Donnybrook – Episode 5 opens with what appears to be an outdoor religious gathering, where a spirited pastor (Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi) leads a choir in song. A male parishioner, Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode (Jabulani Mthembu) appears to be giving one of the female members a bit too much attention. He continues to watch her walk home once the service ends. Much later that evening, she receives a visit from a masked intruder who shoots her dead.
Elsewhere, Micki Pistorius (Charlotte Hope) appears to be studying a case file from that very murder. The following morning, Micki is welcomed to the Donnybrook Police Station by Captain Solomon Jwacu (Mavuso Simelane) and Detective Nick Wilson. They waste very little time bringing her up to speed on the case while expressing their very limited timetable. Along with the lack of time and Zikode’s propensity for extreme corpse mutilation/rape/necrophilia, Zikode’s only speaking Zulu only adds to the difficulty of her task. Although Micki claims to know enough of the language to converse, she accepts Solomon’s offer to translate.
Micki and Solomon’s initial interrogation is fairly uneventful, although Micki does become so upset at one point that she has to excuse herself. As a teenager, Zikode was not only an avid member of his preferred political party, but he was active in recruitment. Although he expresses an outward hatred for his father, Micki suspects that it is his hatred for his mother, Katarina Zikode (Abigail Kubeka) that drives his need to kill. Micki appears to feel the hatred fuming off him when he blames his family for turning him into what he is. This is what forces her from the interrogation.
Outside, Micki discusses Zikode’s childlike mentality with Nick and Solomon. She claims he truly believes his gruesome actions are vindicated due to his poor circumstances as a child. Ultimately, Micki concludes that she can get a confession by getting under his skin. In order to do that, she will need to earn his trust and that will require a visit to the site of his latest victim, Christine Ntanzi (Zine Magopeni). Solomon initially refutes visiting the site, using their lack of time as an excuse, but his body language suggests that there is another reason for his refusal.
Upon arriving at the wooded crime scene, Micki expresses an unexplainable connection to the place. Solomon appears to grow more anxious when she suggests bringing Zikode onsite for questioning. Zikode and Nick arrive a short time later and it immediately becomes clear that Zikode enjoys the area. He admits to it making him feel safe but refuses to share anything about Christine. He maintains his smug look and remains silent as Micki rehashes the difficulties of his childhood. He doesn’t speak until she surmises that the area provided the safety and comfort his mother couldn’t. This is when he reveals how he met Christine and felt about her.
Micki suspects that Zikode loved Christine but she didn’t feel the same. He manages to stay silent but no longer carries the smug look, as she practically teases him with the unrequited love angle. Once Micki points out the most horrific details of the case, it is Nick who abruptly calls an end to the questioning.
After seeing Moses Sithole’s (Charlie Eduardo) conviction splayed across the front page headlines of the local paper, Mark (Steven Ward) decides to call Micki. He wastes little time letting her know he’s thinking of her while simultaneously inquiring about her current case. She apparently doesn’t want to burden him with the horrific details but promises to be returning home the following day. He tells her that he’s leaving the following day for the States but would love to see her when he returns.
Later that evening, Micki joins Nick at the local bar but turns down his offers for a drink, opting for a hot chocolate instead. Despite her claims that she doesn’t drink while on duty, it takes very little for him to convince her to an old-fashioned liqueur. They spend the whole night trading stories about their families and how they feel about their work.
Much later that night, it’s suggested that the case might be getting under Micki’s skin when she has a nightmare of being attacked by Zikode. The next day, Solomon escorts Micki to question Zikode’s mother. Initially, it doesn’t appear that Micki is going to learn much more than she already knew about Zikode’s difficult childhood. That changes when she learns that Zikode had an older sister that he spent a lot of time with until she ran off with her boyfriend. Micki is further troubled when she finds Zikode’s bedroom walls covered in photos of nude women. Katarina later claims that the photos came from magazines Zikode found in the forest, supposedly left behind by soldiers. Throughout the encounter, Katarina continually asks about seeing Zikode.
Katarina is later taken to the police station with lunch, but Zikode doesn’t waste any time making it known that he doesn’t want to see her. Seemingly later that day, Micki and Solomon prepared a final interrogation with Zikode. Micki not only attempts to use his hatred for his mother but the photos from the magazines. Although he continues to remain silent, the smug look on his face is gone. This changes when Micki mentions his relationship with Nomsa. Micki continues to push him until Zikode reveals that he is not only upset with his sister for leaving him, but he claims it was her responsibility to find him a companion. Zikode is eventually so overrun with anger that he confesses to the crimes.
Later that night, Solomon and his team celebrate their win with a cookout. Micki attends the gathering but stays off to herself, staring into the night sky. Nick eventually joins her and after a few words about astrology, she admits to being glad the case is behind her.
The episode ends with a scene suggesting that the case might have affected Micki much more than she would care to admit. While at home enjoying a glass of wine with her sister, Suzaan Pistorius (Zetske Van Pletzen), and another female associate, the unexpected arrival of a flower delivery guy startles Micki. Suzaan immediately picks up on the gross overreaction but Micki refuses to talk about it, claiming to be fine.
Zikode was ultimately sentenced to two life sentences for the murders and 140 years for his other crimes. To this very day, he maintains his innocence, saying that he was set up.
Catch Me A Killer Review
To begin, I’ll start with rating the episode at a 6 out of 10. I really enjoyed the small town/low-tech feel of the area and case. The small African huts were kind of quaint and the safari-like landscapes were even more impressive. In my opinion, Zikode does more than a commendable job as a true psycho. I loved the seriousness of everything, but also found myself a bit turned off by the typical killer mentality.
I am not saying that it doesn’t happen or isn’t more often than not the case but the whole ‘wronged by a female’ inspires rape and murder feels played out. Other than that, I would have appreciated a bigger emphasis on Zikode’s sheer brutality. It was mentioned throughout but there wasn’t much evidence/proof. The opening scene early suggests that he was an entirely different killer altogether.
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