Lovely posts and lively discussions, ladies!
Given the Queen's sudden swooning act and the physician's pronouncement, one is inclined to wonder if this was part of the Queen Mother's "fall-in-love" script with her trusted aide-de-camp ready at hand to carry out her instructions.
However, it is possible to imagine another circumstance too. Thanks to the train of events, we have a King who sets off with his Queen, as a commoner and without an escort. Could it be that someone took advantage of the events and engineered the situation such that the King is nudged towards leaving the palace without an escort and going to an unknown place as a commoner? Yes, I am looking at Yashoda for now! It could just as well be possible that someone who is motivated either by politics or other motives (a la Rebecca) engineered this situation.
Some observations on episode 60:
- The King ordered the manservant to taste the soup. Given the several attempts on their lives, it is perfectly reasonable to be cautious. And, it was only a few hours earlier, that the Queen Mother had exposed to him how the Queen's drink had been spiked on the day of the coronation ceremony. Also, it is a perfectly reasonable practice for Royalty to take such precautions. However, the time lag between the ingestion and the effect is too small to be able to ascertain if the food had indeed been medicated or poisoned. So, unless there is complete chain of control for the soup from the kitchen to the bedchamber, what did conferring the responsibility of food taster on the manservant achieve?
- The King was flummoxed by the fictional Charudutt and Amrapali's behaviour. He could only confer the title of nincompoops on them. "Yeh donon bewakoof hain! Donon sunsaan raat ko akele bahar kya kar rahe hain? Kisi dushman ne waar kar diya to?" If only the Queen had her mirror at hand! Err ... Your Highness?
Some observations on episode 61:
- The King slept right through the conversation between the Queen and Yashoda. How often does a seasoned warrior do that? Or was it meant to indicate that, for the first time since the "girl" entered his life, he finally got some restful slumber? Why, oh, why couldn't they just step away and converse?
- And, pray, who cleans chandeliers while the bulbs are still emitting light and switched on?
- In any event, if one goes with the most plausible explanation of the Queen being medicated or drugged, there are two possible sources of the medication. One, the soup. The King ought to have checked on the manservant whom he had made to taste the food before serving it to his Queen. Imagine if the manservant too were throwing tantrums and exhibiting unreasonable behaviour before swooning! Two, the medicine that was administered to the Queen. It helps to narrow down the suspects.
Cricket
