Saagar Kote
Netflix’s ‘Yoh! Bestie’ deals with the adventures of Thando, a nurse in Johannesburg, and Charles, her best friend. They are also roommates and trust each other with their deepest secrets. Things take a turn when Charles leaves for NYC for career aspirations. Thando and Charles spend the next two years chatting online and sharing their miseries and funny moments with each other. Thando misses her friend dearly and hopes he can come back to Johannesburg. When Charles finally returns, he comes with a surprising announcement.
He is engaged to a woman named Rea and plans to get married soon. As he asks Thando to be his best man, she suddenly feels jealous. Despite Charles being a friend and nothing more, Thando feels a wide range of emotions as she tries to come to terms with the fact that he is getting married. The complex relationship between Thando and Charles is the nucleus of the story. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Thando and Charles Navigate the Convergence of Friendship and Romance
Thando and Charles never think beyond friendship for the majority of the narrative. They are just best friends who are there for each other when it matters the most. However, when Charles decides to get married to Rea, Thando finds it difficult to accept it. Her situation gets more difficult when she is asked to be the best man at the wedding. Though romantic feelings arise within her, she refuses to acknowledge them. Seeing Charles being close to another woman troubles her emotionally. To distract herself, she shifts attention to Nas, the handsome man she meets in Plettenberg. However, this is a temporary solution that fails to provide her with any sense of meaning. Thando hesitates to reveal her true feelings to Charles, despite having several opportunities to do so.
On the other hand, Charles remains oblivious to the fact that Thando’s feelings towards him have changed. He still considers her just a friend. The scenario gets more intense when Charles asks Thando to help him write his wedding vows for Rea. During the hike, Charles asks Thando if he’s making a mistake by marrying Rea, but Thando doesn’t answer. The two of them go swimming, during which Thando says she knows all about love because of Charles. Rea sees them and thinks it is weird how Charles and Thando were separated from the group. Rea and Charles have a small argument. She says she loves him and that they have a beautiful life ahead.
Charles and Thando Find Love After Heartbreak and Confusion
Thando realizes she loves Charles and tells Riri the same. Riri asks her to reveal her feelings to Charles. Charles practices his vows, and he sees Thando by the beach. He speaks words for Rea, but is actually talking about Thando. He asks her to tell him the truth as Rea spots them from a distance. Thando doesn’t have the courage to say much and prepares to leave the hotel. She cannot bring herself to see Charles getting married and reaches the airport. Before Rea can see him in her bridal dress, Charles tells her that he can’t marry her. He says he has known what he always wanted and doesn’t want to be a coward anymore. Rea says she knew about this and predicted it before, and leaves peacefully. Charles makes a difficult decision because he realizes that he has been going after the wrong things in life.
He recognises that Thando means more to him than anyone else. Earlier in the narrative, he tried to change his own personality to impress Rea, but he realizes that doing so will bring him no real meaning. The wedding is canceled, despite all the pomp and celebration leading up to it. Thando goes back to Johannesburg and continues working at the hospital. She is still sad about what happened in Plettenberg and blocks Charles on her phone. At night, her colleague and nurse, Mel, asks her to come to the hospital for an emergency.
Charles surprises Thando at the hospital as Riri and Bheki hold signboards about Charles’s decision to follow his heart. He shows courage to say he wants her in his life and chooses to be with her. Thando accepts his love and also agrees to get married. Although their journey of friendship goes through messy ups and downs, Thando and Charles find the courage to love each other and also pursue a marriage in the future.
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