'Savage Beauty': The rise and fall of Bhengu Beauty

Skin bleaching can be lucrative, but for how long?

I will jump straight to Season 2 because I am still very hurt that they killed off Zinhle (Rosemary Zimu)! Oh by the way, theres spoilers ahead so brace yourself.

Plot and Storyline

So we know the whole plot revolves around the shady Bhengu family business with ties to illegal beauty products. With Zinhle and Bonga (Mpho Sebeng) being the original guinea pigs who managed to escape the fire. But I want to talk about Don Bhengu (Dumisani Mbebe) himself, the mastermind of the operation. You might argue that this was a couples' joint project, but I strongly believe Grace Bhengu (Nthati Moshesh) was too busy focussing on Kolobe to be a real criminal - we will touch on Kolobe further down. Like all criminal dramas it never ends well, however the journey was exciting.

Why was Kolobe broke?

One thing which I cannot quite grasp is how broke Kolobe was. He was basically an early investor as well as the chief of operations of the skin bleaching side of the business but the man drove a rundown 90s Mercedes-Benz 300TD. In contrast, Don lived in a mansion and had a driver for his Maybach, not to mention all the children (legitimate and illegitimate) drove beefy cars. It baffles me how he exposed himself daily, clocking into the factory day in day out, just to fund someone else's lifestyle. After exposing himself to the guilt he remained loyal to Grace - Pathetic! Text book case of not knowing your worth.

Character deaths and chain of events

Lets start with Ndu (Oros Mampofu), he was caught up in a love triangle with his father, Don - Yikes! How he did not catch on really baffles me, but what can you expect from a rich kid who goes on photography tours on daddies money. End of Season 1, Zinhle had a standoff with Don but things went south when Ndu decided to return announced leading to his unfortunate death. Soon after, Grace took it upon herself to end Zinhle's career paving the way for new characters in Season 2. But these deaths are what caused the family to fall. Notable mentions are Kolobe, Bonga and Thando Bhengu's baby, although minor they added onto the theme When on the path for revenge did 2 graves. In the end, Don was officially killed by his wife Grace and their son Phila (Jesse Suntele) became the new CEO who vowed to run the company right.

Personal Reflections

I recommend this show if you're keen on some roller coaster drama, or if you also enjoy beautiful looking people.