As the episode opens, Joe Middleton (Cohen Holloway) is driving down the road in a stolen vehicle with two bodies in the boot. When Melissa Flowers calls, he accuses her of killing Constable Sam (James Kupa). She claims Sam captured him in a photo when he picked up a sex worker, Becky (Sophie Harris). She says Sam was killed with his knife. He warns that her fingerprints are on the knife. She assures him that the fingerprints belong to him. He hurriedly ends the call before his car malfunctions. He curses Melissa while pushing the car to a nearby convenience store. He is pumping gas when Walt Chadwick (Peter Hayden) recognizes him. Joe points out that his leash is empty. Walt explains how Sparky’s death impacted him when a police cruiser pulls into the parking lot. A cop enters the store while his partner watches Joe and Walt. As Joe prepares to leave, Walt suggests Joe is a car salesman like his father before spotting what he believes is rust on the bumper. Joe tries to wipe it away before pulling out of the parking lot.
At the veterinary clinic, Joe picks up a cat. Jennifer (Grace Bentley-Tsibuah) offers him a ride home but he declines. When she asks what he will call the cat, he has a flashback of killing Angela’s cat. En route to his flat, Joe questions if Melissa hit the cat. Joe learns quickly that the cat has an aggressive demeanor. He grabs a shovel before going outside to find the car gone.
Joe wakes up outside underneath a cardboard box. An incoming call from Melissa pops up on his phone. Believing she is calling to gloat, he answers the call only to hear her threaten him if he hands up on her again. She claims to have taken care of the bodies and orders him to go to work. Collecting his fish, he goes home. A short time later, Joe arrives at the police station as several police cruisers race out of the parking lot. When he asks what is happening, DS Brian Travers (Jordan Mooney) says it is none of his business.
At the crime scene, forensics take photos of Becky and Sam’s bodies in the boot of the stolen vehicle near DI Carl Schroder’s (Robbie Masgasiva) house. DSS Robert Calhoun (David De Lautour) warns Schroder that some of his neighbors blame him. Travers and Calhoun believe the killer is leaving Schroder a message. At the police station, Joe swipes one of Travers’ photos and breaks into Calhoun’s locker to find a divorce decrement and a cover for a FINO room key. He takes a photo of Calhoun and a woman before securing the locker. Sally Galletly (Dea Doglione) invites him to join her for lunch when he notices Melissa in disguise talking to DSS Wilson Hutton (Barry Tomkinson) and a forensic sketch artist. Melissa smiles at him. Sally says the woman is a potential witness to the stolen vehicle being dropped off in Schroder’s neighborhood. Frantic, Joe rushes to the bus stop with Melissa in tow. She boasts of doing something nice for him before handing him a composite sketch of her “first.” He asks if she has more than him but she declines to answer. She is thrilled when he asks for help.
A forensic technician (Te Wharerangi Mihinui) examines Sam’s police cruiser. He tells Schroder that the driver’s side window was down when Sam was stabbed. The killer pushes Sam’s body into the passenger’s seat before getting into the bloody driver’s seat. The technician doubts the Christ Church Carver would take such risks just to dispose of the car and Sam’s body.
Everblue Motel – Disguised as a police officer, Melissa shows Wendy (Aroha Rawson) a photo of Candy (Maria Duplaa) and asks if she remembers who she was with. Wendy agrees to give her some information for cash. Elsewhere, Joe arrives at Evelyn Middleton’s (Elizabeth Hawthorne) for lunch to find Walt there. He claims to be working for a car dealership called “Everblue.” Walt and Evelyn laugh about the cars being blue. Joe says it is the owner’s last name while a fly lands on his food. Back at the motel, Melissa shows Wendy a photo of Travers and Calhoun. Wendy points at one of the cops (it doesn’t show which cop she picked), claiming he was the man with Candy. When Melissa offers her cash, she says it is on the house.
Schroder informs DSS Rebecca Kent (Hannah Marshall) of a potential reward for information leading to an arrest. She says they shut down their reward requests every time a woman was killed until the victim was a cop. She suggests the killer should have taken out a cop two years ago before recanting.
Joe listens to Evelyn talk to Walt on the phone. Melissa calls to inform him that Wendy identified the cop with Candy. He sternly asks which of the cop photos she pick. Not liking his tone, she warns Wendy saw him before ending the call. Evelyn assures Walt that Joe is no problem. Joe smears the rabbit carcass from dinner all over her bathtub. In a flashback, young Joe (Jamie Wyeth) catches his father and someone else in the shower.
Joe checks out FINO before returning home to find his fish, Heckle lying on the floor. He gently puts Heckle back in the fish tank. Heckle sinks to the bottom. When he remembers Jehovah when the cat lets out a loud meow. Dodging everything Joe throws at him, the cat flees out the door. Joe gently puts Jehovah back in the tank. He floats on the top. Later, Joe receives a call from Jennifer about the cat’s owners being located. He claims the cat was hit and killed by a car. She stresses the need to return the cat to its rightful owners. Irate, he screams, “I hate f**king meatloaf” before smashing the phone on the floor.
SI Dominique Stevens (Nikki Si’ulepa) informs the detectives that she will replace Schroder as the lead. She assigns Candy’s murder to Travers and Daniela Walker’s murder to Rebecca.
Melissa watches Joe bury Jehovah and Heckle. He blames their deaths on Melissa, Evelyn, Watt, and the copycat killer. She claims Wendy picked out Calhoun’s photo. She demands to be present when he kills Calhoun before leaving. Later, Joe is outside FINO when Calhoun goes for a jog. He notes the time and waits. A short time later, Joe is nodding when Calhoun returns. Calhoun grabs him from behind when the episode ends.
Dark City: The Cleaner Review
Melissa drops the stolen vehicle with Becky and Sam’s bodies off in Schroder’s neighborhood. Schroder’s connection to Becky gets him replaced by Superintendent Stevens. Under fire to find the Christ Church Carver, the department contemplates offering a reward. Rebecca feels the department is only acting now because a cop was killed.
Melissa throws investigators off Joe’s trail by helping the sketch artist create a composite drawing of her “first.” It is unclear if the man is her first boyfriend or victim.
Joe rescues a cat only to have it kill his pet fish – Jehovah and Heckle. After the cat escapes, Jennifer calls asking for it to be returned to its rightful owners. Joe tells her that it died after being hit by a car.
Joe learns Calhoun is going through a divorce and living in the FINO apartment complex. Calhoun catches Joe spying on him.
The episode deserves a 5.7 out of 10. Get more Dark City: The Cleaner recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Learn how advertising with us can help build your brand awareness. Join our newly established forum to discuss the latest TV shows movies, crimes, and more.
