Chichi wants out as Mthunzi sets a love trap for Xolile
Mthunzi finds out that when you play with human emotions, you’re going to get played.
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Mthunzi (Bongile Mantsai) and his long-time love Chichi (Mbonisi Mahonondo) came to Johannesburg on Wednesday 13 June with a simple – if twisted plan – hold Siseko Langa (Hlomla Dandala) hostage, infiltrate his family and then take the Langas for everything they have. Mthunzi considered it a fair payback for the Langas “stealing” his mom Dambisa (Khanyisa Bunu) from him to raise their own children and for their callous treatment of him when he was little. But the deeper in Mthunzi has gotten, the more the ground under him has shifted. “The family becomes loving towards him and so supportive to him and to Mthunzi’s mom as well. He came with anger but he is now in the middle of something that he didn’t predict. The promises that he has made to Chichi are being challenged by the facts of life in Johannesburg,” explains Bongile. Instead of being his closest ally, Chichi is becoming another factor that he must now plot around. And Mthunzi is about to toss another chainsaw up in the air to juggle on Wednesday 1 August…
STEALING IDEAS
One of Mthunzi’s smartest ideas has been to keep a close watch on his rival schemer Romeo (Hungani Ndlovu) and he might strike gold when he sneaks in to plant a bug on Tuesday 31 July. Romeo has come up with a plot to weasel his way back into the Langas’ good books – by becoming Xolile’s (Sivenathi Mabuya) knight in shining armour. “Mthunzi wants to take this plan and do it first so that he can be the person that Romeo planned to be,” says Bongile. “Psychologically, he is playing a game. He knows that even though Xolile and her brother see eye to eye, there is a power struggle within the family. So if Xolile gets their dad first, she is going to be the hero of the family.”
THE “CON” IN CONVINCING
But on Wednesday 1 August, Mthunzi’s plot to be Xolile’s hero himself – making her even more dependent on him – gets pushback from Chichi. And once Mthunzi’s plan plays out on Thursday 2 August, Chichi seems more reluctant than ever. “The string is pulled really tight now for Mthunzi. For him to win back Chichi, he must always come with these empty promises. Chichi is running out of money and she’s running out of patience. She’s in an abandoned house and she can’t go out. She has to disguise herself and buy food in bulk, so she doesn’t have a life at all,” says Bongile. “And here is Mthunzi living a luxury life, living in hotels, he is an acting CEO. The life that he is living is different from what Chichi is living. Chichi is also babysitting Siseko – which she was not planning to do. And she is running out of ideas for how to live with this man [Siseko] because he is saying, ‘I don’t care anymore. I’ve been here forever!’ She is getting numb from this process and this is what makes her panic,” explains Bongile.
BLOOD TIES
While Xolile plays right into Mthunzi’s hands on Wednesday 8 August, Chichi seems to be slipping from his grasp, setting up Mthunzi for panic and speculation when she vanishes on Friday 10 August. But if it comes down to it, have his priorities shifted so far that he will just let Chichi fall? Bongile laughs and answers, “If I look deep into the story – and this is my personal answer as Bongi – Mthunzi came to take revenge and now he has found another relationship on top of what is happening with the Langas, which is that his mom is there and they get to know each other. And they get to pour their hearts out about what happened in their past. His mom is now protecting him, even though she doesn’t like his plan. And you can choose a relationship with a girlfriend. You can have another girlfriend, but you can’t have another mom,” he suggests honestly.