Aayush Sharma
Netflix’s ‘Marked’ is a South African series that chronicles the journey of a former police officer named Babalwa (Lerato Mvelase) working as a cash-in-transit guard for a company named Iron Watch. From the surface, it seems everything is fine with her and she has a very loving family, but deep down, she knows nothing is okay. Her daughter is suffering from cancer and she needs surgery soon. But she and her husband, Lungile (Bonko Khoza), don’t have the money for the treatment. When every door closes, Babalwa takes the matter into her hands and gets in alliance with Zweli (Sphamandla Dhludhu), a small-time gangster, to stitch a dangerous plan that would not only end her financial problem, but also put lives at risk. However, she will risk it all for her daughter and embark on this treacherous journey. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Marked Season 1 Recap
The series, created by Sydney Dire, Akin Omotoso, and Steven Pillemet, begins with Babalwa carefully taking money to the premises of Iron Watch. However, things change quickly when the bulletproof vehicle is attacked, and Babalwa uses her intelligence to steer the attackers away. Her stupendous work not only earns her praise from her boss, Zerakaiah, but he also helps by giving her some extra money. She reaches home, and when the entire family sits down to eat dinner, Palesa collapses and experiences a seizure. A few moments later, it is revealed that she has cancer. The doctor reveals that Palesa would require a craniotomy, a medical procedure that will remove the tumor from her brain. But, they would require 1.2 million Rand (South Africa’s currency) and need to wait for the next date.
Consequently, the guard meets Baba G, an influential yet dangerous person, who wants Babalwa’s help in the next heist. Initially, Babalwa says no to it. However, when no one, including her boss, helps her and Lungile financially, she meets Baba G and tells him she’ll help in the heist. The idea of having a former police officer assisting in the heist agitates Zweli, who has been working with Baba G for years now. But Baba G ignores Zweli and asks for Babalwa’s help. She tells Baba G to say to his men to rob her vehicle near Avondale Mall, and when the heist is done, she needs the money for her daughter’s treatment. However, someone screws up and the heist takes place before they reach the mall. It turns out that Zweli and his group, including Razor, completed the heist and robbed over R7 million. After hearing what happened, Baba G refuses to take the money and asks Zweli to take it away. Razor gets frustrated and kills Baba G in front of everyone. He steals the money, prompting Zweli and Babalwa to work together.
As the police search for the culprits of the heist, Constable Cognac Modise believes that Babalwa knows about the robbery and is working with the culprits. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Babalwa, and she needs money for her daughter’s treatment. As a result, she comes up with a plan to execute another heist, and this time, she would require Zweli’s assistance because they are about to rob Iron Watch. By the end of the season, the former police officer and Zweli realize that they would need a crew to complete the heist successfully. Interestingly, she knows who can help her with this task and turns to some of the church members for support. This is all new to her because she has always been on the other side and captured the robbers. However, life has come full circle for her, and now she is forced to wear a mask, hold a weapon, and commit a crime. Her journey takes her to the darkest corners of human conscience, and as tensions rise, Babalwa needs to decide if she wants to go ahead with the plan or take a step back.
Marked Ending: Did Babalwa Save Her Daughter?
Whatever Babalwa does in the narrative, it is for her daughter, Palesa, who is suffering from cancer. She needs her child to be fine, and works hard so that she can give her a good life. Meanwhile, her husband Lunglie works for the church and is trying to become a pastor so that he can also provide. When Palesa suffers a seizure, it changes everything for them because they realize they need more than a million Rand for her treatment. Moreover, the dates are limited, and cancer could spread. The couple tries everything and anything to collect money for the treatment. They ask the church for help and get nothing in return. On the other hand, Babalwa asks for financial assistance from her boss, Zerakaiah, who is a wealthy man. However, he refuses them, forcing Babalwa to take extreme steps.
After running out of options, Babalwa meets Baba G and tells him she will help him complete a heist. She stitches a plan for it and asks Baba G to proceed. However, the plan didn’t go as they would have expected it to, and Babalwa got injured during the heist. Someone spoiled the plan by robbing the vehicle and taking their money. As Zerakaiah takes the help of the police, Babalwa, Tebza, and others are interrogated one by one to know more about the incident. A few moments later, the protagonist meets Baba G and asks for her share, but Baba G tells her he never got the money. It turns out Zweli ruined their plan and used his squad for the heist to show Baba G that he can pull off such stuff, and they didn’t need Babalwa’s help. Baba G says that he doesn’t want this money, which frustrates Razor, and he kills Baba G. The money is gone, and Babalwa’s situation is the same.
Now, Babalwa needs money for the daughter’s surgery, and Zweli needs money so that he can recruit some men and kill Razor. Babalwa comes up with a plan to do another heist. While Zweli is against it, Babalwa convinces her to do the task. Meanwhile, the police feel that Tebza might be responsible for the heist and the murder of Baba G because of the ID card captured in the crime scene photos. But when he gets his name cleared, he threatens his supervisor that one day, he will rob Iron Watch and take the money away. His statement gives Babalwa the idea to rob Iron Watch and take almost R72 million away with her. By taking Zweli into confidence and recruiting members from her church, Babalwa makes a plan to rob Iron Watch. It won’t be easy for Babalwa because she has always been righteous and won’t do anything that would be against her morals.
However, for her daughter, she forgets everything and wants to finish this job. With the help of Zweli, the former police officer, create an extensive plan for the heist. Although they experience many challenges, they complete the heist and take the money away. However, it is never shown if Palesa got treated for her disease. Babalwa went through a lot to get the money, and the series ends on an ambiguous note, as it doesn’t answer the question directly. It was always supposed to be like that. The narrative might be about a mother doing everything and anything for her daughter, even if it means sacrificing her peace and identity. In the end, she walks away not just with the money, but with scars that run deeper than any wound. That could be the point: the story is not about survival, but about how good people can be pushed to their limits, forcing them to do things they never imagined themselves capable of.
Did the Heist Succeed?
Apart from focusing on how Babalwa goes to extreme lengths to save her daughter, ‘Marked’ is also about the heist that would help her get the money she wants. After the failed first attempt, the former police officer feels that a heist is the only way she’ll get R1.2 million for the surgery. With the help of Zweli, she wants another shot at it and to get the money. However, the police are behind her, and Constable Cognac Modise believes that she or her friend, Tebza, is behind the heist that took place earlier. But Tebza gets cleared when the authorities find out that a gangster was involved in the heist, and he tells his supervisor, who was also suspicious of Tebza, that he’ll rob Iron Watch one day. His statement gives her the idea of robbing her workplace and getting the money.
She tells Zweli about it, who says they will need a crew to complete such a big heist. Even then, robbing Iron Watch is dangerous because it is heavily guarded and has several safety protocols in place. Babalwa tells him that they can do the task during the load-shedding, and even though it takes only 3 minutes for the generator to start working, they can trip the generator so that their mission is accomplished. But now, they need people to support her plan and help her with it. So, she looks towards the church members for help. As a result, she recruits Ntsiki, Tatenda, Mrs. Radebe, and her husband for the job. All the people she recruited for the job are suffering one way or the other, and the reason is a lack of money. Ntsiki works for a telecom provider and could help in cutting all the communication lines so that no one can call the police. On the other hand, Tatenda can trip the generators, while Mrs. Radebe, who used to work as an actor, could play fake cops to cause a distraction.
Meanwhile, she also makes Tebza a part of the plan because he is the only person she can trust. Babalwa calls them for a congregation and tells them about the plan. Zweli brings one of his men, Amkhela, for the plan because they would need some muscle during the heist. They all say yes to the plan, and Babalwa tells them about their duties. Soon, they realize that they will need weapons and a police car for the plan. While Babalwa, Tatenda, Tebza, and Amkhela secure weapons for the plan, Zweli and the remaining members of the group turn Mrs. Rabede’s vehicle into a police car. Now, they are all set for the heist. The day is finally here, but their plan begins to crumble before it fully starts as Ntsiki gets laid off from her company. So, who’ll cut the communication lines now? Moreover, Tebza gets the news that load-shedding will not take place because of a political event.
Before he could tell Babalwa this news, the remaining group members entered Iron Watch and began executing their plan. However, one of the guards calls the police and takes out his gun to stop the robbers. Before he could do anything, he was injured by a bullet, and the heist continued as per the plan. When the real police arrive, they come face-to-face with Mrs. Radebe and her husband, who are dressed as fake cops. That’s when Ntsiki arrives and distracts the real police by blowing up a vehicle. Elsewhere, the group reaches the vault, and they hit a roadblock because they don’t know the exact code to access the vault. Babalwa knows what to do and asks one of the group’s members to get Zekaraiah into the vault. He is the only person who knows the code. As he opens the vault, someone attacks him from behind, and the group enters the vault. They take the money away and complete their mission. For Babalwa, this heist was never just about the money; it was about buying her daughter more time, a second chance at life. Every rish, every violent moment was fueled by a mother’s silent prayer to save the one person whom she loves the most and gives her life some sort of meaning. She wasn’t chasing wealth; she was chasing hope in a world that had given her none. In that vault, she wasn’t stealing; she was fighting back against the corruption.
Who Killed Zekaraiah?
One of the most important aspects of ‘Marked’ is Babalwa’s nature and how she never hurts anyone for her own. She was a police officer and was kicked out of the force because she spoke about the corruption that happened within the police department. This showcases her true nature and how she can’t stand up to corruption and anything illegal. When Zekaraiah doesn’t help her financially, Babalwa gets irritated because of the way he and his wife ignore her pleas. This aspect showcases the two sides of society: one who has everything, and the other who has to grind every day to earn their livelihood. Moreover, the way Zerakaiah and her wife told her no showed their classist behavior. That’s one of the reasons why Babalwa thinks of robbing the Iron Watch. But, for that, he would need the vault codes from Zerakaiah.
That’s where Zweli comes in because he is dating Zerakaiah’s daughter, Nelisa. He becomes close to her and even mentions how he wants to commit a robbery. When Zerakaiah and his wife are not at home, Nelisa calls Zweli and even opens his father’s laptop. As a result, he gets to know his laptop’s password. The next day, when her parents arrive, Nelisa tells them that he is her boyfriend. They call him for lunch, and Zerakaiah roasts Zweli for not having a job. While excusing himself for going to the bathroom, Zweli enters Zerakaiah’s home office to open his laptop. Nelisa sees him, and Zweli is forced to tell her the truth. She realizes that Zweli used her to get the codes to the vault and asks him to leave. But when her father tells her he was not a good person, she blames him for being a classist. Eventually, she gives him the access code to the vault.
Although the code helped the group in reaching one part of the vault, they needed Zerakaiah’s help to reach the main part. After taking his help, they take the money, and Zerakaiah believes that it was Zweli who did this. The group got the money, and Babalwa gave some money to Zweli so that he could start a new life. As they head out of the church, Zerakaiah enters and sees Babalwa with Zweli. When he realizes that Babalwa is a part of the plan, he calls the police, prompting Zweli to stop him. As they fight off, Babalwa takes out her gun and kills him. The series ends with Babalwa and Zweli burying Zerakaiah’s body. As she covers the grave under the weight of silence, the night feels heavier than ever, thick with guilt and unspoken truths. Babalwa is shocked to see what she has become, knowing that some choices buy time, while others take a piece of your soul. By killing Zerakaiah, she has transformed into a person who no longer thinks twice about crossing the finish line, whatever the methods she may use to do so.
Did Modise Catch Babalwa After the Heist?
Apart from the heist, Babalwa faces another challenge during the narrative, and its name is Contsable Cognac Modise. He is one of the officers investigating the initial heist, and the murder of Baba G. Modise is not a hero and has returned to the police force after attending rehab for alcohol addiction. When he sees Babalwa got shot during the initial heist, Modise interrogates her and believes she is the finger. Modise knows that she spoke about corruption in the police department, and that’s why she got out of the police force. As a result, Modise does have a grudge against Babalwa and wants to see her suffer. He investigates the case thoroughly and is always behind her back. Even taking Zweli into custody and forcing him to tell him that Babalwa is planning a heist.
Zweli tells her that they can’t do this heist if Modise is still operating. As a result, she thinks about how to get him out of the situation. She mixes his non-alcoholic drinks with alcohol, reigniting his love for the same. So, he starts drinking again, which makes his supervisor angry, and she throws her out of the job. Modise is devastated and wants to ruin Babalwa’s life. He contacts Razor and asks for help to ruin everything for Babalwa and Zweli. A fight takes place in which Zweli kills Razor, while Modise ends up confronting Babalwa about becoming a beast. He also reveals how Babalwa told the police department about his corruption, which ruined his life. She accepts that she has become a beast, but doesn’t shy away from saying that this society forced her to become this way. Babalwa gives him some money and leaves the place.
This moment feels like she has fully transformed into a beast who doesn’t care about the consequences. She knows there’s no redemption waiting for her, only survival. Consequently, she feels that she is done apologizing for the choices society left her with. She chose to bite back in a world that chews people up and spits them out. And now, all that remains is the silence after the storm.
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