'Bad Influencer' Ending Explained & Season 2 Theories

Bad Influencer’s ending saw BK going to jail for selling fake designer handbags on behalf of a dreaded gangster named Flames. How did she end up in that situation? BK was a single mother to Leo, and since he was on the spectrum, BK was trying to put him in a school that’d accommodate him. Since taking a straightforward and honest approach wouldn’t have worked in a country as corrupt and classist as South Africa, BK used her eye for replicating designer handbags to make a killing. When she was caught red-handed, she had to join hands with an influencer named Pinky to market her products and sell them as fast as possible, failing which BK would have to face the wrath of loan sharks Bheki and Joyce. This enterprise attracted the attention of the law, represented by Themba, and the lawbreakers, represented by Bra Alex. Themba not only wanted to put a stop to the sale of these fake handbags but also bring down the criminal nexus that Bra Alex was associated with. One thing led to another, and BK found herself trying to earn five million rand for Alex’s boss, Jobs ‘Flames’ Jiyane, within a span of one week. Well, did she succeed, or did she fail? What can we expect to see in Season 2? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

BK and Pinky’s associates, Lelz, Babi Barlos, and Dunia Barlos, had been arrested along with BK and Pinky because of their participation in making fake designer handbags. But since Alex didn’t get trapped, Themba sent BK and Pinky out on bail so as to rope in Alex again. It didn’t take very long for Alex to arrive at BK’s house and attack her for colluding with Themba. Flames’ men intervened and held both of them captive. Flames reprimanded Alex for not delivering the money that he had promised and for also trying to kill Themba, an endeavor that had hospitalized Leo. And then he turned to BK and ordered her to earn five million rand in one week if she wanted to keep breathing. BK obviously accepted the deal because she didn’t want to die while Leo was still in the hospital. Then, on Pinky’s advice, BK went to Themba and bailed out Lelz, Babi, and Dunia so that they could get those handbags made, which’d serve as the metaphorical net to capture both Alex and Flames. As BK and her workers began making the fake handbags, Pinky and Lelz went to Jacque to organize an event where those handbags would be auctioned. 

Now, things were going relatively fine at the auction, with each fake handbag’s price reaching millions of rand. However, Naomi, the nemesis of both BK and Pinky, arrived at the event with her personal analyst to check the authenticity of the handbags that were being auctioned and almost jeopardized the operation. Pinky drew Naomi’s attention to the kitchen, where she was ambushed by Alex and BK, who forced Naomi to withdraw her statements and get the auction back on track. Since Alex was pointing a gun at Naomi, she had no option but to oblige. On top of that, BK gave an inspirational speech about womanhood, and the auction ended up being a success. Meanwhile, Alex grew suspicious about BK’s allegiance and sent a henchman, Kofi, to check on Leo. Themba had ordered policemen in plain clothes to stand guard in front of Leo’s chamber to keep Alex from harming the kid again, and when Alex learned about that, he realized that BK was indeed working with the cops. So, he got Kofi to kidnap Leo, while he ordered BK to take all the money they had earned, put it in a bag, and head over to Flames’ lair. 

Themba rushed back to the hospital and began tracking down Leo, and Themba’s colleague, Dingane, took his team and went after the car that BK and Alex were in so as to nab them as well as Flames. Themba killed Kofi, rescued Leo from the apartment he was being kept in, and handed him over to the first responders that he had called in. Although Themba’s boss, Brigadier Booysens, ordered Themba to avoid going after BK, he contacted her to find out where she was. BK had given Dingane the slip and turned on the live location in the messaging app that she used to talk to Themba after reaching Flames’ lair. When BK and Alex dropped the bag of cash at Flames’ feet, he was glad, and he wanted to know how she had pulled it off. BK used that opportunity to throw Alex under the bus and to probably buy some time before Dingane or Themba arrived and accused Alex of working with the police in order to get Flames arrested. So, the thing was that Bheki worked for Alex, and Alex worked for Flames. When BK and Pinky began working for Alex, he cut Bheki out of the equation and even killed Joyce to send the message that he should never ask for his share of the profits. When Alex became too involved with BK and began acting erratically, Flames brought Bheki into his team. 

BK sensed Flames’ distrust towards Alex, and at the opportune moment, she decided to exploit it. This angered Alex because he was being blamed for betraying Flames even though he was totally loyal to him, and Alex tried to choke BK to death. That’s when Bheki entered the picture and killed Alex, thereby saving BK and avenging Joyce. But Bheki wanted to kill BK as well since she was the reason why he had entered into this whole mess in the first place and lost Joyce. While pleading for her life, BK told Flames that the reason why she decided to tell him that the police were on the way to his lair was because she wanted to win his trust. She wanted him to know that if the need arose, she would help him make 20 times the cash that she had made in the course of a week. She felt that Flames had seen the potential that she had, and, deep down, he wanted to keep working with her. In the time it took for Flames to reciprocate BK’s feelings, Dingane and his squad barged into the scene, thereby prompting Flames, Bheki, and the rest of their henchmen to cut and run.

In Bad Influencer’s ending, BK was sent to jail. Her reputation on the influencer-based designer handbag market went up in flames. Pinky, Lelz, Babi, and Dunia were left off the hook because Themba put himself on the hot seat for the internal investigation that had been prompted by his collusion with BK. As she stepped into the prison, she felt guilty for ruining so many lives. Themba knew that BK did what she did for her son, and he essentially said that anyone would have done the same thing that BK did if they were in her shoes. In addition to that, Themba advised BK to make some allies in the prison because Flames could reach her even when she was in captivity. Well, Themba was right because Flames got one of his henchwomen to put BK on a call with him, where he told her that he wanted her to deliver on her promise of making 100 million rand. Flames had set up a picture of Leo in BK’s cell as a reminder that she was under his thumb. When Pinky came to meet BK, and she asked her if they were all safe after BK’s sacrifice, BK assured her that Flames wouldn’t touch them. Now, after that call, I don’t know how much truth there is to that statement. 

Maybe BK lied to Pinky because if she said that she was working for Flames again, Pinky would freak out, and then everyone else would freak out as well. So, she wanted them to stay calm until she was sure about her equation with Flames. Or maybe BK was telling the truth, and Pinky and the rest were safe because BK would be working with a new crew organized by Flames. Well, working with a new crew wouldn’t guarantee the safety of Leo, Pinky, Lelz, Babi, Dunia, and even Themba because if BK faltered in the tasks given to her, Flames would surely threaten her friends’ and family’s lives to keep her focused. Either way, this is going to ruin BK’s atonement arc. It seemed like after reaching new depths of depravity and debauchery, jail would be the place where she’d be able to reckon with her sins and punish herself appropriately. That probably would have improved her as a person and motivated her to seek non-criminal ways of helping Leo. But it looks like BK will continue on this downhill slide for quite a while, estranging Leo with every single step she’ll take to expand Flames’ empire, and her journey will only come to an end when she dies or Leo dies. Although there were sparks of comedy and romance throughout the series, it seems like BK is headed in a very dark direction, and her chances at redemption are dwindling by the second.

At the time of writing this article, Bad Influencer hasn’t been greenlit for a second season. Therefore, whatever I am about to say here will be purely speculative. Okay, so, here’s my first prediction: Season 2 will be a prison-break-centric narrative. Unless Flames finds a way for BK to work from jail, he’ll need to break her out of there and bring her to his (new) lair. Given the severity of the charges that have been leveled against BK, I don’t think there’s a straightforward way for her to walk out of the prison. Which means that Flames will need to opt for an unconventional method. Maybe he’ll get a lookalike of BK, put her in BK’s cell, and get BK out of there. Whatever approach Flames takes, I hope that he makes it count. If it happens in a jiffy, BK’s freedom will mean nothing. I mean, it took an entire season for her to land behind bars; getting her out of there should take an equal amount of effort, right? By the way, freeing BK will seem like the easy part if you think about the actual job that BK will need to do to earn 100 million rand for Flames. Since BK’s last fiasco has put the fashion industry on high alert, I guess she and Flames can’t depend on designer handbags anymore. They’ll need to use her ability to identify counterfeit items and replicate them in some other way. 

Given how Flames is such a notorious criminal, I’m sure he dabbles in fake arms, cash, antiques, paintings, and more. If BK can make a replica of designer handbags, maybe she can make a copy of all those things as well. If she can’t, she’ll need to learn how to because her friends’ and her family’s lives depend on it. Speaking of family and friends, I’m sure everyone, from Themba to Leo, will be disappointed once they learn that BK is working with Flames. Whether they’ll choose to help BK so that she can fulfill her promise to Flames and get out of his clutches or let her be under Flames’ thumb is something that remains to be seen. That said, I have a feeling that, metaphorically or literally, BK is going to lose her son forever. Leo is an extremely sensitive child, but he has a strong moral compass. He’ll definitely understand what his mother has done for him, but I doubt if he’ll be able to forgive her for doing such unethical things and putting so many lives at risk. If this show goes on for 4-5 seasons, I think we’ll eventually see Leo becoming the protagonist and BK turning into the antagonist. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the show. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.