Episode 20 - How Bheem got his strength

Recap

The main story is now in focus again with the Kauravas and the Pandavs studying at the Gurukul. Each side has started their own plays to get to the throne.

How Bheem got his strength

Tum chinta mat karo, Bheem hum dono se lad nahi sakta (Bheem): Main to duryodhan ka sar tod dunga

Synopsis

Dhritrashtra calls Guru on false pretenses to delay the education of Pandavs. On Shakuni’s advice, Duryodhan tries to murder Bheem, who thankfully comes back stronger than before. On the other hand, the child that Kunti drowned in the early episodes is seen to be raised by Adhirath, the Sarthee of Dhritrashtra.

Discussion

Not much to discuss in this episode, other than a few points that I think are worth noting.

• Dhritrashtra, after realizing that the throne might slip again from under his hands, has started playing his old tricks again. As a rule of thumb, there is not one moment here where Dhritrashtra is not obsessed with the Throne. I will try not to bring this point up again.

• Yudhishthir as a character is introduced to the series and personally I have never been a big fan of him. He is this self-righteous prince who likes to act like he is better than everyone else but is bound by the same human flaws that plague us all. He has fear, he has greed, but the worst thing he has is pride. That is what I believe in and this opinion is only mine, so Yudhishthir fanboys please stay away. Other than that, this particular version of Yudhishthir is also a pansy. He is “too well-mannered”, so to speak.

• Now talking about the main part of this story, Shakuni is actually the true evil. He is the personification of the evils of society, gambling, envy, blood feuds, you name it. He got his own nephew to try and murder his cousin. This is one of those things that stay with you. Maybe if Shakuni was not there to influence Duryodhan and Dushasan, things would’ve been different for both of them. To see kids fighting the wars of previous generation is a metaphor we have seen too often. To quote Kanye West, “let the kids have the music!“. I truly wish that things could turn out different and the brothers lived in peace, but we all know how this turns out. At least some of us do.

• This arc’s comic relief is Bheem by a huge margin. Every word that kid speaks is comedy gold (by this show’s standards) and I hope it stays that way. I remember the older Bheem also keeps this streak of humor as the episodes progress.

Notable dialogue:

Baalak! Brahman ne to keval ek mutthi anaaj manga tha

Meri mutthi chhoti hai Maharaj

Var maang!

Maangna mujhe achha nahi lagta Maharaj

Ghar ki baat ghar ke bahar nikalte hi parayi ho jaati hai

To be continued