Unseen Season 1, the Netflix series, left us on a cliffhanger where we didn’t come to know if Zenzi ended up taking her life or if Naledi, her sister, was able to convince her not to. In season 2, we found out that not only was Zenzi alive, but she had decided to expose the perpetrators and avenge the death of her husband and her kid. Zenzi knew that it was not going to be an easy task to go up against such a powerful and influential man, but she was ready to face any obstacle that came her way. So let’s recap the events of season 2 and find out if Zenzi was successful in her quest.
Spoiler Alert
What were Harting and Reuben up to?
Andrew Harting had ordered Reuben Theron, his legal advisor, to kill Zenzi Mwale as soon as possible. There was an important deal that Harting was going to make with his French counterparts, and he didn’t want his plans to get spoiled. Andrew Harting had told his board of directors that the nation’s energy sector would greatly benefit after his company joined hands with the French, and I assume that he was going to make a huge profit in the process. Reuben, from what I figured out after watching his actions, seemed like a very insecure man. He had wiretapped Harting’s office and had been recording private conversations that the business tycoon had with his board of directors. This meant that Reuben knew that he could be thrown under the bus by his boss, or there might come a time when the authorities caught hold of them. Reuben hadn’t told anybody about it, and those secret recordings would become a headache for him in the near future. Deep down, Reuben knew that Harting was losing faith in his abilities and that he needed to act swiftly in order to not make things even more difficult for himself. When Harting gave the responsibility of eliminating Zenzi to another employee, It seemed that Reuben felt the pinch. He felt discredited, as if a blot had been put on his years of service and exceptional track record.
How did Zenzi manage to escape from prison?
Zenzi realized what Harting was up to, and after a series of unfortunate events, she made the decision to go to Harare, Zimbabwe, where Max’s mother stayed. Zenzi was pregnant, and though she’d once lost the will to live, now she wanted to protect her baby at all costs. She felt that she had a little of Max still left with her, and she was not ready to lose it like Esulu. Zenzi had been taken into custody by Detective Natasha Lyners and Morkel. She had almost made up her mind to take her own life, but Naledi, Zenzi’s sister, had somehow managed to stop her from doing so, and then, before she could change her mind, the police arrived at the scene and took her away. In the prison, there was an anonymous woman, who we later came to know was Joseph’s (whom Zenzi had killed in season 1) sister, who supported Zenzi and made sure that nobody bothered her. In reality, that woman, named TK, who also happened to be Raymond’s love interest, wanted to take revenge on Zenzi for what she had done to her brother. So the moment TK got an opportunity, she stabbed Zenzi, and though the latter was gravely injured, she managed to survive. There was another attempt made to kill Zenzi in the hospital by a man whom Reuben had hired, but once again Zenzi was able to defy the odds and save herself. The lapse in security and the chaos after Zenzi killed the hired gun allowed her to escape from there and go into hiding.
Why didn’t Zenzi go to Harare?
Zenzi had people like Lufuno, a journalist and a confidant, and her sister, Naledi, who always had her back. But she knew that she couldn’t put their lives in jeopardy, as Harting and Reuben were the kind of people who would go to any length to get what they wanted. She got to know what they were capable of when Detective Lyners was killed by TK. Lyners had somehow managed to get in touch with Jacob Butler, who was a member of Harting’s board of directors. Jacob had made up his mind to provide whatever information he could, though he knew the kind of repercussions that could have. It was Jacob who told Lyners about how Reuben recorded everything and that if she got her hands on that hard disk, she could put Harting and all her co-conspirators behind bars. But Reuben got a whiff of what was happening behind his back, and so he first had Lyners killed and then planted a bomb on Jacob’s plane and assassinated him too. Detective Morkel shared a very close emotional bond with her, and he was quite shaken after her death. Morkel, together with Lufuno, managed to procure a fake warrant and break into Reuben’s office to search for the secret recordings. They were able to get their hands on that vital piece of evidence, but Lufuno had to pay a massive cost for it. Reuben came to Lufuno’s house after he found out who was behind the break-in and, in a fit of rage, ended up killing the man. Reuben’s intention wasn’t to kill Lufuno, but he just got triggered, and he couldn’t hold himself back. Before being killed, Lufuno had made sure that all the arrangements were made for Zenzi to escape to Zimbabwe. Zenzi would have escaped, but then she got a call from TK, who told her that Naledi and her husband, John, were in her captivity. Zenzi could have easily saved herself, but her conscience didn’t allow her to do that. She always loved her sister and protected her from their father’s abuses. Later, Naledi also stood for her when she was about to commit suicide. So, she went back to her sister’s place to save her life. Though Zenzi managed to turn the odds in her favor and save her sister and her husband’s lives, her actions made John really scared. The man didn’t want to be a part of that chaos, but he wasn’t left with much of an option. Naledi had made it very clear that she was not going to abandon her sister, no matter what. When Naledi and Zenzi were young, they had made a promise to always have each other’s backs, and they intended to keep that promise.
What did Zenzi’s father reveal about her past?
It came as a surprise to Naledi when Zenzi told her that she wanted to go to their family home in Bethlehem, as she wanted a locket that her mother had given her before passing away. Naledi wasn’t in favor of doing that, as going back to their childhood home meant facing their past and their nightmares once again. They also didn’t know if their father was still alive or not. Zenzi told Naledi that that locket was the last thing she had left of their mother, and she wanted to give it to her child and pass on the legacy. Zenzi and Naledi’s father was still alive, and he was shocked to see both his daughters at his doorstep. Obviously that encounter wasn’t going to end pleasantly, but never in her wildest dreams had Naledi imagined that there were things that her own sister had hidden from her. Zenzi’s father accused her of being the reason why their mother wasn’t alive. Naledi didn’t understand what their old man was up to, and so she asked Zenzi to tell her the truth. So in the past, Zenzi had helped their mother, Rose, take her own life. Rose was suffering from an illness, and she wanted to put an end to her misery. Zenzi saw her plight and decided to help her. The trauma of that incident was so severe that even after years had passed, Zenzi couldn’t seem to get over it. I believe it was one of the prime reasons why there was such a stark contrast between the kind of lives Zenzi and Naledi lived. Yes, Naledi had made better choices, but the fact remained that Zenzi felt a kind of void within her that she knew could never be fixed. I am not trying to imply that Zenzi wasn’t happy with Max, but she had lost a huge part of herself after that incident. Life hadn’t been kind to Zenzi, and her solemn existence was a living and breathing proof of that fact.
Why did Zenzi kill Harting and Reuben?
Every move that Zenzi made somehow ended up backfiring on her in the worst possible manner. Also, she got the biggest surprise when she found out that Raymond, the man she left to die in the fire in Unseen Season 1, was still alive. Raymond had accidentally killed Esulu, Zenzi’s child, and he still bore the guilt of doing that. He never had any intention of killing the little kid, but things escalated in that moment, and he committed a blunder. Raymond had told his love interest, TK, about how that incident weighed heavy on his conscience and how he would never be able to get over the guilt. It took some time for Morkel to convince Zenzi, but in the end he was able to make her realize that they were all on the same team. Moreover, Harting was an influential man, and his grasp over the entire system was much stronger than Zenzi and Morkel had expected it to be. Lufuno had told Zenzi that she should get in touch with a public prosecutor named Dawn Molewa, as she was the only person who’d helped her cause. Zenzi trusted Lufuno’s judgment, but she had no clue that Molewa was also one of Harting’s trusted allies. Also, Lufuno had hidden that thumb drive and made sure that Reuben couldn’t find it. Zenzi and Morkel took the thumb drive and went straight to meet Molewa. They expected that Molewa would take some legal action against Harting and bring the truth to light. But nothing of that sort happened, as she not only took the thumb drive but also made sure that Harting knew what Reuben was up to and how close Zenzi was to exposing his real intentions.
Morkel and Zenzi paid a surprise visit to Reuben as they wanted help to get inside Harting’s mansion without being spotted. Also, the French energy deal was going to be signed, and Zenzi wanted to expose the man in front of the foreign delegates. Reuben tried making some sort of deal with Zenzi, but she didn’t listen. She got triggered and ended up slitting his throat. I don’t think Zenzi came with the intention of killing Reuben, but when she saw the man’s face, she couldn’t hold herself back. Reuben, even after ruining Zenzi’s life, didn’t have an ounce of regret. Yes, he was scared, but that was totally because of his selfish interests.
In Unseen Season 2’s ending, Zenzi defied the odds and got the better of Harting. But Andrew Harting was a shrewd conspirator, and he knew exactly what he could offer that would make the other person change their mind about killing him. Harting told Zenzi that he could make arrangements to take her to Harare, and he would make sure that nobody bothered her henceforth, so she’d be able to live her life in peace. It was a lucrative offer, and Zenzi knew that Harting’s contacts could really help her cause. But she took Harting by surprise and shot him dead. Harting, in his last moments, couldn’t understand why she did that. Probably it was because Zenzi saw that even after destroying the lives of so many innocent people, and even after spreading corruption, the man felt like he was the father of the nation, solely responsible for the progress that had been made in the recent past. The man was proud of what he and his family had been able to achieve, and he believed that his legacy would live on forever despite ruining so many lives.
Will Zenzi expose Harting?
When, at the end of Unseen Season 2, Zenzi reached Harting’s home, she met with his butler, Kailo. Obviously Kailo was shocked to see her holding a gun to his master’s head, but Harting asked him to do what he told him to without panicking. So, at the end, when Harting was shot dead, Kailo came and saw what had happened. In an unprecedented manner, he told Zenzi that she needed not worry about him because he wouldn’t get in her way. He told her that Harting’s private jet was ready to take her to Harare and nobody needed to know if Andrew Harting was dead or alive, at least for the time being. Now there is a possibility that Zenzi will go to Harare and then live a peaceful life with her unborn kid. But I have a feeling that she won’t be able to do that. Firstly, her own conscience wouldn’t let her ignore what had happened in the past, and secondly, she would want to prove to the world that her husband was an innocent man. Zenzi took all the blame on herself even though Lyners had always requested her to tell the world that what she did was out of self-defense. Also, I don’t think that Morkel would let go of the perpetrators so easily. He was very hurt after Lyners got killed, and he knew that he wouldn’t stop until he exposed the people responsible for it and put them behind bars.
Moreover, there were people out there like Dawn Molewa who pretended to be flag- bearers of justice, but in reality, they were a part of the corrupt setup and were benefiting from it. Dawn knew what Zenzi and Morkel were up to, and I believe she could become a potential threat for Zenzi in the future. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dawn Molewa hired some mercenaries and tried to kill Zenzi while she was in Harare. I have a feeling that Zenzi, Morkel, and others who wanted to do something for the nation, who wanted to expose the perpetrators, would join forces once again and do what was expected of them.
