The show begins with young Reyka Gama (Gabrielle de Gama) receiving a small jewelry box and ring from Angus Speelman (Iain Glen). He surprises her to the banquet. Portia (Nokuthula Ledwaba) has concerns with the ring. Portia snaps a photo of them before they toast 1998. Reyka stares in the direction of the shed, where Lucy is supposed to be held. Speelman stops Portia before she has time to get into the vehicle. He encourages Reyka to not worry about Portia, tonight is about them. As they pull out of the driveway, Portia walks toward the shed.

In the sugarcane field, Samuel “Baba” Zwane (Mavuso Simelane) is stooped beside Soda Mvaba (Khayalethu Anthony) who was recently shot and killed. Chief Msomi (Kenneth Nkosi) knocks Samuel out while he makes a call.

Adult Reyka (Kim Engelbrecht) is having a meal with her mother, Elsa (Anna-Mart van der Merwe) and daughter, Thuli (Rashaan Stackling). Thuli asks for permission to attend a school trip to Marine World. She agrees to let her go, but only if her Nina (Danel Maree) chaperones. Reyka ignores a call from DSI Hector Zwane (Hamilton Dlamini). Thuli admits to conversing with her father and wants to spend some time with him. She answers the phone and rushes out of the house.

Hector asks Samuel if Chief Msomi attacked him. He admits to shooting at Soda’s legs when he fled. Reyka arrives at the scene. She questions why Samuel would shoot Soda when he could have easily caught him. Soda was shot in the chest. Sewsunker (Leeanda Reddy) finds two sets of car tracks near the crime scene. Hector orders detective Tanner (Gerald Steyn) to put Samuel behind bars, without criminal charges.

Chief Msomi says Hector has a conflict of interest in the case, with his son, Samuel as a suspect. He says he killed Soda in cold blood and nine girls. Hector refuses to believe Samuel killed the girls. Chief Msomi says Samuel sees him as a man of many faces and his blood is like water. He stops Reyka from speaking, “Shut bi***, shut up.” They have done nothing about his niece’s murder.

Samuel is being held in isolation.

Pastor Ezekiel “Zik” (Desmond Dube) breaks down when he sees Soda’s body.

Elsa heard rumors of Samuel’s arrest. Reyka doesn’t believe he killed Soda. She shows Elsa the jewelry box she found buried near Speelman’s farm. The jewelry box is to tell Reyka she doesn’t remember everything. He asked her to retract her statement at an upcoming hearing. Elsa worries about Thuli and refuses to believe Lucy didn’t exist.

Speelman tells Portia they are grandparents to Thuli. He refers to them as “grandpa” and “grandma.” She tells him to leave Reyka alone. He wants her to live with him after his release. When she refuses his offer, he says, “You can’t choose your family.”

Beth Tyrone (Jessica Haines) comforts her daughter, Jessica (Ruby Rose Butler) after a nightmare about running in the sugarcane field. John Tyrone (Ian Roberts) suggests contacting the police. She needs to talk about what she saw in the sugarcane field.

A worker discovers a corpse in the sugarcane field.

Hlengiwe (Catherine Dumakude) files a missing person report for her granddaughter. She was last seen in town during a meeting with a man on a bicycle. The man promised her a job. The detective requests a description of the man, but she was too far away. Beth is at the police station to file an assault report.

Pastor Zik demands to know if killing Soda is part of Samuel’s job description. Soda was the prime suspect in the sugarcane murder case. He is angry because Samuel has not been charged and demands an independent investigation. Hector waits on the ballistics report and promises to not shield Samuel from the law if evidence validates his guilt.

Reyka retracts her statement, saying Lucy was a figment of her imagination. She created Lucy to cope with her captivity. She requests an order of protection for Thuli. Elsa is disappointed with Reyka’s decision to retract her statement.

Hector and Reyka visit Maxine (Camilla Waldman) who demands to know why a suspect has not been identified. She is angry, Reyka didn’t inform her of a serial killer, even though she knew it since their last meeting. Hector says the case is stretching their resources and there have multiple suspects. He is under an order to deliver a quick conviction to not interfere with the Tyrone land deal. Everyone has a finger in the case except for Samuel who he believes is innocent. Maxine demands a full investigation of Samuel for the murders of the nine victims and Soda. She wants them to find evidence to prove his guilt. If Hector doesn’t do it, she will find someone who will.

Mr. Bloom (David Butler) delivers Speelman’s release papers. They shake hands and he leaves.

Hector and Reyka visit the morgue to speak with the medical examiner. The autopsy report is inconsistent with Samuel’s statement. Soda was shot intentionally shot, execution-style from close range.

At the police station, Sewsunker informs Hector, the victim’s body recently found in the sugarcane field has Samuel’s DNA all over it. Reyka reminds Hector that evidence can be planted. He says Samuel fits her criminal profile, he is educated, has authority, and is charming. He could utilize his police status to lure girls into the sugarcane field. Reyka refuses to believe Samuel’s guilt. Hector says Samuel is haunted by ghosts. His daughter, Rosie was swept out to sea in April 1994 when he was with Elsa in a hotel room. Reyka’s abduction case gave him purpose.

Hector charges Samuel on suspicion of “culpable homicide” and nine counts of murder. He breaks down and says the killer could have planted the DNA. Nandi Cele (Thando Thabethe) pointed him out of a photo lineup. Hector walks away as Samuel pleads with him. Elsa is waiting in his office. She says it is about Rosie while hugging him. He responds, “For Samuel it is.”

Reyka and Tanner discuss Samuel’s guilt, which Tanner does not believe. He was present when Soda was killed, Nandi attacked, and six of the nine bodies were found. Reyka goes over a scenario, where Samuel targets girls his sister’s age when she died. He takes over their lives before murdering them. Tanner asks why Samuel was targeting Soda. He says maybe he wanted to shut him up. Reyka orders Tanner to talk to Chief Msomi.

Reyka meets Speelman to show him the ring from the buried jewelry box. He gave it to her on New Year’s Eve. She remembers and asks why Portia did not go with them to the banquet. She went on an errand for him. At the banquet, Reyka saw a photo, but she can’t remember. He warns her to leave it alone for both our sakes.

Tanner asks Chief Msomi how he knew Samuel was in the sugarcane field. He heard two gunshots.

In an interview, Reyka asks Samuel about Rosie. He was jealous Rosie got more attention because of her condition, epilepsy. He couldn’t swim, they wanted him to learn but the pool was far away and full of white people. If he learned to swim, he could have saved her from drowning. He denies hurting a woman. The ballistics report shows the bullet that killed Soda doesn’t match Samuel’s gun. Another person was at the crime scene. Samuel rushes out of the interrogation room.

 

Tanner intervies Bongi’s grandmother. Bongi (Zimkhitha Nyoka) met a man on a bicycle, the day she went missing. She picks a man out of a photo lineup. The man, Andile (Tebogo Selebogo) was previously interviewed when he was found with a bunch of handbags. The bicycle may be part of his disguise. Hector orders Tanner to stake out Andile. He calls for backup when Andile is seen walking with a young girl. Backup is canceled when the two separate.

Beth and Jessica meet with Sewsunker. Concerned, Jessica stares at a photo of Pillay (Vikash Mathura) lying on a desk.

Pillay is with his wife, Asha (Mayuri Naidu), and son, Keshav (Deshil Govender) when the police approach. He is arrested.

The detectives review the case. Tanner suggests an undercover to catch Andile in action. Hector refuses to permit another detective to go undercover. Reyka volunteers to be the bait, saying she knows his MO. He eventually gives in.

Speelman is released from prison.

Reyka is undercover at the sugarcane field. She hops into a taxicab and Tanner follows. Andile offers to escort her to the sugar factory through the sugarcane field. Zakes Gogo (Thandekile Dlomo) recognizes Reyka. She tells him about the man on a bicycle. He says you are talking about Pillay. Pillay rides a bike and was there earlier today. Zakes shows Reyka where Pillay was in the sugarcane field. The police are mobbed by a group of townspeople. Zakes leads Reyka through the sugarcane.

Tanner text an image of Zakes to Hector who compares it to a photo lineup. He grabs his keys and rushes out of the police station. Hector calls Tanner while he is fighting off the mob. Reyka continues to follow Zakes through the sugarcane. When she isn’t looking, Zakes walks up from behind and hits her across the face. Hector reaches Tanner on his cellphone and yells, “We got the wrong guy, we got the wrong guy.”

The detectives rush into the sugarcane field to search for Reyka. Zakes carries her limp body to a building. They locate her wig. He removes an article of her clothing and ties it around her neck. She comes through and watches in horror as he strangles her as the episode comes to an end.

 

Reyka Review

As the series nears an end, it is beginning to look like the killer has already been revealed. If this is the case, we can expect a predictable finale. It is unclear what the writers were hoping to achieve with a premature revelation of the killer. Maybe they wanted the finale to focus on Speelman.

The camerawork was and is still dreadful. The camera is continuously zooming in and out, even on still subjects. Ridiculously low illumination and contrast equal poor visibility during both day and night scenes. The episode deserves a 6.5.

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