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First of all, a big hello to fellow Dev viewers. I am a new viewer who binge watched all the older episodes and is just happy to have a show in the thriller/mystery/police procedural genre on Indian TV after a long time. It is a rarity when it happens, and it never lasts long, so I am happy whenever it happens.
I think the episodes of the past two weeks have been garnering some interesting criticism, which is what prompted me to me make this post and give my own two cents on it;) So here are my thoughts on various aspects, in no particular order:
1. Mehak: Mehak was this elusive, enigmatic figure who was always in Dev's memories, who was also narrating the events and in a way colouring our perceptions too- and reminding us that she has played a big role in making Dev the way he has become. An interesting narrative device, I felt.
2. The femme fatale- Yesterday's episode again affirmed Mehak as a femme fatale- a stock character, a woman who uses her charms to get her way and is more than what appears to the eye. I think it was obvious from Day 1 that Mehak and Vani were one and the same person. So it was not really a shock to see her in assassin mode. She is the equivalent of one of the two women characters we see in James Bond movies- the seductive siren with ulterior motives, while Meera is the conscientious, pure-hearted foil to her. I honestly didn't believe her sob story after yesterday-perhaps parts of it were true, but she still has more surprises in store, I suspect.
3. Meera: Okay, I am going to unabashedly admit that I am a huge fan of Dev and Meera's chemistry, I root strongly for them- they have a lot of potential and in many ways her grit and her strength make her complement Dev's intelligence and quirky ways. It is lovely how both of them have had darkness in their pasts, perhaps that helps them relate to each other better.
4. Dev's past: There have been enough suggestions that there is much more to Dev than what meets the eye- his lack of rootedness, the unusual name that he sports, which suggests something quixotic and mysterious- and the implication that he might be at the epicentre of this Chakravyuh. They have endowed Dev with this almost mythical past, which makes it all the more intriguing. I also love how Meera has started exploring Dev's past, her attempt will perhaps start unearthing some much-needed answers about the man he is.
5. Mehak's role: From the beginning, Mehak is almost this ghost who haunts Dev's memories, she affects him irrevocably, the guilt over her death is an albatross that hangs around Dev's neck. I for one am glad that they introduced this whole Mehak arc because hopefully Dev will attain redemption and move on to a new beginning, as an innocent, unrestricted man.😳
6. Perhaps I am one of the few people who have been enjoying the past couple of episodes- I agree that the pace is sometimes slow, and there have been some unwarranted scenes that were not really to my liking😕😆 But I liked how it all came together in the end. I practically whooped when the revelation about Mehak happened, and when I realized that Dev suspected her all along- it was a big relief to know that he was not being a dunce in a haze of lust.😆 And he played her just like she tried to play him. I think the simmering tempo of a thriller worked fine yesterday.
7. Lastly, some thoughts about our expectations from thrillers. We all have romantic ships irrespective of a genre- I for one am a DeVeera shipper- but I was just thinking whether we let our shippery feels taint the feel of a thriller😳 I was a big fan of The Mentalist, especially the lead pair Jane and Lisbon, and in retrospect, I realize that I missed out on some really good nuances and failed to appreciate some plot lines in their entirety because I was worried about the implications that it had for my ship.
The slow build-ups, the emotional turbulences in the lives of the protagonists, the perils that they face, the unknown mythical antagonist who have this big cult of supporters who pose a danger to the protagonists, the darkness residing in the protagonists themselves which can prove to be their undoing- these are some of the aspects that I found to be common in the two shows, and which I feel can be appreciated better if we see the show without the shippery trappings, IMO.
Just like that show, Dev here too has a troubled past, a dead wife. And like the female protagonist there, Meera too has suffered abuse and is resilient in spite of that darkness.
Maybe I am in the minority but I am glad that the overwhelming presence of Mehak can now dissipate so that Dev and Meera can have a new beginning. Of course, this based on the presumption that we might be getting a S2, which for all purposes might not happen But I still want it to, so that we get to see what we want to.
Being a shipper myself, it is a tad hypocritical to say this, I know😆😳 But thrillers on Indian TV are a rarity, so I was just thinking whether an alternate perspective on this changes our perception.😃
Diverse opinions and constructive criticism are more than welcome.😳
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