27 September 2019

Big bangs, clashes and marital issues: The most explosive moments on The Queen

There’s never a dull moment in the Khoza home on local telenovela The Queen.

It’s been one scandal after another for drug “queenpin” Harriet Khoza (Connie Ferguson) since the show started in grand fashion four years ago with Harriet hiring hitmen to assassinate her husband Mzi (Treasure Tshabalala) at their daughter Kea’s (Dineo Moeketsi) wedding in the very first episode!

“He had to die,” says Harriet with a straight face in season 2 episode 5, which is titled My Mother, The Killer. “I was trying to protect my kids and no one has the place to judge me,” she adds. With Mzi out of her way, Harriet thinks that she can run their drug business without interruption, but her family is making sure that’s nothing but a pipe dream, thanks to their shocking behaviour and non-stop fire-starting efforts in her personal and professional lives.

Explosive nuptials

Shaka and Mmabatho’s (SK Khoza and Motsoaledi Setumo) marriage has come a long way since their wedding day. That goes up in flames in the Season 2 finale (entitled The Big Blast) when gangster and business rival Diamond (Zolisa Xaluva) sends a gift-wrapped bomb that explodes when the couple is exchanging vows. The police arrive just in time to warn the couple and their guests to evacuate the venue, but seeing wedding guests and the happy couple flee kicking and screaming is too good to miss.

Consider it handled!

Diamond finds himself on Harriet’s hit list in seasons 2 and 3. She wants him six feet under after he repeatedly tried to destroy her bond with her children. She even invites Diamond and his family to lunch as a peace offering, secretly planning to off Diamond in front of his family. But while Harriet watches him scoff down his poisoned plate of food, rather than keeling over, Diamond takes himself to hospital and plans his own revenge. Dimond might not be dead, but dining with “the queen” is definitely hazardous to your health.

Broken vows

Shaka betrays his wife Mmabatho’s trust when he renews his affair with one of his ex-flings while his wife is pregnant. The last straw for the mom-to-be is when she walks in on her hubby wining and dining his mistress at a restaurant. “Mmabatho wants to jump across the table and physically attack both of them, but she’s pregnant and that would been far too dangerous for the baby,” explains Motsoaledi. That’s not even the real drama – Mmabatho storms over to Shaka’s house later and orders him to sign divorce papers… and her waters break, forcing Shaka to man up and deliver their baby himself.

The Drug Bust

For years, Captain Jerry (Connie’s real-life husband and producing partner Shona Ferguson) and his cop-partner wife, Vuyiswa (Zandile Msutwana), have tried to put Harriet and her drug cartel behind bars. They’ve failed at each turn, either for not having enough evidence or missing a deal by minutes. Until they follow the Khozas and Mabuzas to Durban and catch them red-handed at the airport with bags full of cocaine. Harriet’s jaw dropping to the floor as she’s bust is unmissable.

The family fallout

The Khozas’ arrests do more than put them in jail – it turns them against each other. Shaka and Uncle Brutus (Themba Ndaba) realise that they can’t trust Harriet and her other son Kagiso (Loyiso MacDonald). Usually, families can sit down and talk things out – but not when you’re a Khoza. Rather than put the feud to bed over dinner, Brutus and Shaka try to assassinate Harriet, forcing Kagiso to step up and fight fire with fire in Season 3.