Partners in crime
Look out! Nkunzi and MaNgcobo have settled their score and now they’ve teamed up for more.
With Easter Sunday on the horizon on 21 April, it’s heist season in the Mhlongo household. Now that all that drama about baby lies and who stole whose money, who burnt down whose club and who showed up at whose wedding carrying a gun is behind them, it’s also time for a little romance. And for MaNgcobo (Dawn Thandeka King) and her gangster husband Nkunzi (Masoja Msiza), nothing says “I love you” more than pulling off the perfect crime together.
“He has kind of been doing his own thing on the side and she has been trying to manipulate him so that she gets attention. So I am interested to see more of a storyline of them getting along, loving each other. It will be nice to see it come out in these scenes because there hasn’t been a lot of that,” says Dawn. “I think it’s high time that they got back together and reminded the audience why they fell in love with them in the first place.”
UNITED FRONT
When Nkunzi gives MaNgcobo the nod for taking charge of their heist plans this issue, it sets the reconciliation in motion. And the couple’s working dynamic will unfold in a fascinating way until their operation launches in mid April, with their relationship at an all-time high. The power struggle between husband and wife is set aside as a balancing point is discovered.
“She actually is an equal partner. They are equal to each other like the yin and the yang of each other. They fit very nicely together, they mirror each other. And that’s why even if he does the worst things to her, she would never really leave him. She wouldn’t ever judge him for the things that he does [from death threats to intimidation] because ultimately, he does them for the family. Now they are going to put their skills together and it’s going to be exciting for her to be working with him because she gets to be closer to him. She gets to know him better as a business person,” says Dawn.
“She is redeeming herself and gaining his trust all over again. So she will go all the way, because she does really love him. That’s basically the only kind of guy who understands her and she is the only woman who understands him. Other people around them, they don’t understand the type of people that they are. These are hustlers,” says Dawn honestly.
HIS & HERS
Working hand in hand doubles their power. “They have different roles. He is the hardcore one, his is the violent voice. He will promise to kill. He will burn you if you go against him. He is practical. She will use her subtle ways. She is softer, she is a lady with regards to her approach. She is more tactical. She is manipulative. To get her own way, she will get people to play along and she will promise people that they will benefit in the end – but in the end people won’t get anything; she will end up with everything. She promises things and in the end she gets rid of the people. Whereas he makes it clear from the beginning that everything is his. That’s where they differ in personalities,” explains Dawn.
AND THEIRS…
But their brightest young recruit, ex-jailbird-turnedhenchman Njeza (Nkanyiso Makhanya) should tread carefully because he has the potential to destroy this beautiful new partnership. “There is going to be a tug of war. Nkunzi and MaNgcobo will end up fighting for Njeza, because he’s going to be that good in what he is doing,” reveals Dawn. “Crossing the line would be to turn Njeza against MaNgcobo to get Njeza to work more with Nkunzi. They would then start clashing all over again,” she warns.