First off, Happy New Year, lovely!
So I just finished watching the episode, and I genuinely meant to go write an analysis post on today's ShivIka, but this post is perfect for me to rant on!
(Brace yourself!)
Today's episode triggered a lot of mixed emotions for me.
As much as I loved Shivaay's concern, RumYa's exchange on the stairs, and the sizzling ShivIka under-the-stairs romance, I'm a bit confused.
I think the CVs made the same mistake again that they did with the Kajra Re sequence. It doesn't really fit in the current time frame. This one wasn't as random as the dance, but I can't really see where the lines blurred. The windscreen reenactment, them bursting into laughter was cute, and subtle enough to be remotely believable, but the dance and now this scene, doesn't really work for me.
Shivaay has always been the master of control, and even with his growing attraction for Annika, has kept himself away from her (for all rights and purposes, at least) because of his need to fulfil his duties towards his family. I don't understand now, how this man could suddenly do a 360?
To a certain extent, he does love her, and it is obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes, that he is insanely attracted to her. She, in turn, reciprocates this; she has this unwavering faith in him that for me, is one of the most beautiful facets of their relationship. The fact that she fantasises about him at one point, tells me that she's quite attracted to him as well.
My question is, is that enough?
The circumstances that their wedding happened under was difficult, at best. I feel like we still haven't really see the aftermath of that fall onto them yet, what with all the other drama in their lives. I really want to see a point where Annika tells him that she does resent him for what he did to her, regardless of her and his feelings towards each other. Some things are better left open, but I think that their askewed wedding definitely needs closure.
I wouldn't mind seeing him pine for her, both emotionally and physically. I think that today's scene was really sweet, but it established one thing for all of us. We were all aware that she affected him, from the day he met her really, but her reaction to him has always been more guarded. Today, we saw exactly how much Shivaay affects Annika, and because that was established now and not in three months time, it's still a weakness.
I was reading napstermonster's reply to you, and while I think she's made some fantastic arguments and backed them up equally as well, I only had one issue. I think that at one point, he might just have to let her go.
For one, Annika is almost like an indulgence for Shivaay. She's been the forbidden fruit for him, even though at face value, it felt like it was the other way around. Society's morals bind Annika, Shivaay's own morals bind him. We can break the expectations that others put on us, but breaking our own? It's a blow to one's own belief system, and essentially, to one's complete being.
At this point, Shivaay and Annika want each other. Both of them, desperately, unconditionally. They indulge in each other, they fight with each other, they tease each other.
They kind of remind of Gossip Girl's Chuck and Blair, who for so long, had an intense desire for each other. They ended up fulfilling it, with repeated hook-ups, and on and off dating, but that was that. That's where ShivIka are for me right now. The flirting, the hugs, the touching, these all play testament to the want.
At one point, this want will move to need. When they're in love, the want will fuel their desire, but the need will fuel their love.
What I really loved about tonight's scene was that we got some subtle insight into both Shivaay and Annika's characters.
I think that inwardly, Shivaay is still more aware of his feelings. The fact that he relentlessly flirted with her today, so obviously at that, really says something. This man is extremely guarded, and to think that he exposed how attracted he is to her today, is huge. Furthermore, his unabashedness with the whole situation, the determination with which he snaked his arms around her waist, almost whispering in her ear, told us that his comfort with Annika being his wife was at a peak. He knows that he has a right to her, he always has. Even when she was his wedding planner, the thought of her being engaged to another man reduced him to tears. Now that he knows that she is his wife, his possessiveness knows no bounds.
Today, by letting him touch her, and being able to elicit the reaction that he did, Annika has given him the green card as well.
On the other hand, I thought what we learnt about Annika was really interesting. All her life, she has never really been subject to affection, aside from what Sahil gives her. She's always felt unwanted to a certain extent, and being with Shivaay really changes that. To have her desire for him being equally matched, or even trumped, ignites a previously unknown happiness in her. So even though I would love to see Annika playing hard to get, the truth is that she, albeit more subtly, mirrors Shivaay's emotions.
Something else that I've noticed over the past few weeks is that, Annika marks Shivaay as her own as well. She's possessive about him too, and in front of Tia, its not that subtle anymore. She's ideal in that sense, she gives him ample space with his family, up to the extent where she is consciously making sure that they are not angry at him because of her, but she also knows what is hers. Again, as we saw in one of the bytes a few days ago, Annika is terrified to lose Shivaay, because she's scared that he'll 'leave like everyone else did'. It's a bittersweet equation, because again, Shivaay is the only thing that Annika can really claim as 'hers'. As hard as it is to stomach, and even though both brother and sister deny it vehemently, even Sahil is not Annika's real brother. So, at the prospect of losing someone that she is entitled to; someone that she can care about, love, and have that all returned tenfold, Annika completely breaks. Moreover, we've seen Annika's faith and Shivaay's concern extremely clearly, it's now time to see those roles reversed.
This has potential to be a really interesting and touching theme if the writers can explore it well, because while strengthening Shivaay and Annika's relationship further, it also gives them a plausible entry into Annika's past, and how both Shivaay and Annika deal with it.
Now that I've pretty much ranted about the shortcomings, and what I want to see, let's talk about what that scene really did for me in a positive light.
For the two weeks or so, I see this pattern emerging when I watch Ishqbaaaz, and more specifically, Shivaay and Annika.
Their relationship dynamic, and their character growth completely blows me away. Aside from some misgivings, I think that their relationship has been carved absolutely beautifully, and the elements that make up ShivIka are so fantastically portrayed.
There's been an obvious effort from the writers on this angle; the mirrors from the past, and the reflections on their present is quite contrived, but it achieves what it needs to. Whenever I watch the recent episodes, I keep thinking, imagine the Shivaay and Annika of Episode 1 doing all of this. It gives me some sort of divine satisfaction to recall a Shivaay that seemed outright disgusted at her touch, and compare it to the Shivaay of now, who actively can't get his hands of her. He's always been caring and protective to his family and his family only, but from going out of his way to destroy a girl he supposedly doesn't care about, to going out his way to protect her, really pulls at my heartstrings. His overarching concern, desire and admiration for her is so fantastic to watch on screen, because of what he used to be, and what he has become.
On the other hand, I love how much more mature Annika has gotten; and that they've really drawn a line between her being immature and her being feisty. I think in the early episodes Annika got on my nerves because of how uncouth she was at times, but as time has passed, she's ended up being my favourite character and I think that is completely owed to her character growth. I think she's the perfect balance between feisty, energetic and determined and kind, compassionate, mature and understanding. I might be a bit biased here, but (if we assume that Ishaana as a character wasn't finished), out of all the Oberoi daughter-in-laws, Annika has the potential to be the most ideal, with the family (which she already is) and in society (with a bit of training). The fact that she has been so independent for so long really gives her the opportunity to handle socialites in a way that (while knowledgeable) naive Saumya, and wild Ishaana would not be able to. I've watched plenty of GK's shows before, and in my opinion, Annika is easily the most beautiful female lead she has had so far.
Anyhow, I think I'll stop ranting now because this post is getting impossibly long! Sorry for the long read, and thank you for the brilliant post 😃
With love,
Innika
Edited by Innika - 8 years ago
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