As the opening episode of Classified begins, Shurnel (Nadine Ndlovu) and Ella Gardner (Imani Pullum) go to a protest against the police. Yaseen (Leo Gumede) questions what Ella is doing there. He’s worried her mom would kill him if she knew. Yaseen tells her to stay close and do whatever he says. The protest gets violent and Ella gets pepper sprayed. Ella grabs the microphone and yells for everyone to stop attacking them. Yaseen tries to intervene until the cops beat him. Ella throws a Molotov cocktail at a car nearby. After the intro, the media talks more about the ongoing protests in Oakland and elsewhere. At home, Ella is told they need to get her out of there until the dust settles because they want to charge her as an adult.

Yaseen pleaded not guilty, but they can’t get the bail money for him. Her mom doesn’t know what strings her dad had to pull, but she thinks Ella should spend some time with him. Her father, Gabe Gardner (Sule Rimi), is a writer. Her mom tells her she’s going to the motherland. She says Ella comes from a royal Ghanaian ancestry. Ella is told to never forget it. Ella worries her mom will have another episode and she won’t take her meds. Kwame (Omhle Tshabalala) greets Ella at the airport. At home, Kwame tells her it’s a big upgrade from a cell. Gabe tells his daughter that Dianne (Christine Horn) is the Head of Regional Affairs at the Embassy. Ella asks about the security being extreme although her dad says it’s standard. Ella is introduced to Aunty Noks.

Ella tells Gabe he’s made a complete U-turn from all of his teachings. She accuses him of selling out. Later, there’s a news report about a terror group called Susuman. From her room, Ella messages Shurnel. Diane checks on Ella when she gets home for the night. She discusses the things they can do while Ella is there. During dinner, Ella doesn’t want to eat anything. Diane tells her that Indwe International is pretty amazing. It’s one of the best schools in the area. Ella isn’t interested since she’s only going to be around for a couple of months. Diane pulls Kwame away so Gabe and Ella can speak in private. He reveals they all agreed it’s best if she finishes her studies there. Ella claims he’s living like a king while her mom is back home sick. Ella curses and says she’s not staying there. Gabe tells her what could’ve happened because of her actions.

He yells that she’s finishing school there and that’s final. Ella goes to her room and tries to book her own ticket home. She sneaks into Gabe’s room to use his phone until she is forced to rush out. The next day, Ella messages Shurnel to say she’s coming back. Aunty Noks questions whether she really wants to wear that outfit. She helps her fix it. Gabe gives her money for the day. Wynand (Neels Clasen) gives Ella her emergency code just in case something happens. Kwame begins telling one of his army stories on their way to school. Ella asks if he was in the army during Apartheid. At the school, Ella learns the kids of many diplomats and executives go there. They see Noko (Victor Makgati) who is one of the richest kids in the school. When Ella goes into the school, Greta (Nicola Nothnagel) rushes over to introduce herself.

She’s tasked with being Ella’s orientation guide. As Greta shows her to the bath, she points out Miss Mensah who is also Ghanaian. Ijemma (Motshabi Chakane) and others protest in support of gender-neutral bathrooms. Greta takes Ella to another bathroom where she hears Gwyn (Mila Rayne) hooking up with a guy. Greta gives Ella her card and explains it doesn’t let her go anywhere. She tries to convince Ella that she’d be a good friend. Ella says she doesn’t plan on being there for long. When they go outside, Ella notices a guy looking at her. Greta shows her the dance group that’s doing Sarafina. Gwyneth, Amina, and Nazli approach Greta who introduces them to Ella. Gwyn is going to take Ella to her science class. She asks Ella to keep their little secret. Amina (Luyanda Zwane) asks Ella if that’s how she usually dresses.

Nazli (Kelly Damon) believes Ella is going for a smorgasbord of African vibes. During class, they take a VR tour of refugee camps so they can under the issues they face. Ella tells her what she doesn’t like about it. Gwyn and the others join Ella during lunch and complain about her actions. Amin and Ella apologize to each other. Gwyn invites them to her house for a get-together. They start talking about the bathroom protestors. Ella sees where they’re coming from since it’s not the Dark Ages. She goes on about how transgender students get harassed. Nazli fires back by mentioning the rape statistics in the country. Gwyn says it’ll never pass anyway because they have sway with the board. Lee (Fabio Camps) comes over and hugs Nazli. Ella quickly realizes what is going on. Ella makes a sarcastic remark before joining Greta. She asks Greta how to get out of the school.

Greta takes her to the skaters since they might be able to help. One boy says he’ll only help because she landed a heelflip. She follows Dawoud (Shuwa). Greta tries to get Ella to change her mind. Dawoud takes them to a part of the school Greta has never seen. Ijemma complains about the typos. Greta finds out that Jonas hangs out there. Dawoud tells Ijemma that his friends need help giving their parents the slip after school. Greta makes it clear it’s only Ella. Ijemma wants to be paid. Ella only has a hundred Rand which is equal to about $7. Ijemma yells at them to get out and to tell Dawoud he’s lost his red light district privileges.  Ella offers to tell her something about Gwyn that can keep her in check. Moments later, Gwyn finds Ijemma sitting in her car. Ijemma tells her that her father is currently unable to get into the United Kingdom.

He needs to get into the country for the concert. Ijemma believes her mom is a diplomat of the British Empire. She threatens to tell Nazli unless she gets her mom to help. Ella gives a drawing to Dawoud before leaving. In the bathroom, Greta warns her she’s committed social suicide by messing with Gwyn. Ella thinks her parents will be fine that she’s gone although she’ll miss her brother. She uses a staff card to get out of the school. Ella makes it to a taxi and tries to find out whether it’s going to the airport. She gets in and passes money to the front. The driver gets upset when she gives him 100 and tells her to get out. The woman next to Ella pays for her. Once they arrive, the woman tells her to keep her bag close because it’s not safe out there. Lolo notices two men following Ella and talking about taking her stuff.

They end up taking her phone. Lolo yells at them and they get attacked. Ella is told her phone is long gone. Kwame tells Wynand they’ve been waiting for over an hour. Lolo learns that Ella is running away. He agrees to walk her to the train station. As they walk, Ella questions how he fits in at the school as a poor person. Lolo’s mom pulled some strings since she used to be a famous TV person. Ella talks about going back home. Lolo says she can show her around if she ever comes back. Ella goes to the train station. Gabe complains about Wynand already losing Ella. Diane isn’t surprised after what happened last night. Gabe wonders what they should do now. Ella is on the plane to Oakland. She’s told to follow a gentleman. As they take her off the plane, Ella yells for help.

Diane is waiting for her in the car. Ella is still adamant about leaving on the flight. Diane warns her they were going to make an example out of her in Oakland. Ella was essentially released into Diane’s custody. They argue about what happened. Diane says going home is not an option unless she wants to go to prison. She was scheduled for a routine trip to Nairobi, Kenya 18 months ago and she took one of her new recruits. A crew blew up in the middle of the city. Dozens of people lost their lives including a little boy. Diane says she’s the CIA station Chief for South Africa. She admits she should’ve known because it’s her job. Ella is asked not to pull another stunt like this because it put their lives at risk. Diane tells her she’ll have to come to terms with the fact that this is her new life.

 

Classified Review

The opening episode of Classified set up the story and quickly introduced most of the key characters. Although there is potential here going forward, this clearly isn’t made for everyone. After all, the series is very divisive in terms of the topics it explores.

Some may agree with some of the ideas, but there’s a good chance that they won’t agree with everything. Not to mention, it’s strange that such topics would even be necessary in a series like this. It’s a bit too over-the-topic and in-your-face with that, especially considering this is likely meant to be a show for young teens.

The episode did a decent job of showing the setting although it barely touched on the issues there. It did get a little gritty towards the end when Ella was mugged and her muggers were assaulted. Even then, it sugarcoated it to some degree. Otherwise, the school isn’t the most thrilling or authentic environment. After all, most of the kids are from wealthy, privileged families and don’t encounter the issues ordinary South Africans might.

Instead, the school environment only presented modern political issues and the overall degeneracy that we’ve come to expect from modern television. In that sense, there isn’t anything innovative here because it’s a rehashing of the same ideas. The lead isn’t the most likable character in the world and the delivery is often stiff, but the character’s journey could change that.

It’s watchable, but only for viewers who are still open to politics and political pandering. The episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Classified can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.