We’ve seen several shows turn teenagers into super detectives, from 13 Reasons Why to Stranger Things and the notoriously accurate Pretty Little Liars. Even though she isn’t wrestling ‘Demogorgon” or serial killer “A”, Watching Puleng ruffle through dangerous places like prison and Mr Molapo law firm in search of hints to prove that Fikile is her sister, will make you repulsive, yet scared for her life.
Blood and Water delves more into the lives of its character; Secrets are revealed, family bonds are tested. Puleng’s quest to find her sister takes a more dangerous approach to arrive at the desired answers without care for repercussions. Puleng (Ama Qamata), the impulsive protagonist doesn’t care so much about not hurting the people she supposedly cares about as long as she gets the desired result of her quest.
There is no stopping Puleng, only a ruthless or selfish person could get a good result from this twisted crime story and she does her “detective job’ effectively.
Blood and Water season 2 does get it right sometimes, while the first season felt like the story was slowly unfolding and ready to be deciphered, the latter is encumbered by its want to create a more complex story— it starts to feel a bit of a drag, you can sense the writer’s desire for a third season.
The new season tries to balance teenage shenanigans while unravelling a crime story; new characters are thrown into the mix, new relationships are created, Fikile Bhele finally finds a boy “her age” Sam, that is crazy about her after last season’s whole brouhaha, but the writers of the show have something else in mind for Fikile and yet Puleng who has seemingly mastered the art of selfishness gets not one but two boys fighting over her. That’s what makes stories like this intriguing; Innocent characters never get happy endings and we are usually stuck with chaotic protagonists.
With supporting characters, the story arc and focus are much wider than the previous season. Reese (Greteli Fincham) battles with her mother’s drug problem and her booming drug business.
Many teen shows tend to over exaggerate drug use and abuse in high schools and Blood and water also follows the route, it’s unrealistic and even unimaginative.
We also get insight into Chris’ family, the parental neglect he suffers, this and more makes this season more engaging than the previous one where other characters were only shadowy with little or no depth to them. Apart from the KB-Puleng-Wade love triangle, we sense a developing relationship between Wendy and Chris.
We are thrown into a series of shocking revelations as the story proceeds, one of which is the details of Puleng’s mother’s infidelity which gives us burning questions needed to be answered in season three— who is Fikile’s Father? The season ends with bigger revelations such as KB’s mum part in the kidnapping as she is revealed as the big bad wolf.
All that said, Blood and Water prove to be a burgeoning show with enough magic to keep the story going, but with its anti-climactic season finale, one wonders— what else is there to tell?
