Adulting Season 1 episode 2 recap: Wicked women and deadbeat dads

Bonga lands a dream date, Eric lands a restraining order, Mpho hooks up with a hooker, and Vuyani gets trashed in episode 2 of Showmax Original drama series Adulting.

What happened in Adulting episode 1?  

Thirty-somethings Bonga (Thembinkosi Mthembu) the success story, toyboy Vuyani (Luthando ‘BU’ Mthembu), suburban dad Mpho (Thabiso Rammusi) and carjacker Eric (Nhanhla Kunene) have been ride-or-die friends since their university days.

In episode 1 Bonga landed an R80-million construction contract from tenderpreneur Sello (Isaac Gampu), but fell in love at first sight with Sello’s sister, Nkanyezi Haynes (Londeka Shishi). Bonga paid a crooked cop R200 000 to spring Eric out of jail after Eric’s ex-love Natasha (Sikelelwa Vuyeleni) had him arrested for “kidnapping” their teenaged daughter Ncumisa (Siphesihle Khanyile), beating up her rich boyfriend Cyril (Fezile Mkhize), and firing a gun at a posh bar.

Mpho told his wife Zithulele (Lungile Duma) that Vuyani was dating Palesa (Dippy Padi), but she’s really Mpho’s lover … who’s trying to break up with him because she’s getting married. And Vuyani suffered physical and emotional abuse in his play-for-pay relationship with Beth (Winnie Ntshaba), the MEC for Arts in Gauteng. 

Read more about episode 1

And now, in episode 2 … 

Mpho goes off menu 

Sexually frustrated, Mpho picks a fight with Zithulele only to get sent off with his tail between his legs until he admits that Bonga and Sello’s success is making him feel like a loser. Supportively, Zithulele encourages Mpho’s brainwave of becoming a consultant like Bonga. But when Vuyani offers to help him with introductions to elite circles, Mpho blows him off to take Nobuhle (Naledi Boltina), a fit hottie from their gym, to dinner. 

She orders: 

• Champagne from 1992 (after rejecting the 1998) 
• Calf brains on toast 
• Wagyu beef (medium to well, so now the chef hates her) 
• Two lobsters 
• Some caviar 

And when the bill comes, this human python insists that he tip “generously” – 10%. Mpho takes his living nightmare to a hotel room to sweat off her dinner. But when he offers to pay for her Uber, Nobuhle reveals that he’s going to pay a lot more than that – she doesn’t work for free, and if he doesn’t cough up, she’ll give his wife a call.  

Eric vs the Jezebel 

Natasha and Ncumisa stop responding to Eric’s calls, and Natasha’s mother (Busiswa Mambi) reveals that Natasha has taken Ncumisa to go live at Cyril’s house. Bonga advises Eric, who’s panicking over the possibility of losing his child, to speak to his lawyer, Mr Mashiba (Tebogo Seema) – who doesn’t specialise in family law or, it seems, human feelings.

When the lawyer points out that Eric won’t have a leg to stand on in court, Eric throws money in his face and tracks down Natasha for a messy confrontation. But during their fight Eric zones out from emotional overload, and later during a hijacking, he explodes into violence. 

Vuyani: from Bunny Bunny to bum 

Beth takes her “Bunny Bunny” as her plus one to the star-studded Gift Biyela Annual Art Auction, where gossip queen Beth hints that their host Gift’s (Ntosh Madlingozi) third wife is looking for a lifeboat since he took his mistress, Beauty (Zola Ayabulela Myeza), to Dubai. But when Beth catches a meaningful glance between Vuyani and Beauty, she reduces Vuyani to being her purse holder for the evening.

Humiliated, Vuyani takes a bathroom break where he overhears two young men (played by the actual Mohale Motaung and Libo Njomba) gossiping about making a play for “that hag” Beth since she loves toyboys. Vuyani’s old friend Beauty tracks him down and, as a fellow “pro”, warns him that he’s getting too old for the game. When Vuyani sulks in the car on the way home over Beth’s disrespect, Beth snaps that she personally has to fight to get any respect at all as a Black woman in politics, while doing an actual job. 

Bonga’s dream date 

Bonga whips his shirt off and phones Nkanyezi via her Instagram account, and she must be really into him because she doesn’t hurl her phone across the room like any self-respecting millennial, she answers it! Their flirting has a competitive edge, which leads to a sexy cooking session in Bonga’s kitchen. And things get serious in the hot tub when Nkanyezi brings up dads and Bonga – whose dad starts the episode by accusing his mom of poisoning Bonga against him, and borrowing R2 000 – has nothing nice to say.

Nkanyezi reveals that her and Sello’s dad walked out on the family, too, and their intimacy leads to the bedroom. Later Bonga leaves her a voicemail (there is no end to this man’s phone crimes) telling her he’d love a chance at a relationship with her. To him, this is the real deal.   

A braai, four guys and a restraining order 

The guys get together for a braai and gossip at Eric’s place, and Bonga takes their teasing in high spirits, but his happiness blinds him to some dangerous undercurrents. Vuyani doesn’t take those jabs about him being an old hag’s fancy man with any grace. And Mpho clearly suspects Vuyani of setting him up on the sneak-attack hooker date to teach him a lesson.

Their resentments boil over when Natasha sends the cops to serve Eric a protection order. When Bonga tells Eric he shouldn’t have brought his gun to the club – as if Eric has a time machine – Eric breaks one of their biggest taboos, declaring, “I understand why other guys abandon their kids.” The guys immediately squash that idea, and as Eric rages, the idiot brigade ignore Bonga’s warning that they’re going to get Eric arrested again and race off to ring Cyril’s doorbell, only to find out he’s gone on holiday. 

Bonga arrives home, alone, in time for Nkanyezi to tell him that she’s given up relationships.

And the episode ends as Bonga’s emotional ice cream hits the floor.  

Watch the trailer for Adulting

Who’s who in Adulting: Meet four ride-or-die BFFs 

• Thembinkosi Mthembu plays Bonga: Mr Successful. Hot bod. Daddy issues. R80 million tender burning a hole in his pocket. 
• Luthando ‘BU’ Mthembu plays Vuyani: Mr Gorgeous. Joker. Professional escort with expensive tastes. But check the sell-by date before buying. 
• Thabiso Rammusi plays Mpho: Mr Dad. Traditional husband. Father of two. But a dead bedroom has him on the prowl. 
• Nhanhla Kunene plays Eric: Mr Trouble. Loving dad. Great friend. Crazy ex-boyfriend. Carjacker, and off-the-rails gangster. 

All episodes of Adulting are ready to binge on Showmax.

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