And she leads him back into the light

After many days, IB has pulled off one of it's "phoenix rising from the ashes" moments, so I am compelled to post some thoughts about an epi that was so rich in emotion, especially vis a vis Shivika.

Reserved

Originally posted by: naadanmasakalli

Reserved

Can't quote and do my detailed post now but i absolutly live the symbolism

The church scene got to be my fab of all the divine scenes these guys have done just the serenity of it the calmness in it brought another feeling it is very hard to put it in words how special this particular scene has been

A shivaay who is so broken is anyways hard to see but his eyes were on another level sad to look at

The moment when he at first looks at her but does not even say her name takes a moment to look at her again as if he is saying her temporarily and then turning his head right back to GOD it was peircing it had again that shivaay not considering himself worthy of her hence holding back he was like baa ho gaya now jao but then there is a lot more for her in his heart whichbis why when she says mere liye ghar chalo he hesitantly goes to light the candle only caz she did it and that'd make her happy. Their khamosiyan were another level of khoobsoorat today sab ankaha unsuna was so moving he might not have been impressed by her ram theory but they were connected at a soul level today whatever motions he did was only for her and kept her his priority . At this point he needs that pillar and she so beautifully itni narmi and understanding se became that na i can't

I just keep rewatching it and enjoying the silence

What a great job by team esp Nm SC

The hug moment to is heartbreaking also shivaay saying whatever few words he said in that madham voice made me cry

This was solid

Hi there, you are back from your hibernation too 😊!! Good see your review after so long, as usual well written 👏!! The haunted look in Shivaay's eyes was brilliantly done by NM. Yesterday's episode was beautiful because of subtle flow of emotions, without loud weeping & over the top dialogs. Awesome work by the leads & the entire technical team. Through Annika, this Shivaay has to find the strength to become the SSO again. I also liked the scene with the reporters where Shivaay had nothing to tell them as opposed to past where he used to show them their place. Annika standing up for him was very much the Annika we all love.

I had a feeling you would make a thread. :) Because after a long time an IB epi felt like there was some substance to Shivika and one could connect. Made it a point to keep checking for it until I fell asleep and then I thought maybe I was wrong. But I wasn't :).
Haven't yet read it. Will do that and be back in a bit.

Thank you for the beautiful post AY and the lovely caps. Yesterday's episode was very high on emotion but one where I was struggling to articulate all that I felt. You have put words to everything I felt. My thoughts are still all over the place and I haven't had a chance to rewatch so I might sound like I am just rambling randomly.

The church scene was perfect. Everything came together perfectly the writing, the direction, the top notch performances, the camerawork, the background score. Everything was just perfect. What a beautiful scene. Every silence was so poignant and yet there was a feeling of serenity and hope. We meet Shivaay for the first time after 5 years and find a Shivaay who is completely lost and broken and a mere shadow of the man he was and yet mood was not one of despair but one of soothing serenity and calm and hope. It got to me totally. And how brilliantly did NM-SC perform it. We have seen them do great work so many times on the show and yet they always manage to bring something new to the table even 650 episodes on. That's something that deserves to be cherished.

Shivaay has been a passive weeping defeatist in this Redux many a time and all this while it used to annoy the hell out of me. It used to make me want to shake him and tell him to snap out of it. But there was something so different about Shivaay yesterday. The empty eyes, the whole body language from posture to gait to speech to just everything. NM did brilliantly. Conveyed so much despite saying so little. This broken Shivaay completely broke my heart. I couldn't bear to watch him like this. I was so rooting for Anika to be her khidkitod self and be a fierce sherni and hold on to him tight and heal him. And how good was SC. All her expressions were so gentle and yet so poignant and full of emotion.

Through out the episode NM-SC were just brilliant. The emotions were so understated and and yet at the same time so overwhelming. Usually these types of episodes (and since it TRP stuff the situations per se are not unusual) tend to be OTT and melodramatic with everything overdone. But this was so different in execution and performance. It was their A game by the whole team and it was so heartening to see that after so long.

I have still to gather my thoughts about it but the this is the most emotion I have felt in this entire Redux. After so long I am excited and looking forward to what next with anticipation.

Beautifully written post as usual.

Such a beautiful episode, I would want to believe this is layered-subtextual.

One has to notice that Anika KNOWS where he might be gone seeing the cross. She was sure to find him there at the church where one confides and confesses their sins to god almighty. I read too about Shivay almost having crucifed himself for his brothers. But what is distinct is his guilt. The viewer or as per story Anika may have an idea that he is bearing the cross for a sin he MAY have not committed or was provoked to react. Apart from that whats pronounced is his guilt, the fact that he couldn't set things right as he always claimed, he couldn't convince Tej, he couldn't avert this tragedy that has occurred in his brothers lives. He has lived with the pain of not having a father figure and he ended up doing the same to his brothers.

Beautifully shot scene. Brilliant cinematography. Lovely visual. Kudos to director LM for conceiving the visuals and shooting it accordingly. I have nothing more to add than what everyone felt. She did look like the guardian angel to guide him back to light. Anikas's sleeves just added to the feel of angelic wings. Good choice.

Anika's smile through her tears, her joy of seeing him after ?? so long ( if he hadn't met her in 5 yrs) or the sheer joy of seeing him freed from the confines of prison, either way it was such a tugging at heart image. Like you've described Anu, its again a stunning visual to see her sit beside him and for once soak in the moment of his return, hold him close to her, her heart and impart the strength that he very much is in need right now. Being broken can be in different ways. Like his sister may feel broken about his brother's betrayal , she doesn't know the truth. But Shivay is privy to so many truths, about Tej's real face, about his hatred for him, about a father plottin to kill his own children, and the eventual murder and all this can break a man inside out and the trauma is too profound to snap out of. You can sense that when Shivay looks at his hands that has taken away a life. Lovely portrayal of a broken Shivay, broken in every way and its brilliant to see NM use his eyes to portray that hollow, distant soul-less emotion. Really heart breaking to look at those HAUNTED feel in his eyes.

In all this, one eventually gathers strength willingly or not when he sees oneself WANTED and LOVED in spite of everything that it is the only thing that can make Anika happy or that is the only thing he can give her. Speaks volumes about what she means to him and her position in his life. She just had to lead him to the altar and he just followed and lighted a candle. One has to be willing to cope in the first place. She only had to talk and walk him through it beside him. Today's Shivika looked like a team. NM was superb in bringing out the slumped body language of a defeated soul. And SC has always been good in such scenes, the way she enacted Anika being tender in handling Shivay through her words and the way she just held him tenderly as he found his way back to his home WITH her. I have always admired the tender feeling even when both of them hold hands in such emotional scenes. Its amazing.

Lovely to see a fierce protective Anika. One moment she is all so vulnerable to have a glimpse of him, all so tender in dealing with him, instilling the right amount of hope in Shivay to rebuild his life and FACE his family and next moment she is all fierce in protecting him from any further emotional draught. She coaxed him first to shut them up like he always did. But Shivay is so defaeted emotionally that he says Sahi toh keh rahe hain, that's when she HAS to step in to shut them up. Loved the line "Inka naam lene se aapke channel ki TRP badhti hai Applies to their real selves and Shivika too. CLAPS for this FACT.
NM and SC were on point here, superb.

Awesome to hear the RamJai Raja Ram as Shivika enters OM. Such divine intervention of "diya jalna moment. If it gets them TRPs I am okay with OmRu hating on Shivay. It is fine. Waise unko bhi kuch alag emotion dikhane ko milega. Siddhi was good I felt in the scene where Priyanka reacts to Shivay confessing he murdered Tej. Chalo behan, bhais and family hating on "Ram can hopefully get the family audience engaged. But yaar, Ru going in Tu Tadaak mode with Shivay was sad to watch, but koi nahi, but Lee wasn't even close to when the vanwaas happened. Lee was too good there that you end up referencing obviously not comparing with others but himself.

Looking forward to Shivika TOGETHER and normal Anika.

Brilliantly enacted scenes NM and SC. Great team work. I chanced upon this thread. I thought you have totally given up at this "location. That the two actors can perform with so much conviction amidst all the drama happening around them is absolutely amazing. For once I did not feel that this is a second version of them. This could have very much happened and explored real-time, they had built it up then. But khair, at least ab toh they should retain interest. Doesn't seem the writers are motivated enough. There IS pressure to retain rating to stay on air. Conflicting theories. Demotivated hain toh then give one best shot like these memorable and go. Ratings laana hi hai toh then also write something that will work. NO promotions ke saath the show fetches 2+ and tied up with the oh so overpromoted "tracks. You know other waali TRACKS.

When they give such episodes, one can talk, discuss and enjoy. Itna HAQ toh hai na humara.

How would it look if this scene of Shivay waking up from nightmare is linked real back to a changed location, at Goa, the real vanwaas time where Tej pretended to have heart attack, and move on with this current scenario where Tej is supposedly killed, OmRu have become haters from supporters, Prinku is alcoholic and Dadi also hates Shivay. Add on to OmRu losing the deal and needing Shivay to step in and then can Tej be away with Svetlana as Peter Swami and Kaveri. And and and Pinki and Shakti are hidden away by Tej and then there is hope of their return. Yaar kuch toh kar lo yaaro.

Ganga beautifully said i am too lazy to respond and add anything as off to bed but chanced upon it and sigh there is so much to talk in this scene

Ganga I loved your post. So beautifully written. This was an episode that made me feel a lot but write very little. Because this one can't be done while on the run and in the middle of hundred other things. Too much emotion and subtext to process in there. But loved reading AY's post and yours. Savouring the episode once again vicariously through your posts.