Considering Ashks steady improvement over the three or four weeks, I should not have been surprised at how good this week’s episode was. It may not please everyone but for those of us faithful individuals joined to it by some mysterious Kacha dhaga, who have walked through the deserts of bad episodes to get to this point, it looks like a veritable oasis. I actually sat through Mehru and Bilal; s scenes and did not require the usual iron self-control I have to exercise. I even put up with Ajjo and Dinga thinking ,bechari Zaibu this is the least I can do for you .This is perhaps how it should have been from the beginning, with the Pakistani tracks complimenting the main Rohail /Zaibu one instead of dominating the whole thing .
Back to Rohail and Zaibu’s grand bargain, in which she leaves for Pakistan sans divorce and Rohail gets Madiha and his old life back. Like most agreements made in anger and mistrust it is hardly going to stand the test of a few pushes and pulls. Rohails mother is understandably heartbroken at her daughter in law’s sudden departure because apart from Zaibu who actually spends time with her, certainly not Rohail. She is not such a fool that she has no inkling of their plans, and at one point tells Rohail how Madiha said a trained Nurse would be more helpful in taking care of her. Zaibu and Rohail are trying to put a more pleasant façade on the situation but I cannot help but feel uncomfortable at the amount of lies this entire family tells each other. Poor old Zaibu, I swore I would never feel sorry for her but here I am. She did not even have the self-respect to make a dignified exit and was slobbering all over an embarrassed Rohail till the last moment . Of course she left her diary and purse behind, and yes Rohail read it while ignoring Madiha’s phone calls. Madiha finds Rohail sitting in the cold reading Zaibu’s diary and dismisses it as another ploy. (Quelle surprise!)
Throughout this episode I was struck by one theme, the difference between a woman and a girl, something I wish the Ashk team to have concentrated on that might have made this whole serial better. Zaibu is an immature, rather silly girl, who makes decisions suddenly and does not think out the long term consequences of her actions. Mehru and Madiha on the other hand are women, they choose their Men and are not afraid of speaking their minds. There were a lot of contrasts in today’s episode. However unbearable Mehru and Bilal were in previous episodes in this one they illustrated how a normal couple who care for each other sort out their differences. I was kind of glad the diary did not bring about an immediate reconciliation because Rohail needs to grow a little too and learn that the resolution to marital strife is not moving in with an available girlfriend, just as Zaibu has hopefully learned to think before she acts. What it did do was bring Zaibu’s point of view to a now increasingly conflicted Rohail, who seems to be reminded of why he actually married her in the first place. Understandably Madiha burns the diary but I have to ask, how long can a relationship based on emotional blackmail last?
Zaibu is doing a bad job of pretending to be happy in Pakistan and her relatives seem to be catching on. I had forgotten that wedding night scene when Rohail gives Zaibu a toy but when it came up in the flash back,I remembered how cute it had been. The previews for next week show Zaibu admitting everything to Mehru and more importantly there is a scene of Rohail in a suite… Does it really matter what he is doing…? Oh….very well, he is being “forced” to sign divorce papers by Madiha’s friend the lawyer. I really want to know how , I doubt any lawyer would come to your office with divorce papers you had not asked for at the insistence of a third party….But that is ASHK.
A separate note to the Facebook admin who posted that this was the last episode. I certainly hope for your immortal soul it really was actually a mistake because Allah listens to the prayers of the suffering such as us viewers …do not push us.
Written by Sadaf~
