Jackson Heights – Episode 21!

My Goodness! Excuse me for saying this but Jackson Heights is turning out to be such a drama that I regret watching because the plot is weak & the characters are weakest. I really tried hard, I really did but now I feel like I can’t bring myself to lie about it because I am not at all enjoying this drama & looks like when it’ll end, I’ll have nothing good to say about it at all & just because of this episode, I’ve decided I ain’t going to sugar-coat things because hadh ki bhi hadh hoti hai!

So, Mr. Writer must’ve gotten an ego boost once again by showing another independent woman crying & in literal sense begging a man not to leave her? Let me just ask was this shot in America trying to show independent American women or was it shot in Dhok Hassu where women are told to stay dependent on men all their lives (not generalizing but just being metaphorical). I really wanted to feel something for Cathy but truth be told, she came across as just another psycho on the loose who kept on changing her emotions & expressions. I mean when she pleaded Bhatti to stay, she didn’t make sense because she was least bothered about him when he was around & later when she threw a hissy fit, she once again made herself look mentally challenged because she just couldn’t bring herself to one conclusion & that was whether she loved Bhatti or not, because if she did, she would’ve been happy seeing him happy & would’ve allowed him to leave easily. One of our readers pointed out last week that every other woman in this drama is shown weak & frankly speaking ‘stupid’ & when I pictured Salma & Michelle, that term seemed right but after looking at Cathy’s reactions in this episode, I can undoubtedly say that this is exactly what the writer here was trying to convey that Pakistan ho yan Amreeka, auratain mardon ke baghair ghuzara nahi kar saktin beshak wo kitni hi independent kyun na hon? I mean what Cathy did was so unlike her because she was actually headstrong & didn’t like Bhatti’s interference in her life at all & as much as I know about her, Cathy would’ve been the one initiating the divorce after feeling that this marriage wasn’t working but then again, writer just wanted to make his male characters superior to women beings & that’s why if we take a good look at all the female characters, they’d come across as weak, naive, gullible & inferior to men because there’s Salma who loves getting exploited by a ‘man’, then there’s Michelle who’s acting like a high-schooler because supposedly a charming ‘man’ has successfully wooed her & then there’s Cathy who didn’t have much self-respect & begged a ‘man’ to stay. I am glad that Aliya wasn’t involved with any ‘man’ in this serial because I am sure if she was, she would’ve sold her Haseena beauty paarler to please her ‘man’ as well. Wow! What a ‘man’-ly script depicting a typical ‘man’-ly mentality!

Accha bhai, we know that Imran’s elder brother & his bhabhi are putting vultures to shame, they’re the worst people ever & only Imran’s return to Pakistan can ease out his mother’s khansi, but then, were those scenes necessary? Nope, not at all! We’ve seen Ma Jee’s ‘khansi’ getting more coverage & have understood it’s nature better but I so wish if they had shed half as much light on shaping the real natures of all the characters then it would’ve helped us in forming some sort of a bond with all of them.

So, Jamshed decides to threaten Rizwan just when he knows that Michelle is right in the kitchen & she can overhear him, but nothing of that sort happens because looks like Jamshed’s love is also preventing Michelle’s hearing sense from working too. I mean, in ‘normal’ situations, a girl (I’d call Michelle a girl because even if she’s not, she’s acting like one) would always be interested to listen to what her man & her best friend are talking about? She would love to see the two men who mean a lot to her are bonding well or not so wouldn’t she be curious to eavesdrop or even if not eavesdrop in literal sense, she would at least try to overhear what sort of conversation are they having? But we saw Michelle walking with a chai tray in her hand as if she was gone out of that apartment to fetch a tea & had nothing to worry about.

I must say the director really tried to make this episode a lot more happening than it actually was but just because we had nothing to carry forward with us, nothing in this episode seemed right. The whole cheekhna chilana of Cathy was enough of a shocker for me to actually digest how Jamshed fixed his wedding date. I mean he’s so lucky that he can just emphasize on the I (immigration) word right in front of his audience (Rizwan) just after his proposal & Michelle doesn’t seem to notice.

Allayyyy, Michelle tow choti shi baby hainnnnn, wo shulplizes ka shun ke booottttt khush ho jati hainnnn, ishi liye wo chahti hain ke unki behan ko wo shadi kal ke shulplize dainnnn ke shuno shuno Maliaaa, meinne shaaddiii kalllll liiii….khekhekhe, accha mujhe bataowww tumhe mele bete ki umal jitna mela hushbanddd kaishaa laga? Ouch! I mean, I so wish Vasay had used Imaan to play a role of Michelle, I must say it would’ve looked a lot more convincing because the way Michelle has been reacting, it’s making me cringe. They could’ve easily shown that Imaan’s (supposed Michelle’s) parents had left her with a fortune & she was an heiress, so Jamshed easily trapped her, matlab jab tuk hi chorhni thi, to aisi hi sahi, kam az kam tuk mai kuch tuk to nazar ati.

Accha, can someone tell me if Salma is a human being or a farishta because I’m seriously confused!?! A guy can hit you repeatedly, can almost strangle you to death, rushes with a gun in his hand to kill the ‘man’ you love & there you are; touching his feet to ease his pain, selling your jewellery to clear the hospital bills, popping pills from the bottle kyunki sartaaj ki dawaai ka waqt hua chahta hai, listening to his mother’s taana’s, going to work to earn the bucks to feed them, carrying a painful expression on your face thinking you’re trapped & after all that you just can’t walk out on these miserable parasites because you’ve gotten used to being mistreated? Salma learned that Imran has already taken a major step in his life & he is ready to give away the dream of getting a blue passport & then there she is, can’t seem to make up her mind to pack this mess & throw it out of her life (Imaan excluded). I still can’t digest the fact that Imaan doesn’t know what’s going on between her mommy darling & sweet Bhatti uncle? I mean they could’ve shown that Imaan sensed it the moment she saw them together & had supported them actually because that would’ve made a lot more sense to say the least.

I really tried to keep an open mind about Rizwan/Michelle relation & I even remember saying this in one of my previous reviews that their age difference does not matter at all but the way Michelle is making a fool of herself, the way she is following Jamshed blindly & the way she is allowing him to use & betray her, I just can’t forget the number that’s also known as biological age – her age!?! I mean if at heart Michelle feels she’s still a 16 y/o getting married to the love of her life, that’s fine by me but Michelle trust me – you can run, you can hide but you can’t escape the biological clock, my friend (& by the looks of it, it’s pretty evident that that you’ve escaped the brains if not anything else)!

Share your thoughts about this episode of Jackson Heights please!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Zahra Mirza

Zahra Mirza got associated with Reviewit.pk in 2012. After moving to Australia, Pakistani content was a way of staying connected to the roots, language & Pakistani culture because it felt home. Eight years ago, review writing began as a hobby but has now turned into a passion.