Namal Episode 30 Review (Final Episode)

You know its coming. You know its gonna happen. You can tell, when the court gives a decision in favor of the Kardars and Hashim is throwing victory parties, and you realize that it is only the start of the episode, you know things are about to get real bad, real soon for him. “I’d watch my back if I were you, Hashim” is what I was thinking when Hashim thought he’d gotten away from everything. That his life was stable now. That he’d done it. Oh, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d let himself play in the hands of Faris. Faris, who once again proved that no matter how far Hashim goes, he will always be one step ahead of him.

The episode started soon with the court freeing Sheru from all charges and the Yusufs lamenting about it. I would have panicked at the loss, had Zumar and Faris not seemed so calm about it. Especially the way Faris looked so chill about everything had me asking questions like, “What have you done now, Faris?” Turns out, its not something he did now, rather something he did way back when the trial first started and made sure Hashim got what he deserved even by means other than what his family intended. But we didn’t get to see that happen until things got much worse.

It started with Saadi throwing a fit over losing the trial and leaving the house without telling anyone, and in turn causing everyone to believe that he’d gone after Hashim. And this made me furious. Even after all this time, he still didn’t understand the value of communication. He couldn’t just leave a note that said something like: “I know it looks like I went after Hashim but I’m actually going to meet the judge and have a debating contest, so do not send Faris Mamu to Hashim’s, lest he should get caught in a fire that Hashim actually set to frame me and almost die.” Now, was this so hard to say, Saadi? Hm?

His debate with the judge was interesting. The judge admitted to knowing Saadi was truthful and blamed the law for not getting him justice because he didn’t have enough proof, which Saadi countered by saying that his testimony should’ve been enough. With all due respect, Saadi, I don’t think that was enough. What you presented in the court was not strong enough to put Sheru in jail, and the only concrete evidence you had you chose not to use because you gave Hashim your word. Now, I ain’t no lawyer (thank God), but I have 12 Angry Men’ed enough to know the importance of “reasonable doubt”, and, personally, I agree with the court’s decision. I would’ve been very surprised if court actually did put Sheru in jail.

After finding out that Saadi hadn’t gone to Hashim’s house after all, Zumar asked Faris to come back. But, Faris being Faris, decided to find out Hashim’s plan. And find he did. Hashim wanted to kill every person who helped him in Sheru’s trial , and put the blame on Saadi. But since Saadi hadn’t fallen to his bait, he opted for Faris. Imagine the nail biting, heart pounding, hair pulling moment when Faris saw everyone who wronged him together in one room, about to perish, and made a decision to save each one of them. It takes both guts and character to do what Faris did. And since Hashim didn’t have a character like that, he attacked Faris and ended up putting both of them in the hospital.

My heart actually stopped at the line: بارہ افراد زخمی، ایک شخص جاں بحق

But Faris survived. Of course he did. Survivor is his middle name after all. Hashim, despite failing at killing all those people, still came out winning that round by gaining people’s sympathies. As if things couldn’t get any better for him. It was all so perfect. But then, the thing happened that I never imagined in a million years could happen. That anyone could stoop so low. Even Hashim didn’t go as low as snatching little children away from their parents. Yes he did horrible things to Saadi and Aabi, but both of them were grown ups. Adults. But Soni was just a child, and seeing that Hashim had lost his last anchor to humanity killed me. It was heartbreaking. No matter how bad Hashim was, this is something a person doesn’t dare wish even his enemies to happen to. I felt for Hashim there. And I wished he wasn’t a bad guy so I could say comforting things like don’t worry Hashim, you’ll get your daughter back. You’ll get justice. But the reality is, it WAS justice being served. More than that, it was revenge.

Hashim has always been my favorite character after Zumar and Faris. I enjoyed every scene he were in. I admired his style and his personality (what he chose to do with that personality is what made him a villain). But, saying that I like a villain doesn’t mean I aspire to be them or wish them well. No, what good a villain is if he ain’t even a good villain? I just mean that Hashim, who was supposed to be a villain, proved to be an awesome villain. And I love him for the same reasons I love the Joker or Bellatrix or Cersei Lannister. I love watching villains wreak havoc, then sit back and watch as the justice gets served.

And boy did the justice get served. Faris, you sly fox, you tipped people of intelligence agency to come and watch as Hashim spills terrorists’ secrets in the court to win the trial. And this is how they found out about Hashim’s joint venture with the terrorists. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Hashim Kardar lost everything and everyone, and got turned into a missing person. Things could not have happened better than that. Absolutely brilliant.

So, Jawahirat got knocked out in last episode when Hashim mutilated her and in this one too, when her sons left her alone. Hashim lost his daughter and ended up in a prison nobody ever hears about. But the man, or should I say the brat, Sheru, who started it all, still roams free. And it irritates me. Although, I’m glad Saadi chose not to forgive him and let him live with the guilt for the rest of his life, this is Sheru we’re talking about. Saadi at least should’ve punched him once. Or twice. Hard. But I’ll take the life full of depression and anxiety as a good deal for him too. God knows he deserves it.

The ending of this brilliant novel is as satisfying as it can get. Everyone got what they deserved. Villains got their punishment. Heroes got their revenge. And I got a one big happy smile on my face… before I read the epilogue that is. After that, I was just sad. Sad, because I know we won’t get to see Sonia’s tale of revenge on people who wronged her father. The idea of revenge of a bad guy is so thrilling that the more I think about it, the more I crave it and the more fiercely the reality rubs itself in my face that a sequel ain’t gonna happen. And it makes me sad.

Like they say, all good things must come to an end. And while I’m sad that Namal is over, I’m happy that I got to experience this brilliant novel every month for past year and a half, and did not wait for it to finish and then read (that’s what I did with JKP). I have to admit I had actually planned to read Namal too after it was done, but the hype surrounding it was too much to ignore. And I’m glad I started it, albeit quite late.

Namal has an amazing cast of characters and because of that, it’s already brilliant plot got even more interesting. I will miss these characters; both the good ones and the bad. Its the characters that have the power to turn a good story into a great one, if well written. I will miss Haneen, Saadi, Sam, Baray Abba, Nudrat Behn. I will miss Aabi and Sheru. Yes I will even miss the characters I disliked the most. I will miss Shehri, Marry, Sonia, Jawahirat. I will miss Ahmer too. And above all of them, I will miss Hashim, Faris and Zumar; three of my most favorite characters. They’re the superstars of this story and they’ll always have a special place in my heart.

I should stop now before this review turns into a novel of its own. Tell me your thoughts on Namal Finale. Are you satisfied with the way it ended? Which character are you going to miss the most? Share your thoughts down below. Thank you for reading. Allah Hafiz.

And also.

#NamalForever