There is nothing in this world that can replace simple common sense. Not all the money, not all the looks and not all the other virtues we often extol. Common sense says if something burns your hand you step away from it immediately, this is exactly why there are pain sensitive nerves in human skin. For some of us however once is not enough is, we have to keep touching that flame because despite every indication to the contrary, we are hoping it will feel different the next time or perhaps we just like the way it hurts.

With one difficult decision, Mikaal saves himself a life time of complications and misery by breaking off his engagement to Zaib. He has been her constant companion for so many years, risking life and limb to keep Zaib safe but in her eyes he is not worthy of any consideration . His care and kindness are not appreciated instead Zaib feels ‘suffocated’ by him, lying through her teeth to do what she feels is right. Their point of contention is her attempts to improve Dilaver’s and his family’s life. Zaib secretly meets with Dilaver and finds out that the Chacha had sent for the boy not the other way round. Then on the advice of her father she sends the police to threaten the Chacha so he finally leaves Dilaver’s family alone. No matter how laudable Zaib’s intentions she achieves her aims through deceit and manipulation leaving Mikaal feeling betrayed enough to return the engagement ring he received from her only last week. At first I thought this was a tad hasty, like breaking off at the first hurdle then I remembered how long Mikaal has known Zaib and applauded his character’s instincts for self-preservation.

Sadly no such instincts seem to have found their way into Bilal’s consciousness. At first I thought he was so besotted with Natasha that he would put up with anything just to keep her near him, and then I realized that this unusual level of tolerance is just his nature. Natasha arrives in the USA like a hurricane sweeping all good will and relationships before her. One thing I do admire about her character is that she is always very straightforward. When Rayaan asks her to make tea for Bilal and himself she gives him an unqualified refusal. She says she will brook no interference in her life and quite openly expresses her disappointment with Bilal’s financial situation. The fact that Bilal is dependent on his brother and all of Zaib’s ‘taney” haunt her thoughts. She does not bother with any subterfuge or diplomacy and continues treats Bilal abominably: when she isn’t ignoring him she is berating him for being an inadequate fool. She spends all day shopping with money Bilal does not have and does nothing around the house. The worst part is that instead of trying to build any kind of relationship with Bilal, Rayaan or Muneeze, she spends her time trying to impress Mahjabeen, who is not even a family member anymore. Natasha reveals herself to be ill mannered, materialistic and quite frankly another nightmare daughter in law along the lines of Mahjabeen.

This episode I felt bad for Muneeze. She may not be very sensible or know when to keep her mouth shut always but she really did not do anything to deserve being banned from her bothers’ house. When people get married apparently they lose all their relatives otherwise the marriage will immediately fall apart … err..Not really. Rayaan is the one who rules the roost in the family and it is his decision to listen to Natasha and bar his own sister from his house. From one of their conversations I get the feeling that a similar situation may have occurred with Mahjabeen and since his divorce Rayaan is does not want anyone else in his family to go through such pain.

After the broken engagement Zaib is depressed but does not want to make it up with Mikaal. The funny thing is she did not seem that depressed to me. I am not faulting Amina Shaikh’s acting, rather there was some element of dramatic tension missing from the whole broken engagement scenario that did not move me other than to congratulate Mikaal on his good fortune. For no reason known to God or man Durdana suddenly decides to send Zaib to visit Natasha in the States. This brings me to something a few points about the older generation in both families. They seem completely out of touch with reality. Shamim Hilali’s character maybe a great mother in law but she does not strike me as a woman who has her children’s best interests at heart. She sets no limits for her daughter in laws, gives them no guidance and seems to think their only qualification should be whether her sons find them attractive or not. Similarly the Zaib and Natasha’s parents can find no time to actually guide their daughters and rely solely on the girl’s judgment as to the suitability of a partner. What happened to the wisdom they were supposed to acquire, have they no sensible advice to give? Didn’t Durdana and her husband give Natasha any advice before she left for the States? What makes them think it is Ok to send Zaib to their youngest daughter’s new in laws house?

Apart from that one small caveat about the broken engagement this was a fantastic episode. Mira was excellent and made me hate her so much. Amina cannot put a foot wrong for me and Vassey Chaudhry was great. Finally we saw more of Adeel Hassan and as they say good things come to those who wait (Mahjabeen you idiot, you didn’t deserve him anyway). The chemistry between Maheen Rizvi, Danyal Raheel and Adeel Hassan was amazing and made the whole thing entirely believable. When I first started watching this serial I was so worried about this being the typical two sisters’ story: one good, one bad. However, the script is so nuanced and such an accurate observation of human nature combined with such good direction that it that it has more than justified itself. Sorry this was a long review, I am usually not in favour of long reviews myself and favour concise versions because I really enjoy reading the comments most but it was just that kind of episode ….so please forgive me :)

 Written  By -Sadaf