The episode started with Mandaar and Sunny being beaten up by the ladies who find them in the ladies' toilet, during which time Raghav is led out of there by Pallavi. Of course, their speedy exit was slowed down outside with dialogues of Pallavi not knowing how they'd meet up and Raghav promising to find a way to be close to her, even if it meant going to D-house. Again, this is where I feel they shouldn't have revealed his disguise or that he'd go there as a cook. It would have been a nice surprise and a totally unexpected get up for those who know Raghav Rao. I don't know how Raghav being in the same house will help protect all the Ds but Sunny is going to be suspicious and will keep trying to out their secret, possibly with Keerti's help.
Their parting scene was just something I saw with my head, not with my heart, although the hug was a lot better executed than in the previous episode. I mean, what I took away from that scene was "fine, I get it, they miss each other and will find a way to meet and be close to one another", but wasn't feeling much of it. For the first time since I started watching this show, even Sai failed to convince me here.
I don't get the doomsday feel in their conversation. They live in the same city and surely the communication aspect can be solved easily. Even in the times of pigeons delivering letters, lovers found a way to communicate. I find it hard to believe they couldn't have come up with something in 2021. Par chalo, drama ke liye kuch bhi.
Pyaar aur apnapan
I found the Keerti Sunny conversation interesting for two reasons. One, how Sunny clearly asked her to give him all the info on what was happening in her home. I'm not sure if he's done that so explicitly in the past, and Keerti has obliged anyway, but these words are sure to help her connect the dots at one point. Two, she said she was more 'apni' to him than to her mother and brother, to which Sunny responded by confirming with her that she loved him more than she loved them, didn't she?
She said she loved Sunny more than she loved her brother, but not more than her she loved her mother. She may have been teasing Sunny but it's clear that if at some point Amma did seriously ask her not to marry Sunny, there is a chance Keerti would reconsider her decision. Her recent attempts to pacify Amma are telling. I was mad at the way he grabbed her face, but she clearly didn't think anything unusual about it. This guy just doesn't have any respect for women. 😡
Being apna to someone doesn't necessarily mean that you love them more/most. I know a lot of people are angry with her for saying she loved Sunny more than she loved Raghav, but none of that comes as a surprise, nor is it true. She thinks she does, but she doesn't. Sunny has been in her life for more than 2 years, grooming her for just this day, whereas Raghav has only fully come into her life the last few months, most of which has been tumultuous. They showed her explicitly saying that to Sunny, which means she will eat her words one day. In many ways, her brother is a stranger to her because while he has kept surveillance on her, especially since the Mandaar accident, she doesn't really know much about what he thinks or feels. I don't know if he ever expressed to her that he loves her and worries about her future. So far, all I've seen is him talking about his duty as an elder brother, which she takes as him trying to control her life. (This is true to a certain extent). I am sure when the time of her realization comes she will choose Raghav over Sunny and prove how much she loves her brother. I can't explain why I feel this, I just do. 😃
She is full of resentment and anger, which prevents her love for her brother from coming out. She has always been shown to have a selfish tendency, but her whole deal with Sunny is about rebelling against her brother, whom she still holds responsible for her family falling apart and for her difficult growing years. Her actions these days are maddening to watch, especially because we know she is a lot like Raghav (and Amma) in her capacity to love and be generous. She was there for Pallavi in her tough times, even going against Raghav, and I believe that nature of hers hasn't gone away anywhere. It is currently dormant in the wake of Sunny's constantly manipulating her where she's emotionally vulnerable, but I see all the signs of the lioness in her roaring when she has had enough of him, has discovered his duplicity, and has realized where she went wrong and how much Raghav really loves her. As I said elsewhere, I can never hate her because of the way her character has been portrayed for a good part of this show. She's currently in the 'pride comes before the fall' state. If ever there is a redemption track for her, then she will think through all this and realize where she went wrong and how Raghav stood by her at all times, which she never did for him.
I also think that it's unfair to expect Keerti to 'redeem' herself without Raghav making amends for his overbearing attitude and bulldozing his way into her life over the years. He needs to let her be. We may not have been given enough insight into how he'd surveilled her but it is clear that he was omnipresent in their lives over the past 10 years and Keerti must have been aware of it.
One of the things that I fell for in the beginning of the show was Raghav's longing to reunite with his family and for Keerti to finally fill the void that she's felt all these years without the brother who she clearly loves and admires but can't seem to bridge the emotional gap with. I wanted to see this journey and how the Raos overcame their pain and dealt with their trauma. We got none of that. I hated the CVs for what they did with the reconciliation with Amma. Such a letdown. I don't want to get my hopes up for this brother-sister reconciliation.
This is the show that made our hearts bleed for Raghav (and the other Raos) with the replica house and all the Kokh ke rath mein sequences. I can't believe the current state sometimes. I am expecting nothing more on this front for now. The rakhi sequence is most likely going to be painful for Raghav because we know he can never grow a thick skin when it comes to family. He's just not wired that way. So if she hurts him, then I want to see him feeling that pain, struggling with it, but still not losing hope of winning her back for good, because that is the kind of guy he is. She has lost hope and given up but he hasn't.
I know that for the sake of drama she will be shown as negative for a while longer because once she reconciles with Raghav there's not much left to show in terms of her character arc, except maybe to help him fight Krishna Rao. But chances are slim because Pallavi will save the Raos from the ghosts of their past.
A side note: Sunny remembers that Raghav tapped his phone. I hope Raghav also remembers that he has such devices at his disposal.
It was hilarious to see Amma not realizing that she'd let Raghav's location slip, but it was also a relief to see that both Amma and Raghav were now open to the idea, if not almost convinced, that Keerti was the one who told Sunny about it. They weren't sure if she did that deliberately but I was glad to see them being cautious around her and not letting out any information. She's noticed that they have both been up to some serious discussion, so I'm sure she'll figure something out sooner or later. Once again, glad to see Amma advising Raghav not to lose patience and not to give up hope.
Pallavi's monologue
As for Pallavi's monologue where she talked about missing Raghav and feeling sorry for what she did, I get that it was damage control by the writers but they need to keep her lines consistent with how her character has always spoken. Clear and complete. I get the sentiments she was describing to Ayi, but the wording was confusing to viewers. Suddenly she was calling herself thick-headed (which as a character she's never been), she said Amma had tried to stop her (which Amma had never done, rather Amma had asked Raghav to let her realize things herself). It was only when she broke her promise to Amma that Amma was rightly disappointed, but I don't remember Amma being anything but supportive of Pallavi.
Who writes these lines? This so-called damage control is just inflicting more damage with every line spoken. What was that nonsense about her being afraid of Mandaar wanting to take her away from Raghav when she met Mandaar? She was making all those mistakes independent of Mandaar (who at that time apparently had amnesia), one out of spite and anger at Raghav for calling out her mistake in trusting Mandaar (plus the tracker incident), and two because she felt her decision to help Mandaar was right, because Pallavi has a hard time accepting her mistakes in general, she is too self-righteous and we have seen that character flaw from the beginning.
Until the day before, she still thought Mandaar was the respectable good guy who she had previously put on a pedestal. So why would such a good guy take her away from the man she loves and is legally married to? It seems all her fire is used to fight against Raghav and stand up for herself when necessary. If she wants to live with Raghav, no one can stop her from doing so as long as Raghav wants the same (which we know he does!). Even Raghav (and Ayi and Amma's) fear wasn't that Mandaar would do anything, rather that Pallavi herself would end up distancing herself from the Raos through her actions or get trapped because of her misplaced sense of duty.
Aside from the day she told Raghav she loved him, I don't remember a single scene where she showed her fear of losing Raghav, rather she kept getting irritated with him for overreacting about Mandaar. Fine, that was the creative choice back then by the CVs, but having lines like "Raghav se alag hone ke khayal ne mujhe itna dara diya tha ki uski bharpayi karne ke chakkar mein main kahin kho si gayi .... Mera darr mere pyar pe itna haavi ho gaya, jiski wajeh aaj humara rishta is mod pe hai" is only going to make her words now seem hollow and confusing to viewers. I seriously expect better from writers because I know they are capable of doing better.
As for her not apologizing to him when they met at the park, I don't think that was the highest priority topic for them, given how short their meeting time was. They needed to talk about the imminent danger, reassure each other that they were going to fight this together somehow, and of course just take their fill of seeing each other against 'dushman zamaana'. She felt guilty for hurting him and sensed a burden in her heart, that's the most important point. She felt that Raghav would have understood her remorse without her saying those words. It's likely he would because he's very perceptive, but let's assume he did. I think it would close the loop well if she were to apologize or express her remorse when they have time for a decent conversation later on. It's not because he would demand such a thing but because it would be the right thing for her to do. We have wanted to and have seen Raghav apologize for his mistakes, most recently the tracker issue, without provocation or being asked to. That's his nature, we know it. In typical role reversal on this show, we don't see Pallavi apologize from her heart to him very often. Most of the time she is seen as justifying herself and the monologue with Ayi was borderline.
The writers very sneakily had Pallavi say all the things viewers were complaining about, but adding 'shayad' as opposed to a confirmation from her that she knew where she had gone wrong. This way the appease the viewers who were unhappy with the previous track as well as those who never want the FL to apologize. Why? Because FLs on ITV can't be wrong, apparently. I don't understand why they do this. So what if she makes mistakes? She can have flaws too, and owning up to them isn't a bad thing. Rather, it shows that she's learned life lessons and her character will grow. The question is, did she realize her mistake just in this incident or overall how her tendency to bulldoze over others with her duty-driven decisions is a general problem she needs to work on? Or maybe the writers want to leave it there as a recurring theme, just like they do with other characters on the show.
I can't stand the hypocrisy of berating Keerti or Mansi (and Amruta until recently) for her actions, expecting Keerti to learn a lesson, redeem herself, and sort her life out but not extending the same liberty to the Pallavi, the FL. This is 2021 and we still expect women to be perfect? Ugh. For all those so-called feminists who claim to want gender equality (which is often not the same thing), then the equality should extend to everything. If men can be expected to pull up their socks, own up to their mistakes, and participate fairly in society, etc., then women should also be expected to be called out for their mistakes so that they can learn and develop. Refusing to acknowledge this or giving women a free pass in the name of empowerment also creates another form of unhealthy imbalance in society.
So writers, make up your mind what you want to convey because you seem to be giving viewers conflicting messages here.
After this monologue, you don't need more proof that she still has a long way to travel to get to where Raghav is. I just hope viewers don't get tired of waiting but I personally don't mind seeing her travel to that destination. There's no rule that says both have to arrive at the destination at the same time, or that they ever will. On the other hand, it could be a creative choice to show that imbalance in the relationship for the long-term, which is perfectly fine and I totally respect the writers' decision if this is the intent. If we can accept shows like IPKKND or KRPKAB where the FL is far more giving and the ML doesn't even properly realize, atone or, or apologize for his mistakes pretty often, why can't we accept an FL here who just doesn't get it? Why are people fine with other forms of role reversal throughout this show but not in this matter? We often say that we get why Raghav does certain things based on his character sketch, even if we don't agree with it. Why can't we apply the same to Pallavi? I just don't get the double standards here.
It was sad seeing Ayi crying as she listened to Pallavi because I know that she would have had the right words of consolation for her and would have given her a pep talk to boost her mood. She has been a lioness protecting her cubs and seeing her in that helpless state was terrible. I hope she starts to recover soon. I have also said this a few times, that woman is the one who needs a divorce most in that show. What does she have in her life now? Useless husband and criminal son, and another son who is missing. I know it's for logistical reasons with the actor playing Nikhil but they'd better bring him back or at least incorporate him more in phone conversations so that the void isn't as glaring. Ayi needs to get out of that toxic environment ASAP. She's suffered enough all these years.
It's no secret that I've been wanting her to leave Sanki for several months now, and the fact that he was very happy to go shopping instead of staying back to look after Ayi made me so angry again. Just because Pallavi loves Ayi and wants to take care of her doesn't absolve Sanki or anyone else of their duty of care. I won't say love because I don't know if Sanki feels that for his wife at all. Your wife nearly died and you don't have a few moments to spare for her??? I'll stop here because this is a sore point for me that never fails to drive me mad whenever we talk about Sanki and his abusive nature. I cannot stand watching women, especially those at her stage in life feeling suffocated because of abuse all around. 😡
As for Raghav being the aandhi, let's see if Pallavi can resist the temptation to be a one-woman army going off on a tangent and let Raghav do the thing he's best at: surgical strikes. I am so relieved to see Farhad by his side because it wouldn't make sense for him to not be around when his Anna is going through such a tough time. His ideas in their raw form might have seemed unsuitable but the basic concept of keeping a close watch on Pallavi was on point. I don't get why Raghav can't kill or punish Mandaar and then take Pallavi out of there? I refuse to believe that Raghav Rao being the don of Hyderabad with all the police in his jeb can't deal with him. I know it's for drama, but they need to come up with better reasons as to why it's so necessary for Pallavi to remain in that house in such a dangerous situation. This is a result of her decision to pretend to want to be with Mandaar and fool him, instead of telling Raghav what happened and fighting him head on, but she doesn't have to stay there. This is the Raghav who had Amma and Keerti taken to a safehouse to protect them from Ved, surely he's capable of coming up with a clean solution here too?
I don't know why Pallavi has to volunteer to cook for everyone. She just finished her monologue to Ayi earlier about misplaced sense of duty but she's at it again. Which tells me that her sense of realization was only about the incident with Mandaar and not her overall tendency to selflessly overdo things for the Ds, which most viewers want her to stop. This is what I mean, writers please buck up. This isn't making sense anymore. I loved the sly dig by BWA about women being expected to slave away at the kitchen while the men are sitting around. Milind for all his open-mindedness lets out that he too has these traditional ideas of gender roles, citing Ayi's example of never asking for a holiday. And you wonder why BWA is so resentful of others in the D-fam? Mandaar is the same, the only reason to help out with a cook was to prevent Pallavi from going outside. Him pulling out his credit card to send everyone shopping was a bit of a surprise, but maybe not quite outlandish if our theories of him leading a dual life are true. He might be rolling in money due to his criminal activities.
Precap: I do wish Raghav would go and shoot Mandaar but that's not the best option at the moment. That train has left the station, and I assume the BTS of Farhad stopping and angry Raghav was him preventing his Anna from letting his rage take over his rationality. Amruta is likely the one to let Farhad know that Pallavi was home alone and perhaps the information about the vacancy for a cook too.
PS I haven't had time to proofread this so please ignore mistakes
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