Posted:
Hey all!
It's been a while since I was able to make a satisfying post on the forum, and with the show being so very interesting lately, I have any number of thougts buzzing around in my head. I thought, instead of trying to choose one topic, I would just unload all the miscellany in one post for your consideration! Enjoy the mayhem and feel free to respond to parts or the whole!
Someone needs to tell Dev Dixit that pride comes before fall! Recent events are bringing back the Dev Dixit that we were introduced to at the beginning of the show, the cloistered, arrogant man who believes everything can be solved with money, the man who is wiling to bend moral and ethical boundaries in order to ensure that his family get exactly what they want/need.
As much as I love Dev, I can't say I am a fan of his patronising attitude towards Ranveer. Ranveer is just as accomplished as Dev academically, only he chose to apply his knowledge towards a goal other than money. It really is a sharp critique of society in general to see Ranveer assume such a submissive attitude towards Dev and for Dev to accept that behavior without question. Devs choice to put money first was certainly valid given the circumstances, but I find it deeply problematic that he doesn't regard Ranveer as an equal soley becuase of the difference in income.
In fact, the way he is treating Ranveer now reminds me strongly of his earliest interactions with Sona. Much like Ranveer with his classroom and his students, Sona felt strongly about being there for her many patients, and stood her ground as long as she could. Little did she expect how low Dev would stoop to get his way. I see this as foreshadowing for how he will deal with Ranveer in episodes to come... "Forget your beliefs/identity and accept my offer willingly, or I will force it down your throat because you are now just a pawn in my quest to give my family everything they want/need."
But I have a feeling this time, arrogant-Dev is reemerging, not to be victorious, but to be challenged and possibly defeated, because on the on the one hand, there is Ranveer and on the other, Neel. It is only with Neel's entrance that Dev's knowledge of Sona and his feeling of entitlement to that knowledge are being questioned. "Why would she tell you?" asks Ishwari, "you know a lot about her family," remarks Natasha, and for the first time, Dev will have to start asking himself, why?
And here, his insecurities will creep in. Neel is just as rich as him, if not richer, and Dev cannot patronise him the way he feels justified doing for Ranveer, and he can't use money to manipulate him as he does with others. He is confronted with an entirely new challenge here as he continues to feel Sona growing distant from him while unable to understand his pull towards her, so we see him responding by constantly putting her on the defensive about her "relationship," trying to retain control. Little does he know that the solution this time is not conquest but surrender.
Oh, my poor Neha! She has come so far from where she was and yet, she has so much further to go. She recognised Ranveer's love as the real thing, and yet is unable to do justice to her love by being honest with him about her concerns with marriage. Instead she, with Dev, is attempting to manipulate Ranveer into accepting a life that is suitable to her (these Dixit kids are expert manipulators, I guess they're not Ishwari's kids for nothing!) I do sympathise with the fact that Neha was treated poorly as a kid, and that Dev got the much better end of the deal. I don't, however, sympathise with the fact that she holds Dev responsible for her suffering and now, her happiness. After all, at the time, he too was a child, merely following Ishwari's instructions.
Right now Neha prioritises convenience over everything else. She is happy to rely on Dev when it suits her needs and happy to accuse him of stealing her rights when she is unhappy with his actions or dissatisfied with her own state. She's not willing to undergo the inconveniences necessary to achieve true independence becuase she is so scared of committing to something and risking the financial security Dev's success creates. But therein lies the irony, because only when she strikes out on her own and makes her way in the world, without Dev playing god, will she find the true stability she is looking for. It seems that Ranveer sees this potential in her when she doesnt see it herself, so I am excited to see how they procede here.
Sona is officially an honourary Dixit now! 😲 I just love the interactions between Sona and Ishwari. There is so much mutual affection and trust in the relationship, and it's so easy to peek into the future during their interactions. One of my favourite scenes from this week had to be when Ishwari was imagining Sona with her future mother-in-law and giggling to herself, sending poor Dev into a tizzy. 🤣 It's funny to think how the process of labeling all these relationships will cause so many complications when the very same relationships already exist harmoniously before needing to be defined. The conversations also give us a glimpse into Ishwari's insecurities... Dev listening to someone else's instructions and taking cues from another woman, and Ishwari herself becoming obsolete in his life as he moves forward.
At the same time, we get heart-warming glimpses into how Sona expertly handles these insecurities. I loved that scene where Dev asks why Ishwari is tidying his room, and she replies that it makes her feel relevant and useful as his life travels more and more outside of her grasp. Her response echoed, almost word-for-word, Sona's advice to Dev when Ishwari was keeping a fast for his deal. To Dev, Ishwari is a god, and could never feel something as human as insecurity or uncertainty. It is Sona who sees her as a woman in desperate need of validation. She gently guides Dev, and is more than happy comfort Ishwari herself with the assertion that she's the only one Dev listens to... despite knowing that he had worn the orange shirt on her advice.
The awkwardness, though! 🤣 I am just loving the awkwardness that this love-quadrilateral is creating. Dev and Sona are constantly on their own secret trip with Natasha trying desperately to be in on the joke, poor girl. She is smart enough to pick up on the fact that Sona has some very important role in Dev's life, which is why I assume she keeps trying to find out more about her. And with Neel's entry, things just got even more interesting. Even though she isn't in the least bit interested, Sona deserves to know that she is a very desirable lady, even to much richer men (one garb ki beti may take note!). Besides, Dev needs to stop taking her companionship for granted. I hope he doesn't find out that the boyfriend thing is fake, or if he does, I hope Neel doesn't relent quite yet. Call me a sadist, but I'd really like to see Dev's ego take a few healthy blows! 😃
