*WARNING SPOILERS*

“Mujhe apne jeenay ka haq chahiye”

This week’s harrowing episode depicts the piercing downfall and drowning aftermath of drug abuse. Pervaiz, played by our very own Adeel Afzal is the heroin addict who spends his days wallowing in his self-destructive cycle of drug abuse. He neglects his wife and child, spending whatever little money he’s gathered on drugs and cigarettes.

Pervaiz’s wife is voiceless, often trying to console in her maami and mamu, both who continually belittle her and insult her. She’s doing the best she can but is suffocating. Her husband is wasting away and she cannot get through to him, no matter how ardent she is in trying to save him.

It’s a loveless marriage, with barely any communication between the two. At one point when she cries after him after he sells their television, he barks back with abuse. She’s a headache for him, and her maami and mamu. It’s an unfortunate norm in the lower middle class; the women are subjected to abuse, often disparaged to the point of insanity.

When it seems like Pervaiz has a change of heart, it’s a momentary relief before he slips into another bout of injecting himself and spending nights keeled over on the streets. After a trip to the doctor’s, both Pervaiz and his wife are told they are HIV positive, at which point she’s kicked out of her house. She finds comfort in a nearby friend (possibly a neighbor), who oddly enough justifies Pervaiz’s behavior, urging her that she’s in the wrong.

A few months later, and Pervaiz is dead. She breaks down, rushes to hug her child and heads back home for closure. Sarmad Khoosat delivers another incredible episode in the mini-series, by far the most real, and most tragic one yet. Adeel is simply brilliant as the drugged up man lost – without cause; truly a winning performance.

What did you think of this week’s episode?