The Wife: The Zulu brothers return to their home in Mbuba Village

Hlomu’s traumatic experience haunts her and the Zulu brothers confront their grief following their parent’s tragic murder back in the 90s.

We are midway through season 1 of The Wife, and episodes 19-21 sees the Zulu brothers return to their hometown, Mbuba Village, and we get flashbacks of the evening in which their parents were killed by a mob of angry community members.

Look: Hlomu The Wife series – Zandile comes home.

Update: Want to know more? Watch the behind-the-scenes special The Wife: Behind the Veil. Plus, binge all of Season 1 and 2 of The Wife on Showmax.

Hlomu doesn’t feel safe anymore

It’s the day after the wedding and Hlomu experiences vivid memories of the ordeal in which her brothers-in-law tried to kill her moments before she walked down the aisle. Considering that the Zulu brothers are criminals and murderers, she is scared and can’t stand to be in the same room as them. Hlomu’s first few days as a wife are haunted by fear for her life and she tells Mqhele, “I can’t be here, I don’t want to be here. Your brothers want to kill me.”

Mqhele promises to take care of the situation and to talk to them. Meanwhile, at the office, Lux is not pleased with Hlomu’s work. 

He orders Hlomu to hand over her notes regarding the cash in transit case. Hlomu makes an excuse that this case is complicated and that even cops can’t crack it, but Lux has other thoughts. He removes Hlomu from the story and that means kissing goodbye to the Assistant Editor promotion that she was working towards. To make matters even worse, Hlomu does the unthinkable: she deletes the files containing evidence that she’d gathered from her police pal because she’s afraid that Mqhele and her brothers might get caught. Talk about choosing love over her career.

Mqhele’s concerns lead the brothers back to their roots

Mqhele and the brothers discuss Hlomu’s reservations about them. And how she’s been feeling since the ordeal at the wedding. Nkosana states that she will have to get used to it as this is the type of family she got married into. They are a family which carries guns, fights constantly, and above all, carries out heists.

Mqhele insists that fixing this will require them to do something big, that which they swore to never do. He insists on revisiting their deceased parents’ home in Mbuba, which was set alight. The brothers plan on rebuilding their home and introducing Hlomu to the Zulu ancestors.

As usual, they all dispute that call but they wind up doing it anyway after Nkosana gave it much thought. Nkosana also apologizes to Hlomu about everything on behalf of his brothers.

What happened to the brothers’ parents?

It’s an emotional rollercoaster for everyone as they are headed to Mbuba. We get a flashback to when the brothers were still young and living with their mother and father.

Their father, Sbopho, was a top-notch businessman, feared and well respected by many. However, he also had a business selling weapons in Mbuba. The community wasn’t pleased with this as they said it incited too much violence. We then see a young Dlakadla leading the mob – they decide that the only way to deal with Sbopho is by taking the law into their own hands.

 “Sbopho must die! Shoot him! Shoot him!” chants the mob.

When he realizes that the mob has arrived, he orders Nkosana and the boys to flee their home immediately. “Take your brothers and run, don’t look back, okay? Run until you get to your uncle’s house in Eshowe … Whatever happens, my boy, please look after your brothers.”

Sbopho and his wife are brutally killed right in front of Qhawe and Mqhele. This marks the brother’s journey as orphans and later as men who will stop at nothing to fend for themselves.

Mqhele takes out his anger on Hlomu again

One thing about Mqhele – he tends to bottle up his emotions and when he explodes he directs his frustration towards his loved ones, specifically Hlomu. This is what led him to beat Hlomu within days of them beginning to date.

Now, days after their wedding, Mqhele again takes out his frustration on Hlomu during sex. The sex is uncomfortable for Hlomu and she lets it be known, but he continues like he didn’t hear anything and it’s clear that Hlomu is hurt. To add insult to injury, Mqhele says thank you. 

The next morning, he has a clearer head and apologizes for hurting her. Mqhele later opens up about his trauma, which is associated with coming back to Mbuba. Being here opens old wounds and reminds him of the horrors that happened to his parents. 

However, his past trauma is no excuse for the abuse he is inflicting on Hlomu. No woman deserves such treatment from a man, period. Now the question is, will Hlomu stay in this abusive relationship?

The Wife streams exclusively on Showmax, with new episodes added every Thursday. Season 3 landing on 10 November 2022.