Volume Two of Fatal Seduction, the South African Netflix Original thriller released a day ago, takes the viewers through steamy affairs, a murder investigation, and a decade-old, closed case on the verge of being opened again. Most of the protagonists have a lot to lose if the case is reopened because it was established in the first volume that the man sent to jail for the crime was falsely accused, and he committed suicide due to the shame he caused himself and his family. Jacob, his son, is back, seeking vengeance from the Mahlati family.
Spoilers Ahead
Vuyo is investigating.
Fatal Seduction Vol. 2 begins with the confrontation between Vuyo and his brother Leornard. Leonard was under the impression that his wife was cheating on him with his brother. Vuyo is appalled to hear about his brother’s suspicions, and he makes it clear that there was a time when he loved Nandi, but not anymore. Currently, he is mourning Brenda’s death and is on the hunt to find out who killed her. Vuyo is made aware of the fact that it was Leonard who ordered Detective Charlie to shoot Vuyo in the leg so that he would be deemed unfit for the police force. All of this is connected to the decade-old case of a schoolgirl who was raped and killed.
At this juncture, plenty of subplots go haywire as the narrative has become repetitive. Vuyo wanted some closure and answers regarding Brenda because she was the love of his life. He is hoping that his family is not dragged into this, but unfortunately, that is inevitable. He is convinced Jacob is out to take revenge, and that he killed Brenda. Vuyo is hoping all this ends peacefully, but that’s wishful thinking.
Zinhle falls in love.
As shown in the last volume of Fatal Seduction, Jacob was successful in getting in touch with Zinhle and laying the trap for her to fall in love with him. He takes her out and sleeps with her under the pretext of being interested in her. Zinhle is completely unaware of his intentions due to her naivety. It is absurd for her to believe a guy she just met. She should not have gotten carried away by the attraction he was showing, which is sadly common among girls her age, even though there might be many red flags the guy must be projecting. Jacob gets rid of her phone, which is an obvious move to keep her from being traced.
When she does not return, Nandi joins the dots to find out her daughter has been fraternizing with Jacob as well, and she intends to rescue her at any cost, knowing what Jacob is capable of. In a fit of anxiety, she lets Leonard know about her affair with the boy, and he stops her from talking to the police, fearing his reputation will be questioned. Leonard comes across as selfish, and Nandi comes across as regretful because she shared her secret, which could potentially end her marriage. Leonard, being a judge, thinks he has a lot to lose. Zinhle is found sleeping inside Jacob’s car, but the damage is done in many ways. Jacob turns out to be a creep who is willing to bed two women of the same family without realizing the consequences and repercussions of the relationship the two women share. Zinhle ends up losing her virginity to him. Zinhle acts like a brat due to her personal life being ravaged by her parents, and she does not comprehend how dangerous Jacob could be for her mental peace as well.
Who killed Brenda?
Leonard is blackmailed with the original statement made by Brenda, which did not include Benjamin Jiba’s name. The viewers so far are aware of the game Leonard and Detective Charles played to support a powerful minister and purposely put Benjamin in prison. Leonard has a heart attack out of sheer fear. It is not understood who leaked this statement. The only person who is capable enough to do so is Vuyo because he was made aware of Brenda’s long-standing affair with Leonard, which led to her giving out a false statement. It’s unclear why a man would go after his sibling, knowing there could be repercussions. The scenarios from here now are extremely chaotic because there is an oscillation of characters going in and out of the hospital, and subsequently, many uncomfortable truths come out.
Fatal Seduction began as an adult thriller, but in volume two, the writers give the audience a murder mystery, for there is a quick search for the man who killed Brenda. The mention of gender studies and the women being affected by violence is conveniently thrown out of the picture, for the focus is now on the protagonist’s intentions. Vuyo lets Nandi know of Leonard and Brenda’s affair, but she chooses to stay by her husband’s side in this hour of anguish. Nandi turns out to be a far better person than Leonard, who despite knowing the mistakes both made, does now want to cause a scene that might cause irreparable damage to their family. Jacob’s revelation that he’d slept with both her and her mother scars Zinhle, as he and Nandi were the last people she’d have expected to hurt her and the friendship she shared with her mother is possibly ruined forever. Just like Nandi, she is here wanting to take care of her ailing father, who slipped into a coma.
Vuyo seems to be doing the right thing by securing his brother’s property and making Leonard sign plenty of papers in his dizzy phase as he slips in and out of consciousness. He offers to help his brother leave the country and offers a large amount to Jacob so that he can restart his life with his mother outside of South Africa. This subplot is presented haphazardly due to the nature in which the screenplay is executed. Viewers are willing to believe Vuyo’s good heart, but it is surprising to see him help Jacob when he is adamant about proving the boy to be the culprit. Doctors find a huge amount of sodium in Leonard’s body, which renders him unable to talk about what happened between him and Brenda the night she was killed.
Detective Charles is dead, and an assailant is caught trying to steal crucial evidence collected by the deceased officer. The man arrested points to Leonard as the orchestrator of Brenda’s murder, and there is mounting proof that he did meet her, which was known only to Vuyo and Nandi at this point. The convolution and the pace at which revelations are coming only put stress on the viewers, who find the plot difficult to follow because too many narratives are merging at the same time, and it needs to be laid out straightforwardly.
Leonard is arrested while in the hospital, and Vuyo helps him escape by offering him and his family passports to Mozambique. Vuyo does come across as a concerned family member who is giving his best so that they survive this ordeal and possibly never come back to South Africa. In a state of dizziness, Leonard inadvertently reveals that Zinhle’s father is Vuyo, from the one-night stand Nandi had with him years ago. This provokes Vuyo, and the friendly relationship he shared with Nandi ceases. Such convoluted familial dynamics present the story and subplots as elements that were added only for shock value.
In a fit of utter confusion, Leonard heads home, asking Nandi and Zinhle to accompany him to Mozambique, but it escalates to a physical altercation, which is stopped by Zinhle when she accidentally stabs her father with the Katana she owned. Nandi takes responsibility for the crime to save her daughter. This is the third time Nandi has come across as a generous figure, and this murder is connected to the opening scene of the show as she is taken into custody. The story is far from over because, at this point, the makers and writers keep on hitting the audience with even more revelations.
It turns out Vuyo wanted to take revenge on Leonard for his role in falsely accusing Benjamin Jiba and not providing justice to the deceased kid. Vuyo was also not happy to hear of the affair Leonard had with Brenda for over a decade. Nandi tries to apply for bail, but the evidence against her is mounting, which makes her a suspect in the attempted murder of her husband, who is in a critical condition. In a few days, ever since his brother was in the hospital, Vuyo managed to put all his plans into action. He also reveals that Brenda indeed committed suicide when he comes across a voicemail she left for him. She’d revealed that Leonard forced her to make a false statement, which led to a decade full of guilt. It does not make sense because it seems Brenda and Leonard got into a consensual relationship. If Vuyo was livid at Leonard, he should have felt the same for her as well instead of going after his brother. Vuyo blames Leonard for Brenda’s guilt and subsequent suicide, which seems odd because she had agreed to something she could have said no to. Blaming Leonard entirely seems inappropriate.
It is a suspension of disbelief that has been utilized to make the tale more dramatic. He plants all the evidence against Nandi because she’d never let him know about Zinhle’s actual parentage. The man went from fighting for his family to hating all of them except his biological daughter, who has so far been kept in the dark about it; it is implied that Jacob and his mother also left the country with the money provided by Vuyo. Jacob took the offer because it will be hard to live in this country, keeping in mind the things he did. It will be better if he does not contact Nandi and her family and moves on.
How Does The Show End?
Fatal Seduction Season 1 ends with Nandi still in prison, Leonard still recovering from the injury caused by Zinhle’s weapon, and Nandi living with her uncle Vuyo. Vuyo is blackmailed by the minister’s assistant, who forced Leonard into framing Benjamin years ago by threatening to kill his family. The lady does the same with Vuyo by stating that he does not want the minister’s daughter’s rape case to be reopened because, by the looks of it, it will lead to a Pandora’s box kind of situation, which the powerful man does not want. He has all the ammunition to erase Vuyo and the investigation he has done by threatening Zinhle’s life. If the network announces season two, it will be interesting to see if Vuyo will be able to find the actual culprit and clear Benjamin’s name.
