Trials, temptations & triangles in Gomora S2

Secrets have a way of coming out – no matter how much the guilty parties try to conceal them – especially in telenovela Gomora, which was packed with revelations as S2 kicked off on Monday, 26 April on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161). More exposés threaten to destroy the characters – and no one is safe!

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Quick S1 catch up…

By the end of the S1, it looked like high school student Ntokozo Dlamini (Ntobeko Sishi) was going to get away with corrupt businessman Mbongeni (Themba Ndaba) in the pilot episode. This was the spark for the chain of events that saw Mbongeni’s glamorous widow, Thathi (Katlego Danke) – ex-lover of Ntokozo’s father, Melusi (Zolisa Xaluva) – lose everything and get forced to move back in with her mother, gang leader Mam’Sonto (Connie Chiume).

But then the police stormed into Melusi’s house in the final minutes of the S1 finale, leading to Ntokozo’s arrest. And he wasn’t the only one dragged into the police van in handcuffs: Ntokozo was followed by his accomplice, MaZet (Siphesihle Ndaba), and their gang leader, Mam’Sonto herself. Now, the trio are set on clearing their charges with the help of Mzansi Magic telenovela’s favourite lawyer, Sandra Stein (Shannon Esra). However, Ntobeko reveals that it’s going to be a bumpy ride until his character and the 2 ladies walk free.

The trial

The trio are currently going through an intense murder trial, which pushes them over the edge. “Everything has come full circle to the events of the first episode,” says Ntobeko. “Ntokozo and the women are a mixture of emotions. For Ntokozo, more especially, he’s on the fence as he’s eager to confess the truth and serve time for his crime (which happened in a hijacking gone wrong). But he is afraid that his parents, Melusi and Gladys (Thembi Seete), might renounce him. So he continues making up lies, which continue to cause friction in his family.”

But if there’s 1 person who’s going to ensure that Ntokozo keeps his mouth shut and maintains his innocent facade, it’s Mam’Sonto’s wicked daughter, Thathi. Not that there’s any love lost between the 2. “She’s willing to go to any lengths to protect her mother,” reveals Katlego, whose character considers throttling Ntokozo to death with her bare hands when he almost slips up and confesses the truth. “S2 of Gomora is going to blow viewers off their seats. There’s so much to unravel and the court case is just the beginning,” adds Ntobeko.

A painful journey to self-discovery 

During the course of S1, Ntokozo defied his parents at every turn. But when S2 begins, he realises how much they are willing to fight for him – and how much they love him. “It dawns upon him that he is hurting the people who love him the most with his lies,” says Ntobeko. “We start to see Ntokozo trying to be a good kid, but he never felt like that was enough. Now however he realises that it’s all he should be. Because he is good enough, he just needs to get on the right track.”

Alas, it might be a little too late. “I admit, there is a lot of love that Melusi fails to acknowledge. Ntokozo is going through this phase where he thinks that no one understands him. It’s a journey of self-discovery and he took drastic measures in finding himself and realising that he doesn’t belong in the streets.”

The seed of destruction

Ntokozo has always felt like an outsider in his home. He has never felt like enough for Melusi, who is always hard on him. As a result, the young man found solace in MaZet and her gang. So 1 evening in April 2020, Ntokozo joined MaZet and her gang on a joyride. But it turned out that it wasn’t just a “joyride” as she mentioned: It was actually a hijacking. The incident quickly went pear-shaped and Ntokozo fatally shot Mbongeni, leaving Thathi screaming out for help, on the highway with her husband dying in her arms.

“Ntokozo wanted to impress his new gang. However, the turn of events was unlike what he expected,” says Ntobeko. What’s worse is that after the death, Thathi and her kids, Langa (Siya Xaba) and Buhle (Ama Qamata), moved to Alexandra Township, just a few kilometres away from Ntokozo’s house.

As if that wasn’t dramatic enough, Langa and Buhle enrolled in the same school as Ntokozo. A few months later, Ntokozo fell in love with Buhle despite knowing very well that he’d killed her father. Bad enough? It gets worse! “Ntokozo and viewers learnt that Thathi and Melusi are ex-lovers. And just recently, it was revealed that Langa is Melusi’s biological son, further complicating Ntokozo’s situation as he not only killed some wealthy man from Sandton. Ntobeko killed the man who raised his half-brother,” explains Ntobeko. Talk about messy! “Ntokozo has dug a hole which he can’t escape from. All I can say is that he is close to cracking, but can he stand to lose the friendship that he’s built with Langa?”

Love triangles are always tricky

Aside from keeping her mother from rotting behind bars, Thathi will be trapped in a love triangle. It’s no secret that she still harbours feelings for Melusi. And with the revelation of Langa’s paternity, they have “something” that connects them: A son, which has Melusi’s wife seething, to say the least.

“The bond that Melusi and Thathi had is reignited. To a certain degree, Thathi feels that her feelings for Melusi are justified because she dated Melusi long before Gladys was in the picture. Thathi believes that the connection that she shares with Melusi is deeper than what he has with Gladys because now they’re equals in his eyes. They both have sons with him, so the dynamic is completely changed,” explains Katlego.

It doesn’t help Gladys that Langa is the good son, who stays out of trouble, reads books, and respects his elders – the kind of kid that Melusi has always prayed for.

This love triangle storyline will test Melusi’s loyalties. Which woman will he wind up with? Will it be his devoted wife, Gladys, or “the one that got away”, Thathi?

With a whole new season at play, we won’t be expecting any easy answers.

Watch Gomora S2, weekdays on Mzansi Magic (161) at 19:30 or Catch Up on DStv. Binge-watch Gomora on Showmax, with episodes straight after they air on DStv.

NB! Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161) is available on DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact. To get DStv or to upgrade your package, click here.