3 Reasons Why The Mabuzas’ Were Better Than The Sebatas’
It’s been almost a year since the departure of the Mabuza’s and we still haven’t gotten over them. And replacing the Mabuza’s with the Sebata’s has made us realise how absolutely brilliant the trio was; TGOM played by Rami Chuene, Goodness played by Zenande Mfenyane and Mabatho played by Setumo Motsoaledi. The trio had unmatched chemistry, a hilarious storyline and was relatable to the audience.
We’ve gotten used to actors coming and going on The Queen and have not made peace with most of the characters being killed off because they were genuinely talented actors that delivered. Nevertheless, the introduction of the Sebata’s has made us believe that sometimes talented actors can be really awkward and have an awful connection. They might just be an odd bunch together, have language issues, or be given a terrible script that can’t be saved.
Here are 3 reasons why the Mabuza’s were better than the Sebata’s :
Okay, so I know South Africa has eleven official languages and I’ve seen how a Sepedi actress could have a Xhosa daughter and a Tswana niece; like Gracious TGOM Mabuza was Pedi speaking, Goodness was Xhosa and Mabatho was Tswana. They made it work because Gracious married a Xhosa man and Goodness took Sesotho/Sepedi lessons and improved throughout the show. Even before Goodness took those lessons, the mother and daughter had an incredible connection, laughed at each other and never messed up their lines.
It never felt awkward or forced like the Sebata’s. Hector Sebata played by Rapulana Seiphemo is Tswana, his daughter; Thando Sebata played by Jessica Nkosi is Zulu and his youngest daughter; Mpho Sebata played by Ntando Duma is also Zulu. As talented as the trio is, they just don’t vibe together, they are arduous and so rigid you could cut the tension with a knife. Seldom when their father speaks, you could tell by the daughter’s odd facial expression that they have no idea what he’s talking about. They’re supposed to make us believe they’ve known each other for years but it’s like they just met on set and have a gun to their heads to make it work.
Ntando Duma hasn’t done any acting in about five or six years since her departure on Rhythm City. She makes Rapulana and Jessica look incompetent because she’s rusty. The only reason they hired her is because of her large followers on social media, which is not something unusual on the show. They previously hired Khuli Roberts who couldn’t act at all.
middle post content mgid
Also, a lot of fans thought that Jessica is Rapulana’s wife or side-chick because she looks too old to be his daughter. Or maybe it’s the make-up that makes her look older because Harriet also had Kea Khoza who’s about the same age as Jessica and Harriet and Rapulana are both in their 50’s.
The way she calls Rapulana “Papa” is absolutely uncomfortable to watch, and it’s not convincing. Moreover, it wasn’t essential for Hector Sebata to have two daughters, he and Thando work better without Mpho.
There was a part where Thando asked Mpho “unjani or kuhamba kanjani” along those lines and Mpho looked confused. A simple thing like that makes us wonder, where did the Ferguson’s pick up their scriptwriter? Because we’ve seen Jessica Nkosi work as Qondi on Isibaya for years and she’s not an amateur. Or perhaps we should rather blame Ntando Duma for missing her queue? Apart from the 3 Reasons Why The Mabuza’s Were Better Than The Sebata’s listed, we could write an entire novel of everything that is off with the trio.
Whatever the Sebata’s are trying to achieve isn’t working on-camera. Perhaps the actors need to go hiking one-weekend off-camera and connect as a family because they’re ruining the show.
