S01.E09: Coming Home Again

[Trini]

Arman's fallout with Hayak has severe consequences for Thony, who must now find her way back home from Mexico with Luca. In hiding, Arman tries to help Thony get back, but it is Garrett who steps in to get Thony across the border where, upon re-entry, things aren't what they seem.

Airdate: March 7, 2022

 

[AnimeMania]

Guest Cast: 
Josette Canilao as Dara Oum 
Eva De Dominici as Nadia 
Ivan Shaw as Marco 
Liza Weil as ASAC Katherine Russo 
Navid Negahban as Hayak Barsamian 
Jonathan Medina as Julio 
Dan Davidson as Wyatt Jennings 
Harold Fisch as Carlos
Phil Mendoza as Martin 
Randy Barco as Guillermo Sanchez 
Michael Lovato as Young CBP Officer 
Elizabeth Hales as Female CBP Officer 
Deborah Martinez as Receptionist 
Jesse Ramirez as Waiter 
Ericka Zepeda as Female CBP Agent 
Derek Webster as DHS Agent Dave DePaul 
Lawrence Gilligan as CBP Agent Vega
Marco Fuller as CBP Agent
Jessica Delgado as Lexi Torres/Aerial Dancer

[paigow]

Arman has a bad fake passport maker...

See what kind of Public Defender is appointed for Thony

Lucky Arman played "too stunned" or Nadia would have dragged his ass INTO the fire

Not sure why Hayak went to the trouble of freezing Carlos and delivering him to Arman...

Another redundant warning? If you betray me again, I will try to kill you again 

Edited March 8, 2022 by paigow

[phoenics]

Well that was intense!

Nothing happened in this episode that went how I thought it would go, so kudos to the writers for that. Apparently the showrunner penned this episode. 

In hindsight when Thony realized her time was running out with the border agent, she should have gone through with Luca first and then Dara would’ve been fine either way. But I can see why Thony just cared about getting Luca across first and herself last.

Also - gov shift changes don’t happen that fast ever. They would’ve let him finish processing Thony before switching. That was dumb and done for drama to keep us on the edge. It worked, lmao.

Arman hallucinating Thony when Nadia was pulling him away from the fire. Whew - this is meeeeesssssyyyyyyy.

Arman confronting Hayek was a shock - I didn’t think he’d do that at all. But I think it’s clear he’s setting Hayek up to take the fall for the sale. Just don’t know how he’s gonna get him there. But good on him removing the target on his back at least temporarily due to the 6 million dollar sale.

Way to go Chris standing up to Marco and figuring out the lawyer was a sheister. I worry Marco is going to take Luca back to the Philippines with him. He seems like he’d do that and Thony wouldn’t be able to stop him behind bars. 
 

Oh Garrett. Being poor doesn’t remove your white cis male privilege. Thony’s situation isn’t even close to the same. And it’s rich to have him lecturing her about good/bad when he’s done nothing but break the rules since day one. I suspect he’s headed for unemployment.

I hope these charges are just a facade to get Thony back in the US to be a witness against Arman?

Question is - did Hayek deliver Carlos’ body to the house before or after Arman visited the club? I suppose it doesn’t matter.

Arman looked hot AF waking up from almost being murdered a week later lmao. Damn.

Next week looks like it’s gonna be crazy. 

Edited March 8, 2022 by phoenics

[eel21788]

27 minutes ago, phoenics said:

In hindsight when Thony realized her time was running out with the border agent, she should have gone through with Luca first and then Dara would’ve been fine either way. But I can see why Thony just cared about getting Luca across first and herself last.

Did Thorny make sure Dara had his anti-rejection meds and knew how and when to give them on the trip back home? Also, who is going to take on that responsibility now that they are back home?

Add to that, most liver transplant patients haven't even left the ICU at one week postop, let alone are ready to be discharged from the hospital and travel. Why did the place in Mexico want to kick him out so fast other than for non-payment? Which also brings us to how was she allowed to leave when the bill hadn't been paid?

[eel21788]

33 minutes ago, phoenics said:

Way to go Chris standing up to Marco and figuring out the lawyer was a sheister.

Was he expecting the lawyer to work for free? Since the lawyer had asked for a retainer, it should have been pretty clear this wasn't going to be pro bono. $400 to do the DACA paperwork for them sounds pretty reasonable, as well as the extra $400 for him to drop what he was doing for his other clients and do Chris' paperwork first. 

If they were only interested in paying the $750 government fee for DACA, they should have done the paperwork themselves to begin with.

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

See what kind of Public Defender is appointed for Thony 

Arman will find a way to foot the bill for a private attorney or use some crooked lawyer he already has on his payroll.

[paigow]

9 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Arman will find a way to foot the bill for a private attorney or use some crooked lawyer he already has on his payroll.

Any lawyer he has would run away from a case involving ICE, FBI, ATF & DHS

[Raja]

2 hours ago, paigow said:

Arman has a bad fake passport maker...

See what kind of Public Defender is appointed for Thony

 

Well  the forger only had minutes and seemed more like the contact to the corrupt boarder guard with a prop so the others wouldn't suspect him. In this era you are not fooling the human eyes but a computer. And of course gave Luca a backup plan

[jada]

There's a lot happening on this show. I'm not sure where they are doing with this. I guess Thony might be released to carry on being an informant. Then she and Arman team up to take down Hayek.  The clear line right now is her getting released on bail/deported but I'm sure they will find a last-minute save that will keep her around after all she is the lead

 

 

[magdalene]

Several story points didn't work for me both logically and emotionally last episode but I enjoyed this episode much more. Nothing happened in the way I was expecting and it makes me respect the show more. I really appreciate how the writers are making it clear that while Arman has real feelings for Thony he also has a real relationship with his wife.  She isn't just there as a cheap obstacle to the Arman/Thony thing. 

An odd thing happened this episode I didn't loathe Garrett for the first time ever. Obviously he deserves to be fired and it looks like he is going to be, but I wonder what is going to happen with him next episode.  Our characters are backed into a corner, how do they get out of it.

Thony needs to divorce Marco, apart from her attraction to Arman he is a terrible husband who gambled away family money.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, magdalene said:

Our characters are backed into a corner...

The Corner of Death! It will be a triple stand-off : Good, Bad, Ugly [or maybe Bad, Worse, Horrible]

Garrett cannot decide who to kill... Arman & Hayak BOTH shoot Garrett and declare Bygones circa Ally McBeal

[Raja]

1 hour ago, magdalene said:

Several story points didn't work for me both logically and emotionally last episode but I enjoyed this episode much more. Nothing happened in the way I was expecting and it makes me respect the show more. I really appreciate how the writers are making it clear that while Arman has real feelings for Thony he also has a real relationship with his wife.  She isn't just there as a cheap obstacle to the Arman/Thony thing. 

An odd thing happened this episode I didn't loathe Garrett for the first time ever. Obviously he deserves to be fired and it looks like he is going to be, but I wonder what is going to happen with him next episode.  Our characters are backed into a corner, how do they get out of it.

Thony needs to divorce Marco, apart from her attraction to Arman he is a terrible husband who gambled away family money.

Thony is in real limbo there. She is illegal in Las Vegas and the Philippines is the last place on earth without divorce for non Muslims.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, jada said:

There's a lot happening on this show. I'm not sure where they are doing with this. I guess Thony might be released to carry on being an informant. Then she and Arman team up to take down Hayek.  The clear line right now is her getting released on bail/deported but I'm sure they will find a last-minute save that will keep her around after all she is the lead

 

 

I can only see one way out, the Justice Department overrides Homeland Security and gives Thony the deal Agent Garrett proposed. He forgave her double agent turn while Homeland is still mad that she so quickly violated her parole and wants to deport her.

[sempervivum]

Poor Thony- ALL the men in her life are pretty much trash. She needs to send Marco packing, but he'd probably spill all the secrets he knows about her and/or take Luca back to the Phillippines.

Garrett- rambling self-righteously about good guys- is a selfish screwup, and Arman is an idiot who can't see how loyal and brave his wife is.

14 hours ago, paigow said:

Not sure why Hayak went to the trouble of freezing Carlos and delivering him to Arman.

This makes no sense. In the real world, Carlos would have been dissolved or something asap. While it kind of reminds me of Line of Duty's great plot arc about a frozen body, I don't see how Hayak could use the corpse to blackmail Arman, even if he somehow knew Arman was still alive after the explosion.

[phoenics]

21 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

Poor Thony- ALL the men in her life are pretty much trash. She needs to send Marco packing, but he'd probably spill all the secrets he knows about her and/or take Luca back to the Phillippines.

Garrett- rambling self-righteously about good guys- is a selfish screwup, and Arman is an idiot who can't see how loyal and brave his wife is.

This makes no sense. In the real world, Carlos would have been dissolved or something asap. While it kind of reminds me of Line of Duty's great plot arc about a frozen body, I don't see how Hayak could use the corpse to blackmail Arman, even if he somehow knew Arman was still alive after the explosion.

I don't think Hayek left Carlos there to frame or blackmail Arman - he left the corpse there as a message.

[phoenics]

13 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Was he expecting the lawyer to work for free? Since the lawyer had asked for a retainer, it should have been pretty clear this wasn't going to be pro bono. $400 to do the DACA paperwork for them sounds pretty reasonable, as well as the extra $400 for him to drop what he was doing for his other clients and do Chris' paperwork first. 

If they were only interested in paying the $750 government fee for DACA, they should have done the paperwork themselves to begin with.

I think it was more about the lawyer clearly ghosting Fiona after she paid him a massive retainer.  It doesn't appear he did anything to even start their case and we also know that he did not respond when Chris called him when Fiona was in ICE.  Clearly this lawyer wasn't going to help them - he was just gonna take her money and do nothing.

Also - any lawyer would have billable hours and actual filing costs separate.  So you'd see the $400 for a filing fee but the time of the lawyer would come in billable hours.  They aren't - or should not be - lumped together.  So Chris was right.

 

35 minutes ago, Raja said:

I can only see one way out, the Justice Department overrides Homeland Security and gives Thony the deal Agent Garrett proposed. He forgave her double agent turn while Homeland is still mad that she so quickly violated her parole and wants to deport her.

What parole?

[Raja]

12 minutes ago, phoenics said:

 

What parole?

Whatever the legal term is when illegals are let free pending their hearing for deportation

[paigow]

39 minutes ago, phoenics said:

I don't think Hayek left Carlos there to frame or blackmail Arman - he left the corpse there as a message.

What message??? Arman was saved by a lucky phone call from Thony... Unless Hayak knew his minions would fail, Arman would be dead when the message arrived, thereby rendering it redundant...

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

Whatever the legal term is when illegals are let free pending their hearing for deportation

Although not a flight risk in the traditional sense [rich dude with private plane], letting undocumented individuals go RoR seems counter-productive.

[possibilities]

I think they put Carlos's body in the house after they realized Arman survived and he and his wife fled. This is so that if they ever return, they see the corpse of their accomplice. 

Until recently, immigrants were in fact released pending their hearings. They are not a danger to the community and many have families willing to sponsor them and shelter them. 

Marco is bad news. 

[CrystalBlue]

Marco needs to die in order to free Thony to live her life wherever she ends up.  There is no divorce in the Philippines as of yet; she would have to petition for an annulment which would be very specific on why the marriage could be dissolved which would be that it was illegal in the first place (age, fraud, etc.).

[preeya]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

I think they put Carlos's body in the house after they realized Arman survived and he and his wife fled. This is so that if they ever return, they see the corpse of their accomplice. 

Until recently, immigrants were in fact released pending their hearings. They are not a danger to the community and many have families willing to sponsor them and shelter them. 

Marco is bad news. 

Arman was allegedly recuperating for a week. (He asked his wife in the motel how long he was "out." She said 7 days)

Why would they (Hayek & Co) keep the body on ice if they didn't know Arman was alive or returning? It just makes no sense.

[paigow]

51 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

Marco needs to die

nuff said. You had me at die

Edited March 9, 2022 by paigow

[Trini]

Wow, they really don't want us to like Marco, do they? LOL I don't think they'll actually kill him off, but they're going to move him out the way one way or another.

I liked that things moved along in this episode. Good setup for the finale. Although, I'm not sure the stuff with Hayak made sense. Hayak should still be trying to kill Arman, I would think. And was Carlos' body put in his house before or after Hayak found out he was alive? In any case, there's no way that Hayak can trust Arman after all this, so how that plays out should be interesting.

Of course Agent Sleazeball makes a bad situation worse! Nice attempt, show, but no amount of sad backstory is going to make me care about this guy.

I assume the FBI will make a deal to free Thony -- if they get Hayak.

They don't need to be in every episode, but I was glad they didn't forget Fiona has two kids. Her son is way more likeable now.

With Arman fantasizing about Thony (again), they're again being one-sided about this potential romance. With Thony being the lead, I feel like we need to see more of her feelings about Arman as well.

On 3/7/2022 at 11:24 PM, phoenics said:

I worry Marco is going to take Luca back to the Philippines with him. He seems like he’d do that and Thony wouldn’t be able to stop him behind bars. 

I can see that happening. I wouldn't like it because then the show becomes all about getting her son back, but I think it's very likely.

 

On 3/8/2022 at 11:09 AM, magdalene said:

... I really appreciate how the writers are making it clear that while Arman has real feelings for Thony he also has a real relationship with his wife.  She isn't just there as a cheap obstacle to the Arman/Thony thing. 

Yes, I'm liking Nadia, and that she's not just an obvious ship-block. Whether or not they go all in with Thony/Arman, I hope they don't get rid of her.

Again, I wish they would put the Spanish dialogue in the closed captions. Is there someone I can email about this??

Edited March 10, 2022 by Trini
aargh - dropped words

[cinsays]

22 hours ago, magdalene said:

Several story points didn't work for me both logically and emotionally last episode but I enjoyed this episode much more. Nothing happened in the way I was expecting and it makes me respect the show more. I really appreciate how the writers are making it clear that while Arman has real feelings for Thony he also has a real relationship with his wife.  She isn't just there as a cheap obstacle to the Arman/Thony thing. 

An odd thing happened this episode I didn't loathe Garrett for the first time ever. Obviously he deserves to be fired and it looks like he is going to be, but I wonder what is going to happen with him next episode.  Our characters are backed into a corner, how do they get out of it.

Thony needs to divorce Marco, apart from her attraction to Arman he is a terrible husband who gambled away family money.

yes, Marco needs to go, more worried about Thony dealing with Garrett than saving his son's life

[Raja]

19 minutes ago, cinsays said:

yes, Marco needs to go, more worried about Thony dealing with Garrett than saving his son's life

Marco wasn't worried about the FBI, he was worried about Arman's fantasies coming true.

[Raja]

14 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

Marco needs to die in order to free Thony to live her life wherever she ends up.  There is no divorce in the Philippines as of yet; she would have to petition for an annulment which would be very specific on why the marriage could be dissolved which would be that it was illegal in the first place (age, fraud, etc.).

To be fair it is only a problem in the Philippines if Thony returns and wants to remarry there. President Duterte himself lives with a girlfriend while the daughter with his legal wife is the Republic's First Lady. Or to receive a spousal visa, since she has to be free to marry. Most other jurisdictions will divorce legal residents as well as their citizens.

23 hours ago, magdalene said:

Several story points didn't work for me both logically and emotionally last episode but I enjoyed this episode much more. Nothing happened in the way I was expecting and it makes me respect the show more. I really appreciate how the writers are making it clear that while Arman has real feelings for Thony he also has a real relationship with his wife.  She isn't just there as a cheap obstacle to the Arman/Thony thing. 

 

Arman settled for Nadia, his dream was Hayak's clean, from the business, daughter. And with Nadia wanting to remain a gangster to be in the top 5 instead of top 10 percentile left the opening for the Thony fantasy. Thony only being a gangster to save her life and Luca's.

[possibilities]

6 hours ago, Raja said:

To be fair it is only a problem in the Philippines if Thony returns and wants to remarry there.

It would still be a problem because Marco would never leave her alone and she would always be dealing with him because of Luca. Until Marco is out of the picture decisively, he will always be a chaos agent for her.

 

[Raja]

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

It would still be a problem because Marco would never leave her alone and she would always be dealing with him because of Luca. Until Marco is out of the picture decisively, he will always be a chaos agent for her.

 

Annulment, divorce nor legal separation puts Marco out of Luca's or Thony's life. Especially if they continue to live with Marco's big sister

Edited March 10, 2022 by Raja

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

Annulment, divorce nor legal separation puts Marco out of Luca's or Thing's life. Especially if they continue to live with Marco's big sister

I agree. That's why I think they will keep him around to serve as a chaos agent, or else they will kill him off, if they decide they want to free Thony. I think there's no middle ground.

[possibilities]

I wonder how Thony, from Cambodia, wound in in the Philippines.

[Trini]

58 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I wonder how Thony, from Cambodia, wound in in the Philippines.

They haven't gone into detail, but in one episode I think she mentioned her family fleeing from genocide.

[Raja]

5 hours ago, possibilities said:

I wonder how Thony, from Cambodia, wound in in the Philippines.

The Philippines Heart Center is one of the region's top teaching hospitals in Thony's specialty.

 

[magdalene]

One of my guesses for the finale: Marco takes their son back to the Philippines while Thony is in custody. Nobody on the US law side would stop him as the father of the boy. Unfortunately that rat bastard has all the  right in this particular situation.

I have a friend who is a green card holder, married to an American citizen.  Every time she goes to visit her parents in her home country she has to get written permission from her husband to take their son out of the US.

[jabRI]

I thought it was really stupid of the FBI guy to just be pushed around by Thony against his better judgement to let her try to slip away in his trunk.  And then to try to flash his FBI badge was beyond stupid.  When he went through he just showed his civilian credentials.  I hate when they make law enforcement act stupid for the benefit of criminals.  Sorry, Thony, that's what you are, regardless of your 'reasons'. 

[Raja]

Agent Garrett, Arman, the hotel manager/concierge doctor it seems no man is immune from Thony's momma bear mode.

[jabRI]

I like the show, I like the acting, but some of the 'assumptions' leave a bit to be desired.  The FBI stance that they can't make a case without her... she hasn't been at all helpful, and its clear where her loyalties lie.  Get a true CI or send someone under cover.

[eel21788]

On 3/11/2022 at 8:43 PM, magdalene said:

One of my guesses for the finale: Marco takes their son back to the Philippines while Thony is in custody. 

Naw, I think Thorny will agree to testify against both Garrett and Arman under the condition that she gets a U visa and some type of legal residency status for herself, Marco, Luca, Fiona and her two kids and a few other family members she wants to bring over from the Philippines.

This is not going to end without the illegal alien manipulating the government for her own benefit.

[Raja]

7 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Naw, I think Thorny will agree to testify against both Garrett and Arman under the condition that she gets a U visa and some type of legal residency status for herself, Marco, Luca, Fiona and her two kids and a few other family members she wants to bring over from the Philippines.

This is not going to end without the illegal alien manipulating the government for her own benefit.

Fiona's baby Jaz is an US citizen. 

[CrystalBlue]

11 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Naw, I think Thorny will agree to testify against both Garrett and Arman under the condition that she gets a U visa and some type of legal residency status for herself, Marco, Luca, Fiona and her two kids and a few other family members she wants to bring over from the Philippines.

This is not going to end without the illegal alien manipulating the government for her own benefit.

Yeah, Mama Bear Thorny is gonna be all over that!

[Trini]

17 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Naw, I think Thorny will agree to testify against both Garrett and Arman under the condition that she gets a U visa and some type of legal residency status for herself, Marco, Luca, Fiona and her two kids and a few other family members she wants to bring over from the Philippines.

This is not going to end without the illegal alien manipulating the government for her own benefit.

This makes no sense.

She actually doesn't even know enough about Arman or Hayak's dealings to convict them.  And she's only been in the U.S. for medical treatment for Luca, I don't think she ever expressed citizenship/status as a goal. Garrett ("the government") has been trying to manipulate her from the start.

But you seem to think Thony's the villain of this story?

Edited March 13, 2022 by Trini

[phoenics]

On 3/8/2022 at 2:20 PM, paigow said:

What message??? Arman was saved by a lucky phone call from Thony... Unless Hayak knew his minions would fail, Arman would be dead when the message arrived, thereby rendering it redundant...

Then that means Hayek sent the body AFTER he saw Arman was alive?  As a "you are not forgiven and your days are numbered" message.

[eel21788]

14 hours ago, Trini said:

you seem to think Thony's the villain of this story?

She has committed at least three felonies in every episode! I certainly wouldn't call her the hero or even the good guy.

[Raja]

53 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

She has committed at least three felonies in every episode! I certainly wouldn't call her the hero or even the good guy.

Since the crimes, beyond cleaning hotels in Las Vegas without a green card begin with her being witness of a murder and being told you are now on call for us or the mob's clean up begins with the witness Thony being disappeared she becomes more of a tragic figure whose sick son and gambling addict husband adds even more tragedy to Thony's story.

[paigow]

2 minutes ago, Raja said:

Since the crimes, beyond cleaning hotels in Las Vegas without a green card begin with her being witness of a murder and being told you are now on call for us or the mob's clean up begins with the witness Thony being disappeared she becomes more of a tragic figure whose sick son and gambling addict husband adds even more tragedy to Thony's story.

Fiona is the lowest possible strata of drug dealer... not sure if that is a felony in NV... both of them will break some laws to achieve their objectives... probably they draw the line at hands-on murder, but setting someone up to be killed by FBI / rival gangs might be OK...,