Season 3 • Episode 13
LatestFinale. The trek party finally gets to the road, to their great relief. But Witbooi and his men lie in wait and they land in an ambush.
Epic drama follows a group of Boers during significant events in South African history. The first series is primarily set on St. Helena and follows the lives of Boer prisoners-of-war at Deadwood Camp. Among them is Sloet Steenkamp, a Cape Rebel whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on the island. The second series shifts to post-war mainland South Africa, where the Boers, though returned, still struggle for freedom. New characters are introduced, including Meisie, who is mute due to trauma, and her mother Cornelia, who seeks revenge. In the third series, Sloet and his friends, yearning to escape British rule, embark on the Dorsland Trek, a perilous journey across the Kalahari Desert in search of freedom beyond South Africa's borders.
Production
Massive St. Helena location shooting—actual prison camp reconstructed.
Acting
Ian Roberts carries three seasons of stoic, simmering rage.
Writing
Paul C. Venter's dialogue in Afrikaans hits different.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Arende aired during apartheid's final years and became controversial for humanizing Boer prisoners while barely acknowledging Black South African experiences.
Deadwood Camp's actual location on St. Helena was so remote that cast members were trapped during weather delays—method acting by accident.
ZA
