<<< DAY 2
We're treated to an emotional episode today, and no it's not Mariaan's new look.
Day 3. Well 2.5.
We pick up right where we left off with Natalie trying to rat Mariaan out of her plan to escape.
Please can someone get Natalie a refill of her meds. Also, Liefie is dumb. She falls for Natalie's poorly constructed lie about Mariaan wanting to escape prison as wanting to escape reality and join the choir.
Mariaan in the choir? Seriously that's a joke on its own.
Liefie's 'bietjie dom.
I get the feeling Natalie has gone mental because she's had to share a cell with Dora who doesn't say nor react to anything. She's hit the jackpot with Mariaan, who seems to be an easy target to rattle up.
Give the girl a break please, Natalie. She's left her hairbrush at home.
The next day
Day 3, feeling insecure about being compared to the mop she used to clean the floors - I am assuming Mariaan knitted herself this god-awful hat to get taken more seriously than the latest ramen noodle inmate.
Anyway, she continues to entrust Natalie with her Prison Break plan. All Natalie sees is money and wants Chris to give her the money in cash before she'll help Natalie.
I've always wondered what Mariaan's role is in jail. She seems to do nothing, besides getting shoved around and doesn't have her own brand
of crazy.
Knitting is on fleek for someone without a Credit Card in Jail
But it seems like Mariaan Welman is the silent thinker who just sits around observing and listening. It's actually quite smart - and for such a high end women to survive in jail; keeping to herself and observing might just be the way she wins this prison game.
She begins shooting Natalie's obscene ideas of breaking Mariaan out off the bat. What did she expect? She's put her life in the hands of a crazy child kidnapper.
Should their plan fail and Mariaan get exposed - Mariaan gets The Hole for a month. I can't have that happen. We need our daily Mariaan.
Stupidly, they discuss plans in open common areas and Liefie finally hears plans of an escape. She idly warns that the last escape that was attempted 7 years ago, did not go well.
Natalie then puts the blame on poor Viv. Shame - off to The Hole I suppose Viv goes again.
Mand's Art Class is Lit
At Amanda's
Nude Art Class, the subject model is Lissie's hubby. He has been featured quite a bit so I'm wondering when
7de Tronk is going to upgrade him to a regular.
Instead of drawing him, Lissie seems to be fondling his arm? Also where's the rest of his body? Where's our backstory?!
Don't look too excited that Bon-Bon's returning guys!
Sister Miems interrupts the fun and comes to announce that 'Sister Bonita' - yeah, I'm getting serious Sister Act vibes from Emma here - is returning from The Hole soon.
Was hoping Amanda would be doing backflips but delusional Natalie seems more excited about it. Mariaan is not buying it.
Your nice girl act isn't fooling Mariaan, Natalie.
What does Miems do besides dramatically enter a room and make a non-worthy announcement? She's like Martyr Miems.
Does she even sleep in a Cell like the rest of the inmates? She doesn't partake in anything besides waltz in with half ass announcements that she could have tweeted everyone instead.
Outraged about the subject nature of the art class -
Medieval Miems is outraged about drawing a half naked mannequin. What else would you like them to draw Emma?
This is the second day Miems has attacked on Lissie's husband. I am waiting for a revolt. Her Parole can't come sooner.
Find someone who looks at you like Lips looks at Viv
Seems like love has softened Vivs quite a bit. Can you blame her? Look at the way Lips looks at her above.
Mands and Viv decide they must find out how Daniel is doing calming down Bonita before she makes more of a commotion upon her return from The Hole demanding to find out about her son.
Amanda and Vivian decide to call Charmaine to find out how Daniel's doing. It's quite sweet that it's Day 3 of Bonita's prison stay and she has people who care for her more than anyone has in the last year and a half.
Happy Vivian is like a whole new person.
To be fair here - which in classic 7de Laan style - they love misleading - we don't hear or see Vivian's other side of the conversation to Charmaine.
To further add to it, there's an ambiguous scene where Xander returns to the penthouse upset and is comforted by Vanessa. Nothing further is said.
Why the hell is Vanessa back there? Are they back together?
We are lead down the road to believe something has happened to Daniel. Fool us once 7de Laan shame on you. Fool us
7de Tronk, and we don't be forgiving. We've endured this for too long.
Amanda's pregnancy meanwhile has resumed down to normal pregnancy size today. I'm glad someone is paying attention.
Viv is worried about how to break the news to Bon-bon, as she knows how unstable she is. I guess instability sees instability in another person - that's why Amanda, Vivian and Bonita get on so well.
The death stares gotta stop if you wanna stay besties with Manda, Bon-bon!
I was hoping for a friendlier reunion between newly appointed BFFs Amanda and Bonita on her return from The Hole. Except in true soapie fashion, she walks into the end of a conversation about her.
Does anybody - even in prison - lock cell doors?!
Maybe if you didn't death stare everyone Bonita you wouldn't be spoken about behind your back.
Seems like Viv has a compassionate side
It's up to Viv to not only get through to Bon-bon on the news, but first, she must apologise for her rabid dog barking at her in The Hole. Viv manages to own her crazy and sells it off really well.
Even when her buttons are pushed, she comes through and tells Bon-bon about the news; Daniel is dead.
But is he?
Some people have pointed out that no one this episode has confirmed this. This could be Vivian's sick joke as revenge against Bonita.
But hey, guess we'll find out sometime soon if it's the truth or not.
Refusing to accept the news from 'Crazy Viv' - don't pot-kettle-black Bonita and look in the mirror before hurling insults at our Viv - a small fight ensues between the two.
It must suck for Mands, she's finally assembled her perfect crazy BFF group and already there's drama in the group.
Don't you hate it when your besties try kill each other, Mands?
Half accepting reality, Bonita brings herself back together after her high school theatre performance of passing out and Liefie allows her to contact Xander herself to hear herself that Daniel has died.
Don't know why Liefie is being so nice to Bonita now. But we'll take small mercies where we can.
This is where things get suspect. Bonita gets through to Xander, but he and Vanessa are in the clinic's
onlyroom waiting room.
Ask yourself if Daniel had died, why would they be in the Clinic again?
Also, doesn't Xander have his own wing in Hillside Clinic now with all his kids basically paying the salaries of the staff?
The reason I posted this pic below is to prove that Ms. "Perfect-I-Specialise-in-Everything" Alexa Welman is not the only Hillside doctor - and she's not even credited on the board - yet Fikani is. Ouch.
Also they totally had space for her name.
Why isn't Alexa credited as a doctor on the board behind Xander?
Putting two and two together and getting an incomplete story, Bonita believes Daniel has died too and has a beautiful breakdown scene. Kudos to Hildegardt Whites on this beautiful performance.
7de Tronk: The Musical
The Chorus Cast of '7de Tronk: The Musical'
Liefie has assembled her cast for her upcoming chorus musical, seems like Miems is the leader here. So she actually does something in prison.
How are they going to have a choir when everyone but Viv and Miems are silent background cellmates?
Miems isn't the brightest - hair colour yes - but oblivious to Natalie
While she may be a feared leader by her fellow inmates, Miems is not very bright. She falls too easily by Natalie who constantly manipulates her good nature. How can she not see through her yet?
While everyone looks at their sheet music to learn lines - Viv smiles pricelessly at her art class drawing of Lips. If that isn't love - I don't know what is.
Not exactly sheet music, but it's Viv's inspiration
The way Viv glows lights my heart. But you can't always have nice things in jail without some batsh*t crazy chick threatening to take it away for her fun and games.
Natalie gives Lips an air kiss and Vivian is not impressed and goes from 0-full on takedown mode for Natalie.
No one stands in the way of true love. Even if it's crazy.
I am hoping that Natalie finally finds her match in Vivian, especially when Viv finds out that Natalie has lied about her attempting to escape, which might possibly land her in The Hole.
Natalie needs to be taken down a peg or three.
Natalie is delusional if she thinks she can take on Vivian
Both absent from the Choir are Mariaan and
Alexa Amanda. Amanda doesn't waste her time and Mariaan's voice, in the words of Liefie, has "no oomph".
The faux mother and daughter duo finally have their own scene and it's welcomed to see the actresses playing a completely opposite dynamic to their prior interactions on 7de Laan.
Shout out for Lissie and her husband's cameo in the background!
Let's recap quickly:
- Amanda looks like Alexa - no one knows why. No one has contacted any specialist or run a test to see if Mariaan actually had twins and gave one up. (That would be a great storyline)
- Amanda shots Alexa a year and a half ago. Mariaan arranged for Amanda to get beaten up in jail for Justin's cooperation on the Lesedi blinding storyline. (Lesedi who? - I've totally almost forgotten about that!)
They don't exactly like each other. At all.
Way to go with the crazy eyes Mands.
After hurling some insults at Mariaan - who seems to literally just stand around and take it from everyone - about how Amanda's own mother is an angel compared to her, Amanda goes crazy on Mariaan.
And yet again Mariaan Welman is shoved around, verbally assaulted and thrown to the floor. Has anyone checked if this poor women has any non-fractured bones yet?
It must pain doubley for Mariaan; first Alexa's betrayal of landing her in jail and now Alexa's own doppleganger actually shoving her around.
While I symapathise, Mariaan plays the victim role all too well and it's rather sad to see the once great Mariaan Welman walk away with her tail between her legs, sit on her bed and huddle up.
Ag shame - Deirdre Wolhuter sells the performance here and we almost forget the monster she is and sympathise deeply with her.
Mariaan plays victim all too well here.
I really want Mariaan to get her comeuppance in prison and stand her worth and push some b*tches around and prove who she really is. Sad-and-shoved-Mariaan is not doing it.
Also, that knitted hat is giving her a very sad Orphan Annie look today.
Later that day, presumably after Bon-bon has been medicated by the only doctor in the prison - no it wasn't Dr. Alexa - Viv and Mands are seriously concerned about her.
It's so odd seeing Vivian caring and compassionate. Makes me almost wonder if this is one of her delusional revenge games for Bonita and she's enjoying this.
In case you were wondering; 3rd cellmate seems to have finally woken up!
While Bonita lays there motionless, the third unnamed, unspoken, dummy like cellmate seems to have finally woken up from her three day nap. She doesn't give a damn about anything.
Vivian wants to give Bonita comfort in the fact that she can help Mands raise her baby. That's not how parenting works Viv. But we'll give you a pass because we like you.
Mel's baby (both yet to be seen Mel nor baby) cries again and Bonita, in delusional mode, wakes up, assuming it's Daniel and pretends to hold the baby with an eerie smile.
It's not a good day when even crazy Viv is judging you for your own kinds of cray cray Bon-bon!
<<< Missed the previous recap of Vivian's return in Day 2?
*** 7de Tronk - Monday to Friday 18h00, SABC 2***
* For SABC reasons also known as 7de Laan