The show begins with young Reyka (Gabrielle de Gama) locked in her room. She pleads with Portia (Nokuthula Ledwaba) to let her out, promising to not tell Angus Spellman (Iain Glen). Portia gives in and allows her to help make lemonade. She volunteers to get more lemons, but instead, runs around the shed in search of Lucky. Portia yells for her to come back, just in time for Speelman to pull into the drive. She claims to have tricked Portia into letting her out. He has her best interest at heart. He escorts her inside.

Reyka Gama (Kim Engelbrecht) and Samuel Zwane (Mavuso Simelane) arrive at the hospital. Nandi Cele (Thando Thabethe) is surrounded by her family who is grieving her passing. Hector (Hamilton Diamini) demands to know where they have been and says Nandi had a stroke. Samuel responds, “But, she was conscious.” Distraught, Samuel goes to the restroom, where he punches a mirror.

Reyka arrives at the vandalized police station. Sewsunker (Leeanda Reddy) is with Tanner (Gerald Steyn). She is sobbing. Reyka receives a map of Lucy’s gravesite.

Beth Tyrone (Jessica Haines) and Alex Tyrone (Mark Elderkin) are awakened by a loud noise. Alex orders her to stay in the room. He repeats his order after she mentions their daughter, Jessica Tyrone (Ruby Rose Butler). She tries to call the police, but the cellphone is dead. John Tyrone (Ian Roberts) and Cathleen Tyrone (Fiona Ramsay) also heard the noise. An unknown suspect hits Alex on the head. Beth attempts to crawl under the bed to escape. Another suspect stops the man from sexually assaulting her.  John is shot in the leg while trying to wrestle a rifle away from the suspect.

At the police station, a man warns Hector of a potential civil suit by Soda (Khayalethu Anthony). He has been held in jail for over 48 hours without being charged. Tanner interrupts the meeting to tell them about the Tyrone home invasion. The man orders Hector to release Soda.

Reyka and Tanner arrive at the Tyrone farm. Beth got a gut feeling something wasn’t right when she heard the dogs barking. The dogs were caged in preparation for their rabies vaccination. Beth doesn’t understand how the suspects got inside because the place is supposed to be a “fortress.” She is upset about the suspect placing his hand on her leg. Alex asks if she was raped and not to blame herself. She questions why she would blame herself. Alex fired a worker, Sanele Dube (Vusi Mdiniso) for leering at Beth.

Samuel walks in as Soda is released from jail. He blames Soda for Nandi’s death. Hector orders Tanner to arrest Sanele who has a criminal record. Hector tells Samuel to contact the police informant, Zakes (Jabulani Mthembu) to keep an eye on Soda. Reyka chases Samuel down and asks him about their sexual interlude. He tells her to forget it, they don’t do commitments.

Pastor Ezekiel “Zik” (Desmond Dube) tells Soda the community is against him. He gives him money and promises to pray for him.

Zakes informs Samuel, Zenzele’s Truck Stop is moving stolen cellphones. Samuel doesn’t want tips, he wants Soda.

Reyka and Tanner interview Sanele. He denies being responsible for robbing the Tyrone family.

Zakes warns Soda, Chief Msomi (Kenneth Nkosi) is out to get him for the death of his niece. Soda denies being responsible for her death. He says the police are set up along the road out of Kwadungezwa. He offers to smuggle him out in a sugarcane truck. He refuses the offer.

Reyka and Tanner question Hlengiwe (Catherine Dumakude) about her nephew, Sanele. She says he is a good boy and walks to work. Worker, Kagiso (Kgosi Mongake) walks in during the meeting. He says Sanele left for work at half-past six this morning. Tanner removes a ceramic bank from the top of a shelf. She interjects, “This is my life savings.”  The money bears consecutive serial numbers. Sanele already sold Tyrone’s jewelry.

Msomi’s men are searching for Soda. They find his hat, where he ran into the woods.

Reyka locates Lucy’s gravesite on Speelman’s map. A dig rendered nothing but a rock. She visits Portia who is in witness protection. Portia asks if she is under arrest. Her time with Reyka was the best time in her life. She and Speelman couldn’t have children. Speelman ruined Reyka’s ability to love her daughter, Thuli (Rashaan Stackling). Portia denies Lucy existed. Speelman agrees to exchange Lucy’s gravesite for Portia’s phone number.

At home, Elsa Gama (Anna-Mart van der Merwe) tells Reyka she didn’t pick Thuli up from school. It slipped her mind even though was a note on the refrigerator. Elsa feels guilty for giving up on finding Reyka. She asked the authorities to confiscate Thuli when she was born.  Reyka asks why she visited Speelman in jail. She wanted to talk to him face to face.

Samuel is searching for Soda at the compound. He locates Nandi’s bag in the ceiling of a restroom.

At the police station, Reyka is looking at crime scene photos. Sanele’s fingerprints were not found at the Tyrone house. She gives Hector two images and asks what is wrong with them. One of the images shows Cathleen’s jewelry. Reyka believes the suspects did not intend to rob the Tyrone’s. It may have been a hit to kill John, Alex, or both men. Samuel arrives with Nandi’s bag. Sewsunker says they inspected the bathroom in the compound and the bag was not there. The killer is fixated with handbags in a sexual way. Reyka asks Tanner to wait an hour to release Sanele.

Samuel visits the church. He demands Pastor Zik to tell him about Soda’s location. Pastor Zik asks him where the warrant is.

Reyka interviews Hlengiwe’s lodger, Kagiso. His facial scars are from an acid attack, which he never filed a formal complaint. He sleeps in Sanele’s bedroom on the floor. An officer believed the acid attack was homophobic in nature. He is Sanele’s lover.

The detectives are meeting with Chief Msomi when one of the guards arrives with Soda’s hat. Samuel demands to know where Soda is and arrests Chief Msomi on suspicion of abduction and murder.

Hector receives a call from Zakes to alert him of Chief Msomi’s arrest. Hector walks in during the interview and releases Chief Msomi.  He recommends Hector teach him about respect and if he can’t do it, he will. Hector scolds Samuel for his actions. A community meeting has been called to deal with Samuel. Hector takes his gun and orders him to desk duty. He calls him an “embarrassment for the service.” Sewsunker informs the detectives that Hlengiwe’s banknotes were delivered to the Nationwide Bank in Durban last week and the ATM on Tuesday. The banknotes were withdrawn by Alex Tyrone. The detectives believe Alex is trying to have his father murdered. Samuel says it may have something to do with the poisoned soil sample.

Reyka catches up with Hector who is heading out to save Samuel’s reputation. She shows him the soil sample and says, “Like Samuel saved yours.” He orders her to get in the car. Pillay’s soil sample proved the Tyrone family poisoned the 8A sugarcane field, resulting in his son’s illness. Pillay would be awarded millions of dollars by the Supreme Court. Hector compromised his career for the land deal. She orders him to put Samuel back in the field.

Samuel and Reyka arrive at the hospital to arrest Alex on conspiracy charges. Reyka asks John when the dogs were vaccinated for Rabies. He took them to the vet last month. Handcuffed, Alex turns and looks at John, “You gave up on everything we built, our land, our home, and the Tyrone name.” He asks if he will sleep better now. He admits his guilt to his daughter, Jessica. He tried to call it off, but they didn’t answer their phone.

Hector visits Pastor Zik to apologize for Samuel’s behavior. The community calls for his resignation. Pastor Zik says the community needs someone they can trust. Hector asks, “Like you.” He excites violence to distract his extramarital affairs. There is evidence to prove Soda’s guilt.

Tanner arrests Mr. Hlongwane in town with a bag of purses.

Zakes finds Soda hiding in the village. He gives him the money from Pastor Zik. Soda is to hide in the sugarcane field 8A until tonight.

Reyka interviews Mr. Hlongwane. She explains her criminal profile and shows him a photo lineup. He doesn’t pick anyone out of the lineup. He checks Reyka’s out while she bends over the investigation table.

Zakes finds Soda hiding in the 8A field. He leads him directly to Chief Msomi’s guards. They pay Zakes and put Soda in the back of their truck. He is beaten but continues denying killing the women. Chief Msomi removes his hat and Samuel approaches with a gun. He rescues Soda.

Reyka digs up a jewelry box with a silver ring.

Chief Msomi’s guards follow Samuel and Soda. They slam into the back of his vehicle causing them to crash. He jumps out of his vehicle and fires his gun. He walks toward the water’s edge as the episode comes to an end.

 

Reyka Review

With the two filler episodes out of the way, the show gets to focus on the investigation. Six episodes in, the key player in the show is missing. Iain Glen has a special way of drawing viewers into the story. There is a deep void by the absence of his dominant character that cannot be filled by the others.

It was nice to see Mavuso Simelane step up to the challenge as lead. Unfortunately, this decision made Reyka a little vulnerable and less important.

Hopefully, the show continues in the same direction to ensure a barnburner finale. The episode deserves a 6.5.

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