Summary
Bad Influencer crosses a line in “Miss Fear Fokkol”, one that there won’t be any coming back from, based on the most dramatic cliffhanger thus far.
It might have taken until Episode 5, but things in Bad Influencer are finally going well. Needless to say, this is worrying. Early in “Miss Fear Fokkol”, Leo points out that BK is different, and, well… he’s right. With the success of Moghel Slay, she’s far too comfortable around Bra Alex, who is becoming increasingly comfortable around her, buying her expensive gifts and making unsubtle overtures. She’s in a relationship with Themba, despite knowing he’s actively investigating her business partner, and she seems largely unfazed by the video of Bheki and Joyce being murdered.
Pinky has noticed the difference too, and she isn’t taking it well. BK is very much in charge, and since all the selling is going through Moghel Slay, she’s struggling to see what her utility is. She feels overlooked and pushed out, and when Pierre Montcler comes through with a partnership offer — the very same offer that Pinky was dropped from at her lowest — that’s the final straw. She and BK fall out again, leaving BK to manage the Moghel Slay account on her own, including a live stream sponsored by Pierre Montcler.
The point isn’t subtle — BK is becoming an influencer. She’s falling for the trap of fame and fortune, rubbing shoulders with Bra Alex socially — and briefly crossing a line with him romantically — while leaving Pinky to handle her family life for her. Once again, it’s Pinky’s relationship with Leo that forms the beating heart of the show; it’s her he turns to with his concerns about his new school, where nobody wants to play with him, a detail which he hasn’t even mentioned to BK.
But Leo is paying attention. He has noticed that Pinky isn’t staying in the house anymore, that things are frosty between her and BK, and later, when Pinky finds out that Themba is a cop, he quickly overhears more than seems reasonable about the two of them being Moghel Slay, too. But Pinky really does have a point here. For all BK’s lecturing, she’s in a relationship with the cop who’s investigating their illegal counterfeit business. And that cop, thanks to Naomi going to the police about Moghel Slay selling fake bags, is definitely starting to put the pieces together, even without Leo accidentally making comments in front of him about Aunty Pinky going to jail.
But even when Pinky’s right, she’s still Pinky, so her go-to stress relief solution is to get very drunk and throw herself at Alex out of jealousy. But Alex is only really interested in BK, which he doesn’t exactly make a secret of. That only upsets Pinky further, so she throws around the one advantage over her that she still has — at least she’s not dating a cop. Oops.
Bad Influencer Episode 5 feels like the kind of episode that there’s no coming back from. You’ve got BK crossing the line with Alex, Pinky giving away her relationship with Themba, and Leo openly repeating that his mother is Moghel Slay while he’s being looked after by the very man investigating the account. We’ve reached the end of the road, I feel. And that might apply quite literally to Themba, since “Miss Fear Fokkol” — which, by the way, is what Alex calls BK — ends with his car being T-boned on Alex’s instructions after Pinky gave away that he was in a relationship with BK. To make matters worse, Leo was in the back of the car.
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