Posted:
A/N: Originally, I decided not to continue with feedback because I'd been blamed of disturbing members with my posts. But I mulled it over and realized that I had done nothing wrong.
From the start, I have stated my opinion/theories independent of what people might think of me. These are my feedback posts. These are my views. And, finally, I share them because I want to. I will continue to do so. Take it or leave it.
There's a saying for accusatory eyes: To err is human. To blame someone else is politics.
Moving on.
Great episode tonight. There were some sequences that could've been given more time. I didn't find it bothersome though. The writers did a fabulous job. They sustained character consistency, balance, symbolism, and the moral of the show. The dialogues were frigging awesome. There was flow. The performances were top notch as always.
>> Pros:
1) The sindoor as a painful reminder and Uma's silent prayer
This was such an important scene. It was important to show how the smallest details, like putting on sindoor, triggers painful memories in Sia as a victim of abuse. There are scars; scars that will take time to heal. She will have to create new/beautiful memories to get rid of the old/painful ones.
I loved Uma's hug and her silent prayer. That was such a maternal prayer. Wishing that a man would enter Sia's life, a man made for her alone, a man who was worth loving. What made me smile here was that just as she ended her prayer, we saw Raghav appear as if an answer to Uma's prayer [because he came as an answer to Sia's prayer from the very moment that she came to Gurgaon and asked God for protection/support].
Beautiful symbolism.
Sriti's pain was heartbreaking. Harshad's expression was heartwarming.
2) The female cop promises to punish the traitor
I am so relieved that the female cop suspected her own guards for having helped V. That was one piece logic that I truly appreciated. The female cop didn't fall for V's trick. Thank God, and the writers. Not everyone can be fooled by V The Mysterious Dobriyal.
I liked that she refused to let go of the issue and promised to catch the traitor. Though if I were in her shoes, I'd punish them all -- since none of them would speak up.
In this scene, I liked how Raghav pointed out that as far as he knew V, he'd attempt to kill others, but never himself. That was an accurate observation, a sharp one, which showed us character consistency in relation to Raghav. I also liked the silent acknowledgement in his expression when Sia glanced at him after saying that she'd see V.
3) Sia doesn't fall for V's trick and vows to get her divorce
I'm loving Sia. I remember a time when her character was a mess of inconsistency, made dense to accomodate V. But the writers have fixed her up beautifully. She figured him out without even seeing him, figured out that he'd pretended to hang himself.
Sriti's performance here was outstanding. The way that she told him that he would get no pity from her, that she hadn't come here to shed tears for him. I especially loved how she called him on his drama, saying that "your eyes are closed, but your ears are open". She knows him too well.
The best part was when she vowed to get her divorce, regardless of whether he showed up in court or not. Fantastic.
Look at the picture below. The writers want to redeem him? If yes, then good luck selling it. Because I won't be buying it, ever. You can't redeem a psychopath. 1) Because he's a psychopath and they never change -- they follow hunting patterns, and 2) because that'll present one screwed up message to the viewers and confirm victim blamers in their very twisted perception of how Jahnvi was wrong to leave him.
V: What? This is me looking remorseful.
4) Lady Justice
Fantastic symbolism with focusing on the Lady Justice statue before the divorce and after the divorce. I especially loved how Sia glanced at it with silent hope.
5) Raghav flips out when the Judge refuses to treat Sia's divorce
I loved the performance in this scene. From when Raghav stood, throughout his infuriated rant and demand, right up till Gayatri shut him up and asked him to sit down. Outstanding. My respect for Raghav increased. Plus his dialogues were mindblowing, hands down.
6) Raghav agitated on Sia's behalf
The directing of this scene was absolutely awesome. Fantastic. Do note how the director captured Raghav's nervousness, his agitation; the way that he wrung his hands, rubbing them. The way that he constantly shot worried looks toward Sia to check on her, to make sure that she was okay. Then his mouth going dry [and he licked his lips, swallowed].
The focus was as much on Raghav's reaction to Sia's as well as his own agitation on her behalf. This was important to him because it was important to Sia.
Fantastic directing and performance.
7) The evidence presented and the Judge grants divorce
I'm glad that logic wasn't abandoned in this court scene. Evidence was strong. The tapes of Jahnvi's abuse, the medical record of V's fake suicide attempt, and the lawyer actually had a reference case prepared to compare with and convince the Judge with.
Also, I loved the Raghav/Sia teamwork when Raghav slipped the disc to Sia, reading her intention perfectly, and she slipped the disc into the drive. Fantastic sync b/w them.
Finally, finally she got her divorce.
I breathed a sigh of relief with Sia. I loved how she collapsed into the chair, exhausted, so exhausted after such a long and painful fight. Best part was how Raghav's joy, happiness for Sia was evident in his body language and on his face. He went straight to her. And he reached out to touch her, to convey his happiness and support -- but hesitated.
Beautiful moment. When his hand reached and withdrew. She didn't see.
8) Uma embraces her daughter, Raghav/Sia silent communication
There were so many beautiful moments tonight. This was another one. I just loved Uma's warm embrace, the relief and joy on her face. Both mother and daughter wept together.
Fantastic performances.
Best part was when Sia sought out Raghav, locked eyes with him, and mimed "thank you" in that earnest, from-the-heart way of hers. She couldn't convey in words how grateful she was for his support. For everything that he'd done for her.
Raghav's shy/awkward and happy "thank you" was a real tear-jerker moment. Something passed between them that I can't quite describe in words. But words weren't needed. Not between Raghav/Sia in this scene.
Fantastic execution screenplay wise and performance wise.
9) Sia doesn't know what to do with her life, Raghav tells her to smile
This, once again, was an important scene. I loved Sia processing her situation, and doing it in Raghav's presence. She was suddenly free. What was she supposed to do now? She had always lived for others, struggled, feared, hidden. Now she had to live for herself and she didn't have to struggle with external forces anymore that would dictate her actions.
I loved how she questioned the meaning of life. Everyone needs a purpose in life. How do you live a life without meaning or purpose? She was worried/confused, a bit lost. But then Raghav calmed her down by showing her that there was no rush. She had time. For now, she just had to learn to smile and love life. Everything would fall into place, eventually.
It was a simple and small step.
What cracked me up was how Raghav had to ask her about one million times to come to the mirror, and she still moved like a snail. Man, she can be slow xD
I loved the entire mirror scene. Raghav telling her to smile and her awkward/fake smiles. That made me laugh. Then he asked her to close her eyes. I found it interesting that of all possible Raghav memories, she remembered his face from the fourth time that she saw him. The moment when he looked up from behind his bike.
The following eye-lock and BG score was intense. Loved the scene.
10) Gayatri and Uma private conversation
I'm glad that Gayatri pointed out that she wants Sia to make her decision without pressure from anyone, and that Uma pointed out that Sia needed time.
It was also a nice bonding moment between the two mothers. Fantastic.
11) Komal and Taashu plan on helping Sia realize her love for Raghav
Oh, no. What are they cooking up? 😆
>> Cons:
1) The lawyer should've stepped up
I wish that he'd stepped up with the evidence and demanded the Judge hear them out -- before Sia had to take matters into her own hands. I mean, he was kind of weak there.
2) The new promos
The concepts are great, but the quality and editing is amateur-ish. Is the channel even interested in investing in promos for the show anymore?
Before I end the feedback, I want to address another issue.
We've all heard the news of KVB quitting the show. I'm not about to analyze his reasons nor am I going to ponder whether the news is true. To be honest, I'm not concerned. The character of V has been over-explored/exposed, in my opinion. Though in case that KVB is leaving and the channel is deluded enough to think that the show can't run without V, I want to add a few points regarding the potential of the show.
SB? is pieced together by a talented cast portraying a set of multidimensional characters that are all loved by the viewers. The problem is that their potential and capability haven't actually been explored nor given just importance due to all the focus on "oh, how can we develop V?"
>> Potential that the show holds
Basically, one element has always been evident in the show -- violence. And one element is evident in the family of the Singhs -- the history of violence. Dev was violent [he abused his wife in front of his son]. Raghav has a violent streak in him [the distinction being that his violence is in the name of justice and intentionally good and to serve those who can't defend themselves.]
The essence of Raghav cannot change. He'll always be pure of heart, selfless, protective of the people that he loves and those who are weaker than him. But every human being struggles, at some point, due to secrets revealed to us, situations that we're pressured into, decisions that we are sometimes forced to make or make by choice, decisions that might not always gain positive results -- and also, the risks in life that we take.
Now come my questions to highlight the potential.
>> Raghav:
1) Where did Raghav and Dev get their violent streak from? It couldn't have appeared out of nowhere. Is there something that we don't know about their father?
2) If Raghav found out that his brother was violent [or that his mother kept secrets about his father] -- would it set in motion an internal struggle? Would it make him question whether he is capable of the same violence? Would it scare him and make him hate himself even more? Would it make him withdraw from Sia to protect her from himself because he has no faith in himself?
3) Wouldn't it be interesting to see Sia help him understand that he isn't his brother, that he can't hurt the people that he loves; and that is the difference between him and Dev? Would she try to stop him from punishing himself, from distancing himself?
4) Raghav's control snaps when injustice is done to people who are weak. That is when he starts to fight the wrongdoers. But wouldn't that continue to put him in trouble with the police? Wouldn't it put his life in danger? Would Sia be upset with him for not thinking of himself and getting into trouble? Already it bothers her.
5) Raghav always blamed himself for his brother's death and for Komal/Krish loss. He always sacrificed so much for everyone else's happiness -- including Sia's. But he never felt worthy of happiness himself. If he found out that his brother abused Komal -- would he start to dig in his brother's past, realizing that he didn't know him at all? Would he end up involving himself with Dev's killers?
6) What if Raghav started digging in his brother's past, being hell-bent on revenging his brother, and got in deep too with his Dev's killers? What would Komal and Sia do? What would Gayatri do to save her only son before she lost him too?
>> Sia:
1) Raghav and Sia's love story/romance alone is one thing that will increase the TRPs the most. People want romance as much as they want drama. And here they can have both. Sia will fall in love with him, and maybe want to marry him, but when the time comes -- will she really be able to take that final step? What about her insecurities in relation to whether she can give Raghav anything in return?
2) What if she romances Raghav, but just as she thinks that she can let him in, she ends up withdrawing instead? How much time/space would Raghav be able to give her before he withdrew completely from her due to constantly being hurt?
3) Alongside their romance, their struggle could be shown. The emotional and physical challenges.
The show could gain over half of its TRPs on Raghav/Sia alone if the jodi was promoted by the channel, given space and attention. They're constantly gaining more fans without any promotion from the channel's side. Imagine how awesome their jodi could become if actually promoted by the channel. It confuses me that they still haven't done it.
>> Gayatri:
1) How much do we really know about Gayatri's husband and their relationship -- apart from what we've heard Raghav tell? Gayatri is the kind of woman who doesn't stand for injustice nor disrespect against women. She has a shelter specifically for women. She's fierce and wouldn't take abuse lying down. Right?
2) Why are Gayatri and Komal so close? Is it because Komal knows something about Gayatri that Raghav doesn't know?
3) How will Gayatri deal with Raghav? Will she want him to take over her business? Will she pressure him into it? Will she feel disturbed watching Raghav become more and more vengeful in relation to Dev's killers? Will she attempt to save Raghav from destroying himself in the process of revenging Dev?
>> Komal/Krish/Dev:
1) Komal didn't tell Gayatri or Raghav the complete truth about Dev. What if they found out? And what about the villain who killed Dev? Was it really just about money that he owed, or was Dev involved in something else entirely?
2) How is Krish going to develop, being the son of an abusive father?
3) Is Komal so detached because that's how she deals with her past and scars?
>> Taashu:
1) What if history repeated itself? What if, ironically, Taashu was married and the man turned out to be abusive? What if she made Sia swear that she wouldn't tell anyone? What if Sia tried to help Taashu out, but failed? What if Raghav found out that his sister was being abused? Wouldn't he hate himself for not having seen through the man? Wouldn't he become furious? What about Gayatri? Wouldn't she feel that she failed another child of hers?
>> Villains?
1) Shekhawat? Is it really over with him? What about his hatred toward Gayatri, and now Raghav?
2) Dev's killers? Who are they? Where are they? What were they really doing with Dev?
3) If KVB leaves, what about a replacement? Another actor with a new style who returns as a full on dark V out for blood? And this time, writers could make sure not to glorify V and show him as the monster that he is rather than someone to redeem.
This is just all the questions that pop into my head when I looked at the characters/tracks. And I'm no creative head. It should be piece of cake to the writers to keep the show going even without a high maintenance character like V -- they just have to focus on the other characters' potential.
I hope they have complete faith in their story, in their characters. Because I have. I see all the potential that lies unexplored. I see that the show can run -- even if KVB does quit. But if they have no faith in their own creation; then no force in this world can keep the show going.
That's all from me. Nite, peeps.
Music Corner
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Advocate Anjali Awasthi
