Stream It Or Skip It?
There have been a few shows lately where a woman reluctantly gets into a life of crime in order to protect or help a loved one. The latest is a Netflix series from South Africa, where a religious former cop gets deeper into the criminal underworld, all in an effort to get a needed surgery for her daughter.
MARKED: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: A man in a long coat and silver makeup walks towards a line of other mimes in similar garb. They block the street and do a dance routine.
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The Gist: The mimes are there to rob the armored vehicle from Iron Watch that comes through that intersection. The truck carries millions in South African rand from one location to another, and is always under attack from people looking to rob their trucks. But the driver of this truck, a former cop named Babalwa (Lerato Mvelase), is skilled at what she does, and she manages to avoid getting boarded by the thieves. Her boss Zachariah (Desmond Dube) puts the video online to generate business and gives her a well-deserved bonus.
Babalwa is loyal to the crew she rides with, including her friend Tebza (S’Dumo Mtshali). She is a religious woman, attending church every Sunday with her husband Lungile (Bonko Khoza); their teenage daughter Palesa (Ama Qamata) mostly stays home because she’s trying to recover from a cancer diagnosis. But when Palesa has a seizure, Babalwa and Lungile find out that the cranial surgery she needs can only be done at a private hospital, and cost 1.2 million rand.
They try to get help from the church and from Zachariah, but neither can do it, which angers Babalwa. So she turns to Baba G (Jerry Mofokeng), a notorious crime boss who has known Babalwa her entire life and has tried to recruit her to be his mole at Iron Watch. Particularly desperate, she finally agrees to help him rob a truck she’s driving, in exchange for the 1.2 million she needs for Palesa’s surgery. But she has to do it her way, much to the annoyance of Zweli (Sphamandla Dhludhu), Baba G’s young and aggressive protege.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Marked has a similar plot as another South African series, Unseen. For an American analogue, see The Cleaning Lady.
Our Take: Created by Sydney Dire, Akin Omotoso and Steven Pillemer, Marked certainly feels like one of those shows that will go in all sorts of silly directions, like the shows we mentioned above. The idea that an otherwise virtuous person — and lately, it seems that such a character is always a woman — reluctantly getting involved in a life of crime is catnip to writers as well as networks/streaming services.
The wrinkle here is that Babalwa is a religious woman, and the church is an important part of her life. How she deals with her new life of crime, given her unshakable fait, will be an interesting part of this story. It’ll be especially interesting when things inevitably go wrong and she ends up getting involved in criminal activity that goes well beyond grand larceny.
We already know that the world around Babalwa is insane, like when Zweli meets and sleeps with Zachariah’s daughter Nelisa (Natasha Thahane), who seems to get off on having a loaded gun in bed with them. Tebza, who seems to be on the “right path” in the first episode, might also be into some sketchy activity. Either way, the first episode might be just the tip of the insane iceberg as far as the directions this story can go.
Sex and Skin: The aforementioned sex-and-gunplay scene, though people were clothed during it.
Parting Shot: The heist of the truck goes sideways (almost literally), and Babalwa gets shot in the chest — she has a bullet-proof vest on, but the close-range shot still leaves her dazed. Tebza grabs her as the truck’s crew runs away.
Sleeper Star: S’Dumo Mtshali has some funny moments as Tezba, and his friendship with Babalwa feels like it’s more than just something between two co-workers.
Most Pilot-y Line: For some reason, Palesa’s doctor tells Babalwa and Lungile that the machine that would help with Palesa’s surgery is in another province, rather than just come out and say they can’t do it. Why not give it to them straight?
Our Call: STREAM IT. Marked has the potential to be a pretty outlandish show, but grounding the main character’s dilemma in her faith will hopefully tamp down some of the potential outlandishness.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
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