The Week that Was

The Week That Was 18^th - 22^nd June

I thought this week would be the last week of the kidnapping track ... unfortunately, for whatever reason, it's been dragged into the next week. So we got a sop in the form of a couple of beautiful ArHi scenes to tide us over ... the rest was pretty much dragging, because as I said last week, the stage was already set and the armies ready for battle.

18^th June - The First Moves

I was glad to see Shyam chasing Khushi, not the other way around ... when I saw the promos of Khushi trying to sweet-talk Shyam, I didn't like them ... not for any other reason, but for my conviction that it wouldn't work that way. Khushi had never hidden her antipathy and distrust of Shyam. A complete turnaround would make no sense and would never convince him. So she had to play it in such a way that he had to work to get her trust back. The first scene when Khushi asked Shyam to accompany her to the lawyer's had me wrinkling my nose ... nope,not gonna work, that's gonna get his wind up ...

But then she rectified it by going back to her old disgust and brusqueness after the deed was done, and bending only very slowly and cautiously ... and yes, he had to work for that one! And that was what made it convincing ... to Shyam as the conniving, yet obsessive creepwa, as well as to me as a viewer. Well played by Khushi ... well written by cv's!

Also glad that the cv's remembered that Khushi had met the real Mr. Roy earlier.

And Khushi's frustration spills in her talk with NK ... she has to deal with that vile man, and they're no closer to discovering where Arnav has been hidden.

Shyam starts to gloat ... which means his end is near ...

And Khushi at the poolside, remembering Arnav . l..ooking at the stars ... the stars that Arnav remembers as he sits in captivity ... both yearning for the other ...

When they were together, they lived with hate and anger ... now apart, they yearn for each other, together even when separated by miles ... nafrat paas aane na de, mohabbat door jaane na de ...

Teri Meri reprise ... the first Teri Meri played with a confident Arnav and a startled, dazed Khushi ... the reprise played with them both madly in love, unable to stay apart ...

19^th June - Talking with the Stars

Thought we were done with our ArHi romance for the week, but the cv's gave us a pleasant surprise ...

The first ArHi conversation with the stars has remained one of their best interactions ... the first time Arnav and Khushi talked with their guard down, the first time Arnav didn't hesitate to show her his vulnerable side, a side he never showed anyone except his Di, and that too, only very occasionally. But he had shown it to Khushi that one time ... a time when their hearts spoke, not only their voices ... a time when he reached out for help, for reassurance, and she gave it to him with her faith, her beliefs, her trust.

And today, when they were far apart in distance, their hearts spoke again ... again connected by the stars ... the stars where she saw her parents, where he searched for his own ... and today, guided by her faith, connected by a shared dream, he found his faith, his trust ... he called Khushi's name ... and he knew she heard him ... their hearts heard each other call ... and always would ...

'hamesha ...'

When she first told him she saw her parents in the stars, he didn't believe her ... even though he wanted to ... but today, he did ... her parents and his ... their parents ... her faith, her trust had made him a believer ...

'it's not a question of truth or not ... it's a question of faith ... of trust, an unshakeable trust ...

Heer Ranjha ... his words ... 'what is the truth, what is a lie, doesn't matter any more ... only one thing matter ... if you don't exist, I don't exist ...'

And he is finally ready to believe ... to trust in her love ... she is with him, and nothing else matters.

And trusting her, he bares his heart to her ... how she has changed him ... 'I tried so hard to hate you ... but I never could. My own heart betrayed me, it disobeyed me ...'

And she confesses her own struggle ... 'and I tried so hard to not love you ... but my heart didn't listen to me either ...'

He was scared of his weakness, his vulnerability to her, he always tried to run away from it, from her ... but he never could ... whenever he went far from her, he had to come back ...And she explains softly, lovingly to him ... near or far, they are always with each other ... bound together ... their hearts beat with each other ... their hearts beat for each other ...

And both lean back, peace at last ... the love finally acknowledged to themselves in words ... the trust in that love acknowledged ... they can finally dare to believe in their love ...

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGWXfDcB2WY&list=UUL-89jmnaMPqeTsMbZIxPsQ&index=1&feature=plcp[/YOUTUBE]

Beautiful scene!!! 👏👏👏

Unfortunately we still have the rest of the episode to go through. 😕

Shyam acts Creepwa again, in the middle of the night, no less ... fortunately remembers just in time that he's supposed to be building Khushi's trust and not breaking it or threatening her, so he backs off from a visibly scared Khushi. And NK sees him exit Khushi's room and Khushi in turmoil at the unwelcome visit. She is shaken, she is scared ... she almost spills out her fears to a puzzled NK ... she can't stand the creep coming anywhere near her.

But she has to do this ... to get Arnav back.

Shyam's goons are getting antsy at acting babysitters for a troublesome captive. They signed on for a quick 'kidnap and kill' mission, they are unhappy with the babysitting job with frequent venue changes. No five star hotel either ... all the venues are warehouses or abandoned barns ... just how many does Shyam have at his disposal, anyway?

So the goons want more money for the extended job ... Shyam has to deliver ... and NK-Khushi follow him ...

And Anjali sees Khushi give Shyam kheer ... she's not happy ...

20^th June - Bhat izz the Motibhz?

Aiye lo! Three weeks after ODB has gone missing, after multiple abortive CID attempts to find him, some successful, most unsuccessful, Khushi suddenly wonders why he was kidnapped at all? Bitiya, you know whodunnit, how he dunnit ... you know Arnav's biggest enemy is skulking around with two big motives, Arnav's money and Arnav's wife ... now just cut the chase to the quick and tail the Evilwa till you find the man!

Or better still, hire some professional help, like detectives, the police force ... no? Too realistic for a soap? Or not yet time for the track to end? 😆

And finally Nani wakes up to the fact that Arnav is still missing, Anjali keeps a Raksha puja for her brother and her baby ... and Mami makes a welcome reappearance and announces that she is very much a part of the investigation still.

Apparently there were wheels within wheels behind the scenes, so the resolution of the track was delayed for a few days. And we got a pretty clueless episode, where absolutely nothing happened, while the writers frantically scrambled to write filler scenes for another week.

21st June - Bond Trio and Hero in Action

Filler scenes again, but at least we got some answers to earth-shattering questions ... like - How did MDT get a phone call when Arnav took his phone? Ans ... MDT is a rich man in his own right, he can buy his own phones, thank you very much! This kidnapping business is just an interesting hobby on the side.

No wonder Arnav didn't try to bribe him. 😆

How did we know Arnav's brain has returned from Siberia? Ans- he realised that the train and temple sounds were here yesterday, gone today. And he makes sure MDT stays within earshot so he can listen to his conversation with Boss. MDT is helpful sort of chappie ... he repeats Boss's instructions aloud, so that Arnav knows exactly what's happening, and can plan to send a 'sandesha' to his beloved biwi. 😛

Do diabetics need food as well as medicines ... Ans - yes, finally the kidnappers remembered, especially when the bill for the food has to serve as a love letter, as well as a clue to Arnav's whereabouts.

If Arnav bitwa could fight three goons with a blindfold and arms tied behind his back, why couldn't he take down a single goon with eyes and arms both free and in working order? Ans ... no kwostins on logicwa ... BS is not fully back on shoot, so Arnav cannot break free yet. 😆

Are saris available in Scotland? Ans - Yes they are ... this is a very well-kept secret. But they are the cheap ugly mustard colored variety, that's why the Scots haven't publicised them too much yet.

Where did Manorama Bond disappear? Ans- she was negotiating her new contract, PH decided to retain her, as she's an award-winner for the show, so she came back only slightly injured after the negotiations, a sprained ankle, no more.

Do viewers have no brains? Ans - nope, cv's numbed them into hibernation with this long-drawn out kidnapping track, but they do have sharp eyes, so make sure that Khushi swops the tooth locket in excruciatingly slow motion, so that they can see all the details of the swop, and don't question the cv's further.

Why did Shyam not see Khushi swop the locket? Ans ... because he was in a lust-induced daze, and the slow motion Narnia-time was only for Khushi, and not for Shyam.

Bets are currently being accepted as to what exactly was Arnav's message 'For Khushi's Eyes Only'.

22^nd June - Dead End . ..or New Beginning?

Dead ends to almost all the investigations ... but NK and Khushi are not stumped yet, they try again! Pen drive quest was fruitless, now let's try a camera and look at the CCTV footage. It worked for the airport scenes, it might work here.

Remember to return the pen drive, before Creepwa can realise it's gone ... and we now know why we were spared the agony of watching Khushi tie the fake locket around the Creepwa's neck ... so that NK could return it, while she sweet-talked the Creepwa some more, making him dream that the good old GH days were back, where Khushi actually used to trust him and talk to him. And Shyam is lulled into believing that his days of triumph are near ...

Next day the couriered box arrives ... it was quite ironical actually ... in the scene with five people, four of them knew that Arnav had been kidnapped, Nani was all giddy with excitement over the gifts ... and the person for whom the entire drama is being played out, Anjali ... was off to a friend's house for a visit (while the new T&C of her contract were being ironed out).

NK needed to stop looking so alarmed in front of Shyam ... Shyam is not supposed to know that NK knows that Arnav has been kidnapped!

And the Bond trio bonds again ... Khushi furious at Shyam's games, and she can't do a damn thing till she traces Arnav's whereabouts, Mami equally furious at the games being played by unknown kidnapper ... she has been doing some fruitless investigations of her own ... much to Khushi's worry ... she knows Shyam can be dangerous ... but everything so far has reached a dead end ... do they need to start over?

NK thinks so ... he's done the needful ... fixed a camera to Creepwa's room/ cupboard/ laptop /somewhere ...

And the cv's don't care that the outcome of a very crucial bet is hanging on revealing the contents of that note ... or maybe they do, that's why they dragged it to Monday! Or maybe they took all our suggestions, and are running a bet of their own. 😆

Final Thoughts:

The cv's have spent some time to ensure that Khushi continues to charm Creepwa into trusting her, and to show that he is indeed starting to do so ... will this continue even after Arnav is rescued? So will we get our wish of seeing Arnav and Khushi work together to take down Shyam? As the kidnapping track draws to a close, is this the start of the next track? From the way they spent time to show that unshakeable trust now exists between Arnav and Khushi, hope this is the way the track is going to go. Definitely not another MU ... that would make a mockery of the beautiful starry-eyed telepathy of Monday-Tuesday.

This last week of the kidnapping dragged ... was it planned, or was it because of things happening behind the scenes? Regardless, as I write this, the new promo has aired, so we are finally into the last stretch ... as long as Arhi reunite, the kidnapping can then drag for another two months or resolve tomorrow ... either which way is fine! 😆

Diya, 🤗