“Jaal” depicts a mildly melodramatic story of two brothers married to two sisters.  But while the melodrama makes the story entertaining, the emotions at the heart of the show make the characters register with the audience.  The latest episode of Jaal focuses on Zaid’s (Imran Ashraf) insecurity and how he allows his low-self esteem to take over his sense of logic.  It also depicts Zunia’s (Sukaina Khan) attempts at redemption.

Zunia approaches Esha and Amber to help around the house – a step she takes after apologizing to Arsal’s parents.  These steps really show Zunia’s attempts to grow as an individual, as apologizing has never been her strong suite.  Though Zunia is finally willing to change herself and her attitude towards her marriage, Arsal (Ali Kazmi) tells her that their marriage is far gone, wrapped in a shroud of misunderstanding and mistrust.  She later approaches Esha and asks her what she can do to win over Arsal and his family.  Esha happily gives her advice and guides her on how to change, beginning with her way of thinking.

Zaid (Imran Ashraf) throws a birthday party for Esha (Sumbul Iqbal) and the couple are happily seen celebrating with the family.  Arsal later approaches Esha and propositions her, declaring that he will leave Zunia for her.  Zaid overhears this part of the conversation and misunderstands, believing Esha and Arsal want to be together.  Allowing his insecurity to take over, Zaid begins plotting his sacrifice.  He takes Esha out for dinner and Esha finally asks him what’s wrong – to which Zaid replies that if she wishes to be with Arsal, he will support her.  This infuriates Esha and she tells Zaid off for his disgusting way of thinking.  Zaid immediately realizes that he misread the situation and begins apologizing, but Esha feels disrespected by Zaid’s lack of trust.

What makes “Jaal” stand apart from other shows is the realistic depiction of relationship development.  While Esha and Zaid have grown from relatives with respect for each other to a married couple in love, feelings of inferiority and the baggage associated with failed relationships is not something that disappears overnight.  While Esha may continue to hold feelings of anger and resentment towards Arsal, these feelings do not mean she continues to love him.  On the other hand, Zaid’s insecurity allows him to misread Esha’s reaction and behavior as regret towards being married to him instead of Arsal.  Zaid’s feelings of inferiority related to his education and profession continue to play on his feelings of not being “worthy” of Esha, which contributes to his behavior of what is essentially self-sabotage.

Another interesting aspect of the show is that of Zunia and Arsal’s relationship.  Now that Zunia has finally realized her mistakes, it is Arsal’s turn to behave inappropriately.  Disillusioned completely with his marriage after Zunia’s job stunt, Arsal is now actively pursuing Esha – his ex-wife and his now wife’s sister.  And while this story may have seemed interesting before this reformed version of Zunia, it now only serves to show what a terrible person Arsal is – a man with no respect for his wife OR his brother.  With Arsal and Zunia’s marriage unraveling and Zunia’s accident, it will be interesting to see where the story goes from here on out.