Summary
Blood & Water needn’t return as exemplified by a rushed Season 4.
I can’t say I was surprised that Season 4 of Blood & Water is nowhere near the level of the first three seasons. I believe this series had all the merits to end after Season 3. But for some reason, the Season 3 ending hinted at a larger conspiracy, spurring ahead the development of Season 4.
Like most teen dramas, eventually, the energy dwindles — there’s only so much you can do in twists and turns.
A Lazy Continuation
The fourth season is a straight continuation of the events of Season 3. The human trafficking ring that had terrorized Puleng (Ama Qamata) and Fiks (Khosi Ngema) has been brought down, and its key culprits, Lisbeth and Matla, are sentenced to prison. Puleng is suffering from trauma, while the rest of her friends and acquaintances are enjoying a new normal. But of course, a new drama arises, and Puleng finds herself being spied on by someone who keeps themselves anonymous, to the extent they record her having sex and threaten to release it.
The motive behind “anonymous” is unclear at first, but it quickly escalates and Puleng believes that the same human trafficking ring that brought horror to her life has returned, despite Matla and Lisbeth being in prison.
You’d forgive the audience for believing this was human trafficking related too, especially after we saw Sam at the end of Season 3, unconscious, in one of the human trafficking cells.
But for some reason, Sam is not captured at the start of Season 4. He’s suffering from PTSD after what happened to him, but that’s where I suddenly became quite annoyed, so forgive me for the minor spoiler.
The writers for Blood & Water Season 4, for whatever reason, decided to scrap the storyline that there were more human trafficking cells. The lead-up from Season 3 is irrelevant. However, it does not stop the writers from making the viewers feel it might still be related.
Puleng getting harassed by an anonymous person, which then begins to impact her friends, is for a different reason entirely. If anything, Season 4 is almost a standalone, flimsy story.
Season 4 is an unnecessary instalment
I’m easily irritated by blatant misdirection to cover up a writing mishap. If the writers were not confident that a grander, extended conspiracy could be had, then they should have ended it reasonably in Season 3. Instead, it feels like they secured the renewal and work around an alternative storyline at the detriment of the cast, who have performed their popular characters brilliantly and have been dragged into an additional story purely for fan service.
Fans will enjoy the service at play, but for those who enjoy a well-written story, this will just throw them.
This establishes that it’s okay to end a series at the right time. Blood & Water went down the same path as 13 Reasons Why, which arguably would have been one of the best series of all time if it just stuck to its first season. This overindulgence for teen dramas is the downside of watch-hours data. Series like this easily trend on social media, to the extent that sensible minds forget that the story needs to remain firm.
I’m disappointed in Blood & Water Season 4. Is a spin-off fair? Sure. However, any extension to this primary story would be truly a cash grab rather than an act of a sane mind.
RELATED:
