#drunk kid

The episode begins with drunk kid collapsing and coughing blood. Bhishm rushes to him, letting the crown drop. The crown rolls down the stairs as he chokes and Satyavati along with his wives rush to his side, calling his name. As the crown rolls to a standstill, drunk kid sags, his eyes closing their last. The ladies begin to cry, the camera focusing on Bhishm as he picks his bow and strides out, to the theme tune. CANON FAIL, remember? Vichitraveerya ruled for months, at the very least. Anyway, Bhishm runs up to a balcony, enraged. He’s dramatically calling out to Surya Narayan to make an appearance and face him, that otherwise he’ll extinguish the sun. He commands the Sun God to command the God of Death to return the soul of his brother. Man, so much melodrama. He nocks an arrow at the Sun, the camera focusing drama-filled on him. Surya Narayan makes an appearance just before he looses the arrow. “Bhishm, what are you doing?” he asks. “Do you want to destroy the entire Earth?” Bhishm doesn’t care about the Earth. All he cares is that he’s lost his ancestors’ hopes. He’s very emotional. He asks the God what will become of Hastina now, what they can do? Alright, if anyone thinks this wank is canon, let me make it clear. IT IS NOT! In canon, Bhishm is the one who thinks up the niyoga idea, I think. The God says that there is a solution to these miseries. The Surya theme plays. Night falls. Satyavati enters the chambers of Ambalika and Ambika. She asks them to get ready to unbind their hair. They are dressed in the dun garments of widowhood. Everyone has red eyes as Satyavati proceeds with the ritual. Ambalika is weeping. Satyavati tells her that women decorate their hair to accept their husband’s love (what the…?) and that henceforth, their hair will no longer be decorated. She continues, herself starting to cry, that once widowed, the heart of a woman fills with grief. She tells both of them to have hope. Ambika is having none of it. She says, “We lost our lives, Rajmata. But perhaps you will never be able to understand.” Satyavati is shocked. “I won’t be able to understand?” she asks. “I have seen my husband’s death. I lost my son!” Ambalika replies, “You had the joy of having children, Rajmata. What are you talking about?” (Um, excuse me? It isn’t her fault he died…) She continues, “Look at us. Neither do we have children, nor our husband. We were the Princesses of Kashi, who became the beggars begging shelter of Hastinapur.” Satyavati promises her that they will have children who will sit on the throne of Hastina. Both of them look shocked, not to mention a bit freaked. Naturally. They ask, “How will we have children?” “Through niyoga.” Uh-oh. Creepy shit begins. Both of them look creeped out. Satyavati explains Niyog, that a man who dies without children can legally have a child if his wife does so with a tapasvi Rishi. She adds that she’s asked her tapasvi son, Ved Vyas to come to Hastina for the same. Obviously, she doesn’t ask their consent. UGH. She’s basically advertising rape. The younger ladies freak out. “Did you not think you should ask us? If we want this or not?” Good question. Satyavati replies that she is the rajmata and she has to take a few uncomfortable decisions, adding that they must also do their duties as Queens. Ugh. EW!!!x100000 Scene cuts to psycho Princess who’s lighting a pyre. “Bhagwan Parashuram, you promised to give justice to everyone who had undergone injustice. Yet, you have done the same for me, hence today, I, Amba, take the decision to enter a pyre in the sight of your dwelling. You will have the sin of womanslaughter on your head forever!” God. Why does this lady take extreme decisions all the damn time? She walks towards the pyre, closes her eyes and is about to step in when the gust of wind from tumbling rocks tumble her pyre to bits. Parashuram stands in front of her. “What do you want from me?” asks Parashuram. We switch again to Satyavati. Bhishm enters the chamber, doing a pranipaat. She asks him if she’s thinking of happiness or sadness. Bhishm says that she’s just waiting. A servant enters, saying that the Queens have delivered children, both boys. Thank goodness. Creepy stuff happened offscreen. I’d have hurled otherwise. Both Satyavati and Bhishm are delighted. She thanks God, and asks the servant to inform the ministers and prepare for a celebration for the birth of two Princes. Exactly then chimes a voice. “Three, rajamata.” Satyavati looks confused as another servant says that a dasi (servant woman) has also given birth to a son of the Rishi. CANON FAIL. It is known way before the boys are born that the last child belongs to a servant and not the Queens. Bhishm is still smiling, but Satyavati takes of a necklace and commands it to be given to that woman, further clarifying that the birth of a servant’s child is not cause for celebration. Classism, much? She asks the servants to send in the physician. The physician enters. She asks her if the boys are alright. The physician hesitantly says that the son of the Elder Queen is unlucky. The sky thunders outside. Man. Nature telepathy. We cannot hear what is being said, but Satyavati falls on to the chair.  (Obviously, what has been said is that the baby is blind). Scene changes to Ambika crying. Bhishm is consoling her. (Seriously? This is too much.) ‘How will he live? What will be his future?’ asks Ambika. ‘It will be happy, filled with strength. I will teach him. He will be famous, brave. The throne of Hastina…” he cuts himself off. “The throne of Hastina will be proud of him” he says. (Okay. You’ve already decided that he won’t ascend the throne.) Satyavati says “Your words have given me hope.” There is some bandying about of metaphors and then she says “Hastina’s gotten hope by the birth of the princes. Nothing can go wrong now. No bad things can happen now.” Scene cuts to psycho Princess on a boat in a storm. “The boat cannot go further. The tide is too much, we’ll drown” says a boatman. “We cannot drown. When Raavan’s luck had death written on it, even stones floated in the sea, do you not know?” asks psycho Princess. Episode ends. Precap: “For the birth of this child, the entire nation had stopped. Hence he will be name Dhritrashtra,” pronounces the rajguru. “A glow like gold. For this reason, this child is named Pandu,” he continues, holding the second child. Scene cuts to psycho Princess. “Marriage, or death? What will you choose, Mahamahim Bhishm?” she asks. “Bhagwan Parashuram has remembered you” Scene cuts to Parashuram kicking Bhishm. Bhishm falls and stands again. Parashuram pushes Bhishm off a cliff. Camera focuses on Lord Shiva.

Tagging @butchcaroldanvers, @chaanv, @ratnas-musings, @justahappyreindeer @iamnotthat, @starsailororastronaut, because you guys seemed to like the last ones. So, here goes.