Originally posted by: Angie12
Sam, I will agree that the episodes were average in last couple of episodes. I was laughing at the typical serial logic - finding watermelon out of nowhere in the jungle with the ditzy heroine wanting to eat it rather than get out of the danger zone before the sunset, and then her running without any problems to her foot.
However, despite some OTT stuff, Shlok and Astha actually were consistent.
1. I do like the classy and shrewd Shlok who has very witty one lines. So I liked his parody of the song "humein tumse pyaar kitna". Then his one-liner to Astha about her dumbness in running away from him to fall in a pit in the jungle was consistent with his sarcastic personality. Astha's resistance and then her usual silly acts of attempted escapes are consistent with her character.
Today they showed Shlok quite kiddish in his vindictive behavior. But then he has been like that from the beginning. Also they showed a different part of his personality - a kid who wants attention because he has not got any. Shlok is a complex personality where manipulation, vindictiveness, abuse, and kiddish behavior are all part of his persona.
2. Astha too was not that different from her characterization. She has not given up on her hopes on Shlok despite her tall claims about hating him. She hates what he has done to her father, but deep down she is still excusing his behavior. That's why his little acts of caring (which he claims to be pretense) brings up her hopes and then his sarcasm, mocking dashes those hopes. Also she has a capability to forgive him for a lot of things. As I wrote in Misti's post many times, Avdhoot is the not the only reason for her to stay back. Her hopes about Shlok are main reasons. Any girl brought up in a stable normal environment would bolt at the prospect of living in the Agnihotri household. Yet she was willing to do so because she thought that Shlok was the dream guy and she could reform the family. I don't think she has entirely given up on that. Today when Shlok was acting more childishly (the way he used to before the marriage), she too seemed to have gotten back into her old pattern of fighting with him in that old way.
3. Regarding Shlok's behavior with Astha, there has definitely been abuse. But this behavior neither seems abuse to Shlok nor to Astha. It doesn't seem abuse to Shlok because he is a product of abusive environment and for him abuse implies the type of physical brutality Jyoti is enduring. Astha too has never considered Shlok's behavior as abusive. She has always made excuses for his slap or manhandling. She gets more angry than disgusted when Shlok calls women inferior in intelligence. So what seems like an abuse to a typical person is not abuse in Astha's eyes. In some sense, she too thinks of abuse as what has been done to Jyoti.
4. Is there going to be redemption for Shlok? I understand your view point and I would not mind at all if Shlok and Astha do not end up together. But does that mean that Shlok cannot be redeemed. Even though there are parallels between him and Abhay/Niranjan and they are doing a good job showing those, there are also many distinct differences. Shlok is a grey character (despite all his emotional issues and mental problems) whereas Abhay/Niranjan are black. So he is a character that can be redeemed unlike Abhay/Niranjan who are too evil. Also they would use Shlok as a symbol of somebody who will eventually break this circle of abuse. But like you, I hope that this would be a long process and would involve Astha gaining maturity and Shlok gaining wisdom (though remaining grey and not becoming white washed). Also, I hope that logic and characterization is maintained while it is being done.
5. I am with you on not showing Astha as the reformer of this Agnihotri family. She is a catalyst who would bring change in the family. But she is not the solution to the problem. It has to be ones who have been abused and who themselves have become abusive. Those are three Agnihotri members - Shlok, Anjali and Varad. All three have been abused - either physically or mentally. All three in their own ways have become abusive towards others. So their redemption lies in them breaking this circle. I will be very disappointed if they show Astha as the one-person solution to all problems. I really really hope that this is not shown. But since everything these days is so driven by TRPs and a standard formula, this can very well happen.
6. Precap - cannot comment much until it is shown. The pit was advertised as something else in SBB/SBS but turned out to be quite different.
Hope that you feel better about the episode. There was some unnecessary and typical serial material, but at least characterization was not inconsistent in my opinion.
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