7de Laan: Mariaan's back, she's free.
Don't get too excited, they're slowly bringing the glamour back with the human compassion.
Our girl is not PSTD done with prison. I'm liking this and hope we're in for a new character (as much as I love the old!)
Remember when this man was her life... in 2020 Mariaan is all for herself!
Disclaimer: This article contains no prejudice and offence to the hardworking cast, crew and Hillsiders of 7de Laan - only some snark for the occasional viewer. Oh and to the SABC too.
There's no denying 7de Laan struggled to keep its pace going narratively in the latter half of 2019 with
abrupt exits from fan favourite Hilda,
just annoying Olivia and veteran Charmaine (!!!) (
which I will touch on in a future article).
It was Deirdre Wolhuter's
Mariaan Welman who carried 7de Laan's often eye-rolling storylines during 2019 with a conviction that kept us going. (No one single scene chewed as much as Mariaan!)
There was a point when I feared the show would pull an Emma and have the actress on a sabbatical (with occasional appearances) as Mariaan had nothing to do scene-wise from September, when she was imprisoned for obstructing justice in Ben's death (read: not for accidentally murdering him - but for tampering with evidence).
Fears do come to life as 7de Laan brought back Emma in a guest capacity... oh wait, she's still on the show - since October 2019. (
More on that - I do enjoy Emma's return tho!)
Pay dues when dues are due
7de Laan's character has been given the most lately and is due for some hardship changes!
TV soaps like to push their villains to do the most with little-to-no come-uppance, which is only to keep the "villain soaring" trope/theme going.
However, Mariaan was not a villain per say; Ben's death was accidental. So the grey area was appreciated.
The character expressed constant remorse and paid heavily in 2019 with regret and guilt, right up until her conviction.
In fact, Deirdre Wolhuter needs 7de Laan
to fork out the therapy for rocking the roll of portraying a vulnerable under the cracks of Mariaan.
Fun Fact: 7de Laan kept the same guard actresses without lines for Mariaan's claustrophobic prison scenes - but failed to bring back other fan favourites. (I miss my 7de Tronk girls!)
While characters like Sandra (SABC Encore Ch156 Mon - Fri 20:00), Gita and our other sister from another mister that we wish 7de Laan would bring over - Cherel - have rarely paid for their crimes, much worse - Mariaan wasn't envisioned or written as a villain.
Poor storylines playing out, because of the whole Welman family's presence imploding with David Rees (Chris) and Kristen Raath's (Amorey) exit, really diminished their storyline.
Mariaan was a mother who would do anything for her family.
Her family broke down and subsequently, it was Adapt or be written out for the character - this was needed to keep her character current.
A Family Reunited!
Had it been any other actress in the role, without the same calibre of acting, I would have argued her trial should have been the character's exit -
ala Emma, who also returned for 2019's swan song, and despite backlash - I am appreciating. (
More on that later).
However, the actress and character of Mariaan proves popular with 7de Laan fans, and she's really 1loved to hate, played with conviction so that you empathise and see it in her way without manipulation.
It's a subtle villain, or rather the super bitch trope, where they own the role.
It is refreshing writing and acting for what is actually a morally grey character. Often soaps black-and-white characters but with Mariaan the show is not afraid to paint her accordingly.
As much as I
hate 7de Laan
for putting Mariaan on the back burner for the last quarter of 2019, they really pushed her sentence down to as little as they could!
I am sure they had to up Deirdre Wolhuter's salary for being confined to that small prison set. Same clothing and ridiculous hair and make-up (with perfect, manicured nails) for the duration of her sentence.
It was really needed for a come-uppance for the character to exist in the vacuum that is Hillside - and for us to still love her.
She's done, she's free.
And yet, the first man she touches is Andre - sicking - also not true...
Jump to 20 January 2020 (oh,
Happy New Year to 7de Laaners!), and after having Daniel and the entire Meintjies family (
and Jacob!!!!) hold the fort for pretending
Charmaine Mariaan didn't exist in Hillside, we finally have Mariaan out of jail, back in Hillside and ready to take over.
(Oh, in case you missed it - I will blog about Charmaine's exit soon.)
Like many of you out there, the festive season has knocked me back a few episodes and I catch-up through the
SABC2 YouBelong Youtube channel, which is pretty amazing - the comments and community is life!
Watching Mariaan's Hillside Return (Episode 66 - January 20, 2020), I felt there was a scene missing between Mariaan's declaration of her impending parole hearing to her appearing out of jail the next morning, knocking on DeWet's door.
These were probably edited down
or removed completely thanks to an excess of Bonita's shenanigans and scenes.
Yes, I get we
still need to
pay for Madel Terblanche's mansion set that's been used for the last 20-years by having every major family move into it - but I am anti-DeWet moving into it. (
Again: I will explain in a future article).
However, for Mariaan's entire parole to happen
off-screen when we endured 49 business days of her trial - is so off-putting. It's a slap in the face to Deirdre Wolhuter that they couldn't rebuild that damn courtroom set for a scene or two!!
No introduction necessary!
Anyway, I get the contrivance that the scene needed Mariaan to start the third or fourth new lease on life in her former home and have it resonate for her to kick-start the character growth - creatively - I appreciate it.
But who the hell gets out of prison, and goes straight to their former home?! I just pray to God it is not for them to set her up to be the new Mrs. DeWet (Do we even know this man's surname?!!!).
The subtitles do match Mariaan's dialogue, honestly!
Writing-wise, the growth in the character felt incredibly forced and quick so I am hoping, once in Hillside, they slow things down and really have her grow into the third iteration of herself (Mariaan 1.0 = Chris' wife, Mariaan 2.0 = jailbird, Mariaan 3.0 = post second sentence jailbird).
While I am dead bored (as much as I am of Emma's bangs) of Mariaan vs. Willem, and Mariaan desperately needing her children's affection, I want to see the character prove herself a Hillsider now, living amongst everyone else and truly engaged in the community.
The show does allow Deirdre Wolhuter to shine strongly, where she does the best with her acting in some nuanced performances rather than the off-the-bat-shrieking-Mariaan we had at the beginning of her 2016 appearance.
We appreciate the nuanced underwriting of letting things be shown rather than said, by relying on an actor to bring it to fruition on-screen.
A picture and acting with minimal dialogue sold this scene as beautifully as it could be!
Please let this trend continue as
7de Laan
suffered with poor dialogue exposition in 2019, which ruined perfectly great actors and scenes.
7de Laan, since its inception, has played Madel Terblanche's home like the big battle ground for the power family to own and it worked well in that sense. The Welman family were brought into the show in 2016 to replicate a similar energy to the Terblanche's.
While in theory the family was interesting and storyline driven, it failed when the overall 'mystery' didn't push the family anywhere.
But hey, 7de Laan back then knew how to engage the family into Hillside organically, which I appreciate, and their character arcs and the individual characters allowed the family to remain in Hillside.
The Return from Prison: Part I (2018)
Unfortunately Amorey and Chris Welman's exits have deminished the family value. Fan favourite Hilda
Welman van Zyl's exit and subsequently Rickus and Alexis moving out of the home means Madel's home is no longer suitable for just Mariaan.
Why you ask? - because a boring character such as DeWet can walk around it aimlessly instead. (
More on that again - I am not hating on him but questionable).
I knew moving back into the Welman house would not be an option for Mariaan and would have backtracked the character - but I hoped either Charmaine's home or Vanessa's penthouse (when Ingrid Paulus eventually departs for her maternity leave) would be ideal for Mariaan.
Having Mariaan move back into Hilda's home is still beautiful and shows immense character growth that prison has allowed her to appreciate and accept her routes, and her new role in society.
Mariaan in Hilda's old flat even does manual labour!
I did not appreciate how 7de Laan needs to pretend that 'The Heights' is the only accommodation in Hillside - but I guess that's about building yet another new set for a home.
For now enjoy this classic friendship snap...
I am so distraught that there was no Mariaan and Vivian farewell scene when Vinette departed!
More on Mariaan's return to Hillside as soon as something juicy happens, but for now, look forward to some articles on the following:
* Charmaine's surprising exit from Hillside
* Dismantling the Meintjies family and stop beating a dead horse
* Why DeWet is in Hillside and please make his wife a full-time star
* 2019 Review and 2020 Wishes for the Laan
* 2005 vs. 2020 Hillside.
Until then enjoy 7de Laan every Monday to Friday at 18h00 on SABC 2, available on YouBelong on YouTube for a 7-day catch up for our International Guests or, if you like me, are really behind.
*** 7de Laan Monday to Friday - 18h00, SABC 2 ***