Indu, just catching up. My brain is thisclose to being fried, so I don't have much to say on the most recent episodes that hasn't already been said. But, as always, you have written such a fantastic review.
So, Step 1: Get Aarti to be on Team Prashant...How? By getting into her good books as well as making her a helpless partner in a nonexistent illicit situation...by planting clues and then offering solutions to wriggle out of the awkward situations arising from those clues. In simple words, Operation Alienating Aarti from the Scindias is on. Step 2: Ensure Yash traces the clues to him. The more such coincidences happen, the more deeper Yash's suspicions will be...at least that is what Prashant will expect. That is why the blue scarf...which only Yash has seen...Add that to the watch scare. In simple words, work on Yash's anger against Aarti. He is banking on Aarti's fear of Yash's anger that made her flee the last time when she couldn't trust Yash with the Ayu truth. Maybe she will repeat that act...!!!
*nodding enthusiastically* Exactly! Slippery one this Ex.
Your post reminded me of something I've wished for since this whole Ex thing started up. From what we've seen so far, both Aarti and Yash in their interaction with the Ex have let their guards down around him for differing reasons; they both have a tendency to give him too much information via verbal or behavioral leakage and we see how subtly he's been using the information he gets. So here's my wish. Because the history with Lakhan remains unexplored at this point, once the Ex's true identity and motives are revealed, I'd like to see a "corrupting" or "sophisticating" of Yash in terms of his interaction with people. I'd like to see Aarti included in that as well. I don't know, it would be fitting and interesting to see both Yash and Aarti evolve into a more intuitively worldly-wise (skeptical) couple while still keeping the personable side to their natures in tact.
All the Prashant-created scares are bound to take a toll on her...Aarti's silence and abetment to lies are not taken lightly by the audience, so a grievous health condition (maybe MC) may gain her some sympathy votes...!!!
That's what I'm thinking too. She already has my sympathy, so I'm really just waiting for the next shoe to drop right now. It's been a might long three weeks, and since the Ex is snaking his way in based on his own presumptions, something is bound to give way at some point -- either her health or finally the truth, or both.