Episode Review: July 20th, 2012

The storms continues as Khushi continues to call out.  Suddenly, the door behind her shuts and she is locked outside.  Using a plant, she breaks open the door and hurries downstairs.  In the car on their way to the prayer, the Raizada's are stuck in traffic.  Apparently, there has been an accident, closing down the road.  They decide to head on home as it would take too long to reach the prayer and also Anjali was not doing too well.  Back at the house, Khushi begins to come downstairs, all the while chanting Devi Mayya's name.  She sees someone standing and calls out to see who it is.  She gets no response and becomes more afraid.  Finally, she is able to see that it is Arnav standing there as he calls out her name.  Happy to see him, she runs down the stairs and into his arms.  The two share a long hug, where Khushi tells him that she is glad he is home as she was so scared.  As he comforts her, she sees something on the ground; rose petals.  When she picks it up, the lights go on and she sees the pathway of rose petals leading from the stairs to where they are standing.  Realising this was Arnav's plan, she begins to yell at him for making her so scared.  Seeing her like this, he grabs her and the two share another hug.  He reminds her of the bet they set earlier that day and tells her that he doesn't mind if she accepts him as her husband.  The two almost share a kiss until the family walks in.  They are surprised to see Arnav home.  Before he can explain himself, Mami begins her rant on how Khushi and Payal are manipulating their husbands.  Upset, Anjali refuses to listen to Arnav and retreats to her room.  Arnav goes to talk to her to clear her misunderstanding but she refuses to listen.  She states to him that he lied about his meeting and that he really wanted to spend time with Khushi.  Unable to explain himself, he is forced to leave. He then gets Akash and Mami to give Anjali her medication, but she refuses as well.  Payal brings Akash his dinner and he is miffed with her.  Upset, Payal tells Akash that she is sick and tired of being blamed for something for which she has not done.  She asks Akash if he is upset with her for hiding the secret or for the mere fact that she is Khushi's sister.  Arnav again tries to speak to his sister and he is successful in getting her to take her medication.  She then states to him that he has changed, he has fallen in love and that everything has changed since the day he got married.

What worked: Arnav's new dilemma.  He's stuck between a rock and a hard place.  On one hand, he wants to bring happiness back into his sister's life and make sure that she is okay, especially after everything that has happened.  On the other hand, he wants to make up to what he did to Khushi and be able to make her happy as she didn't deserve what she received.  The writers have beautifully shown Arnav's dilemma as someone who wants to both be a good brother and a good husband.  His situation is helping to push the story forward where we'll definitely get to see a different side of him.

What didn't work: Nani's constant silence.  I understand that she is trying her best not to let the house fall apart but she does know more about the situation then the other members.  I'd like to see her finally tell both Akash and Mami what Arnav had told her about Shyam in order to clear up their anger.

Highlight: Payal defending herself against Akash.  It's about time that she let him have it.  Akash claims that he is upset with Payal for hiding the secret but Payal knows that's not true and brought what Akash was really feeling out in the open.  Akash is upset with Khushi and since Payal is Khushi's sister, he is upset with Payal for just that; being her sister.  Frankly, this is not a reason to be upset with someone.  Khushi is Payal's sister and as a sister, she cares about her and is concerned for her, just like Akash is concerned for his sister Anjali.  Akash shows the double standards that run after a girl gets married.  After marriage, a girl's maternal home has lower importance then her in-laws; even if her maternal home helped to save the family of the in-laws.