Posted:
Credit for this gorgeous banner goes to Maham (Allbut1)!
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There are two things that really stood out to me in today's episode:
1. Prashant - Aarti Conversation
This has to be the most loved and discussed topic of today's thread, from what I have read so far and I won't say much more because all of you have covered it so beautifully. But I would like to talk about how something came upon Aarti today, a realization that has been a long time in the making: that she doesn't have to hate Prashant in order to love Yash. Aarti wanted Prashant back in her, Ansh and the Dubeys' lives for so long. She waited patiently and prayed night and day with the faith that one day he would realise their value and come back to them, realise the value of their love... and that day has finally come. What Aarti hadn't anticipated though is the change in herself before this long awaited day arrived in her life. Here is what I gather from watching the episodes right from the first time Aarti saw Prashant, "back from the dead," running away with Ansh. She didn't trust herself with Prashant, trust herself not to be influenced and affected by him when all those years, despite knowing his infidelity to her and his abandonment of their child, she continued to love him and hope for his return.
At this point, not only was Yash the one she loved, but he was the one she wanted to love because he is the right man for her and for Ansh. She didn't want to let him or herself down by once again falling for Prashant's charms, or his genuine need for them because of his cancer. Yet she couldn't deny the power that Prashant had over her and the deep feelings she had once had for him. So without really hearing him out, she pushed him away as aggressively as possible, lest her feelings for him resurface and conquer her newfound and empowering love for Yash. If you notice, the times that Aarti was most vocally upset with Prashant were those times when he tried to get any closer to her or Ansh, what she feared she still wanted deep down. But today, everything changed. At every step Aarti was testing herself and at every step she found that Prashant had no influence over her... what she had been fighting so hard to prevent when he came to Scindia house, was not even a real threat! She sat next to Prashant, he intimated how well he knew her, he flirted with her and they got stranded together in the middle of nowhere... all Aarti could think about was Yash. If there was any doubt in Aarti's mind over the effect Prashant's presence could have on her, it was erased today because she proved to herself that there is only one man in her mind, and not even one she once loved so deeply and who loved her in return, can shake this yet uncertain relationship she has with Yash. Today Aarti got over Prashant.
And that is precisely why, when Prashant once again tried to interfere and her and Yash's relationship, Aarti was not angry or defensive at all. Whatever her and Yash's relationship was, she was secure in it, there was nothing more to speak of and so with her wits about her, Aarti was able to play Prashant nicely at his own game. If he was the great and sympathetic ex, saving her new marriage out of the goodness in his heart, then she was no less. If he could indulgently inform her that what Yash felt for her was love and nothing else, as though she is naive and clueless about her own marriage, then she too can hold a mirror up to him and tell him that his relationships fail because he does not value love. She was not afraid of stating her relationship as it was with Yash, proudly in all its uncertainty because she would not let him dictate the terms. Aarti is no longer actively pushing Prashant away, because she is simply not scared anymore that he can gain access to her mind. What sweet irony it was when Aarti said, don't think about what you did to me... make up with Nida. It echoed the words that Prashant spoke so long ago, "I free you from this relationship." More than any threat she has hurled his way, more than her silence or her insults, more than any declaration of love for Yash, it is her compassion today that left Prashant feeling abandoned.
2. Gayatri, the surprise package!
I thought Gayatri was beautiful in today's episode. How far she has come from the insecure and antagonistic woman we knew at the beginning of the show. I think today hinted that Gayatri just might become the unexpected support for Aarti through the divorce lie. Why do I say this? Because finally, Gayatri has a connection with Aarti that transcends their mutual relationships with Yash. Gayatri sees the woman and mother in Aarti and relates to her through her own inner-woman, a connection that was established when Yash was going mad after Mumbai. For the first time, with the whole Aman doubt, Gayatri realised that Aarti wasn't a machine into which expectations could be fed and results expected. She was a human woman with her own desires, desires that Gayatri's son had failed to fulfill, and so Gayatri not only forgave Aarti for having strayed potentially, she also apologised to her later for doubting her character.
Today there were two dialogues in particular that really stuck with me. One was when Aarti told Gayatri she had gone to meet Ansh, and Gayatri totally understood. Again, what a turn around! The very thing that irritated and worried Gayatri the most about Aarti today, is the very thing that she is accepting without question, attributing it to Aarti's pregnancy when her motherly instinct and emotions are running high. Even though I felt sympathy for Bua, it was interesting to see Gayatri start her sentence off with "Jiji, maybe you don't know this, but..." Gayatri and Aarti share realms of womanhood that Bua cannot comprehend and so Gayatri now uses her own judgment on Aarti rather than trusting that of Bua. This brings me to wonder, if Gayatri could have changed so much in her views and worries regarding Aarti's attachment to Ansh, because of who she knows Aarti is and what she has done, then could her fear about the divorcee vs. widow issue also seem moot to her at this point? But the clincher is still the lie.
The second dialogue that I really liked was when she said she had only one complaint: that Aarti should have taken Yash with her. I was so with Gayatri on that one, in ways that neither Gayatri nor Yash understand at this point! In general, Aarti needs to take Yash with her on this journey and not face it alone, because her doing all this by herself, as Gayatri rightly said, is a risk for the little one in her womb.
1. Prashant - Aarti Conversation
This has to be the most loved and discussed topic of today's thread, from what I have read so far and I won't say much more because all of you have covered it so beautifully. But I would like to talk about how something came upon Aarti today, a realization that has been a long time in the making: that she doesn't have to hate Prashant in order to love Yash. Aarti wanted Prashant back in her, Ansh and the Dubeys' lives for so long. She waited patiently and prayed night and day with the faith that one day he would realise their value and come back to them, realise the value of their love... and that day has finally come. What Aarti hadn't anticipated though is the change in herself before this long awaited day arrived in her life. Here is what I gather from watching the episodes right from the first time Aarti saw Prashant, "back from the dead," running away with Ansh. She didn't trust herself with Prashant, trust herself not to be influenced and affected by him when all those years, despite knowing his infidelity to her and his abandonment of their child, she continued to love him and hope for his return.
At this point, not only was Yash the one she loved, but he was the one she wanted to love because he is the right man for her and for Ansh. She didn't want to let him or herself down by once again falling for Prashant's charms, or his genuine need for them because of his cancer. Yet she couldn't deny the power that Prashant had over her and the deep feelings she had once had for him. So without really hearing him out, she pushed him away as aggressively as possible, lest her feelings for him resurface and conquer her newfound and empowering love for Yash. If you notice, the times that Aarti was most vocally upset with Prashant were those times when he tried to get any closer to her or Ansh, what she feared she still wanted deep down. But today, everything changed. At every step Aarti was testing herself and at every step she found that Prashant had no influence over her... what she had been fighting so hard to prevent when he came to Scindia house, was not even a real threat! She sat next to Prashant, he intimated how well he knew her, he flirted with her and they got stranded together in the middle of nowhere... all Aarti could think about was Yash. If there was any doubt in Aarti's mind over the effect Prashant's presence could have on her, it was erased today because she proved to herself that there is only one man in her mind, and not even one she once loved so deeply and who loved her in return, can shake this yet uncertain relationship she has with Yash. Today Aarti got over Prashant.
And that is precisely why, when Prashant once again tried to interfere and her and Yash's relationship, Aarti was not angry or defensive at all. Whatever her and Yash's relationship was, she was secure in it, there was nothing more to speak of and so with her wits about her, Aarti was able to play Prashant nicely at his own game. If he was the great and sympathetic ex, saving her new marriage out of the goodness in his heart, then she was no less. If he could indulgently inform her that what Yash felt for her was love and nothing else, as though she is naive and clueless about her own marriage, then she too can hold a mirror up to him and tell him that his relationships fail because he does not value love. She was not afraid of stating her relationship as it was with Yash, proudly in all its uncertainty because she would not let him dictate the terms. Aarti is no longer actively pushing Prashant away, because she is simply not scared anymore that he can gain access to her mind. What sweet irony it was when Aarti said, don't think about what you did to me... make up with Nida. It echoed the words that Prashant spoke so long ago, "I free you from this relationship." More than any threat she has hurled his way, more than her silence or her insults, more than any declaration of love for Yash, it is her compassion today that left Prashant feeling abandoned.
2. Gayatri, the surprise package!
I thought Gayatri was beautiful in today's episode. How far she has come from the insecure and antagonistic woman we knew at the beginning of the show. I think today hinted that Gayatri just might become the unexpected support for Aarti through the divorce lie. Why do I say this? Because finally, Gayatri has a connection with Aarti that transcends their mutual relationships with Yash. Gayatri sees the woman and mother in Aarti and relates to her through her own inner-woman, a connection that was established when Yash was going mad after Mumbai. For the first time, with the whole Aman doubt, Gayatri realised that Aarti wasn't a machine into which expectations could be fed and results expected. She was a human woman with her own desires, desires that Gayatri's son had failed to fulfill, and so Gayatri not only forgave Aarti for having strayed potentially, she also apologised to her later for doubting her character.
Today there were two dialogues in particular that really stuck with me. One was when Aarti told Gayatri she had gone to meet Ansh, and Gayatri totally understood. Again, what a turn around! The very thing that irritated and worried Gayatri the most about Aarti today, is the very thing that she is accepting without question, attributing it to Aarti's pregnancy when her motherly instinct and emotions are running high. Even though I felt sympathy for Bua, it was interesting to see Gayatri start her sentence off with "Jiji, maybe you don't know this, but..." Gayatri and Aarti share realms of womanhood that Bua cannot comprehend and so Gayatri now uses her own judgment on Aarti rather than trusting that of Bua. This brings me to wonder, if Gayatri could have changed so much in her views and worries regarding Aarti's attachment to Ansh, because of who she knows Aarti is and what she has done, then could her fear about the divorcee vs. widow issue also seem moot to her at this point? But the clincher is still the lie.
The second dialogue that I really liked was when she said she had only one complaint: that Aarti should have taken Yash with her. I was so with Gayatri on that one, in ways that neither Gayatri nor Yash understand at this point! In general, Aarti needs to take Yash with her on this journey and not face it alone, because her doing all this by herself, as Gayatri rightly said, is a risk for the little one in her womb.
Anupamaa
Dr Aarambhi
