Ankie, you have hit a sixer for every ball of this episode in this analysis! I really love how you grasped every nuance of your baby Asad! And also reminded Zoya of at least one occasion where she was glad of Asads support!
May I complain about the CVs a little! Part of zoes charm in the past was her ready acknowledgement of Mr. Khan eg post mangalpur, post abbu grave and post gudiya factory. Her allusion to his strength, and her thanks made her spirit truly beautiful. Because it was so pure, so sincere, so straight from the heart that it made him fall for her more and more!
But now, to forget that even as she acknowledges his recent show of support, and to patronize him about running away from his problems, takes away from the bonding of that scene. Just me, perhaps? Her masoomiyat seems to have disappeared, being exchanged for a certain preachiness. In an effort to make her strong and larger than life, the CVs have taken away her vulnerability and fallibility that made her so appealing