1/2 Dragon Club: Februrary 1st

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

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Beautiful episode today. It is hard to get past that song sequence, though, and I basically want to dissect every little gesture therein so I will first get the speculation bit out of the way and then move on to the really good parts of the episode!

I still think it is SP. The reason? When Yash was listing all of the suspects who were out of the question, it occurred to me that the only reason he is not suspecting SP is because he saw him performing what could very well be token gestures in an effort to find Ansh, such as giving the clothes to the police man and yelling at Pankaj and Prateek to look all over the house. That being said, he still has the strongest motive to want to separate Aarti and Yash, and I wouldn't be surprised if Maya is merely in on the secret and rejoicing at the prospect of her brother's family falling to pieces over the single, forgivable issue of Aarti's lie.

As for SP, his speech today made me suspect him all the more. It sounded essentially like a victory speech where he was telling Yash, in a sugarcoated way and sounding like he had his best interests at heart, that no matter what Yash did to oppose him and no matter how strong he stood against him, SP still had Yash's life in the palm of his hand, to whatever he pleased with it. It goes perfectly with the logic of SP waging this war against Aarti to show who Yash followed and listened to... SP has gone this far, using Ansh's life and well being as the high stakes of this battle he perceives. He is basically declaring that no matter how much Yash tries to distance himself from his father, he will ultimately come back into line simply because SP has the brute force to ensure that happens.

Now in his speech as he was ordering Yash to do right by this girl, Ishita, he reeked of pride... Yash had always listened to him and he would listen to him now and enter into this marriage in earnest, forgetting Aarti. SP likes to think that his sons are puppets in his hands but pride comes before fall and if all the articles are anything to go by, SP's fall is fast approaching. What is sad is how little he has learned from the time Yash lost Arpita: the more you tell Yash to do something he doesn't want to, the angrier and more rebellious he gets. On the other hand, what was beautiful was the maturity in Yash. Unlike before, when he used to openly fight back, he calmed himself down today, knowing that there was a bigger battle to fight. SP really did a smart thing by throwing Yash's scent off of him with that sniffer dog move, because otherwise Yash has all the right evidence against him.

The Pankaj-Prateek scene was really interesting. It is definitely an important phenomenon they are addressing there where when people feel helpless to do something about a profoundly unjust situation, they drink to numb the pain. The problem with these two is that they are in two different ways, completely under SP's thumb. I imagine Pankaj, being the oldest is long acquainted with SP's true nature. It is almost as though he is too jaded to even try to rebel. The truth of the matter is that he is kind of bitter about relationships at this point, with Vidhi distancing herself from him and SP and Gayatri being the way they are and taking him completely for granted. Prateek, on the other hand, is still a child. He can't make decisions until the situation blows up in his face, just like he didn't support Paridhi working until SP found out himself and called her out on it and today, he didn't support Yash and Aarti until their relationship is on the verge of destruction. He is just now learning that blindly following his parents is not always the way to an easy, happy life; sometimes you have to go against them when you know better. But Pankaj is so jaded that all he could do was comfort Prateek as though to say, this is how it is, learn to accept it. Yash was the bridge between these two extremes, and without him they find themselves utterly helpless.

Now to the most interesting scene before I get to the song sequence: the Palak and Payal scene. I love how these two are so in tune with what is going on, and yet kept protected from the really tragedy of it. As far as they know, Ansh is coming home tomorrow and so they go off to play without a care in the world. All they want, all they have ever wanted is for this family to stay together. I remember the first thing Palak did after she accepted Aarti was to propose the Mumbai trip. Now that she had accepted this new mother, and understood Aarti's place in her life, next to Arpita and not erasing her memory, the thing she wanted most of all was to consolidate that in a place where she best remembered/pictured being a family with both her parents and her sister. And all the kids have done more than their share to make sure their parents stay together and happy with each other. How can we forget all the little tricks Ansh and Palak pulled on Yash post-Mumbai, as well as their attempt to steal money from the safe? It is not only Yash and Aarti but the kids who have worked hard for this relationship to work and they are not going to pleased when they find out what is going on. What is interesting though is how integrated the Scindias and the Dubeys are even in this time in that Shobha is getting the girls ready while the Scindias do other things. Or do we read it as how neglected the girls were before?

And now finally to the song sequence! How beautiful the whole scene was and how poignantly it encapsulated the entirety of the Aarti-Yash relationship in one beautiful sequence. I think what I loved most about it was that them actually seeing each other was of minimal importance and the other senses sort of ruled the whole thing. In the beginning we see Yash sitting by the pond all by himself, staring at the moon and then Aarti enters. Yash doesn't turn around to look at her, but sensing her there, probably through the sound of her feet, a loop closure to the diya scene, btw, he starts talking, not necessarily to her, but as though releasing his feelings. I loved how they were both standing separately, looking at the moon because this reminded me of their soul connection, how they were before they met when they hadn't laid eyes on each other but you could tell they were connected just by looking at them. Yash speaks about slowing down and speeding up time, reiterating his need for control and his helplessness when he has none. Aarti on the other hand, talks about how growing nearness only makes you aware of time passing by. Her little dialogue made it sound like the moon was mocking them, giving them the illusion of light, peace and beauty while actually counting the moments until they had to separate.

Then my favourite part - Yash just reaches out for her hand and Aarti holds it. They still don't look at each other but enjoy the feeling of each other's comforting touch. Yash is holding that red dupatta in his hand, as though he doesn't know quite what to do with it. And when he finally brings Aarti in front of him it becomes clear. She is his chosen bride, she always was. Even when he was doing this out of helplessness for his daughters to have a mother, she was the mother he chose for them. That is what sets his relationship with Aarti apart from this other wedding he is doing. It seems so similar and yet, both Aarti and Yash sense now, with all the baggage out of the way, that they were connected from even before they knew each other. I loved how they signified that with their little hand gestures. Yash says something to the effect of we are not meant to be together, despite putting the dupatta on her head... what he used to say when he was still in Arpita-land, and Aarti is the one that holds him back and reiterates their bond. It is then that he takes her into his arms--- which reminded me of Yash's realisation.

I just LOVED how when he was telling her she was more beautiful than the moon, he didn't even look at her again. Their relationship runs so much deeper than physical appearances, despite both being gorgeous people. And finally that hug... when both of them are in love with each other, no holds barred. It was such an incredible release of emotions from both their sides and really looked as though they had to live their whole lives in this one night. I love how the song ended on Yash in the same position in which he started, only this time he had Aarti ensconced in his arms. They started out staring at the moon, as though counting the seconds of togetherness, but eventually they stopped, as though savouring this moment while it lasted. Beautiful!