Caught in the crossfire
Tragedy strikes when Violet’s in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets hit by a stray bullet.
Ashes To Ashes Weekdays e.tv (*194) 20:00
Things seem to be going well on the love front for Namane Funerals’ star employee Violet (Maggie Benedict) – her man DJ Miza is back in town and their relationship’s on the up. “Violet’s happy and she knows it,” says Maggie. “It’s something rare for someone who is always seeking happiness and feels that it’s out of her reach.” But that’s all about to change on Friday 27 May when a gunshot rings out…
Despite being firmly behind bars, badguy Kgosi (Siyabonga Shibe) manages to find out that Selo and Mickey (Patrick Shai and Craig Urbani) are planning to cut him out of their arms deal on Friday 27 May and he decides to teach them a lesson by sending his thugs to gun down the pair. Unfortunately, the bullets go flying into the wrong target when Violet’s fatally wounded and dies on the spot. It’s a bittersweet exit for Maggie, who was also one of the Ashes writers. “Being part of the writing team in season 2, I knew the exit was coming from the beginning,” Maggie says. “As a writer, I was excited by the juicy complications this offers the story.” Complications such as Selo’s wife Mandlakazi (Nambitha Mpumlwana) discovering dead Violet on Monday 30 May and being plagued by the fact that an employee’s died at the offices, a secret she battles with on Tuesday 31 May.
As Selo tries to ease his own guilt with a huge donation towards Violet’s funeral, Kgosi isn’t pleased that his former business partner’s still standing on Wednesday 1 June, while Violet’s pal Damian (Mandla Gaduka) goes out of his way to use the donation to give his dead friend an appropriate funeral. “As an actress, I was incredibly honoured by the time, care and effort put into the storyline. There were many, many tears and hugs and flowers on my last day,” says Maggie of her exit. But there is a surprise too, as former Namane Funerals employee Stitch (Richard Lukunku) makes an unexpected appearance on Thursday 2 June at Violet’s memorial. And we’ll soon see that he’s not just back in town to pay his respects… While Maggie’s guarded on what she’s been up to since her last day on the Ashes set in February, we know that she’s currently in New York, hopefully working on her next big success story. Reba lands herself in the middle of the gunrunning exchange and has a gun to her head. Tsietsi wants to send an official letter to Mpho’s family to get married properly, Selo and Mickey plan to cut Kgosi out of the gun-running, and Buzwe admits to Reba that Tsietsi’s back as his client. Violet moves in with DJ Miza, and Kgosi sends goons for Mickey and Selo but they shoot someone else by mistake.
Selo and Mickey try deal with the unexpected dilemma and Mandlakazi’s drawn into the saga, beside herself with grief at the unexpected loss. Mandlakazi tries to hold it together at work, plagued by the secret of the death, and Selo arranges a peaceful sit-down with Kgosi. Damian’s obsessed with giving Violet a proper send-off, and Selo eases his guilt, telling Damian that Namane Funerals is making a handsome contribution towards Violet’s funeral. Tsietsi goes to Nkomonde for strengthening for the trial, Buzwe and Reba are trying to keep their love separate from the trial, and Stitch makes a surprise appearance at Violet’s memorial. Buzwe cuts Nkonzo down during the trial cross examination, and the prosecution introduces a surprise witness. Later, Buzwe’s left toying with matters of the heart, hoping to turn Stitch’s deadly testimony around.