Pairing off the FL with any random male character is a long standing tradition in ITV fandom. They word it as the FL showing her independence & empowerment but it is just a basic tit for tat ego issue. The ML is not giving importance to FL above all then she should leave him & marry with some other random dude who will be oh so much better in treating her. No matter that the FL loves the ML & he is her choice or what the context or circumstances are in the show set-up. Only if the FL is having a corporate job, financially independent, gives token feminist speeches to ML, then only she is independent & empowered.
Let's talk about our FL & her current story. These points are from one of my previous posts. Instead of token feminist speeches by FL, this kind of setup where the choice is always with the women to decide is far more effective to show women empowerment.
I am just fed up of FLs doing bhaashanbaazi all the time for rights but ultimately everything is about their husband & in laws. They do not show the FL sticking to her guns when the actual time comes. Then they are majboor & have to follow what others decide for them. Their choice is ultimately limited.
Imlie is a rare FL in that though she is also surrounded by debilitating circumstances, she makes her choices on her own come high hell or water. Outwardly she is in such a messy situation- a young naive girl forced into marriage, her dreams of studying further crushed, her husband not accepting her as wife, serving as a maid in his home, seeing him live a married life with someone else,etc. But except for the forced marriage where she had not been given any choice, afterwards there has always been choice.
She chose to stay as a house help in the T house not just because of emotional ties but also because it was a practical choice for her. She was forced to leave her village after the marriage & has landed up in Delhi where she only knows Adi. Yes she is a strong & jugadu girl but she is also very sheltered in her village life. In the village she knows everyone & has that familial bond with them which allows her the freedom to be her free- spirited self. Delhi is an alien planet to her. She is not equipped yet to handle living on her own as she tends to get in trouble easily due to her need to help others. That is why Adi as well as the T family are so protective of her & do not allow her to go anywhere on her own. So she made the correct practical choice to stay in their home as she has no other support in the city. But some people would rather she leave this protective environment & khao dar dar ki thokar.
Most of her choices may have been between a bad or worse situation but ultimately she had the choice. Her refusal to give up her choice of considering her marriage to Adi as valid was so strong that Adi had to compromise & accept her choice to follow her belief & when he impulsively negated this belief of hers, she made the choice to leave him.
After so much pleading, groveling & acceptance of their rishta by him she is still strong enough to say no to returning back with him because she cannot go back & live the way she had lived once. Adi could have forced her to come if he wanted to but he admires her so much for her strength & independence that now her choice is the ultimate decider in their relationship. He had to leave without her because he knew that he has to resolve his own circumstances first & then only he can ask her to come back.
So how in the world is she not independent? Will she only be called independent if she demands her rights as a wife from Adi when she already knows why he can't give those to her currently & doesn't want to snatch Malini's rights from her.
Or should she marry the next available random male character against her own beliefs? Why isn't her choice to consider Adi as her husband for this life time as per her faith & beliefs not the correct one? How is then forcing her to marry someone else to satisfy the fake feminists ego not violating her right of choice & independence? Kuch Bhi.😵