Opening Thoughts – Intense & Gripping:

Ohkay so, this was one intense & very gripping episode of Cheekh right from beginning till the end. As much as I appreciate the overall execution of this drama, I totally feel it is going to come episode by episode where some will be slow & fillers while others will be intense & interesting & this episode of Cheekh was the latter.

Mannat Has Found The Support She Was Looking For:

Shayan believed Mannat, but still there was some inhibition, some hesitance which stopped him from completely making up his mind & while he was struggling, Asad came to clear any such confusion that Shayan must’ve regarding Mannat. I really like the way Asad’s dialogues were worded, he was to-the-point & told Shayan everything that he needed to hear in order to make up his mind. It was actually good to have an insight into Asad’s character & getting to know his reasons of calling this wedding off. Asad fell in love with Haya who was compassionate & humane but as he got to know her more especially after this incident, he realized that she was not only cold-hearted but lacked the sense of right & wrong. Asad must’ve felt guilty for punishing Haya for what she was not responsible for but after everything that Wajih said & did, he could feel that his decision was justified.

Shayan shifted Mannat to her mother’s place because he wanted her to be comfortable & peaceful, which was super sweet. Shayan has now made up his mind & he is not going to back out no matter what his siblings say. The satisfaction Mannat felt was the highlight of this episode, she felt safe & secure because of all the people, it was her husband who was supporting her. Mannat’s mother’s concerns are very genuine, she knows that her daughter has a long battle to fight but still, she felt very much at ease after seeing that Shayan was by her side & was not turning his back against Mannat. I like how the writer has shown Mannat & Shayan’s relationship, like in such a drama, it acts as a therapy to break free from all the negativity surrounding Mannat’s life.

The most interesting scene of this episode was the interaction between Mannat & Wajih’s lawyer. He actually went to see Mannat’s calibre & to judge whether she is the kind who will get intimidated easily but to his surprise, Mannat was far more strong-willed than he had imagined. Mannat made sure to leave such an impression on him where he knows that she is not a soft target rather she is very focused & serious. The lawyer made sure to convey it to Yawar that Mannat is a force to be reckoned with & what’s more interesting was that he could foresee Mannat making it very tough for him to win this case. Quite an impression I must say.

Another interesting scene was Shayan’s interaction with Wajih where he openly let him know that he doesn’t trust him & actually knows that Wajih is guilty. Asad really helped Shayan in making up his mind but Shayan also felt that Yawar was unduly protecting Wajih. Yawar has made it very clear that he sees Wajih as his child, that is why like an over-protective father, he is making sure Wajih stays safe.

Shehwar has also started thinking things through. No matter what Yawar says she can not take whatever Wajih said out of her mind. I think it is another important development & is more of an evolvement of Shehwar’s character where she is seeing things & paying attention to whatever is happening around her. Shehwar lived in a bubble probably because Yawar never really allowed her the luxury of having an opinion or perspective, but now she feels left out & can see that something is definitely odd. It is good that Shehwar is turning out to be someone more than just a silent spectator. Plus it was obvious that Shehwar feels for Mannat but because she has seen how much Yawar detests her, she doesn’t openly say so, which I am certain will change in the future.

Closing Thoughts – Wajih Is Boring, Monotonous & Annoying:

Overall, after quite a few weeks, I enjoyed this episode of Cheekh a lot. I must say I really liked all the different background music they used to intensify the situation, far more than the OST. I am sure the editors or the producers love the OST but I don’t think is it easy on the ears to be heard repetitively. Most of the initial scenes had the OST running in the background which I actually found quite off-putting. Saba Qamar & Emaad Irfani were the stars of this episode, but yes, just when I thought Emaad Irfani was performing brilliantly, his voice modulation in his outburst scene actually made me giggle a bit.

I don’t know why but I think they should kind of mellow down Wajih’s character a bit, like we get it, he’s an unapologetic narcissist, but to hear him passing statement at every single thing or person is kind of too much & is actually getting monotonous. We understand that he is not only aloof to what he has done but does not have any remorse whatsoever, but now it looks like he is too much of a talk because we can see that it is Yawar who is doing most of the heavy-lifting. I guess we have heard enough from Wajih so he should just take a back-seat but then unfortunately, because he is the actual villain, I don’t see him getting subdued anytime soon. I find his rants & one-liners boring & off-putting, like it almost feels as if there’s nothing more to him & he is a one-dimensional character. I feel the writer paid a lot of attention on Mannat’s character therefore she forgot to add some layers in Wajih’s character. I think if Wajih had some more personality or traits apart from intimidating people with his childish antics or also getting slapped, things would’ve been far more intense. Anyways, the direction of Cheekh is spot-on so far but yes, I wish they speed up the pace. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Cheekh.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.