Originally posted by: blahhhh
Things here are the way they were a decade ago,all of us so eager to understand arnav and even anjali's emotions,all of us so uncaring of khushi,all of us so eager to justify arnav's actions.
If arnav manhandled khushi it was because she affected him so much,it is completely fine if he didn't think about how his abuse was affecting HER physically and mentally.
If khushi went to anjali's room when asked not to then it was entirely wrong of khushi to do so.She should have thought about anjali who had already went through so much unlike khushi whose life had been a bed of roses.
Anjali was entitled to all the safe space in the world.Arnav was entitled to leaving marks on khushi's arms coz his father cheated and his mom died and oh! also coz khushi affected him so much.
Khushi was not entitled to anything,except for being asr's punching bag and somebody to romance with as and when it suited him.
I think A did a wonderful job explaining Khushi's pain and tragedy but there's something here that I want to address in your answer.
Since we were discussing soulmates that's why I think over here we were glossing over what Arnav did because they're a fictional couple and we want to see their happily ever after - which, in my opinion, isn't possible without therapy.
I absolutely agree how the show completely mishandles the abuse going on.
I'll only pick a bone here because you said all of us, and lol that counts me in as well and I strongly disagree that it is fine if Arnav manhandles Khushi or Anjali is entitled to her safe space.
Because Anjali is. She has been in an emotionally manipulative marriage and deserves to be out of it. And I think we're making the mistake that being compassionate to Anjali comes with a cost of being careless to Khushi. That was also the show's mistake.
I believe Anjali needed a safe space, and Khushi needed it AS WELL.
We can definitely have a conversation over Arnav's abusive behavior but I see little room for discourse and more of declarations going on here. I absolutely agree that they romanticized his abuse post elopement and it is one of my biggest gripes with the show. They do not deal with Khushi's trauma with even a pinch of seriousness.
Khushi advised against going to the room is not to say Khushi had a better life, it's because Anjali is literally going through trauma and she was on the verge of self harm and probably suicide. But for Khushi intentions matter more than consequences. So she hopes her intention of comforting Anjali matters more than the fact that Anjali will be further traumatized seeing her. (Anjali has been actively avoiding Khushi).
I think they got Anjali's trauma right and this whole sequence of events right.
They went wrong with showing that it was ok for Arnav to bring up Khushi's most traumatizing day - her forced wedding - and coerce her into staying with him after he has hurt her feelings every way possible. It was even more terrible to bring up two comedy tracks right after it and not even dedicate a single episode for how broken Khushi is.
They went wrong in showing that it's easier for Arnav to blackmail Khushi than to make actual amends when we've seen how he tortured he was that he was unable to apologize to Khushi when he learned she was an orphan as well (it wasn't right to speak to her in that manner regardless).
The one time they wrote Khushi and her sadness well was when Arnav burst at her during the cocktail and party and tries to apologize by saying "Perhaps I spoke to harshly" to which she snapped "Perhaps?" and walks off.
Khushi was well written pre wedding because she was still treated as the protagonist. But there was shift of writers and plot progression I believe that led to them writing the show with only Arnav as the main protagonist and the others as side characters.
Hence we only see the part of Khushi that's affecting Arnav, we do not see her internal battles and monologues. Likewise, we only see enough of Anjali that can affect Arnav and his marriage (which is her continued belief on Shyam) and we do not see her individually traumatized.
The writers needed Anjali to play a villain so Shyam could stick around the house. And I have no idea why they stopped writing Khushi as a lead.
This was the same show where Khushi slammed her resignation papers, yelled at Arnav for being selfish, called out his inability to apologize and his inability to empathize with people when necessary. And also showed her falling in love.
Also the show fails Arnav at some point. He's a brilliantly written character who's never quite perfect and it was disappointing that they changed his flaws to his characteristics. Arnav unable to apologize - a flaw that we see him try to overcome. Arnav using blackmail to avoid an honest apology - a characteristic that shouldn't have been there.
Still, I've yet to honestly see a character written as brilliantly to the T like Arnav Singh Raizada.
But because it's fiction, as fans we can discuss about how the show could've done better while incorporating multiple factors that affect the show. That way we can engage in critical discussion :) Also a good few people pointed out that literally the one thing the show could've done better is remove the manhandling. So people have changed over years :)
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