Showmax's 'The Wife' - TV Review
The platform's first ever Telenovela drama adapted from bestselling author Dudu Busani-Dube's Hlomu series is a
romance filled with crime, focusing on the dangerous lives of the Zulu brothers, an intimidating family
with too many wrong deeds, from the point of view of the wives they marry
To be honest, we didn't really see this one coming, not at all. I have read
so many novels and wished they would be adapted to a movie or series
but not this one. Look at us right now, basking on the sofa, watching something
that really felt so impossible to happen, The Wife, Hlomu to be precise.
I remember reading the first book and I instantly fell in love from the first page, literally.
I liked how the book was so filled with drama and how relatable it was, I just couldn't sleep
because wow! Dudu understood the assignment for real. I just watched the first three episodes
and all I can say is... I have lost words to describe how exceptional the production
of this drama is, they outdid themselves, I definitely sing praises to them.
Anyways, let's get to the review
Wait! I must say, I didn't really have these faces in my imagination when
I was reading the books and now I am actually thinking of going back to read again
because they just made me look very stupid when it comes to imagining faces while reading
but when it comes to Hlomu, I had the exact face, LITERALLY! Mbalenhle Mavimbela is a perfect
person for this role and so are the Zulu brothers. Honestly, at first, I was skeptical with the
choice of Nkosana, I thought Muzi KaChibi Mthabela would be perfect for the role but now
I understand why Mondli Makhoba was chosen, his acting is noble and first class. The
cast really epitomize the characters of the book (except for the BIG eyes),
respect to the cast directors
Episode One: Ice Cream
The telenovela commenced by introducing us to the Zulu brothers and the
antagonists of the story, the Majolas. Both these families are taxi owners so already you can
imagine the drama that is about to take place here (I mean, weren't you really
intrigued to see more after that wrestle between both families in the beginning?).
As the fight went on, Nkosana calms his brothers down as the older brother and it worked
since the Majolas (and Nqoba) we ready to kill on the spot.
The Majolas own the territory which is why they seem to always start
fights in the rank.
We are also introduced to Hlomu, the journalist. She finds herself hitting Qhawe's taxi
while driving to work in the morning, I think she was late. Qhawe comes out of his
taxi, he is furious and Hlomu is terrified on the other side, this calls for a war, obviously.
She got out of her car to apologize to Qhawe for the accident but it was at that moment
when things changed. She caught the eyes of Qhawe, he just fell in love with her at first sight.
Qhawe was definitely star struck by Hlomu's beauty, he wanted to pursue her.
He even bragged about her to his brother, Mqhele, who did not believe his story.
Later that afternoon, we see that Hlomu's car stopped working
after the accident, she had no choice but to catch a taxi. Qhawe's adventure to pursue
Hlomu was crushed when Mqhele, his brother, also saw Hlomu and pursued her first
when she got into the taxi. He looted the key from Qhawe and drove off with her and
other passengers. That was my favorite part, very funny for me but it was not for
the passengers, especially when Mqhele decided to go off route just so he can buy
Hlomu some Ice cream at Sylvia's, that was cute and charming.
We also got to see how the Zulu brothers make money - through bank robberies and heist
and Hlomu was tipped by an unknown caller about something that was going to happen
at Corner main and rissik in town. There was a heist, she got to the place late and now she plans
to find the masterminds behind this heist, little did she knew that it is the Zulu brothers.
Episode Two: Otherwise Engaged
As I got to the second episode, I was enthralled by how natural the meeting of Hlomu
and Mqhele was, it was definitely a match from heaven. Hlomu is disappointed in the
morning to find that Sandile, her doctor boyfriend, has forgotten about their anniversary, it
seems like work is the only thing in his mind and that didn't really sit well with her but it was
a perfect moment to see her surprised face when she saw Mqhele outside her place, ready to
take her to work. At first, she declined the offer but after finding it hard to catch a taxi to
work (I think Mqhele tipped the drivers not to take her), she finally got into Mqhele's taxi
who was very please that she did. Their trip to work went smooth but Hlomu didn't seem to
like the fact that Mqhele is obsessed with Maskandi music. Another thing that excited
me was the fight between Qhawe and Mqhele who were going on about who saw
Hlomu first. Nkosana stopped their fight again, I admire how he put them in place like
the older brother he is and how they respect him, priceless!
The Zulu brothers used their heist money to buy new taxis but their dreams to expand are
crushed when the Majolas declined their request to the use their new taxi to the rank so we saw
them consulting a sangoma to help give them strength to fight their battles without being defeated
by any of their enemies. Later that day, gunshot were blazing between the Zulus and the Majolas
only for the Zulus to gun down Sondo, one of the Majola brothers. We already know
what that means, right? war is definitely coming!
Back to Hlomu: She has prepared dinner for Sandile for their anniversary. He doesn't really
seem to give any effort on this relationship because he came home late and made a
lame excuse that the hospital was busy. Hlomu was furious, she lashed out at him only
for him to reveal that the fact that Hlomu is holding her virginity for marriage does not really
sit well with him, to Hlomu's surprise, she is upset! She walked out of the apartment
in the middle of the night.
Another scene that I liked about this episode is how Lux made the detective believe that he
was reprimanding Hlomu for obstructing justice by going to the crime scene before
the police came in only to find that he just wanted him to leave, otherwise, he liked how
Hlomu was committed to nail this investigation. I was surprised when he laughed and
so was Hlomu.
Episode Three: The Date
Argh! Did it really have to be three episodes per week? not even four, at least?
What I mostly enjoyed about this episode, no the whole story actually, is the twist.
the storyline is kind of different from the one I read the on the book, but not in a
bad way, a perfect way actually. The episode commenced with the war between the Zulus
and the Majolas perpetuating, Sondo, the son of Bab' Majola has died and like I said,
war is brewing. On the story, we see Nkosana going straight to the Lion's den to sacrifice
himself for the death of Sondo just so he could protect his brothers but he doesn't really
get the ticket to do that because the Majola made it clear to him that it's not him they
want to see dead but one of his brothers just so that he could live with a lifetime
pain of losing his loved one, he disagreed to that agreement only to find that it was not really
a request but an order. Like I said, TWIST! At first I thought would agree to sacrifice one of
his brothers but I was shocked to see him attacking Bab' Majola with a spear and killed him. Anyways,
it was either that or one of his brother dies. Now I am so anxious on how he's going to get
away with murder this time around.
We also got to see that Mqhele doesn't really give up easily on someone he loves dearly.
He stayed up all day at Hlomu's workplace just so he could take her out on a date. MaHlomu
made it clear that she's seeing Sandile and she is serious about him but Mqhele was stone-deaf
about it. Mqhele's charming words seem to be finally getting to Hlomu because she even
agreed to go on a date with him. Hlomu was shocked when they got to the restaurant, it was
quite surprising that Mqhele had such a good taste, she expected him to take her to some ghetto
shisanyama but no, Mqhele knew how to play this one. To think that was enough for Hlomu,
she was shocked to see Msaki performing live on stage right closer to where they were sitting.
She was very happy to the extent that she stood up and danced with Mqhele behind her,
it was indeed a great evening.
After the date, Mqhele took her lady back home and told her he would love to
spend his life with her but Hlomu declined his proposal and told him that he is serious
about Sandile and ended the night by telling him that they shouldn't see each other anymore. But like
I said, Mqhele is everything but not a quitter, we see him knocking inside Hlomu's apartment
and kissed her on the spot even though he heard Sandile talking from the bedroom but
he did it anyway. Now the ball is on Hlomu to decide which guy is she planning on
spending the rest of his life with, Sandile or Mqhele? We all know that she's going
to choose but with twist from the book, we can't to see how this will go about.
Overview
I must say, the production of this telenovela is brilliant! Their setting is beautiful, I am happy
that they didn't use studios but real places like the rank, it just became so real. The cast is doing
their utmost best to epitomize the characters on the book and it working perfectly.
Hlomu's narration as the story goes on couldn't get any better, she is doing the most.
If I were to rate this show I'd definitely give a 100/100 because wow! they managed to do it,
they managed to have us wanting more and more of the story and that is so beautiful. Looking forward
to see more episodes and I can't wait till we get to Zandile and Naledi
Thank you guys for reading my first ever TV Review, I hope I did well.
You can watch The Wife on Showmax.com every Thursday from today
11 November 2021. There will be three episodes added every Thursday on the
platform. Make sure you don't miss it.
BONGI
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