This episode of Mahabharata begins with Dhritharashtra having a nightmare where Bharat and Shantanu appear before him and berate him for choosing to support Duryodhan.
Meanwhile the Pandavas are shown settling into their cover identities in the kingdom of Mathsya. Yudhistir joins the court of King Viraat as a minister, but spends all day playing dice games with the king. Bhim becomes the head chef of the palace, Draupadi becomes queen Sudeshana’s lady in waiting, Nakul tends to the king’s horses, Sahadev tends to the king’s cows and Arjun, living as an androgynous eunuch, becomes a music and dance instructor for young princess Uttara. That said, Draupadi and Sahadev are not happy about their situation.
Towards the end, Sahadev takes an oath to kill Shakuni, while Duryodhan threatens to kill his spies’ families if they don’t find the Pandavas.
Tropes found here are
- The Gambling Addict: Discussed by Draupadi and Sudeshana. Sudeshana frets that her husband King Viraat has become one. Draupadi says that Yudhistir should serve as the Ur-Example of the ruinous effects of this vice.
- Also discussed by Dhritharashtra and Gandhari. Dhritharashtra tries to claim that because Yudhistir staked his kingdom, his brothers and then his wife, he should be considered unworthy of being a king. Gandhari counters that it was Duryodhan and Shakuni who goaded him into this addiction in the first place.
- I Will Kill Your Family For Your Failure: Duryodhan threatens to massacre his spies’ families if they don’t find the Pandavas. This is after a simple I'll Kill You! threat didn’t work.
- Manscara: Arjun wears it as part of his androgynous look.
- Nightmare Sequence: Dhritharashtra has one in which Bharat first berates him for appointing Duryodhan, a clearly unqualified man as Crown Prince, violating a practice Bharat himself started. Dhritharashtra begs off, claiming that times have changed and old rules don’t apply to him. He attempts some whataboutism with Shantanu “dethroning” the clearly qualified Bhishma, but then Shantanu himself shows up and states that Shantanu never forced Bhishma to abdicate. A cornered Dhritharashtra starts stating tearfully that Duryodhan is a reflection of his ambition now.
- Real Men Can Cook: Bhim, the strongest of all Pandavas is happy in the kitchen.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Dhritharashtra gets one from Bharat and Shantanu in a dream.
- Riches to Rags: Draupadi and Sahadev fret about being this way.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Dhritharashtra uses this to rationalize why he doesn’t follow Bharat’s tradition of succession being decided purely on merit, anymore. Bharat retorts that Dhritharashtra will forever bear the responsibility for all repercussions of this action.
- Your Tradition Is Not Mine: Dhritharashtra says that he is now the king, and chooses not to appoint crown princes based on merit anymore.
- Wholesome Cross Dresser: Arjun adopts an androgynous look to go with his impotence.
