How To Ruin Diwali Ending Explained And Series Recap

In Netflix’s “How To Ruin Diwali: Meet The Parents,” Doctor Mmabatho Nkomo is preparing to spend the best Diwali ever with her husband, Varshen Chetty. Coming from Zulu culture, Mmabatho is facing huge trouble in making sweetmeats for her would-be in-laws. Fortunately, Varshen helps Mmabatho in carving out the perfect barfis because he has his own bakery after dropping out of medical school. Mmabatho feels amazing because of her chemistry with Varshen and the two of them set out to visit his parents, Tarina and Sharm. Meanwhile, in the Chetty household, Tarina and Sharm are gearing up to welcome Varshen into their house for the first time in many years. Both of them are doctors themselves and since they do not know about Varshen dropping out of med school, they cannot wait to hear about his career.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Is Tarina So Obsessed With Varshen’s Wedding?

Varshen is not Tarina’s only son but she appears to be very careful about the wedding rituals. Although Tarina’s daughter, Verusha, and elder son, Darshen, are married to their respective partners, she is not happy with the way everything has been handled. The two marriages, one that happened by eloping and the other one at Home Affairs, were not up to the mark, at least according to Tarina, because they did not follow traditional Hindu rituals. Although Tarina and Sharm live in Durban, she is extremely meticulous about these traditions. Tarina wants Varshen’s wedding to be perfect because she herself is a perfectionist and longs to enjoy at least one ‘perfect’ wedding in her life. She appears to be extremely serious about Mmabatho because Varshen, who is always away from home, is bringing a girl on Diwali for the first time.

Why Does Mmabatho Prefer To Stay Away From Her Parents?

When Varshen surprises Mmabatho by making her meet  her parents, she appears to be the last person who wants to see their faces. Mmabatho’s father, Mandla, cheated on her mother, Penelope, and the result was not good on the family. Mmabatho and her brother, Nelson grew up in a broken home after their parents got separated and she holds both of her parents responsible for this. Mandla overreacts upon seeing Mmabatho and greets her with a warm embrace, as if he loves her a lot. Penelope walks in with a supposed lover and wellness coach, Eazi E, who is much younger than her. Their instantaneous conflict forces Mmabatho to raise her voice because Nelson is just watching the conflict from the sidelines. Mmabatho does not like to be with Mandla and Penelope because of their excessive drama. According to her, none of them actually realizes that not every moment should be theirs.

What Ruins The First Impression Mission For Mmabatho? 

Since Varshen has not revealed anything about Mmabatho, when everyone sees her for the first time at the family dinner, things get really awkward. Tarina’s innate racism forces her to think that Mmabatho is a waitress at the restaurant while Verusha and Darshen secretly hide their disrespectful smirks. Verusha’s wife, Pravashnee, had already thought of calling Mmabatho a fake doctor in case she was a homeopath, so it’s clear how biased everyone was. Naturally, Mmabatho gets disheartened at this behavior and Sharm tries to console her, saying that she is meant to last long in Varshen’s life, unlike his ex-girlfriend, Thembi. As things get settled down, and Mmabatho mentions in her speech that she doesn’t want to be a temporary person like Thembi, Tarina gets shocked to learn that Sharm has hidden the truth all along. Tarina storms out in her assistant Mervyn’s car and accidentally hits a lamppost, triggering explosions from the celebration fireworks stacked inside the boot. 

What Are Nelson’s Intentions?

Nelson has grown tired of seeing Mandla and Penelope fight. He also finds it very weird that Penelope is in a relationship with Eazi, because he doesn’t know how they met. Thankfully, while speaking with Zama, she confirms to Nelson that Eazi is actually a male stripper; she has seen him perform at a strip club before and even shows a video of his work to Mmabatho’s brother. Nelson knows that Mandla actually agreed to come to Durban just to accompany Penelope because he still loves her. The little boy realizes that Penelope also loves Mandla as much, it’s just her ego that prevents her from confessing it. To restore the lost relationship, Nelson encourages Mandla to remain involved with Penelope, and help her out with her daily needs, just like a loving husband. Once Mandla realizes that Eazi is just an escort who’s there to act as an Indian boyfriend, he doubles down on his efforts. Soon, after Mandla helps Penelope prepare the Diwali dishes for the household, she starts to grow fond of her ex-husband once again.

When Do Penelope and Mandla Realize That They Are Too Much? 

While Penelope and Mandla develop some type of teamwork, they try their best to mend Mmabatho’s bond with Tarina. However, Tarina uses this instance to trap the two of them inside the house and coerce them into calling Mmabatho, so she can interrogate her into speaking the truth about Thembi. Mmabatho, who is busy buying Diwali gifts alongside Zama, feels frustrated once she learns what her parents have done. Although Mmabatho lies, Tarina still finds out that Sharm was in a relationship with Thembi because of the album that he kept. This incident completely destroys the trust that Mmabatho was slowly building in Tarina’s mind – if Penelope and Mandla had not intervened, things could have played out a bit differently. Just because of them, Mmabatho falls into the trap and gets labeled as a liar, even though she was trying to protect Tarina and Sharm’s marriage from falling apart.

What Finally Repairs Tarina’s Trust In Sharm?

Tarina has grown desperate to get to the truth after Mmabatho and Sharm have lied about Thembi. She is furious because all these days, she has played Thembi’s songs as a romantic gesture for Sharm, unaware of the fact that she was her husband’s ex. Although Sharm claims that he was never head over heels for Thembi, Tarina thinks the opposite and considers herself as his rebound tool. Once Tarina and Mmabatho sneak into Thembi’s dressing room at a concert, the celebrity further adds fuel to the fire by claiming that Sharm made their  worth remembering, even though it was temporary. However, Thembi makes a blunder by sending a voicemail to Sharm, just after Tarina leaves, thus proving how desperately she wants him, even after so many years. Once Tarina listens to that voicemail and Sharm gives her a surprise by welcoming her back to a well-lit villa, she forgets everything that has happened. Tarina realizes that Sharm was never the liar; it was Thembi who was trying to be a home wrecker.

How Does Varshen Fix His Relationship With Mmabatho?

Varshen’s secretive nature had been the primary destructive force that had been ruining everything from the very beginning. He did not tell his family about Mmabatho because he was scared that Tarina’s dramatic self might become a hindrance. Apart from that, Varshen hid the fact that he quit medicine and started a bakery of his own since he was afraid of disappointing Sharm. But, in all these, he was just preparing to knock his own family off their feet and such surprises were always going to ruin a bond that exists in the family. He also has a bad habit of isolating himself from Mmabatho when she needs him the most. When Varshen realizes this, he rushes to apologize to Mmabatho and propose to her again for marriage. It works because all Mmabatho wanted was proper communication with Varshen. Once Varshen proves that he truly cares for Mmabatho, she realizes that he is the one for her.

Is It The Best Diwali For Mmabatho And Varshen’s Families?

Diwali, or any festival, is best celebrated when people are the happiest because without that, the Festival Of Lights is incomplete. As Tarina and Sharm get back together, they seal their reunion with a kiss. Meanwhile, Mandla and Penelope set aside their differences once the latter decides to fire Eazi. This makes Nelson and Mmabatho more elated than ever because none of them ever wanted to witness their parents’ nasty fights. Since Daya was ready to seek a divorce from Darshen, he slowly grew attracted to Zama – their new relationship gets an early nod from Sharm. Once Mmabatho and Varshen mend their relationship, she grows comfortable enough to share that she is expecting a baby. While the two of them prepare to marry, the Chettys and the Nkomos enjoy the best Diwali ever, especially since there is a child on the way. Their cultural differences do not matter anymore because each of them knows how to look for the light, even when there seems to be absolute darkness.

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