I am really glad they aren't dragging it or sending her on a wild goose chase to figure out the pieces over a 3-month period, thank goodness! These sorts of tracks are so OTT on ITV that it's usually at this point that I lose interest in the show. The best is that while there are some tactical things going on with Pallavi and Raghav each making their moves, we are getting to see character development, especially for Pallavi. It's not just with Raghav but her equations with other people too that are on display here and I am glad for it. Mindless detective-giri would bore me to death, frankly.
Sometimes I feel as if these writers keep in mind how most ITV audience members would expect the track to unfold based on the corruption that's happened due to EK shows, and then they go and write a completely different outcome. It's like they know how to lead us up to a point but then ensure things take an unexpected turn when characters actually do what they would in real life and not as in EK land. It really is so refreshing, which is why Pallavi's actions resonate better with the audience these days. It keeps them hooked and also builds trust in the writing.
As for Raghav, he's behaving true to his character. I would expect nothing less from him than what he is doing now. I must say, while his character may or may not grow during this track, it amazes me how they seem to be extracting deeper and dare I say tougher emotions from him as he goes through this latest crisis. We know what his motivations are, we trusted him and believed in his innocence and moral code as Pallavi did, we knew how the conflict between them would come up. Yet, when he emoted and let out his inner thoughts, whether with the alter ego or in his study as his tears drew a line between them both in the frame, we were still extremely affected by it despite not being surprised. I know many of us joke about the role reversal and him doing what ITV FLs do but somehow he's so convincing and so intriguing that I can't look away. I know there's more hell coming for him but at this point I'm not sure if I can handle seeing him get hurt more and more.
Overall, I like they way they are taking turns showing character growth while the other person also adapts to these changes. It makes the track feel much more real but also ensures they don't use up their quota of good plot points too soon and then have no story to tell later.
@ blue - Absolutely. I love how Pallavi is going about her investigation- she's being upfront, honest, and above board, and why shouldn't she? There are no skeletons in her closet? If I'm honest, I absolutely loved how Pallavi highlighted the pain the Deshmukhs had to suffer due to the careless driver. In the story we're watching, the Deshmukhs serve, at best, as a source of conflict and at worst as villains. That's fine, that's their intended role, so the fact that we feel this way means the writing and the actors are doing a great job. The Raos are more likeable characters, they're the 'good family' in our story, and it's wonderful to watch Pallavi transition from a toxic environment to a much healthier one. But all that aside, based on present knowledge, ie, Mandaar actually is dead, the Deshmukhs are absolutely the victims in this scenario, and I appreciate being reminded of that by the show.
I think you're right that the show deliberately subverts ITV expectations. It's one of the reasons the show is still engaging, 120 episodes in, which is extremely rare for me at least- I don't think I've ever remained invested in a show for more than 80 odd episodes, at best. But here, they are writing characters into situations we've seen before, and resolving them in ways that aren't done. Idk if the analogy will come through, but it's like, you know when watching a horror movie, you see some characters make dumb mistakes- the group splits up, or they walk into a haunted house or graveyard for no reason, and you feel like yelling at the them through the screem, "don't do this!" because you're familiar with the tropes, even though they aren't? It feels like that, classic ITV tropes, which in most shows make us get frustrated, except it's like the characters are responding the way we want them to rather than how the trope dictates they act- like they can hear what we want to yell at the screen in other shows.
Raghav's emotions are a lot more complex than Pallavi's right now. As I mentioned above, Pallavi is above board, with no skeletons in her closet. He has the skeletons. She also has the moral high ground, and he knows it, because her words did ring true for him today- she does deserve to know who caused her to lose her husband, Vijay and Sharda to lose their son, Nikhil his brother. He knows deceiving her is not right, and that's why he's willing to offer himself up as the price of closure, instead of just neutralising her lead with the watchman, which he could have easily done. In his head, that's the closest to a win-win in the current situation, which protects Kirti as well as gives Pallavi closure. He knows it's not right though, as his conscience reminds him. I'm sure he was partly happy to let the facade drop today after she called his bluff- her unflinching trust in the face of the deception he was trying must be tearing him up completely. Uff, I'm tearing up again just typing about it- but he's found someone who believes in him so completely for the first time, and the situation is forcing him to deceive that very same person? Ouch 💔😭
@bold- I agree 100%. It's getting really hard to watch, but at the same time, I just can't look away.
We've discussed this a lot over the last couple of weeks, but I had so many reservations going into this plot. As much faith as I had in both Sai and Shivangi to deliver perfectly in whatever is written for them, this was such a ghisa pita plotline, I was worried whether the writing would do the both characters and the actors justice, but barring a couple small points that had me a bit iffy last week, they've done exceptionally well in terms of story, character and pace.
I've always been more enthralled by interpersonal conflict and complex dynamics between individuals driving the plot, rather than a rotating roster of random villains coming and going, and when Sunny, Ved and Mandaar (not a villain so far, but definitely a 'conflict') were all announced on the scene at the same time, I was worried that the focus may shift off of the core of the story and into the leads 'dealing with' the antagonists and the hijinks that come with it, but they've done a fab job of tying the antagonists with the crux of the story,
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