Episode Review: August 29th, 2012

Nani pleads with both Arnav and Dadi to not fight as the baby shower is taking place.  They both agree and decide to have their conversation elsewhere.  Seeing how everyone is so happy, Garima decides to go and meet Dadi alone and gets up to find her.  Dadi and Arnav continue to argue about bringing Shyam back, with Arnav hellbent on making sure he does not return.  Dadi states that he is the father of the child and Anjali's husband which means he has to be here but Arnav does not care.  He tells Dadi that it took a long time to forget what happened 14 years ago and now that it has happened with Anjali, he won't let anyone ruin their happiness.  Nani pleads with the two of them to stop their arguing and they agree, with Dadi leaving. 

Nani and Arnav have a heart to heart where she tells him to be happy at being a Mama and the fact that he is getting married.  Garima overhears this entire conversation and decides not to say anything as everyone is happy and has moved on with their lives.  Shyam is outside trying to find a way in but realizes that the security guards are checking everyone's ID's.  He decides to sneak into the house, dressed as part of a music group, to avoid being searched.  The preparations for the mehendi ceremony begin as Shyam enters the house.  Arnav, NK and Akash all come downstairs and Nani allows them to join in on ceremony.  Shyam quietly sneaks upstairs to Anjali's room where he retrieves the box he hid earlier.  He sprinkles broken glass on the carpet, completing his plan.  Garima gets scared after almost being seen by Dadi so she decides to leave but is stopped by Buaji who tells her to join the celebrations.  As the mehendi ceremony starts, Shyam approaches Anjali, who is sitting on a couch, and drops a box before quickly leaving.

She calls out to the person who dropped the box but then opens it to find a necklace.  She recognizes one of the music players as Shyam and is happy.  Khushi is getting her mehendi done when the women asks her what her husband's name is.  Before she can answer, Arnav tells the women to write in LG for Laad Governor.  She tells the women to write in A and Arnav chimes in by saying that her name has an A in it too.  The two remember the last mehendi ceremony and both state that they have already completed this ritual too.  They then both stare and smile at each other.

What worked: Arnav's statement about moving on from the past instead of dwelling on it.  This is one of the rare times we get to see the vulnerable and emotional sides of Arnav Singh Raizada.  As the audience, we don't know exactly what happened 14 years ago but we do know that it was a very tragic and life altering event that transformed Arnav into Arnav Singh Raizada.  For the first time, Arnav is happy in his life; he is going to be a Mama, his sister has never looked happier and he is getting married to the love of his life.  The fact that Dadi wants to ruin this happiness of his by bringing back Shyam makes Arnav more protective of his loved ones.  He knows that Dadi wants Shyam back in the house and will now be extra vigilant around Dadi, to make sure she doesn't do anything to bring Shyam back.

What didn't work: N/A

Highlight:  Write LG for Laad Governor instead of A for Arnav.  Again, we have the entrance of naughty Arnav who enjoys teasing his wife.  Even though Arnav hated the name at first, a part of him now enjoys being called her Laad Governor.  The writers are doing a good job in portraying the rituals (even though they are going a bit too fast), especially when Arnav and Khushi recall these same rituals in the past, realizing that they've already completed them.  Even though the episode did not have much of Arnav and Khushi interacting, small sweet moments like this really show us how simple and unique of a couple they really are.