Posted:
Somehow I was not surprised today's episode ... And I actually did not mind it.
Yesterday, no one needed a take 5, and today no one is going to be cheered up by a take 5.
So, my take today is, five reasons you shouldn't feel like banging your head or give up watching the show ...
Jalal and Jodha are still intact to a certain extent ...
(1) I actually liked four things with Jalal today:
- He understands the gravity of what Ruqaiyya did ... It is not like he is dismissing it as not a mistake (as he did with Shivani) ... That was clear from his outburst to Jodha. And he included Jodha and her seva in the list of grievances , so he does understand.
- By hiding this matter, he did save the Mughal Sultanate's izzat ... At least for now
- He understood that somewhere he was at fault for Ruqaiyya's insecurity that she was no longer important to him ... Which I think is partially true, he never directly addressed it and was now asking her to directly come to him if she had any issues. I always appreciate
- When he was rubbing (I wouldn't call it caressing) Ruqaiyya's head there was something very threatening and uncomfortable about it ... As if this was her last chance, and then disaster will strike.
I still feel he may have a painful, slow-poison type punishment in mind for Ruqaiyya so shaayad picture abhi baakhi hain ... And as Jodha said when she forgave Bakshi Bano, forgiving is the biggest punishment and guilt can be a true teacher.
Now, the only question is will Ruqs learn or commit the third strike!
(2) Jodha is being extremely consistent with character ... Why are folks suddenly upset with her?
This is Jodha- who was able to forgive Bakshi Bano and Shariffudhin, when she didn't do anything directly to hurt them. And here, Jodha feels she came in between Jalal and Ruqaiyya, why would she not ask Jalal to forgive her now?
And if Begum-e-Khaas falls in the eyes of everyone, it is an insult to the entire Mughal Sultanate.
If anything, some folks were upset that Jodha did not apply those same rules of forgiveness to Jalal (or at least as quickly) ... But her asking him to forgive Ruqaiyya is completely in line with character.
But the biggest issue is that it feels unfair that Ruqaiyya is forgiven for the following three reasons ..here is how I calmed down
(3) Why does Ruqaiyya's mistakes always forgiven by Jalal?
Up to the Ben track, Jalal never punished Ruqaiyya for her insults of and plots against Jodha ... Because he typically made the same mistakes as her or was part of the plot. He just was better at apologizing and learning from them. But, that being said, how could he punish Ruqaiyya for what he did as well?
After the Ben track, the first crime Ruqaiyya did against Jodha was the Murthi Khaand. That to Jalal was her first strike ... He let go citing that it was her first mistake.
Then, there was Ruqs trusting Maham Anga and helping her execute the Sujamal plan. Again, Ruqs fault was trusting Maham Anga that Jodha was wrong. But Jalal made the same mistake. How can Jalal punish her?
Now, this is the second major strike ... Here Jalal was given a kasam by Jodha to forgive her.
But for sure, either the third strike won't happen, or nothing will stop Jalal in the third strike ... How I hope it is the former.
(4) Why does only Jodha get the public insults?
Yes, Jodha has been publicly insulted but the circumstances were different and the issue was already in the DEK, .e.g., Sujamal fiasco.
And, even when it came to Jodha, Jalal did not insult her publicly during the fake pregnancy track which was a similarly sensitive topic. He thought she had committed infidelity and he did not breathe a word to anyone about it. Once Maham Anga leaked it to the public, he took the fault on himself and even faced the public on it.
(5) Won't Maham Anga bring this up as double standards and insult Jalal in DEK for this?
First, I am not entirely convinced on how Maham Anga will unravel and prove Ruqaiyya's fake pregnancy in the DEK ... I don't trust the Zee operators as they could have changed the track.
But, even if Maham Anga does, how can she cite this as the only example of unfair standards? As Ruqaiyya was not the first person Jalal has forgiven for insulting the Mughal Sultanate. It would also be unfair to how he forgave Bakshi Bano, Sharifudhin, Shivani, and even Adham Khan.
As the biggest victim is Jalal, he has the right to choose the punishment.
Maham Anga's crime with the Sujamal crime I still think was worse on a few dimensions:
- She failed in her administrative / official role of wazir-e-aliya by letting Sujamal in and causing the death of many Mughal soldiers
- She led to the public insult of a begum- Jodha
- Her intent was not only to separate Jodha and Jalal but destroy Jodha's reputation
And of course we know her track record is much worse than that of Ruqaiyya!
Look, writing this made me feel better ... But it likely didn't make anyone feel better. In which case there are four sources of hope for the future:
- Jalal may have another type of punishment in store for her
- Ruqaiyya may actually learn her lesson and be reformed and dignified moving forward ... Which is likely more in line with history
- Ruqaiyya may still be publicly insulted by MA's unraveling in DEK according to the Zee Operator
- Ruqaiyya will make a third strike and then she will be officially out (to use baseball lingo)
In any case, feel free to use this thread to vent your thoughts on the episode. Today is that kind of day. I wonder what Friday the 13th has in store for us.
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
