Karoo, South Africa – The episode begins with Regardt Snyman (Arno Greeff) stopping Jessie September (Kylie Fisher) on her moped. He tells her that she was descending a hill with “undue haste.” She asks if her driving slightly over the speed limit puts all the other vehicles in danger. After reminding her of his being a Warrant Officer, he says she can’t speak to him in that manner.

Khaya Meyer (Tony Kgoroge) and Piet Kasin (Elton Landrew) chase sheep back into a fence. Marius sarcastically says his store-bought lunch diet is keeping him fit before suggesting vegetables.

Flipping on the radio, Tannie Maria/Maria Purvis (Maria Doyle Kennedy) feeds her chicken watermelon before pulling a pie out of the oven.

Piet is urinating beside the road when a tractor drives by. He alerts Khaya that it’s the “Tractor Terrorist.” Khaya calls it in to dispatch.

After receiving the call, Regardt hurriedly hops on his four-wheeler to discover the engine won’t turn over. As he races away on her moped, she begins working on his four-wheeler.

As Khaya and Piet try to bring the tractor to a halt, the driver waves them to go ahead. After looking up to see Regardt coming at him head-on, he veers the tractor into a billboard. Piet asks if he’s all right. The driver acknowledges he’s fine before falling to the ground. Tannie Maria drives straight past the accident to Karoo Slaghuis. Doep (Terence Bridgett) says he saved her some marrow bones. She tells him that ostrich mince pie is the recipe for the week.

Tannie Maria drops some ostrich pie off at the Karoo Gazette for Hattie Wilson (Jennifer Steyn). Hattie says it’s no good when Jessie apologizes for arriving late after “hot-wiring a police bike.” Hattie informs Tannie Maria that her recipe column will be replaced with Tannie Sara’s Advice Column. Tannie Maria reminds her that she’s been writing recipes for Karoo Gazette for seven years. Jessie and Tannie Maria offer to write the advice column. Hattie says they’ll both have an opportunity to show her what they can do before dumping a box of letters on her desk. When they look at her puzzled, she admits to having started Monday. They scramble for the letters before heading to their desks. Tannie Maria covers her pie when she spots Jessie looking at it.

Charlene September (Khadiji Heeger) asks Regardt if he’s with an inmate. He says it’s the man believed to have damaged Father Adam’s petunias. When she walks away, he sends Jessie a text alerting her of the Tractor Terrorist being in custody. Jessie informs Hattie that she’s a potential story at the hospital. Hattie asks if the message was from Regardt. Tannie Maria complains she can only think in her kitchen. Hattie reminds her that she’s no longer writing recipes but an advice column when Stefan (Evan Hengst) arrives to pick up his sausages.

Regardt stops Jessie just as she starts to enter the Tractor Terrorist’s hospital room. While sensually saying she’s grateful for being reimbursed for the repairs, she slyly snaps a picture of the inmate. When he suggests she now owes him a favor, she denies it before walking away. The suspect cracks up laughing.

A doctor tells Jessie that the suspect has a fractured arm. When she pries deeper into the story, he assures her that it’s nothing from than an intoxicated man driving a tractor. She goes on a rant about the town’s “racist history” of utilizing cheap labor to make a profit.

Jessie tells Charlene that she’s working on the Tractor Terrorist story. Charlene asks if the tip was from her “boyfriend.” Jessie denies Regardt’s her boyfriend.

Tannie Maria prepares a recipe while working on the advice column. She reads a letter in which the author, Martine Burger (Tinarie Van Wyk Loots) pleads with her to not publish it for fear she will be murdered by her husband.

Khaya asks Regardt how the suspect’s doing. Regardt says the man sings “rude songs” when the nurses enter the room. When Khaya has questions, Regardt provides a demonstration and Piet joins in until Khaya tells them enough. The suspect says his name is Bertes before singing a song. After sticking a thermometer in his mouth, Charlene identifies him as Bertes Chanchis. She suggests there’ll be no charges because he’s Barend du Toit’s half-brother. Khaya makes his exit while Piet sticks around to compliment Charlene’s honeysuckle oil.

Jessie admits to being passionate about the advice column. Tanny Maria says, “Let the best Tannie win.”

Tannie Maria reads a second letter from Martine. She writes, “I am ashamed to be writing to you now for advice. I’ve made my bed and I should lie in it. I promised to love and obey this man, my husband. But the love has dried up.” He serves Dirk Burger (Bennie Fourie) a meal. He takes a bite and spits immediately spits it out before tossing the plate across the floor. As she prepares to clean the mess, she says they both do their best. She admits to loving her best friend but prefers their relationship to remain platonic. She speaks of her love for the ducks.

After shooting the ducks, Dirk flops them down on the kitchen table. Threatening to kill him, she charges at him with a butcher knife. He holds her as she screams. She writes in her letter that the ducks were a gift from her friend. Tannie Maria swallows a gulp of alcohol. Martine asks if it’s wrong to have a funeral for ducks, ending the letter with “yours sincerely, Bereaved Woman.

Riley helps Jessie write her piece for the advice column.

Tannie Maria works on the best approach to domestic violence.

Hattie tells Tannie Maria and Jessie that she’ll run both their pieces.

Martine clips Tannie Maria’s recipe out of the newspaper. At the Koop, a gentleman saves the day when she causes an onion avalanche. She returns home to prepare the recipe. Dirk brings her flowers and an apology. She serves the meal. He takes a bite and says, “Wow.”

Scotland –  Gorgon McKlintock (Richard Wright-Firth) informs Aileen McKlintlock (Robyn Scott) that he received a notification for Tannie Maria’s advice column piece. Aileen says, “After all the years.”

Karoo – Jessie informs Hattie that the traffic for Karoo Gazette website significantly increased more now than in the past three months. As Hattie starts to say something, Jessie says she’s off the advice column. Hattie greets Hattie before saying the column is hers. Frantic, Tannie Maria demands her surname be removed from the piece. Jessie gives her a confused look.

Dirk suggests Martine prepare her “amazing” recipe more often. She tells him that she’s glad he liked it. He kisses her. In her letter, she tells Tannie Maria that she has a plan to get her and her daughter away from Dirk. A smile comes to Tannie Maria’s face.

Scotland 2008 – Maria Purvis serves dinner. She asks Stefan (Evan Hengst) how his workday went. He says it’s the same.

Karoo – Jessie scolds Bron for being late. Bron accuses Jessie of spying on her. Jessie warns her that boys are trouble.

Tannie Marie is shocked by a letter from Anna Pretorius (Daneel Van Der Walt). She voices her concern for her friend’s safety. She reads, “He thinks she’s leaving him and he said he’ll kill her.” She questions her sentence if she kills him in self-defense. Tannie Marie suggests Anna is Martine’s friend. Hattie tells her to write a response piece now. Jessie says she’ll gather resource numbers.

Martine prepares a recipe.

Jessie is at an intersection when an ambulance passes. She follows the ambulance to a crime scene where she snaps a picture of a gurney with a body bag. Dirk looks distraught as the body is loaded into the back of the ambulance.

Hattie warns Jessie that her photos violate Dirk’s privacy. Jessie swears he never saw her. Tannie Marie identifies the deceased woman as her duck lady. Jessie suggests they investigate it when Anna asks for Tannie Marie. She breaks down crying, saying the love of her life is dead. Khaya demands Anna accompany them to the police station. Anna pushes him before being subdued as the episode comes to an end.

 

Recipes For Love And Murder Review

I’ll start by saying the pace is extremely too fast. It’s difficult to absorb anything the characters have to say, the background, or plots. As of yet, there are no plot development, character development, or backstory. The intro failed to give viewers the initiative to continue watching.

Things begin to change about the half-way point. The actors began to develop their characters and bit by bit, the story started coming together. I was surprised by how well the advice column played out. Martine’s cry for help came a little too late. Dirk was obviously a husband with mental issues.

According to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence “NRCDV,” more women are murdered by their husbands than vice versa. The study showed a surge of domestic violence murders, rising from three female victims each day to almost four female victims a day in 2019. As someone very close to domestic violence, you are just going through the motions, not really living.

Martine was secretly in love with Anne. Anne’s pleas for Martine to leave Dirk fell on death ears. It seems when Martine had finally gotten the nerve to escape her husband’s abusive clutches, he caught wind of her plan. Unfortunate for Anne, she is now on the police’s radar. Did she kill Martine? It’s doubtful, but we will need to stick around to find out.

Did Tannie Marie escape an abusive relationship? Gordon and Aileen McKlintlock recognized her name in the advice column. Also, she panicked when she realized it’d been posted.

Deep little story if you are willing to give it a chance. Don’t let the failed intro scare you away. Hopefully, the story will continue to improve or else I’ll be forced to can it.

The acting, cinematography, and editing are all good.

The episode deserves a 6. Get more Recipes for Love and Murder recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link.