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Remorseful villainess Zahra Al Zahrani
ahra Al Zahrani (Salem Murphy) is the hidden (remorseful) villainess of "Fifty-One Percent", episode 1.10 of Reckless (airdate August 31, 2014). She was the wife of Ibrahim Al Zahrani and the mother of their son, Tariq. The episode began with Ibrahim and Tariq hiring Roy Rayder as a lawyer, as Tariq was standing trial in Charleston for the death of his fiancee, Jenna Barnett, with whom he had a daughter named Olivia.
On the night of Jenna's death, Tariq had met with Jenna on the roof of the Hamilton-Reed Hotel, as she had been pressured by her family to call off their engagement. Afterwards, Jenna was found dead in the hotel stairway by Tariq, leading the police and Jenna's family to believe that he had killed her for trying to leave him. But as uncovered by Roy, Zahra had gone to meet with Jenna and got into an argument with her, with Olivia overhearing the argument. The argument led to Zahra grabbing Jenna by the arm as she tried to leave, causing her to slip and fall down the stairs to her death.
Zahra used Ibrahim's yacht when going to see Jenna, leading Roy to suspect one of Tariq's parents of killing Jenna. Zahra was ultimately revealed as the true murderer when Roy had the Al Zahrani family meet him outside the courthouse before the trial, with Olivia running up to Zahra and referring to her as her grandmother revealing Zahra as Jenna's killer. After hugging Olivia and assuring her that everything would be fine, Zahra went with Roy to talk, later taking the stand and revealing how she'd unintentionally killed Jenna.
As for a motivation for confronting Jenna, Zahra vehemently denied disapproving of Jenna and revealed her true motive: she was disapproving of Tariq convincing Jenna to take Olivia to Saudi Arabia, stating that she didn't want Olivia to grow up in the same misogynistic culture she had. Zahra fully detailed her confrontation with Jenna and how it led to her death, proclaiming that Jenna was a beautiful woman and a good mother and how she hadn't intended to hurt her. Zahra also revealed that she kept quiet about her role in Jenna's death out of fear of her husband and the police before tearfully pleading to Tariq's forgiveness. Zahra was presumably arrested (off-screen) for her role in Jenna Barnett's death.
Quotes[]
- "Tariq convinced Jenna to take Olivia to Saudi Arabia. I waited until my husband left for his board meeting, and I slipped away. I needed to speak with Jenna. (Roy: "Were you against them going?") Yes. But not because I disliked Jenna. I liked her very much. I couldn't tolerate the idea of Olivia being raised like I was, in a society that thinks of women as property, as silent and weak. I am a devout Muslim....but imagine a young woman being forbidden to laugh. Or love. I wanted Olivia to be free." (Zahra revealing her reason for confronting Jenna)
- "I had no intention of doing harm to her. I met her on the rooftop that night, and we argued. I grabbed her arm as she tried to leave, and as she pulled away, she lost her step and fell down the stairs. She was a beautiful young woman and a good mother. (Roy: "Why didn't you just call the police?") I was afraid. Of my husband, of the police. It's how I lived my entire life in silence. I'm so sorry, Tariq. I'm so very, very sorry!" (Zahra confessing in court to accidentally killing Jenna Barnett and expressing remorse for her actions)