It also might be social commentary on the way the US immigration system picks and chooses.

Edited January 24, 2022 by phoenics

[TV Anonymous]

Finally got the chance to watch the pilot. While I like the underlying plot, and having Élodie Yung as main character helps, I have to question a number of nonsense in the episode.

•  Arman liked Thony at the beginning literally as a cleaning lady. The capability as physician only came up later. Why? A gangster like him did not have 'specialized' cleaning crew on call? Apparently he did not, considering Theo's body was found.
• Arman asked Thony to go to his house to do a literal house cleaning, while she was in her cocktail dress. Again, why? There was nothing incriminating in the party in his house. 
• Why did Thony stay in the United States after the donor backed out? If the purpose of her coming was because of the donor, would it be better to wait in the Philippines for another donor to appear anywhere in the world?

[preeya]

On 1/12/2022 at 10:00 AM, MysticMoon said:

I thought for sure it was J.R. Ramirez from Manifest!

Same thought here.

[Raja]

11 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

 

• Arman asked Thony to go to his house to do a literal house cleaning, while she was in her cocktail dress. Again, why? There was nothing incriminating in the party in his house. 
• Why did Thony stay in the United States after the donor backed out? If the purpose of her coming was because of the donor, would it be better to wait in the Philippines for another donor to appear anywhere in the world?

Thony was at a party when she was called up to clean Arman's home. I think he was testing her. There us no need having her on retainer if she would go "TNT"  when he called the burner phone.

I think her son is waiting for more than a donor but she is trying to get him into a clinical trial. The wiki from the original says the cleaner is attempting to get to America. Money, while tight doesn't seem to be the issue here.

Edited January 25, 2022 by Raja

[phoenics]

10 hours ago, preeya said:

Same thought here.

They do totally favor because when I watched Manifest, I was convinced it was Adan Canto, lol!  I kept looking up the actor because I was SURE it was him.

[jabRI]

I recognized the actor right away, but it took me a few minutes to place him from 'Designated Survivor'.  For the party scene, it sounded like he had the party at his boss' house and they needed to clean it before he got back.  Why that was last minute is a head scratcher.

[phoenics]

12 hours ago, jabRI said:

I recognized the actor right away, but it took me a few minutes to place him from 'Designated Survivor'.  For the party scene, it sounded like he had the party at his boss' house and they needed to clean it before he got back.  Why that was last minute is a head scratcher.

I got the feeling Arman's wife threw the party without Arman's knowledge and he needed it cleaned up before Hayak got back home?  I think the headscratcher for me is why his wife was throwing parties in her husband's house?

[statsgirl]

On 1/24/2022 at 10:56 AM, TV Anonymous said:

 

• Why did Thony stay in the United States after the donor backed out? If the purpose of her coming was because of the donor, would it be better to wait in the Philippines for another donor to appear anywhere in the world?

There was a line that he could not get the medical treatment if he were in thePhilippine. 

I think that  1. there is no donor list in the Philippines or if there is, it is much smaller than in the US (an organ from the US would not survive the long trip to the Philippines) and 2. the stem cell trial is keeping him alive until he gets a donated organ.

IIRC Arman said that the party was at his boss's house who was away and he couldn't find out.

[Zoe]

13 hours ago, statsgirl said:

There was a line that he could not get the medical treatment if he were in thePhilippine. 

I think that  1. there is no donor list in the Philippines or if there is, it is much smaller than in the US (an organ from the US would not survive the long trip to the Philippines) and 2. the stem cell trial is keeping him alive until he gets a donated organ.

The thing at odds with that though is Thony says they're having a hard time finding a replacement donor because they're trying to find another Filipino/Indonesian donor.