The beauty of Saima Akram’s writing is that she has kept true to her characters. Arsal and Ajiya are a complicated couple. From season 1, we witnessed Jiya and Arsal at their immature best, two characters that thrived by bickering with each other. It’s been said in Desi families many times that “Iski shaadi karwaa lo, khud ba khud zimidaari ka ehsaas hojaayega” (“Get him married, he’ll automatically learn how to be responsible”). This mentality does not hold true in practical life. If an individual is not mature, marriage will do little other than to throw an immature individual into a scenario that requires maturity. With Suno Chanda 2, this point is being laid out clearly for the viewer. Arsal and Jiya, the beloved lovebirds of the show, have not automatically changed their ways and learned to compromise simply because they signed a piece of paper and now share a bedroom. If anything, their inability to communicate effectively and their egos have driven a wedge in their relationship.
Episode 25 focused mainly on Arsal and Jiya’s relationships problems. Arsal and Yasir go to the mall, where they stumble across Jiya with Mithoo and Maina. Arsal begins fighting with Jiya in the mall when Mithoo and Maina intervene, attempting to stop Arsal’s inappropriate behavior. Back at home, Arsal and Jiya’s elders finally intervene and hold a family meeting. Ajiya declares that she no longer wants to stay with Arsal, to which Arsal retorts that he also does not wish to remain married to Ajiya. With the family support firmly on Ajiya’s side, Agha Ji makes a decision: Jiya and Arsal will remain separate for one month and if, at the end of the month, they still wish to end their relationship, the family will support them.
Arsal, now sleeping in DJ’s room, is on the receiving end of harsh treatment the next day when the family has seemingly boycotted him – Shahana refuses to cook for him, while Jamshed decides he will handle business matters on his own. The family has unanimously decided to teach Arsal a lesson. While Arsal’s behavior has been on the aggressive side and unbending, in this entire scenario, Jiya’s friend Huma has played the true voice of reason. Huma gives it to Jiya straight – if Arsal’s behavior is poor, his behavior is in reaction to Jiya’s antagonizing behavior. While the family unit believes they are helping Jiya’s case, their interference is pushing Arsal further away and creating resentment.
The episode was speckled with light-hearted moments between the other characters. A number of sequences focused on DJ and his plight to get his phone back from Agha Ji. In a particularly comical scene, DJ makes chai for Shahana and Shahana immediately asks what he wants in return. These family scenes are smile-inducing and form the backbone of the show.
Of course, Mithoo and Maina received their share of scenes – with Kinza and Sherry gone, DJ, Mithoo and Maina have inherited the burden of advertising for sponsors. There are a few scenes between Jalaal and Pari, scenes that I cannot imagine anyone enjoys watching. In season 1, Jalaal was a comedic character. In season 2, he is downright negative. The scene where he watches Pari feed Mithoo made this viewer incredibly uncomfortable. In what world would a wife like Masooma tolerate such behavior?
All-in-all, episode 25 was another strong episode with story progression. With a small handful of episodes left, how will Arsal and Ajiya’s issues be resolved?
