Opening Thoughts – A Lot of Developments:

Ohkay so, a lot happened in this episode of Ishq Zahe Naseeb. I am glad that there was a lot of development in almost all the tracks because I absolutely feel it’s high time they should wrap this drama up. Once again, this episode ended on a cliffhanger but then it is pretty obvious what it is going to be. At this point, I feel a lot of time has been invested in this drama, therefore I am just keen to find the answers. I really hope in the ending episodes, they actually take the time to clear everything up because they have been leaving a lot to the viewer’s imagination for the most part, which is definitely good but I hope they don’t leave any loose ends when this drama ends!

Kashif Should Be Honest:

For the first time, I felt Kashif should be honest & truthful to Donia. Although he was never into her but he got engaged to her after thinking things through, yes he made a sacrifice so now, the least he can do is just respect it & also respect the fact that she is putting in so much effort into this relationship. Gauhar is married so Kashif needs to move on too. The first thing Kashif needs to do is tell Donia everything honestly so that she knows what she is dealing with & how she can take care of Kashif’s emotional state. He was fine with the idea of being engaged to her but ever since he has come across Gauhar, he is stuck on her which is fine but it is totally unfair to his fiancée. Donia deserves Kashif’s attention, honesty & truthfulness because he himself signed up for it so to see him depriving her of it is not cool.

Gauhar’s Approach Towards Sameer:

There are definitely flaws in the direction of this drama & how certain things are carried out, which definitely makes you question why such details were not taken care of. We all got to see how Gauhar actually had to make an effort, seek permission, inform Noorah & let Sabeeha know that she was going to see her family. She had to ask Sameer twice, which was fine that she is now being cautious & doing everything according to Sameer’s liking & limitations set by him. This made me wonder how did she go to see Akbar in the last episode out of nowhere? What was the excuse that she used? Sameer is definitely being very particular about Gauhar, so it just didn’t really seem convincing that she went to see Akbar, that too to police station without informing Sameer, like how did she go out of the house?

So, Gauhar met her family & she got the chance to set the record straight. She is never turning back. I am glad her family is done with because their scenes were fillers anyways & didn’t have much to offer. Jahangir’s scene however was an important development which came as a shock to Kashif. Jahangir is problematic & that is why Donia immediately figured that something was absolutely wrong about the entire scenario that she got to witness. Kashif should at least take Donia on board because she obviously has a soft corner for Gauhar. Donia also has high regard for Sameer so she would definitely understand & would help Kashif get his message across to Gauhar. Kashif trying to deal with this on his own is basically going to create a lot more problems for Gauhar & it is unfortunate that he is underestimating the gravity of the situation!

One of the highlights of this episode was Sameera’s confession to Gauhar about Sameer & his complexes. Sameer has always relied on Sameera to channel out his inner feelings, his secrets, his fears & complexes, therefore he once again relied on her to let Gauhar know that he was afraid of heartbreak. He was raising his guards & he didn’t want to be fooled. Gauhar is getting to learn more & more about him, which I feel is actually turning out to be a teamwork which is so important for a healthy relationship. Sameer is letting Gauhar know everything about him gradually & Gauahar is picking up on all the details which are helping her understand Sameer better. In a complicated relationship like this which demands a lot of emotional heavy-lifting from Gauhar, it is nice that Sameer is being a total help to her instead of making things difficult & complex for her. Sameer knew he had to show his vulnerable side to Gauhar when he contemplated getting married to her, so it is nice that he is being easy on himself & relying on Gauhar for the help he needs. I like seeing how Sameer has this faith in Gauhar that she will not only understand him but help him deal with his issues too. Good to see a relationship of this kind on-screen.

So, Shakira has turned out to be his mother & she is definitely the woman on the wheelchair in old age home. This was something that was hinted clearly by the end of 20th episode & now they have made it clear. Sameer doesn’t know about it but in his subconscious, he has always seen her as a figure of comfort, solace & love, which the figure of mother is all about. Sameer is bitter about the word ‘mother’ but he has developed those feelings for Shakira without even knowing about the bond that they both share. In one of the Sameera’s scenes, it was suggested that in his imagination he sees her as his mother that is why he is so emotional about her, which was sweet!

I really hope they don’t play with the feelings of the viewers anymore because the picture that Gauhar showed to the lady while talking about her & her son Sameer was of someone else & not Shakira. Is it that Akbar has not told Gauhar the reality that his sister who happens to be Sameer’s mother is not actually Ehsan’s wife but the maid Shakira that was raped by him? So, Shakira spent years away from Sameer & when she came back, she took her revenge by killing Ehsan. To be honest, when I saw Ehsan, I thought he was a misfit, they should’ve picked up a man with some strong personality, someone who’d have been intimidating to the point of being scary because the Ehsan that we saw had no personality whatsoever. In fact his bodyguard Rajab Ali had more personality than him. I would have liked if they had picked someone having more or less a similar personality like that of Sameer’s/Zahid Ahmed’s because it would’ve left more impact. He may be a side character but he definitely was an important one considering he played such a huge part in ruining Shakira’s life & that they were saving such an important secret till the ending episodes.

Shakira & Sabeeha:

The scene where Shakira was playing with a toy & seeing it as her child was so heart-breaking & brilliantly acted by Yumna Zaidi. In that scene she explained everything that Shakira went through; a rape victim who had a child, whom she loved dearly but had to lose him. The last scene might confuse some of the viewers where Shakira was seen telling Sabeeha that she avenged herself by killing Ehsan, where after doing so she crossed paths with Sabeeha. It means Ehsan was very much alive when Shakira came back to take care of Sameer & she killed him when she got the chance. How come Ehsan was unaware of the fact that Shakira was back OR was it that Sabeeha appointed Shakira after Ehsan passed away to take care of Sameer? I feel this somehow clarifies Sabeeha’s position a bit too, that may be she picked up on the fact that Shakira who was taking care of her step-son had psychological issues, that is why she accused her of alleged child molestation to save Sameer & get rid of Shakira. Sabeeha’s decision & her planning must’ve been wrong but I feel her intent was to save Sameer. Yes, she had an ulterior motive because Sameer inherited everything that his father had but still, she wanted to save Sameer from Shakira because they have shown it quite a lot of times where Sabeeha was keeping tabs on Shakira & closely monitoring everything that she would say to Sameer.

Closing Thoughts – Good Episode:

I am glad this episode had a lot of developments. I really enjoyed Sameera & Gauhar’s scene the most. All the actors have done a great job & I really hope they continue to reveal the story in the upcoming episodes without any hiccups because it’s about time. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Ishq Zahe Naseeb.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

PS: Totally unhappy with the change in Hum TV’s schedule – 4 commercial breaks while watching a drama makes it very very difficult to stay engaged. They are literally killing the charm & breaking the momentum which is needed to watch an episode. I really hope they go back to the old ways of 2 commercial breaks because it was enough. This is a bit too much!