“Sabaat” continues to move forward in a “Humsafar”-esque way with Hassan now doubting Anaya’s character. The occurrences in episode 23 are fairly straight-forward…..and highly emotional. Hassan (Ameer Gillani) doesn’t waste any time throwing an accusation of an affair at Anaya (Mawra Hocane) – before she’s able to tell him about the baby. Shocked, Anaya holds herself back and the viewer can instantly see something click in Anaya’s head, a moment where she has internally thrown her hands up and screamed “ENOUGH!”. Honestly, it’s a positive to see such a strong reaction from Anaya. She does not fight, she does not scream and she does not offer explanations. Many may see this as a weak character, but Anaya is well-aware that her explanations and defenses at this point would be meaningless to Hassan. She recognizes that Hassan has been slowly submerging himself into murky waters and he has now reached the point of no return. For Anaya, being accused of an affair and having her character assassinated like this by her own husband, the man who vowed to love and protect her, is the last straw. Going back home, she is confronted by another blow, the news of her father’s lung cancer. The way these scenes have been enacted are heart-breaking, because Mawra Hocane, Mohammad Ahmed and Seemi Raheel have worked hard at creating this loving, beautiful family unit on-screen and seeing this family in such a state is difficult – but everyone has performed very well.
Mawra Hocane does a wonderful job in this episode. She has been performing well consistently in this show, but episode 23 takes her to a different level. Anaya’s world is not only ripped apart by Hassan’s accusations, but she also feels the walls around her crumbling in her safety net at home when she realizes her father is dangerously ill. Mawra manages to bring viewers to tears with the weight of these realizations, allowing the viewer to feel what Anaya is experiencing through her expressions.
Much to Miraal’s (Sarah Khan) satisfaction, Hassan has returned home. But her game is not over yet – she wants the two divorced. Of course, Atif is the right man for this job. Newly hired at Miraal’s company (along with Hassan), Atif agrees to see this task to completion. He is a snake and it’s exhausting even speaking about him anymore. Hassan’s mother (Laila Zuberi) is upset by Hassan’s return and lashes out at him for being just like his father – again, this is a strong moment in the episode, as she has been through her own share of turmoil in her marriage and had high expectations from her son. She is let down though after visiting Anaya as Anaya is in no mood to forgive Hassan or even entertain the idea.
Of course, Miraal’s marriage is reaching a messy point as well now with Sarah realizing Haaris (Usman Mukhtar) has been seeing patients. It is a long-overdue blowout, honestly, and as a viewer, I am looking forward to seeing Haaris discover just how nasty Miraal can be. Upon hearing the news about Hassan and Anaya, it seems Miraal has painted Anaya as a real villain to Haaris. Will Haaris realize the games Miraal has been playing? Will the psychiatrist in him wake up after this next episode? Will Haaris ultimately be the one to connect all the dots regarding the downfall in Hassan & Anaya’s relationship? It may seem like a stretch, but one can hope. Dr. Haaris has to have a larger role here than what he has been given.
http://thebrownidentity.com/2020/09/14/sabaat-episode-22-atif-poisons-hassans-thoughts-against-anaya/
Overall, this episode is a decent watch. It’s not particularly action-packed (other than the very beginning) and focuses on Hassan and Anaya’s emotions, dealing with the failure of their marriage. It’s difficult to sympathize with Hassan at this point, because he has allowed himself to be manipulated and he really doesn’t have anyone to blame for that but himself. Yes, Miraal and Atif are horrible human beings, but why would he trust Atif to this extent to begin with? Hopefully these episodes are not dragged out and the audience isn’t forced to witness a long separation/misunderstanding scenario. “Sabaat” hits the right notes on emotional content, but has lost its pace story-wise.