The Cleaner recap: Here Comes the Boom
From left, Eric Roberts guests stars alongside Benjamin Bratt in The Cleaner on A&E. Photo credit: 2008 A&E Network, Bill Inoshita.
The Cleaner Recap: Episode — Here Comes the Boom
Episode — Here Comes the Boom
Airdate: August 19, 2008
In the “Here Comes the Boom” episode on A&E’s new original series The Cleaner, Williams Banks’ (Benjamin Bratt) past comes back to haunt him when a teen asks for help with his father who went to prison as a result of Williams’ past efforts, and is now using meth again.
The teen Ray Jr. (Shiloh Fernandez, Jericho) comes into William’s shop to talk. When William asks about his mom, actually his first-ever case, he learns that she died six months ago and Ray Jr. is now living with a foster family. William feels concern for the boy and for the loss of his mother, but Ray Jr. tells him that she was clean for a long time after his help, but something set her off. Ray Jr. quickly changes the subject to tell William that his dad Ray Sr. (Eric Roberts) is out of prison and is now working in a used car lot.
William senses that Ray Jr. is worried about his dad and his previous drug problem, but he doesn’t ask for help, nor does he say anything is wrong. But William can tell and is concerned, so he makes a plan with his team — Akani (Grace Park), Arnie Swenton (Esteban Powell) and Darnell (Kevin Michael Richard).
Akani automatically wants in on the undercover gig (they are going to infiltrate the biker club Ray Sr. is a part of), but William tells her no, thinking it’s too dangerous for her.
William tells the crew about his experience with Ray Jr.’s mother, Suzanna, his first case. She worked at the library, was okay while he was locked up, butthengot “twisted up” in drugs. As his first client, he said he was anxious and nervous, but then doesn’t go any farther on his story with the crew. Says he wants to sleep on it, but tells them they will roll in the morning. At this point, he’s not sharing all the details because he feels guilty about something regarding the case.
Flash to Ray Jr. and Ray Sr. together. Ray Sr. promises that he will get his son out of the foster home and in an apartment as soon as he gets on his feet, which seems to make his son extremely happy.
Back at the Banks house, it appears to be a normal family dinner with William, his wife Melissa (Amy Price-Francis), and their two children, Ben (Brett Delbuono)and Lula (Liliana Mumy). It seems that way at first when Lula talks about practicing for the spelling bee. Then Ben announces that he is quitting football, which William ignores the first time. Ben then says it again, saying it’s not fun and he’s doesn’t want to play anymore, though William tells him he can’t quit. When Ben tries to get up from the table, William freaks out pretty goood, yelling for him to sit down. The fun is now over for everyone at the table as they eat in silence, with Melissa giving William the “go straight to hell” look.
Back at the motorcycle club, this tough gang dude Jack (Robert LaSardo) tells Ray Sr. about an upcoming run (for drugs), which Ray Sr. has obviously done in the past before going to prison. Ray Sr. tells Jack he can’t, he can’t afford to lose what he has with his criminal record (three strikes he’s out). But Jack doesn’t give up because he wants his help, each guy will make $30,000, so he offers a meth rock to Ray Sr. He tries to refuse it, but ends up taking it and putting it in his pocket.
Back at the Banks house, there is still tension between William and Ben, with Ben walking off as teenagers do.
Later at the shop, William meets the team, telling Swenton that after talking to some of his police friends, he’s learned that the gang is in need of a fabricator tobuild tanks to carry drugs on the motorcycles and that Swenton will be their man. Basically, they will set up the gang for the police. He tells Swenton that Ray Sr. has never actually met him, so he won’t recognize him from the past (though he doesn’t explain).
Meanwhile, Darnell is concerned when he sees Akani making unusual phone calls and talking in a different language. She really wants to be part of the undercover gig, but they were told to stay out until needed. Darnell thinks she’s up to something
Ray Sr. is trying to get back on his feet and stay off drugs, but nothing seems to be going his way. On minimum wage, he can’t afford an apartment for he and his son.
When Swenton and William pull up on cool rides at the motorcycle club, they try right away to get in on the tank job. When asked what their colors are, they say neutral. William tells Ray Sr. that his name is David X and that Swenton is one of his fabricators. Somehow he connects with Ray Sr. on a personal level (Santiago?), a person they both knew. At one point, Ray Jr. comes out and sees William, but he quickly makes sure Ray Jr. won’t blow his cover by what he says. Ray Jr. realizes that he’s there to make sure his dad is okay.
Later on, Ray Jr. confronts his dad asking him if he’s straight or loaded. “I want to make sure because I’m having a pretty decent time with you, but if you’re not straight…” he questions his dad.
Back at the Bank house, William gets upset when he learns Ben is spending the night with a friend on a school night to avoid him. Then he tells Melissa about Ray Jr.’s mom Suzanna dying, telling Melissa he wants to help Ray Jr. because Ray Sr. is all the the kid has. We learn through their conversation that the day he went in to get Suzanna, he didn’t realize that Ray Sr. was in the house. Ray Sr. was arrested for selling meth, though he wasn’t selling, just using. William feels guilty because if he’d known he was there, he would have got both of them out. Now Ray Jr. has a record that he feels guilty for.
Catching his son in the morning as he walks to school from the friend’s house, William asks Ben if he has a commitment to the team, since he doesn’t feel a commitment to his dad.
“It’s not about me anymore, I can’t keep apologizing for what I did. All I can do is try,” William tells his son, but then gets a phone call that he tries to ignore, but realizes it might be important, so takes it.
So the son tells him “Nice commitment,” as he walks off.
At the car wash, Ray Jr. approaches his dad very upset that he’s going back in the foster system because his foster parents are moving out of state. He tried to tell them that his dad was looking for an apartment, but basically he can’t move back with his dad until Ray Sr. has a secure home and job. Ray Jr. is rightly upset, but this leaves Ray Sr. worried because he loves his son and wants to help, but he can’t do it in his current situation.
Back at the club, Jack, the biker gang dude, tells Swenton that he needs the tanks and he needs them soon, throwing a bunch of cash in his face, while pointing a gun to explain the importance of getting the job done on time.
Ray Sr. finds Jack and tells him he’s now in on the run. In his eyes, the only way he can provide a home for he and his son is to do the run. But once he makes this commitment to Jack, he also decides he might as well start doing meth again.
When William comes back to the motorcycle club, he finds Ray Sr. doing meth, with the smoke blowing right in William’s face. You can tell he is struggling being in front of drugs, but he backs away from Ray Sr. after telling him getting off drugs was too painful to start up again. Before he leaves, William spots a meth rock on the ground, picks it up, wraps it in a dollar, and puts it in his pocket. Hmm.
Back at the shop, Swenton tells William about his deal with Jack making the tanks, thinking now is when they need to call the cops. But William wants to get Ray Sr. out first. “They are not going to pin a third one on him, it’s his third strike,” he tells Swenton.
Ben, pissed at his father, is now caught by the police for breaking windows with a football. As William and Melissa pick him up from the police station, he tells his son: “you have my attention, my full attention.” Of course, Ben quips back with, “It only took the past 10 years to get it.”
Meanwhile, Ray Jr. is disappointed to see his father back on drugs. He asks his dad what it feels like to get high. After arguing, Ray Sr. tells him that thinking about meth (now that he is back on it) is all he can think about, which of course makes Ray Jr. walk off.
Back at the motorcycle club, Swenton brings the tanks to Jack, who seems very happy.
Ray Jr., upset that his father using again, confronts William at the shop. He’s mad because he thought William was going to help, and feels as if no one is helping. William tells him “some people can’t shake it,” but Ray Jr. yells back “are you going to give up on him?” and walks off.
This puts William back in action, upset that he has failed at helping Ray Jr., so he tells Swenton to do surveillance and when he sees Ray Sr., to call him.
Akani steps up to William, announcing that she knows what happened with his first case. Her sneaky phone calls have been about finding out from the police about the case. She tells William she knows that Ray Sr. had a prior for possession and that he wasn’t supposed to be there. He tells Akani that Ray Jr. was there too, and that when he sent Ray Sr. to jail on accident, that it eventually led (after his mother’s death) to Ray Jr. going to a foster home. “Do you still think you know everything?” he asks Akani. She grabs his hand to comfort him.
Back at the motorcycle club, Swenton and Darnell are doing surveillance, but Swenton says he needs to go in to get a better look against Darnell’s better judgment.
But when Swenton goes in, Jack questions why he is there. This is where everything goes south.
Now Jack thinks Swenton is a cop and is ready to kill him. Swenton swears that he’s not a cop, that he’s only there to check one of the welds on the tanks, but Jack doesn’t believe him. He tells him he’s not a cop if he eats a pipe (smokes meth). Swenton begs for him not to force him to smoke it, but Jack tells him “Hit this pipe or you die today.” Swenton refuses, so Jack whacks him in the head hard, blood now covering one side of his face near his eye. Swenton tells him if he allows him to leave, he will never come back again and won’t tell anyone, but Jack puts the gun to his other eye and tells him to smoke. Swenton is forced to smoke meth, coughing and throwing up.
William, who found out that Swenton went inside from Darnell, pulls up, seeing Swenton in a very bad position.
He has no choice but to confront Ray Sr. and tell him who he is. He tells Ray Sr. he’s William Banks, and when the realization that this is the man that led to him going to prison, Ray Sr. punches him. William on his knees, tells him he was only trying to help Suzanna and that he didn’t know he was there, that he shouldn’t have brought in the cops. He begs Ray Sr. to let Swenton go and he will do it right this time. Ray Sr. asks him how is he going to help him, send him to prison again? He pulls out a gun, telling William that he will not get a third strike, while William promises he won’t call the cops, pleading for his life. He tells Ray Sr. that he made a mistake (back then) and knows that Ray Sr. paid for the mistake. He tells him he is truly sorry and that he can help him if given the chance.
This is when Ray Jr. walks in, sees his dad pointing the gun at William, who is still on his knees, with the whole motorcycle gang behind him, and with Swenton bleeding in the chair. Ray Jr. points a gun toward his dad, telling his dad he brought William to help, as the motorcycle gang closes in on him, with Jack now pointing a gun at Ray Jr. It’s not good. Anything could happen at this point on accident or on purpose.
Ray Sr. tells his son to give him the gun, but Ray Jr. keeps saying that William is there to help. “Do you want his help or not?” Ray Jr. yells while waving the gun. At this point, I think Ray Sr. just wants Ray Jr. to give him the gun so he can make a decision on his own about William’s fate. Ray Jr. says William didn’t set him up, that he was there to help his mom, saying when he was clean that those were the best years of his life. “I don’t want to be like you,” he yells to his dad. “I don’t want to be like her either. Either way I’m screwed,” as he puts the gun under his own chin, as Ray Sr. tries to stop him. Seconds seem like minutes.
As Ray Jr. tries to pull the trigger to take his own life, Ray Sr. tells him “don’t do it” raising his hands up now, as William jumps in and takes the gun away from Ray Jr. as the gun is fired in the air. William, who now has Ray Jr.’s gun, holds Ray Jr. with one hand and puts the gun down. William tells him if Ray Sr. will leave with him today, that he won’t look back and that will make them square. All he wants is a pass out the door, he says, as Ray Jr. goes to his dad for a hug, making Ray Sr. decide that it’s over, putting the gun down, and comforting his son.
Now Ray Jr. watches as his dad goes through withdrawals in a room at the rehab center, as William tells him that it will be at least 24 hours before he wakes up. Ray Jr. cries in William’s arms (truly touching).
But back at home, things aren’t too rosy as William learns that his son is missing. William and Melissa begin to freak out, calling the cops to look for Ben. William questions God, wanting to know where the Grace of God is?
Flash to Swenton smoking a meth pipe.
At the rehab center, Ray Sr. wakes up alert and let’s his son know with a gesture that it will be all right.
Swenton sits on a park bench as Akani pulls up in a car (obviously he called her). And though they don’t normally get along, he cries in her arms, knowing he has to face his addiction now that he was forced to smoke meth.
Back at the Banks’ house, William is out on the porch, and pulls out the dollar bill with the meth rock in it. As he contemplates it and his faith as tears begin to roll down his face, Lula walks out carrying her cell phone, telling her dad that she got a text from Ben, and though she can’t tell her dad where he is, she knows he is safe. Hugging his daughter, he drops the meth rock and stamps it to nothing with his foot, looking up to God as the show ends.
Honestly, this episode rocked. Benjamin Bratt, Eric Roberts and Shiloh Fernandez (Ray Jr.) were awesome — lots of emotion in this episode, from William feeling guilty that he caused Ray Sr. to go to prison, to Ray Sr. struggling with his addiction to be a father to his son who is in the foster system, to Ray Jr. wanting so badly for his father to be a part of his life so he can have a real life.
My opinion: There is so much going on in William Banks’ life. Here is he doing his job as an extreme interventionist, truly helping people. But at the same time, his family life is falling apart. Though he’s been clean for a long time, fighting a drug addiction is a lifelong problem that doesn’t go away. His marriage is okay but could be better, as they don’t sleep in the same bed presently (from what I’ve seen in previous episodes). Their daughter Lula is trying to be “too perfect” and Ben has a lot of anger for his dad not being there in the past. Plus, Ben doesn’t feel as if his dad is in the present, because his job takes up all of his time. Many times on past episodes, just when his family really needed him, he had to leave for the life or death issues that were going on with the people he is trying to help. So there’s a challenge he is facing daily. Given that William Banks is sort of a heroic character, he’s definitely not perfect. The loss of his friend in the first episode and the challenges he faces with his family has made it hard on him personally. In fact, in the first episode, Melissa wants to know where the cigarettes are, but William tells her that they have quit. But by this episode, you see both of them smoking all the time. As the stress is getting higher, they have lost the will to fight their urge to smoke.
New episodes of The Cleaner air on A&E on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. CSt.
Photo of William Banks’ intervention team: From left, Arnie Swenton (Esteban Powell), Akani (Grace Park), William Banks (Benjamin Bratt) and Darnell (Kevin Michael Richard). Photo credit: ©2008 A&E / Jay Silverman.
Photo of William Banks’ family: From left, Lula (Liliana Mumy), mom Melissa (Amy Price-Francis) and Ben (Brett Delbuono). Photo credit: ©2008 A&E / Jay Silverman.
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