Mpho Sebata (real name Ntando Duma) is still licking the wounds of her divorce, after she caught Schumacher red-handed with a naked man, big sister Thando (Jessica Nkosi) has been loveless since the violent breakup with ex fiancé Shaka Khoza and dad, Hector, was abandoned by Vuyiswa, the woman of his dreams out of fear of being judged. Love has been in short supply on The Queen.
Mpho rejects the new Vuyiswa
With Zandile Msutwana on leave, due to an injury sustained on set, Amazing Voices Africa presenter, Thembisa Mdoda-Nxumalo has stood in as Vuyiswa Jola Maake on The Queen. I am not privy to the goings on behind the scenes but, judging by the disconnect between new and old Vuyiswa, it would be a fair guess to say that Thembisa Mdoda doesn’t really watch the show. Upon being hired, every actor is given their character synopsis which, in Vuyiswa’s case, must read:
“Tough female cop who loves her family and runs into burning buildings to save the weak.”
The character synopsis is the blueprint from which the actor portrays the character. I did not see any effort by Mdoda-Nxumalo to continue with Vuyiswa’s quirks or keep the integrity of the character. Vuyiswa is a no-nonsense policewoman but Thembisa’s portrayal of the character leaned more towards feeble and her relationship with “boy-boy” Thato isn’t quite the same. She never once referred to him by the pet name for which Vuyiswa is reputed. It’s almost as if Thembisa Mdoda-Nxumalo knows this isn’t a permanent gig so she is merely coasting along until Zandile returns. Hardly surprising, really, that Hector’s youngest daughter, Mpho, gave Vuyiswa the thumbs down as a replacement for her late mother.
Urged on by Thato, Vuyiswa and Hector got back together. But as Hector hesitated to tell Mpho about his relationship, out of fear that she might disapprove, she found out anyway. After failing to convince Hector to break up with Vuyiswa, Mpho (real name Ntando Duma) gave her old man an ultimatum; either you break up with Vuyiswa or I move out? Hector did not give the response she expected and Mpho moved out.
Mpho gives her blessing
It was Thato, Vuyiswa’s boy-boy, who went to Mpho’s hotel room and talked her into giving Vuyiswa a chance. Mpho finally gave the grownups her consent for them to date, talk about a parent-child role reversal. Mpho also apologized to Vuyiswa for her comments about the widow who “jumped onto another man while her husband’s body was still in the mortuary”.
After Mpho gave her blessings, Hector wasted no time in proposing to Vuyiswa. She said yes!
Love was surely on the menu for the Sebatas and it wasn’t just Hector dining at Cupid’s love table.
Thando shoots her shot – and misses
Shaka was at a restaurant. The waitress had brought the bill when Shaka discovered that he had forgotten his wallet. His phone battery was dead too so he couldn’t pay the restaurant bill by mobile phone either. As the embarrassed Shaka pondered his unpaid bill, a young woman who had been eyeing him from another table came to his rescue. After she paid the bill, Shaka took her contact details so that he could repay the loan. World, meet Mbali, real name Candice Modiselle.
When Shaka later rang Mbali to arrange for refund of the restaurant payment, she declined his money. To repay her, she would accept a date with him. Shaka and Mbali had fun on their date leading to a second and third rendezvous. While Shaka was out with Mbali, Thando saw him and she caught more feelings than Khune catches penalties.
While Shaka and Mbali’s new romance was sizzling like a fat boerewors on a braai stand, Thando was plotting a comeback. During a business meeting with Harriet at the Khoza mansion, Thando bumped into Goodness and the two girls got talking. They clicked, and made an appointment for later.
Helped by her new chomi, Thando tricked Shaka into a meeting. Goodness lied to Shaka to get him to the restaurant where Thando waited. But Shaka told her in no uncertain terms that he did not want her – at all. If Thando had Wolverine claws, she would have dug a hole in the middle of the restaurant floor and buried herself.
At the family breakfast table, Shaka launched into an attack on Goodness about not interfering in his personal life. Goodness, who is not aware of the fact that the Sebatas almost killed Shaka, was still eager to play matchmaker but Kagiso advised her to leave it alone.
Thando went to see Shaka at Khoza Trucking and apologized for tricking him into going on a date with him. She sweetened the apology with a bottle of whiskey and offered to take him out for a drink – just as two friends. Shaka accepted. But Mbali phoned and asked him out on another date. Disregarding his prior commitment to Thando, Shaka went out with his new girlfriend. As Thando sat, looking stood up and talking into Shaka’s voicemail, there he was walking into the restaurant with Mbali beside him. Thando lost her cool and attacked Mbali. Bystanders always catch stray bullets. As he played referee, Shaka caught hands to the face, leaving him in need of an ice pack for his swollen forehead.
Shaka was watching Kagiso, Goodness and Mvelo at home when it suddenly hit him, like a fist on the forehead, that he was still in love with Thando.
He broke up with Mbali who already had baecation plans for Dubai. He met up with Thando and, whether by coincidence or shear stalking, Mbali walked in on them. After the expected verbal exchange, Mbali tipped a glass of alcohol over Shaka’s face. If he wasn’t going to swim with her in Dubai, he was damn well going to swim in alcohol.
Shaka and Thando reunited
Shaka and Thando reunited and immediately did the unspeakable deed at the Khoza mansion. Brutus and Harriet did not approve but, in the end, the skeptical elders allowed Shaka to walk back into the jaws of the crocodile. “When it all goes bad, don’t come running to me,” Brutus warned.
Brutus may be the weird uncle, but already trouble is on the horizon.
Hector managed to get the Colombian drug supplier’s contacts and now he wants to get rid of the Khozas. Little does he know that Thando is back in bed with the enemy. This isn’t going to end well.
Till next week, my pen is capped
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The Queen airs weekdays on Mzansi Magic at 9:00pm
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