8/8 Dragon Club :Million Dollar Secret :p

Credit for this gorgeous alternate banner goes to Maham (Allbut1)!

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Love the tittle Jyo 😃

Surprised. That is how I felt after today's episode. I won't lie, I did feel a bit awkward while watching it initially but then the awkwardness was put to such good purpose that I forgive the CVs entirely for their audacity and declare that their risky risk paid off for this viewer at the very least.

I thought it was pretty layered symbolism that Aarti forgot her lingerie. First of all is the most literal explanation, that she had no time to think about herself when packing for three kids, Yash and herself, the latter two in a tearing rush so they could make it to the airport. It shows that she puts herself last. Secondly is the issue with her hiding her inner self from Yash, which she was forced to reveal metaphorically today. Aarti has become so invested in becoming the facade of Aarti Yash Scindia, mother, bahu and wife, that she has forgotten who Aarti is on the inside, at Scindia house. There, nobody asks her, and nobody really cares who she is on the inside as long as she looks the way they want her to externally. Here, in her new interactions with Yash and their growing friendship, she has started to be held accountable for who she is, and to her horror, she finds nothing there. So she has to start from scratch, building her inner identity, devoid of the outer trappings. Just like Shobha said before the wedding, there is a woman buried deep under there that has her own desires; Aarti has begun to rediscover that woman, with Yash as an inescapable part of the process.

However, Aarti is not comfortable with the idea of Yash knowing her "inner workings," and so tells him to stand outside while she does her work, yet even his visible presence shakes, her, so weary is she to disclose her secrets. So she sends Yash on a mission of futility to check the car doors and windows, and only when he gets to the car does it hit Yash that something is fishy. He is so used to taking Aarti at face value, and she has made it so easy for him so far that he is surprised when he discovers that she misled him about the car windows and immediately goes to demand why she did that. Why was she confusing him, instead of the clarifying presence he is used to? Yash is not the most deductive of people and he is very literal. His family have contributed significantly to this because they hand him everything on a silver platter, ready for him when he wants it. Because the expect nothing of him, the smallest sign of initiative becomes cause for exultation. But not Aarti. She expects him to do things, to understand things and to meet her half way. She holds him to a higher standard of humanity and emotional strength, and that is what is drawing Yash out of his self centred bubble.

The confrontation today was a culmination of so many instances when Yash has simply walked away and Aarti has had to face taunts, humiliation, teasing, labelling, pressure and false accusations. He has been oblivious to the crippling pressure she has stood up to from everyone in his family from his demanding (a pota) parents, to his nosy siblings to the vicious Bua, to even her own mother who constantly forces her into something she knows is not right yet. All this time, he is indulged. He gets to go to the office, answer a phone call, glare and stalk off while she faces the family's dark underbelly.

Not today. Once again faced with an awkward situation in which someone misunderstood the nature of their relationship as being that of a conjugally blissful husband and wife, Yash walks out and leaves Aarti to deal with the smirking salesman. But today Aarti is not a bahu, she is not a keeper of the family peace and order. Today they are outside the laws of the family, as seen by Gayatri and SP, and since Aarti does not have to balance the parents and the son, she has full freedom to hold Yash responsible for his actions, or lack thereof. In this place they are equals in every sense and Yash does not have his usual advantage so Aarti finally takes to the playing field. "I told you not to come in and you did. Since you played your part in creating such an awkward situation for us, I demand that you do your part in facing the awkwardness, the reality of our relationship, of what we are supposed to be and what we are." And what does she get in return?

"Stop trying to be a typical wife. You can never be Arpita." Yash hasn't thought of Arpita since those first few moments when they were in Mumbai. Aarti and the kids have been keeping him so busy that he hasn't had a spare moment for his memories or his grief. How was Aarti behaving like a "typical wife?" She was holding him responsible for his behaviour and his relationship with her, a right he had only given to Arpita. But it was never his right to give, and by assuming it was, he has been falling back on his duties as a son, a father and now a husband to Aarti. Additionally, he is growing increasingly attracted to Aarti and today sort of sealed the deal where he is confronted with the uncomfortable truth that she is indeed a woman, a beautiful, warm, living, feeling woman and that creates certain feelings within him, feelings he only ever experienced for Arpita. So if he is feeling those things again, he comes to the pea-brained conclusion that Aarti must be creating that effect on purpose, by doing Arpita things. Time for a reality check!

"WRONG." Is that the first time Yash has heard that in his life? Quite possibly! Aarti lays bare before Yash his hypocrisy, his haste to jump to conclusions that fit his brand of logic and his injustice. I am not trying to be Arpita, it is you who see her everywhere. I am not trying to be Arpita, I am merely trying to for you what you have done for me by loving my child like your own and bringing my happiness back. I am not trying to be Arpita because I am happy being Aarti (and I like to think she said silently, the identity that YOU gave back to me when I tried to take it from myself). I am not trying to be Arpita, to win your heart, because otherwise I would have never brought you close to where you and she spent so many happy moments together and encouraged you to be happy remembering them.

And at that point we see how fragile and unsure Yash actually is behind all that machismo. So long he has been surrounded by yesmen and enablers that he crumbles completely when presented with this logical argument. So much of Yash's power, like SP's before him is based on nothing but the status society's norms have given them. When faced with a logical argument, showing him his own flaws, he is left with no choice but to surrender to it. That is why SP has made such friends of logic and words. He can twist them any way he likes to make his illogical power seem legitimate. But Aarti has Yash here too. When he says sorry, she refuses to show any relenting, and that last vestige of his ego makes its appearance, How dare she not acknowledge his descent to the plebian activity of apology? And Aarti meets his eyes fearlessly and says, "sorry is not enough," words are not enough, saying you want a mother for your daughters is not enough. You have to make it happen, not expect it to. You have to face all the roughness and the awkwardness, not avoid it and expect it to fix itself. And finally Yash understands. He has to carry his weight in this relationship, even if that means facing awkward questions, labels and pressures.

I will end on the fantastic juxtaposition of Aarti and Paridhi today. It was a total role reversal from the beginning of the story. Now Aarti has become the smart one. She never questions her husband in the family context, but does it all away from their eyes, so that Yash learns a permanent lesson that he will carry home with him. Paridhi on the other hand, is blatantly honest with Gayatri, which did nothing good for Aarti in the beginning when she would confess to be worried about Ansh without thinking who she was talking to. Suddenly, it is Aarti who has learned to read her audience and Paridhi who is missing the mark every time, leading to extreme, mutual frustration. Gayatri becomes dominating when she feels her sons are not being taken care of and today Paridhi gave her that impression. Gayatri's insecurity returned today and so her domination. It is fascinating to see it from a different perspective this time around.

Originally posted by: 49erFan

I seriously think she forgot Kamasutra condems from her honeymoon! 😆😆😆😆😆Just wants to be prepared u know what I mean! 😆😆😆😆