S01.E04: Kabayan

[Trini]

Facing a heartbreaking setback with Luca's treatment, Thony desperately takes matters into her own hands. But when a potential donor refuses to participate, she turns to Arman for help, who escalates the situation to get results. Meanwhile, Garrett makes a risky demand of Thony, pushing her deeper into moral ambiguity.

Airdate: Jan. 31, 2022

[AnimeMania]

Kabayan is a word used in the Philippines which means countrymen.

Guest-Star: Lou Diamond Phillips and his real life Daughter, Gracie Phillips play father and daughter, Joe and Grace Fabroa.

[paigow]

There must be a contract clause that requires a pole dance / aerial routine every episode...

[Raja]

2 hours ago, paigow said:

There must be a contract clause that requires a pole dance / aerial routine every episode...

What happens in Vegas is used to draw ratings

[preeya]

Mr. La Bamba to the rescue. 

So now Thony's fate (the necklace) is literally in the hands of the sleazy FBI guy. 

How do you lose a necklace while you are in hiding?

[Trini]

We need more Thony/Fiona! It's a better relationship than Fiona/Bratty Son.

Was nice to see Lou D. Phillips on my screen again.

It shouldn't be, but it was kinda funny to me that Arman was just going to get that bone marrow for Thony by brute force! And how awkward was that car ride, driving home -to another state - the guy your boss kidnapped for you. Good thing he changed his mind.

Ugh - why are necklace clasps on TV so flimsy??  (I know why)

Okay - wasn't expecting Corrupt Congressman to get shanked. So there was a murder, but not one Thony has to clean. Progress!

Continue to be annoyed that the other languages spoken aren't being captioned.

[rr2911]

This episode bothered me.  I didn't like the fact that LDP's character was forced to into this situation.  Sure he eventually decided for himself, but Thony got Arman involved and put LDP in danger.  Hell no!  I was on La Bamba's side!

I guess the woke message in this episode is " your body belongs to everyone"

[Raja]

I guess it's a good thing that Thony picked up enough Tagalog and didn't sing to her son in Khmer or English. Given the story story of Joe it is kind of weird that his daughter retained using Filipino for "dad"

[possibilities]

Did Sleazy FBI guy drink from Thony's water glass after she left? I thought he was giving her water to collect her DNA or something-- they drew so much attention to him giving it to her. And then after she left, he drank it himself? I swear it looked like he drank from her glass, not one of his own. That was very weird. 

It really is a lot that dude apparently agreed and then backed out after Luca did the chemo to prep. That doesn't add up. How would they know he was a match if his daughter put him on the registry but he didn't give some kind of sample for testing? Why would anyone give Luca the chemo and the VISA if the situation was not already fully ready to go? I don't agree with kidnapping and intimidation, but backing out after the kid flew over and took the chemo is actually really, really shitty. I didn't buy his change of heart.

I also thought no way would Armand let him go after the kidnapping. Dude would surely go to the cops and report them for kidnapping him, and Armand would know that. Also, why was Armand suddenly being all friendly and concerned about Thony again, when last week he was so angry about her judging him and he told her not to come to him if she got into trouble again. Surely he would assume she was acting weird because she hates him, and wouldn't ask her what's wrong like last week never happened.

Luca's dad would know that Luca can't fly in his condition. The way they are portraying him, he'd die on the flight and dad just gets to hug his corpse.

I laughed that Armand said he'd go talk to the donor but didn't ask his name or address. TV cuts the weirdest corners.

Fiona's house is really huge and quite lovely. I don't know how she affords it on her under the table cleaning and hosting jobs.

Losing the necklace was ridiculous. But not more than most of the show, so it's hard to really justify how much it annoyed me.

FBI creep hasn't offered Thony a single thing in exchange for her cooperation. Honestly, he isn't holding up his end of the promise he made to her. All his bosses are just letting him do whatever, and they take his word for it that he's not doing anything off book, but c'mon-- they know him, they ought to check his work more carefully if they really care about his methods.

 

[Irlandesa]

This episode kind of cracked me up because it feels like this show wants to be a little bit of everything.  Today, it was This Is Us.

I too, was very confused why the relationship between Arman and Thony was what it was.  It's like the end of the last episode didn't happen.  Kidnapping the donor just felt like a dumb gangster I'd see in a comedy.  It didn't really feel like he had a plan.  He just decided to kidnap him so the show could show us that Thony has limits.  But maybe it'd be more interesting if she didn't when it comes to her son. 

But never fear, he witnesses a lullaby and changes her mind.  This was  a different character than we saw at the beginning of the episode and also a different man than his daughter talked about.  But by the end, everyone is a big happy family? 

I'm also very confused by all the illnesses Luca has.  So he came to get an experimental treatment.  But also needs a bone marrow transplant?  And a liver transplant?  And the bone marrow must go first?  Are we going to need a liver donor now too?  And then the experimental treatment?  This isn't a medical show.  Let's try to keep it simpler.  I don't think even House had a case this complicated.

In the pilot, it looked like Thony and her hubby were estranged.  But tonight, they seemed like a regular married couple only separated by distance. 

This show has potential but man, does it have some figuring itself out to do.

 

[paigow]

Luca needed bone marrow initially. Then he would qualify for the experimental trial. His liver failed because the bone marrow donation never happened. A liver transplant might be avoided now.

[Raja]

6 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

 

In the pilot, it looked like Thony and her hubby were estranged.  But tonight, they seemed like a regular married couple only separated by distance. 

This show has potential but man, does it have some figuring itself out to do.

 

I'm curious what gave you the estranged couple feeling? Thony is living with her husband's sister.

I still see no way to drag this out for multiple season as is the American TV standard. Unless Arman flips and he is the FBI informant with Thony an extra set of eyes and ears.

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

Fiona's house is really huge and quite lovely. I don't know how she affords it on her under the table cleaning and hosting jobs.

Losing the necklace was ridiculous. But not more than most of the show, so it's hard to really justify how much it annoyed me.

FBI creep hasn't offered Thony a single thing in exchange for her cooperation. Honestly, he isn't holding up his end of the promise he made to her. All his bosses are just letting him do whatever, and they take his word for it that he's not doing anything off book, but c'mon-- they know him, they ought to check his work more carefully if they really care about his methods.

 

Fiona's been in America for I think 15 years. She must have bought in during a Vegas real estate bust. Or you get real convoluted and her "dead" ex while deciding to leave her because she cheated and got pregnant didn't move to get her out of his house. When he didn't go through with the wedding. And maybe this wasn't her first time dealing drugs or some other extra legal activity.

Why use the carrot when you have the big stick of deporting her extended family?

8 hours ago, preeya said:

So now Thony's fate (the necklace) is literally in the hands of the sleazy FBI guy. 

How do you lose a necklace while you are in hiding?

Tugging on the chain was her nervous "tell" the agent picked up on it when Thony was lying to him in his office

Edited February 1, 2022 by Raja

[vibeology]

I don't think that necklace is the win FBI guy thinks it is. Thony already works there and cleans there. She can just claim that she was sent to clean the room earlier and lost the necklace then. Or she lost her necklace while at the hotel and someone else must have picked it up. It's not like Arman is going to hand over video from the hallway showing when she entered and exited the room to discredit her.

[Trini]

10 hours ago, possibilities said:

Fiona's house is really huge and quite lovely. I don't know how she affords it on her under the table cleaning and hosting jobs.

She could be renting.

[sempervivum]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't think even House had a case this complicated.

🙄 No kidding. 

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

Did Sleazy FBI guy drink from Thony's water glass after she left? I thought he was giving her water to collect her DNA or something-- they drew so much attention to him giving it to her. And then after she left, he drank it himself? I swear it looked like he drank from her glass, not one of his own. That was very weird. 

I had the same reaction.

I was also puzzled why Thony had to retrieve and return the spy-pen to FBI guy- wouldn't current tech have it just transmit the conversaton while it was happening directly to the cops? With this method, if the pen were somehow lost or smashed, anything 'recorded' on it would be just gone?

Fiona certainly seems to have slid right in to the Molly Dealer role. Won't the IRS be on her trail via the immigration lawyer- unless he's crooked and doesn't declare his income when it's paid out in wads of sweaty, glitter-encrusted currency?

[magdalene]

I didn't enjoy this episode as much. I was really bothered by how Thony acted towards LDP's  character.  The rules and laws about the privacy and anonymity of organ donors, adoption, etc. are very important. Thony meeting and pressuring that guy was a big no-no to me. He had every right to change his mind for whatever reason. The man was no criminal and siccing Arman on him could have easily gotten him killed.  What was she thinking Arman was going to do? Have a cozy little tea party with him?

I know it is odd that in a show where a woman gets in bed with a gangster to help her sick kid while facing a crooked FBI agent I get hung up on this - but this really rubbed me the wrong way.

[paigow]

Thony: I need to find your father so he can save my dying son!

Grace: He works at LaRusso Motors

[Raja]

2 hours ago, sempervivum said:

🙄

Fiona certainly seems to have slid right in to the Molly Dealer role. Won't the IRS be on her trail via the immigration lawyer- unless he's crooked and doesn't declare his income when it's paid out in wads of sweaty, glitter-encrusted currency?

By the way the club owner interacted with Fiona it seemed to me that it wasn't their first rodeo, just perhaps the first time back after her nephew and sister in law turned up at her home. So now she faces the family embarrassment of being a drug dealer

[Irlandesa]

11 hours ago, Raja said:

I'm curious what gave you the estranged couple feeling? Thony is living with her husband's sister.

I thought there was tension in the first phone call we saw between them in the pilot episode?  I didn't think they were separated but I also didn't think they were super solid?

And while it's not often the case, sometimes those bonds with a SO's family last longer than a marriage. I know people who are divorced who barely speak with their ex but are still on good terms with some of the siblings/parents. 

[paigow]

5 hours ago, Raja said:

So now she faces the family embarrassment of being a drug dealer

Chris will finally think his mom is cool

[paigow]

21 hours ago, Trini said:

It shouldn't be, but it was kinda funny to me that Arman was just going to get that bone marrow for Thony by brute force!

The plot seemed to be reversed... Arman would have been happy to extract the bone marrow himself if the laptop retrieval had happened BEFORE any kidnapping.

[Raja]

19 hours ago, sempervivum said:

🙄 No kidding. 

I had the same reaction.

I was also puzzled why Thony had to retrieve and return the spy-pen to FBI guy- wouldn't current tech have it just transmit the conversaton while it was happening directly to the cops? With this method, if the pen were somehow lost or smashed, anything 'recorded' on it would be just gone?

 

It is like when a third of the population were wearing headsets and/or earpieces in public  that plain clothes cops and  agents on TV were acting like phones was some Dick Tracy era spy tech

[jabRI]

On 2/1/2022 at 9:58 AM, vibeology said:

I don't think that necklace is the win FBI guy thinks it is. Thony already works there and cleans there. She can just claim that she was sent to clean the room earlier and lost the necklace then. Or she lost her necklace while at the hotel and someone else must have picked it up. It's not like Arman is going to hand over video from the hallway showing when she entered and exited the room to discredit her.

I came here to say the same thing.  Even if FBI counters they saw it on her earlier, she could come up with lots of things... I gave it to someone in exchange for an extra shift, I lost it, not exactly a smoking gun, other than giving FBI reason to think he can't trust her... he can't.

[Simba122504]

On 1/31/2022 at 11:58 PM, rr2911 said:

This episode bothered me.  I didn't like the fact that LDP's character was forced to into this situation.  Sure he eventually decided for himself, but Thony got Arman involved and put LDP in danger.  Hell no!  I was on La Bamba's side!

I guess the woke message in this episode is " your body belongs to everyone"

LDP's character was kinda terrible, so I just couldn't feel bad for him. 🤣 I hate to say it, but I was happy when Fiona decided to sell drugs on the side. Money talks in this world and many, many people have to do illegal things to get money. The Boss man killed many and broke many laws to build his empire. The old man is worth millions. He's not a good man, but his children and future generations are good. Living privileged lives. Meanwhile,  good people like Fiona and Thony have it hard because they're poor like the rest of us. Of course, doing illegal things, isn't the only way to make money, but it's the easiest way to make a lot of money.  

[possibilities]

At least it's E and not heroin or meth?

[paigow]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

At least it's E and not heroin or meth?

Inevitably, her boyfriend / supplier will be replaced by Gus Fring 2.0

[slowpoked]

On 2/1/2022 at 9:48 AM, Trini said:

She could be renting.

The house has a feel of a mobile home to me. My husband's uncle has a mobile home in Vegas and it looks so eerily similar to Fiona's house. Those types of houses can go for dirt cheap, so I won't be surprised if she actually  bought it. But renting is probably the most plausible explanation.

 

[TV Anonymous]

On 2/1/2022 at 12:58 AM, rr2911 said:

I guess the woke message in this episode is " your body belongs to everyone"

It is no joke. I know plenty of people IRL that think that being an organ donor must be made mandatory.

[paigow]

4 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

It is no joke. I know plenty of people IRL that think that being an organ donor must be made mandatory...

And then donations could be sorted based on values / belief system more easily... Like that episode of Eli Stone 

[CrystalBlue]

12 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

It is no joke. I know plenty of people IRL that think that being an organ donor must be made mandatory.

I hate those people.  Everyone's body belongs to them, individually, and different religious and spiritual beliefs and philosophies are personal rights we have as well.

I was not upset at Lou Diamond Phillips (his character, I mean - I love him!) at not wanting to be a donor.

Edited February 20, 2022 by CrystalBlue
Deleted what was a spoiler! Only Ep 04.