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EP 1

8 Episodes

EP 1
1. EP 1

SAM16
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Season 1
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50m

After a protest turns violent, rebellious teenager Ella is thrown into a world of trouble. Facing criminal charges, she is forced to leave Oakland, her unwell mother Nia and bestie Shurnel until things settle down. The arrangement is that she will be staying with her estranged father Gabe, his new wife Dianne and her mischievous younger step-brother Kwame in Johannesburg, South Africa. It's a sharp culture shock for Ella, whose humble life in Oakland is a far cry from the luxurious mansion and perks that come with Dianne's new embassy job. Learning that she's stuck at the exclusive Indwe International school, Ella quickly plots an escape. But Indwe is not like any other school. Attended by the children of Johannesburg’s elite - Ella is way out of her depth. She is immediately faced with antagonism and school hierarchy in the shape of 'it girl' Gwyneth and her posse. Having befriended the socially awkward Greta and been introduced to the school's dexterous underbelly, Ella uses her wits and the currency of schoolyard secrets to escape, burning her bridges and creating a roster of enemies in the process. After a scary and violent commute through Johannesburg CBD, Ella's rescued by the smarts of Lolo, a queer streetwise hustler, who helps Ella makes it to the airport, onto a plane, only to be yanked from freedom and find herself in the clutches of Dianne of all people. Dianne is forced to let Ella in on a secret. .

EP 2
2. EP 2

SAM16
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Season 1
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48m

Ella returns home after her failed attempt to flee South Africa and return to Oakland. She immediately realizes the chaos she's caused for ditching campus when she and the rest of the student body are forced to enter the premises under heavy security protocol. Headmaster Mensah articulates his determination to find the culprit that illegally left school. To avoid punishment from Mensah, Ella enlists the wits of Lolo to use his connections to hack into the school's system and redirect all evidence away from her tracks. Just as Ella thinks she's defused one fire, another emerges in the classroom when Gwyn gets on her case for spreading her epic secret to Ijemma. Gwyn makes clear that she is going to make Ella's social existence at Indwe insufferable. Ijemma also reminds Ella that Mensah better not know her part in helping Ella escape on campus— she can’t afford to be kicked out of school. Tension runs high between Dianne and Gabe for Dianne revealing her CIA occupation to Ella. Gabe reinforces that he does not want his children entangled in Dianne's work. They smooth over their squabble to attend a fancy gala party hosted by British Ambassador, Catherine Farthing. Despite their protests, Ella and Kwame are forced to also attend the party, which leaves Ella is shocked when she realizes the party is at Gwyn's house. Though Ella does her best of avoid Gwyn's wrath, she doesn't succeed. Gwyn shoves her in a pool after her secret spreads on the school network during the party. While licking her wounds of being embarrassed by Gwyn, Dianne strikes the idea to enlist Ella as a spy after witnessing her proximity to a South African billionaire's son, Noko.

EP 3
3. EP 3

SAM16
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Season 1
•
45m

After Ella agrees to spy for Dianne in exchange for going back to Oakland, Ella struggles to get close to a preoccupied Noko so she decides to get into the school play in which he stars. Ella discovers that the play has long been cast and crewed up so she devises a plan to get one of its leads, Mildred, out to make room for her. Ella finds Mildred's social media videos in which she enthusiastically dances to and mimics Beyonce and comes up with a plan to accuse her of cultural appropriation. Soon, guilt and principles get in the way so Ella ditches the ploy. Meanwhile, Dawoud asks a grounded Ella out on a date and she once again has to find a way to escape her parents and Wynand. She asks Gabe to accompany him to a literary festival where he's the keynote speaker. She tricks him into introducing her to a friend who can offer Mildred a space in an elite theatre lab by pretending that the opportunity is for her. Ella later runs away from the festival and goes on an adventurous skating date with Dawoud that ends up at his house where she learns that his sister is Gwyneth's friend Amina. Ella also meets Dawoud’s parents and his charismatic uncle, Zuri, who's in town on a surprise visit. When Dianne traces Ella's whereabouts, she's even more grounded by an angry Gabe and secretly reminded by Dianne about the deal they made. Ella's plan to get Mildred out of the play works and she successfully replaces her but Noko unexpectedly quits.

EP 4
4. EP 4

SAM16
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Season 1
•
45m

Ella hustles her way into hanging out with the popular and busy Noko, which leads to an impromptu helicopter ride to a family-owned game reserve and a spontaneous Safari game drive. Noko is in his element here and Ella softens to him, noticing that the 'rich kid' she had previously dismissed is kind, caring and passionate about animals. A clear connection between the two is brewing and Ella encourages Noko to return to the play. The success of her mission is short lived however, as Ella is falling behind on her schoolwork and is on the receiving end of a stern talking to from Principal Mensah and Gabe during her assessment. While Dianne protects Ella in the assessment, Ella has made her mind up. She’s tired of lying, she's tired of spying for Dianne, the 'deal' is off. Ella now conceives of a new escape plan: A daring caper to get a fake 'unflagged' passport; involving the sale of stolen diplomatic high-end alcohol from Dianne's cellar; the 'cover' of a sleepover at Greta's; and a dodgy Nigerian counterfeit kingpin courtesy of Lolo. The 'hooch heist is an elaborate adventure that sees Ella and her new crew traverse the diverse and contrasting landscape of Johannesburg. The odyssey is roughly a success, Ella has a new identity as 'Gugu Mazibuko'…until Ella realizes that Dawoud has become aware of her adventure with Noko. Worse than that, a tidbit of intel she passed to Dianne has completely turned Noko and his father's life upside down..

EP 5
5. EP 5

SAM16
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Season 1
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49m

With her Noko 'mission' appearing done, Ella pushes Dianne to honour their deal. She wants to be pardoned and return to Oakland free from consequences. Dianne in turn explains that the work on busting Susuman is far from done. At school, Noko has returned to the play which comes as a welcome distraction given the personal turmoil his family find themselves in. A peace offering from Dawoud and an upcoming date, lift Ella's spirit. Elsewhere, Dianne finds herself at odds with Ambassador Marsha Brock over the seizure and freezing of Gundo's assets. Time is of the essence, Dianne needs her 'asset' to get close to Gundo once more. Unfortunately for Ella this means canceling her date with Dawoud and setting up a hangout with Noko under the auspices of 'running lines' for the play. Ella is able to slip off and plant a listening device in Gundo's office. Later Ella and Noko are able to give the security the slip and escape the compound on Noko's motorbike for a joyride. They infiltrate the closed Johannesburg Zoo, where Noko is afforded the opportunity to say goodbye to his beloved rhino. Still reveling in their temporary freedom, Ella and Noko head to the mall teaming with kids from their school. As the pressure of bumping into familiar faces ramps up, Ella and Noko must head back quickly. But it's too late, Ella and Noko bump straight into Dawoud and Amina. It's devastation and hurt feelings all round, as Ella is caught in a lie.

EP 6
6. EP 6

SAM16
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Season 1
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46m

Ella, while trying to make things right with Dawoud, finds out about a party in Cape Town called the Honey Comb Hideout. An annual exclusive 'Spring Break meets Prom' affair that has the unofficial reputation as a hook up weekend. She finds out Dawoud, who's been ghosting her, is going with Lerato. She has to get to this party. With it in two days she gets hit with obstacles from every side. Gwynn is in charge of the guestlist, Dianne forbids her to go without asking her father's permission, she has no money to get there by herself and once there she has an entire city to negotiate. Somehow our hero hustles her way through all this chaos, but while at the party someone slips her a roofie and things nearly go as bad as they possibly could. At the last minute Dawoud steps between her and the danger. Ella takes her shot, putting everything on the table. Mission successful, Dawoud is hers. At the end of the evening Ella witnesses Noko getting kidnapped, she tries to intervene but gets snatched too. Greta sees what happens and in trying to stop them gets hit by a car.

EP 7
7. EP 7

SAM16
•
Season 1
•
50m

After the kidnapping, Ella wakes up to find that she and Noko are trapped in an unknown location and Noko urges Ella not to engage with the kidnappers for their own safety. Ella, averse to being a sitting duck, extracts information from an argument the kidnappers have and uses it to buy time and eventually dial the emergency code. Dianne and Alex , with their backs against the wall, break protocol to rescue Ella. Gabe is left with the traumatized students who reveal a side to Ella he didn't know existed, unlocking a new understanding of who she is. After Ella's rescue, more information comes to light that changes Dianne's perspective of the Susuman saga. While Ella’s allies work hard to uncover the mystery of the roofying incident, Ambassador Brock makes a Faustian bargain with Gundo that will lead to Susuman's capture. Dianne, elated by progress is deflated by a confrontation with Gabe, having uncovered a dark secret.

EP 8
8. EP 8

SAM16
•
Season 1
•
49m

Dianne finally arranges for Ella to go back home while a furious Gabe still believes that Dianne is using Ella as a spy. An oblivious Kwame worries that Gabe and Dianne will get divorced but Ella promises to fix it. At school, Ella says goodbye to her new friends and foes and later, she and Noko kiss, leaving Ella guilty and conflicted. Ella does not tell Dawoud about the kiss as the two vow to see each other again. Dawoud casually mentions that Zuri is leaving town. Meanwhile, Dianne's counterparts have caught Susuman but Dianne, not convinced that it's him, arranges a sting operation to smoke him out. After school, Ella discovers that Dianne has a photo that suggests that Zuri is Susuman. Ella does not tell Dianne that she knows who he is but instead goes to question him on her own at a bus station where she realises that he is indeed Susuman. After Dianne sees Ella's painting of Zuri and figures out that Ella knows him, she frantically searches for Ella and Zuri. Ella alerts Dianne to their whereabouts. Unbeknownst to Ella, Dawoud has accompanied Peter to the station to make peace with Zuri. In the confusion, operatives kill Peter while a horrified Ella watches from a distance. A distraught Dawoud is whisked away before he can see Dianne. Just before he's arrested, Zuri suspects that Ella is a spy. Before she leaves, Ella convinces Gabe that she's not spying for Dianne, saving their marriage and allaying Kwame's fears.