Gomora deals with matters of the heart

Local telenovela Gomora keeps delivering the hits  – every single episode packs a serious punch. And the more you’re struck by the quality of the production, the more you want! From family feuds to ex-lover-trouble, Gomora has it all.

Sins of the son

Just when you thought that Ntokozo couldn’t get into any more trouble, along comes Episode 87. It starts with him asking his foster brother Teddy to keep an eye out while he sneaks out of home for the night to go see his girl Buhle.

Teddy isn’t in the mood for trouble and tells Ntokozo, “Things are clearly heated, boy. What if your father finds out that you’re busy sneaking out?”

Ntokozo thinks that he has it all sorted out, believing that his headmaster dad Melusi doesn’t know what teens get up to.

“He’s not going to find out. You’re my number 5. All I’m asking is that you make sure the sliding door downstairs is unlocked. My father might walk in and check. You get me?”

He commands his brother as he slips out the bedroom window. The look on Teddy’s face as a silently fuming Melusi pushes open the door is priceless as he stammers, “Sir…”

The truth hurts

Pretty isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. She has been cruel and cold since her fancy flashy Northern suburbs sister Thathi came home in the first episode. Pretty is always taking shots at Thathi, and while fans love to hate Pretty for that exact behaviour, we were crying with her also in episode 87 as she sat sobbing to her husband on the couch, “My own mother has been making a fool of me. She made a fool of me again. I should have burned that place ages ago.”

Pretty has managed her mom’s tavern for years and it was her hope to take it over. But that’s not happening. “Only for my mother to hand everything over to Onathatile just like that. Someone who doesn’t care for that place,” Pretty sobs.

It’s actually heartbreaking because while Pretty has been cruel to her widow sister who lost everything thanks to her husband’s lies, Pretty has just tried to get ahead in her life and out of her sister’s shadow… only for that shadow to once again consume her world. Shame.

Failing the heart

There’s utter heartbreak (literally) in episode 88 and episode 89 as Gladys has had enough of her son’s wild behaviour with Buhle. “These aren’t my bags. They’re Ntokozo’s belongings,” she says when her husband Melusi, Teddy and Ntokozo arrive home. “I want to know if you choose her or me. Your days of hiding behind your father are over,” she shouts at Ntokozo in a rage, making it clear to Melusi that she doesn’t approve of his rekindled friendship with Buhle’s mom Thathi either.

“What kind of mother are you? I don’t want to choose!” Ntokozo screams back. At that moment when Gladys clutches her chest, it’s not because she’s surprised that her son would raise his voice to her. She’s having chest pains so bad that she keels over as Melusi rushes to his wife’s side.

As episode 89 starts, the men are at Gladys’s bedside as her doctor speaks to them. The sheer terror in Ntokozo’s eyes speaks volumes. But fortunately, it’s not a heart attack, explains the doctor. “But that doesn’t mean it’s business as usual. As little stress as possible.” Those words lead not only to a heavy sigh from Gladys, but also a telling side-eye glance at her troublemaker son Ntokozo, who looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Will mother and son be able to repair their bond?

Gomora has it all. If you’ve missed anything weekdays on Mzansi Magic, you can catch up on the latest episodes on Showmax.