Aside from the non-stop loud bgm everything was perfect in the episode.
In a different situation, Pallavi might have felt betrayed but he had made it clear from the beginning that he was going to protect Keerti. I just don't think she expected him to go that extent. Never mind the fact that she was careless about the pen.
I have always wanted to see Raghav hear directly from Pallavi how she felt as a woman, as a new bride, when her dreams also died the night Mandaar died, how she had to deal with the aftermath, and how she was hurting all this time, something she's never really discussed. So glad we got that today. She wasn't verbose but said just enough for us to understand which aspects of her widowhood had been tough for her to handle and how important closure was. It had the same vibe as the maar daalo mujhe Raghav scene.
Raghav's reaction showed that he had understood all this a long time ago, even before today's confrontation. If you think back to how he's been burdened by guilt since he first found out about Mandaar's accident, it all makes sense. He'd foreseen all this, which is why what's happening now is not a surprise but hurts both of them just as he had expected it to. I could understand why he was struggling to look her in the eye or stand in the hall and see her in tears.
I loved how they showed both characters hurting, while contrasting their ways of expressing themselves. Pallavi was letting out all her pent-up emotions and concerns, while Raghav's was quieter, fewer words and to the point, but still conveying the main ideas he was struggling with.
I'm glad he brought up the abortion fiasco and drew parallels like we were doing here. One thing that many people don't mention in that regard is that the abortion also involved the loss of an innocent life. Of course the repercussions for the rest of the family were different. This is not a debate about being pro-choice or against, that is a matter for another discussion, perhaps another thread. It's just a fact and that's what they subtly brought it in today. I liked that he didn't disparage Amruta or BWA but was focusing more on what Pallavi's mindset was when she tried to keep it under wraps. The 'crimes' are different but that wasn't the point. It was their drive to protect their families that he compared. Like Amruta relied on BWA or Pallavi, Keerti seems to be overconfident that her brother will save her from punishment. I wonder if she's playing on his guilt about what happened 10 years ago or if she genuinely believes she deserves to be saved.
It was good to see Pallavi asking Raghav if she wasn't his family too. I don't think she got it that when he talked about saving his family, he was including her too. If Keerti goes to jail, Raghav will be mentally and emotionally finished, as will Amma from the looks of things. What family can he offer her then? He is in a completely different headspace but since he's never really discussed this with her, she hasn't seen that perspective. I understand her being goal-oriented and wanting to punish the offender, it makes sense and it's the morally right thing to do, but ironically, as she was talking about him learning about relationships from her but not about standing by the truth, she failed to see that even when it comes to the truth, there are two sides to the coin. In this situation, it's not quite black and white as she believes it to be.
Damn, both of them are in such a tight spot it hurts to see them this way.
I might get bashed for this but I still want to say something about Pallavi's outburst today. She made it sound as if he didn't care about her emotions and that what he was doing to protect Keerti was totally steamrolling over her pain. That was not the case and I was glad to hear that expressed in his quiet main tumhara dard samajhta hai Pallavi, followed by him explaining how he couldn't take another destruction in his family while already battling with the guilt and trauma of the death of his family members. I had always felt that he still has a loooooooooooooooong way to go before he can overcome the trauma of losing his father and brother, and that reconciling with Amma wouldn't be enough, but I am so glad that they touched upon that today, albeit briefly.
Everyone's been talking about the effect of all this on Keerti's life or Raghav's or Pallavi's or the Ds, but what about Amma? How is she going to feel losing another child this time to a prison sentence? I found her initial reaction natural because she was completely caught off guard, but I also loved how she calmed down in the room to think things through and pay closer attention to what was happening around. her Props to Jaya for asking Raghav to help Pallavi, she didn't disappoint. It takes a LOT to make that kind of judgment call, that too in such a short period of time. I think her first reaction was aimed at the TRP audience who would've expected such a thing from her and potentially see her turn against her bahu, but the follow up was for the core audience of the show.
I am wondering if Raghav will change his mind about Keerti because of what Amma says or because he has already made up his mind but is keeping his cards close to his chest. Knowing his nature, either of those would make sense.
So it looks like Pallavi finds a way to barge into jail but something has also happened that makes Raghav feel ok about telling her what happened that night when she probes him for details. I think these two work best when the have these meaningful discussions. I wish Pallavi had done so from the start with Raghav instead of bulldozing through his actions in her efforts at getting justice, but I also understand that she's struggling to handle her emotions right now and is focusing on the end, not the means.
I don't want to talk about Keerti because I'm reserving my judgement about her motivations until the truth is out. I feel as if what Raghav told Pallavi plus Keerti's reaction in the precap is what will make Pallavi start to think about the other side of the coin that she hasn't considered. I also think that through this track, Pallavi will start to be more accepting of the fact that rather than truth being an absolute, one can be on any point on the spectrum. What happened on that night is a fact, but how the people involved felt and reacted to it is not black or white.