In this episode of Mahabharata, Shakuni reveals his true long term plan to his beloved son Ulluk, Karna vents to Dronacharya about the curse he received from Sage Parashuram and Queen Sudeshana starts questioning Draupadi and Yudhistir about the morality of him staking Draupadi and thereby disrespecting all womankind.
However, when Sudeshana’s elder brother Kichak, the General of Mathsya’s army arrives and takes a shine for Draupadi, Queen Sudeshana May just find out how fragile her own morality is.
Tropes found here are
- Bewildering Punishment: So, Karna was cursed to forget all the weapons training he’d acquired because he displayed a great deal of endurance and pain resistance. And his guru assumed that only a Warrior Prince is capable of such endurance, thereby playing to casteist stereotypes.
- From a Certain Point of View: While Karna did not deserve the curse at that time, his subsequent behavior turned him into exactly the type of corrupt Kshatriya that Parashuram is feuding with. So, he does deserve that curse retroactively.
- Do This, Or I’ll Commit Suicide: Kichak deploys this kind of threat to force Sudeshana to send Draupadi to his palace.
- Dragon with an Agenda: Shakuni reveals to his son Ulluk that his master plan all along was to cause the Kuru dynasty to rot from the head down, leading to its destruction.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Shakuni is uncharacteristically tender and straightforward with his own son Ulluk.
- Heel Realization: Sudeshana resigns herself to “walk the same road to hell as her brother”.
- Holier Than Thou: Sudeshana initially has such an attitude towards the Pandavas. Yet, she forgets all of that when her big brother asks her to send him a woman to be molested.
- I'm a Man; I Can't Help It: Kichak rationalizes his pursuit of Draupadi using this.
- Love at First Sight: Kichak falls for Draupadi the moment he lays eyes on her.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Queen Sudeshana resigns herself to abetting Kichak even though what he is doing is wrong on so many levels - because a sister must obey her elder brother.
