Posted:
Just a nice episode. Nothing more.
Fantastic performances tonight though. Character/relationship growth was great. Don't have much to add otherwise. Moving on to the...
>> Pros:
1) Sia's future and Raghav's suggestions
First, note how Raghav suggested teacher as education/work for Sia. I read, once a while back, that Sriti had wanted to teach before she stumbled into acting. Coincidence? I don't know. But I liked Raghav's ideas. He suggested things that he'd noticed Sia was good at, or liked to do -- such as spending time with children, and cooking.
What I found interesting here was that, unlike V, Raghav had actually paid attention to Sia's likes/dislikes, her qualities/skills and interests. That warmed my heart. Plus I liked how he was solution-oriented while she was problem-oriented. When he suggested a job as a teacher, she instantly pointed out the issue -- she didn't have a degree. And Raghav instantly countered her problem-oriented mind set by coming up with solutions -- that she could get a degree, that he would talk to his mom and get her a job.
I think that Sia is used to thinking of things as impossible and problematic. She's kind of a pessimist [which is something that I can relate to] while Raghav is an optimist.
The look she gave him when he said that she was good at scolding was hilarious. I love it when one glance from her makes him hesitate. He does it on purpose though. It's not like he's actually afraid of her.
I loved the part where they talked about Gayatri. Raghav's insecurity was obvious, but at the same time there was a genuine happiness at having re-bonded with his mother. Plus the "what do I talk to her about" insecurity of his was beautifully conveyed. It's that weird feeling, that awkwardness -- you want to spend time with your mother, you want to bond, you want to enjoy every second of the newfound relationship, and you want to maintain her kindness toward you, but you fear saying something wrong, or perhaps not knowing how to say something right. You want to make her proud, and say something of value.
Raghav wants to show her that he's reaching out too. That she matters to him too.
2) The almost-kiss
I knew it was coming from the moment Krish asked for a double kiss. It was a very sweet, very intense moment b/w Raghav/Sia. Usually, it's a kiss on the cheek, but hats off to the writers daring to be bold about the romance and making it an almost lip-lock. Something that I'm grateful for -- and I'm not sure if it's thanks to the writers, the actors, or a combo of both -- the innocence and purity of Raghav/Sia was sustained.
It was handled flawlessly. The gentle mix of purity/innocence and intensity/attraction was delicately conveyed. Beautiful work. Beautiful performances.
What cracked me up was when Sia said goodnight and headed out of her own room until she realized what she was doing. The performances in this scene were outstanding. The timidness, the awkwardness, the crickets-cricketing silence, the nervousness, and, at the same time, the undeniable attraction lingering in the air whenever they eye-locked or the moment they passed each other. Flawless.
I loved their final cut-around-the-edges "goodnight". A poor attempt at being casual. Just fantastic portrayal by both actors.
3) Taashu and Komal trick Raghav/Sia
Well, I'll admit that it was a clever idea. Indeed. If anything could've riled up Raghav/Sia, it was most definitely the thought that V had escaped and would attack one of them. But I'm going to agree with Gayatri on this one. It wasn't right. The intention was good, but they'd disturbed a lot of people due to this trick.
I'm glad that Gayatri reprimanded them. I also liked that Raghav/Sia were upset with both of them for it. Understandably. They were put in an uncomfortable situation.
4) Uma's concern over V's "escape"
I actually felt bad for Uma here. Komal probably should've told her that it was a trick.
5) First Hug b/w Raghav/Sia and everyone sees
My God. How long have we waited for this moment? Five-six months? We've imagined it in a million different ways, but the actual moment blew me away. First, I loved how Sia's arms wrapped around his neck, clinging, and how she went on her tippy toes [the guy is so damn tall]. Those were such sweet details that added more conviction and sweetness to the scene, so much more depth. I also loved the way that Raghav's arm wound around her tiny waist [I swear that she almost disappeared in his arms -- she's so small].
Second, their expressions were out of this world fantastic. They conveyed utter surrender and relief and joy at seeing each other alive. They looked like they'd never let go. I really liked how Raghav, in a brief moment, buried his face in her hair. That gave me this sense of wanting to breathe someone in because you need to make sure they're real.
Nice detail.
Realization struck them soon enough and they stepped back. What I found kind of cute, in a way, was how Sia couldn't meet his eyes even as she stuttered out her "are you okay?"
It was hilarious to watch them reach the conclusion that they'd been tricked 😆
Of course, the entire family showed up. I do think that it was unnecessary to have Komal and Taashu explain the situation to Gayatri/Uma -- as if explaining to us viewers as well. We all got it when Raghav/Sia realized they'd been tricked. Plus the scene at home when Gayatri reprimanded Komal and Taashu further confirmed things.
Sometimes Indian shows explain things as if the viewers are too dense to catch on 😆
6) Pressure on Raghav/Sia through family "intervention"
This was one of my favorite scenes tonight. You saw how the family intervened, how they put Raghav/Sia in an uncomfortable position, an awkward position. Raghav was pissed at them because he felt that they pressured Sia and stripped his emotions, exposed him, as if he hadn't already been rejected enough. He felt angry on Sia's behalf and vulnerable.
Sia, on the other hand, felt awkward and confused and not ready to talk about what she'd just experienced. She hadn't had a moment to herself in the wake of the hug. And all of a sudden, Gayatri and Uma were asking her to marry Raghav. She didn't want to say no to him. But she wasn't sure of her yes either. She needed time to think and access.
What I liked about this scene is that it depicted a familiar situation. The kind where family throws you something and you're left fending, trying to understand and find your footing. But you're not given time. There's pressure and confusion. None of the others handled it well tonight. They should've let Raghav/Sia figure things out for themselves.
Something that I enjoyed was how Sia shot Raghav an omigod look when Uma said that she's in love with him, and how Raghav kept shooting her worried glances throughout. It was kind of funny.
7) The no
I absolutely loved how Raghav/Sia looked at each other, looked straight ahead, and then said no in sync. Fantastic.
8) Sia decides to leave, Raghav is worried for their friendship [and in denial]
I actually get Sia. She wants to protect the Singhs as she feels guilty. But I don't get how she thinks leaving will protect them. I mean, V made it pretty clear that he'd destroy them. Not just because of Sia, but because of Gayatri's slap and Raghav. She needs to realize that leaving isn't an option anymore. She can't keep V from trying to hurt the people that she cares about. That's not in her hands. She can't control his actions.
Why sacrifice her own happiness, again, and allow V to dictate her actions? He's done it enough. She must stop letting his shadow rule her life.
Something I loved was Raghav's concern over his friendship with Sia, and whether Komal and Taashu's little stunt had ruined it. He didn't want Sia to feel pressured. He didn't want her to feel awkward around him, to feel that she owed him anything. I liked how upset he was with Komal and Taashu, and how he didn't want to talk to them at that point.
That was understandable.
Plus, I think that he's in denial because he's afraid of believing, afraid of getting his hopes up that Sia might love him. His heart's been crushed one too many times.
9) V states that he can never change
Well, here we have it again. Writers sure know how to confuse us. Sometimes they show us things that hint at a redemption track for V, and then they switch tactic and emphasize how he's unredeemable.
I know that he's unredeemable. We know that he's unredeemable.
But I wonder if the writers know/understand that he's unredeemable? Because they swing like pendulum clocks. There can be no redemption for V, in my opinion. He's a complete psychopath. He enjoys inflicting pain. He enjoys the hunt.
I hope that they don't force-feed us another redemption track again. I've seriously had it.
>> Cons:
1) Screenplay seemed unstructured and rushed
It seemed like a mess. They could've shown the V scene first in which he laid sleeping in his bed. Then moved on to Raghav/Sia having their conversation in her room and played that sequence out with the almost-kiss. If the sequence hadn't been disrupted, then I feel that 1) the editing wouldn't have seemed choppy, 2) the flow would've been there, and 3) the connection b/w viewer and the couple's moment wouldn't have been interrupted.
Furthermore, the sudden shift from home-out-home seemed so rushed and choppy. Like, one moment we were with Sia at home, then in Taashu's car, then in a park. And then we were with Raghav, running, then with him in the park, then the hug, confrontation, and oh God, we were back home again. My mind had to adjust to every change in environment. But I hardly got a chance before the surroundings had changed again.
The sense of rush was strong. I'm not liking it. I know that there's a leap soon [and yeah, I'm still pissed about that and not in support of it], and I know that the writers are working hard to be fair to characters and their interaction while at the same time working toward covering story progression before the leap -- but I just... I just can't enjoy an episode that is so rushed and unstructured. Because I know how fantastic the writers are at penning down screenplays that leave me speechless. But they're sacrificing it in order to meet a deadline, and I try to be okay with it. I'm just not.
And I wonder. Is this going to continue until the leap happens?
2) Stereotypes and cliches
The cops were made incredibly stupid. First, the female cop was shown as smart. She'd figured that V would try to escape. Which made me wonder why she hadn't stationed at least one cop in his room to watch him all night. Second, when one of the cops entered, checking on V, why didn't he remove the blanket from his face? That's just illogical.
Plus if a nurse went in and didn't come out, the cops should've comprehended that there was something wrong, right? The whole scene showed me stereotypical cops and cliche. This is how we've seen the escape of a criminal happen in movies and other shows. I'm expecting too much from the writers, perhaps, but I've always respected them for taking cliches, tweaking them, making them their own, and then presenting them.
But the way that they're handling things that I know they would've handled differently, yet they chose not to -- it's disappointing. Perhaps there's a lot of pressure on them right now, before the leap, and so meeting deadlines has become more important than polishing up their screenplays.
3) Better promos, please
Look back at the past promos. They used to be classy, high quality. They used showcase how much effort had been put into editing/directing them and presenting them. But I'm so disappointed with the last couple of promos as they've been decreasing in quality. I don't think that the show will gain popularity with bad promos, so the channel needs to get their a#ses together and invest in some high quality promoting.
4) Gayatri's and Uma's dialogues
Disappointed me tonight. First, they almost had nothing to say. Second, when they finally spoke, the dialogues weren't awesome. Though the performances were fantastic.
5) Aren't we missing a scene?
I'm not sure if it's going to be shown in the upcoming episodes, but in an SBS segment, it was shown that Sia's in a peach dress, drying her hair with a towel, smiling as she thinks of Raghav -- has that been edited out, or is it going to come up soon?
6) The build-up to the Hug
The build-up was choppy and anti-climax. Luckily, the Hug saved the scene from crashing to its death. Plus, the director should seriously consider shooting people running from the side, not from a worm's eye view or up-tilt. It would make the running look more impactful and gripping rather than silly.
