The story begins with Elsa Gama (Anna-Mart van der Merwe) and her 12-year-old daughter, Reyka Gama (Gabrielle de Gama) visit a public event. Reyka wanders away to play with a dog while Elsa takes photographs of a public figure. Elsa becomes frantic with worry when she realizes Reyka is gone. She gives a police officer a description of Reyka. She frantically screams for Reyka who is nowhere to be seen.

Reyka wakes up on a sofa, where she meets her abductor, Angus Speelman (Iain Glen). He asks if she likes music. Grownup Reyka (Kim Engelbrecht) is having a flashback of her abductor.

Reyka wakes up by a knock on the bedroom door. Her daughter, Thuli (Rashaan Stackling) alerts her that Nina (Danel Maree) has arrived. Thuli is pushed away when attempting to show Reyka affection. A note on the refrigerator is a reminder of Thuli’s live performance scheduled for tomorrow. After a few questions, Nina is hired to care for Thuli.

 

A young girl runs from the sugar cane field after she witnesses an attack on a female.

Reyka arrives at the police department, where she meets with Detective Samuel Zwane (Mavuso Simelane). He disagrees with her description of the Blue Lagoon Killer who she believes is white. He transferred from Ananda to Kwa-Zulu Natal. During the discussion, she scolds Samuel for being in her personal space.

Chief Msomi (Kenneth Nkosi) orders 15 lashes for a man believed to be a thief, children begin to scream. A dog brings a human arm to the village. Constable Nandi Cele (Thando Thabethe) investigates the arm when she discovers a unique ring, which no one recognizes.  Chief asks Hector Zwane (Hamilton Dhlamini) if he knows John Tyrone (Ian Roberts) was a witch doctor and why he would “sabotage his own land.” He responds, “Because he doesn’t want it.” The Chief refuses to be played by white people.

Hector visits John Tyrone to discuss the land dispute. The Chief believes John’s domestic worker is consulting with evil spirits. He says the Chief got what he wanted. His son, Alex Tyrone (Mark Elderkin) adds, “At a bargain price.”

A young girl is confronted by farmworker, Soda (Khayalethu Anthony) as she walks down a dirt road. She agrees to let him carry her bag.

Reyka visits Hector’s office. She is intrigued when he asks her to stay. She views images of the arm previously discovered by the village children. The arm belongs to a petite female. She informs him that Elsa wants to return to the United Kingdom. She wants custody of Thuli. Elsa does not know the real reason why Reyka returned to South Africa. They discuss Speelman who is up for parole. He denies anything going on between him and Elsa. Since the arm was not severed by a machete, witch doctors are ruled out as the killer. He is shocked when she kisses him. She apologizes before leaving the room.

Reyka visits the parole board to discuss Speelman. Reyka’s testimony was deemed “unreliable” because of her emotional state. She tells the parole board her mentor encouraged her to return to South Africa. Expert witness (Jocelyn Broderick) describes Speelman as a “charismatic narcissist” who will never change. Reyka interrupts the expert witness when she tells the parole board, Speelman took care of the young victim. She claims another girl, Lucy was also abducted by Speelman. She only heard her voice, never met her. Speelman’s attorney, Mr. Bloom (David Butler) interjects, “There is no evidence to support this.” He says she cannot be sure because she never saw her. She begins to cry. The court-appointed psychiatrist determined Reyka her “fractured” metal state triggered the illusion of Lucy.

Soda lures the young girl into the sugar cane field.

Thuli practices her upcoming performance while Reyka views documents. She shows Reyka her costume for the performance. She describes her as looking like a “harlot.” She doesn’t understand, Reyka says “a hooker”. She becomes upset and leaves the room.

Tanner (Gerald Steyn) tells Reyka he was thinking about checking out a new place before Saturday night. She responds, “okay.” He asks her if she will think about it when Hector interrupts. She tells the detectives what she believes transpired before the victim was murdered. They discuss the forensics report that shows the arm was “stripped” from the victim’s body. Hector says witch doctors are ruled out. Nandi Cele says some witch doctors rip body parts off while victims are still alive.

Reyka and Cele visit the village to speak with the children. They ask if she is “white”. She denies being white or black, but “50/50.” As they pull up to where the farmworkers are discussing sugarcane, Soda quietly walks away. Reyka follows him inside. She unsuccessfully tries to get a glimpse of inside his room. She asks him if he heard anything about a dead body. He sees women and men in the sugarcane. He denies knowing if they are having sex. A young girl is hiding in his room.

Reyka receives a call from Mr. Bloom. Speelman wants to meet Reyka at the prison tonight.

Elsa meets with a female to discuss custody of Thuli. She wants Reyka to have sole custody of Thuli. She describes Reyka’s life as “stable” with about six months of sobriety.

Reyka arrives at the prison to meet Speelman. She passes clearance and takes a seat in the waiting area. As Speelman is brought into the room, he begins to discuss the race of the Blue Lagoon killer. He asks her how many lives would have been saved if she got Alfonzo Abrahams’ profile right the first time. He describes her as an “impressive young woman.” He was disappointed she could not look at him at the trial. He demands a log cabin on the beach, snorkeling, lobsters, and crayfish. He demands she retract her statement to the parole board. He claims to remember everything, except when she was sedated. He says they were close and asks if she thought about him. She responds, “No”. He becomes uncomfortable when he talks about Thuli. He asks about her skin color. He begs her to let him go to Mozambique, Ponta do Ouro. She says it is not her decision. He offers her information for retracting her statement.

Reyka stops at a local pub for a drink. Thuli performs in front of a live audience. Reyka makes out with the bartender. She warns him to not kiss her. She angrily walks away when he continues to try to kiss her. She returns home to Elsa on her laptop. She asks about Thuli’s performance. Elsa describes her as “extraordinary.” She tells her about the interview with the lady, regarding the custody of Thuli. Ella becomes upset when Rekya tells her about meeting Speelman. She scolds her for getting wasted and missing Thuli’s performance. Thuli listens quietly to their argument. Reyka receives a call from work. Elsa says she should not go in her condition and asks if Speelman is why they came back to South Africa.

When she arrives at the crime scene, she is feeling the effects of the alcohol. Elsa checks on Thuli in her bedroom. Reyka meets with Nandi Cele who is investigating the murder of the young girl seen earlier with Soda. She sees that Reyka is intoxicated. She orders her to go home before Hector sees her. As falls on the ground as she leaves the crime scene.

Nandi and Reyka visit the medical examiner’s office. The cause of death is determined to be trauma to the head. The medical examiner believes the girl was hit in the head with a blunt object. The victim has a Zulu tribal mask, an incision to symbolize the clan she belongs to. Chief Msomi is devastated by the victim’s images.

Hector warns Elsa if the case could blow up if the victim is of Msomi royalty because of the land deal. He tells Elsa she does not understand because she is a “white South African.” She wants Reyka to focus on Thuli and refuses to wait for the investigation to end. She suggests someone else, but he refuses. She knows Reyka returned to South Africa for Speelman and he offered her the case. He says Reyka needs closure. When Thuli’s custody is decided, they will return to the UK. Elsa fears losing Reyka again to Speelman.

The detectives view footage of a convenience store, where the young girl gets into a car. The owner of the vehicle, Pillay (Vikash Mathura) is brought into the police station. He is a Sugarland shop owner with an assault record. He claims the assault charge is related to a robbery. He previously visited the sugarcane field 8 to collect soil samples. He accuses the Tyrone family of utilizing banned toxic substances to poison the sugarcane. His son has a heart defect that is believed to be related to high levels of nitrate in water. He wants Tyrone to pay for his son’s medical treatments. He agrees to give Nandi some samples. He is shown the video footage of the young girl getting in his car. He denies killing the victim.

Nandi tells Hector she believes Pillay disposed of the girl’s body to make it look like witch doctors were involved. Chief Msomi blames Tyrone and a feud blows up about the land deal. Reyka disputes Nandi’s story. She says the murder was premeditated and carefully planned. She does not believe Pillay is the killer. A male detective says he was at the sugarcane field. When the wind blew, he got a whiff of “rotten fruit.”

Reyka takes her daughter’s dog to the sugarcane field. Within minutes of searching, the dog discovers a graveyard of dead bodies with tribal masks.

A female is being followed by someone on a bicycle. She is strangled to death as the episode comes to an end.

Reyka Review

A deep crime drama set in South Africa. The story is packed full of political agendas and woke dialogue. The camera work is seasickness waiting to happen, with cuts so quick, it is impossible to take in what’s happening. Remarkably, the acting is not terrible, even though some of the scenes are overplayed. They do a great job making South African women look vulnerable in all situations. The delayed alcohol effect was so unrealistic, it would have been better to skip it altogether. This isn’t enough, she visits a crime scene under the influence. Hopefully, there will be some improvement in the second episode. The episode deserves a 5.

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