Bad Influencer followed the life of BK, a single mother who didn’t know how to fund her child’s education in a capitalist society. She knew that no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn’t be able to earn that amount through legitimate channels. That’s when she decided to break the law and do something to provide for her son. On her journey, she met many intriguing characters who had an impact, good or bad, on her life. So let’s get to know these characters and find out what they were up to.
Spoiler Alert
Jo-Anne Reyneke as BK
BK knew that in order to survive, to provide for her son, and to give him the best life possible, she needed to take the illegal path. Also, she didn’t feel that she was hurting anybody by selling fake luxury bags until she got to know that the black money was used to sponsor terrorism in the state. BK literally put her life at risk to get her son into the special needs school. BK was a good person, which was why I believe Themba took a liking to her in the first place. She was a victim of her circumstances, but even then nobody could question her loyalty or her allegiances. I mean, at the end of the day, she could have taken Pinky and the others down with her, but she chose to take all the blame. At the end of season 1, BK was sentenced to 2 years in prison, but I believe she wouldn’t be able to get rid of her past even after paying for the consequences of her actions. Flames Jiyane, the mafia boss, was interested in the fake luxury bag business, as BK had committed the blunder of telling him that she could make him millions through selling first copies of designer bags. So if there is a second season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see BK working for Jiyane and finding a way to get rid of him.
Cindy Mahlangu as Pinky
Pinky, aka Qween Pink, seemed to be a very superficial person, but underneath all that, she was a very sympathetic, affectionate, and kind human being. She was an influencer, and she had to be a certain way to be a part of the community, but that didn’t mean that she was a bad person. The association she had with BK’s son was a testament to the fact that she was a good-hearted person. Yeah, she had made some objectionable choices in the past, and often she was reckless in her approach. She could have easily ditched BK and taken Mandla’s help to get acquitted of all the charges. But she didn’t do so. Her conscience didn’t allow her to pin all the blame on BK. Though she did get acquitted, she stood alongside BK till the very end.
Thapelo Mokoena as Themba
Themba was a cop, and called it fate or destiny, he realized that one of the main accused in the case he was handling happened to be the woman he had fallen head over heels for. Themba was an honest man, and even when there was a conflict of interest, he made sure that he did not give any undue advantage to people. He did have a soft corner for BK, and one might argue that had Briggs not revoked the immunity deal, Pinky and BK would have gotten a free pass because of him. But I think any other cop in his place would have done the same thing. Themba, in the end, made sure that he pulled strings and made things easy for BK in prison, in whatever way he could. I think while BK was behind bars, Pinky and Themba would take good care of Leo and make sure that he did not feel traumatized or depressed due to what had happened.
Modise Motaung as Bheki
Bheki was the middleman who introduced BK to Bra Alex, as he felt that he could earn some money in the process. Bheki was a gangster, but he was very shortsighted, which is why I believe he could never really become big like Alex and Jiyane. His sole intention was to blackmail Alex and take as much money as he could from her. Ideally, he could have made a deal with BK and learned much more, but I think that thought never crossed his mind.
Vincent Mahlaoe Sekuba as Bra Alex
Bra Alex, the dreaded criminal, who was probably the right-hand man of Jiyane at one point in time, met his fateful end in the most unlikely fashion. After BK started working for him, he got infatuated by her strong personality and her skill. He asked her out on a date, and they even got intimate with each other. But once he realized that she had been dating a cop, he lost his composure. He wanted to give Jiyane the money he owed him and then leave what he wanted to do with BK up to him. But BK was smart enough to use the opportunity to her advantage. Before Bra Alex could say anything, she told Jiyane that he was the one who was working with the police. Not even in his wildest dreams had Alex imagined that BK could do something like that. Before he could understand what had happened with him, Jiyane asked Bheki to kill him. Alex got killed at the end of season 1, though it would have been more beneficial for the police if they had caught him alive.
Zozibini Tunzi as Naomi
Naomi was the most famous influencer in the nation, with over a million followers on her social media handles. Naomi became collateral damage in Pinky and BK’s quest to get a new account to sell their stuff. BK and Pinky wanted to start a new account, and the only way to increase their followers overnight was to break some news about a popular personality. They told the world about Naomi’s tax evasion practice, and just like that, she lost most of her endorsements, and her follower count decreased overnight. Naomi tried to get her revenge; she had no clue who she was dealing with. Once she realized how messy this situation was, she had to take a step back as she realized that her life was more important than her followers.
Mpilo Shabalala as Leo
Leo was BK’s kid, and the poor boy had a hard time dealing with whatever was happening in his mother’s life. It was Leo who unintentionally confided in Themba and told him that it was his mother, BK, and Pinky who were selling the fake designer bags. Leo was on the spectrum, and he was a really intelligent, sensitive, and intuitive lad. He sensed it whenever his mother didn’t feel well or felt stressed out. After his mother was put behind bars, the little boy didn’t feel like meeting her. I believe he just felt traumatized with whatever had happened, and he needed some time to cope with it.
Hamilton Dhlamini as Jobs Flames Jiyane
Jobs Flames Jiyane was the ultimate boss, under whom Bra Alex was working. Flames Jiyane was a ruthless man, and he didn’t care about anything else if his money was at stake. He left BK alive only because he felt that she was not lying about how she’d make millions of rand for him. At the end, we got to know Flames had his contacts in the prison too, which was how he sent BK a framed photograph of her son. If there is a season 2, I don’t think that Flames would leave BK so easily. He would get her released in a year and then make her work for him.
Aubrey Poo as Mandla
Mandla was an oppressive, disloyal, and lecherous man. He was not somebody who could be trusted. He had money, and he used it to take advantage of people like Pinky. Yeah, it was Pinky’s fault too that she let him take advantage of her, and she got a bit greedy in the process. But Mandla was a married man, and nothing absolved him of his acts. He somewhere knew how materialistic people could get, and in every walk of life, he used his wealth to turn the odds in his favor and get what he wanted.
