‘Barzakh’ Episode 5 Recap & Ending Explained: Did Jaffer Reunite With Mahtab?

The fourth episode of Barzakh was an intense one as it revolved around why Scheherazade drugged the father and sons. She mentioned the truth hidden between them eventually had to come out. She also mentioned she wanted to give a path to the villagers to conduct their last prayers to the twelve elders who were buried beneath the property. It ended with the villagers being given access to the Mahtab Mahal without the consent of Jaffer and his sons.

Spoilers Ahead

What happened to Mahtab?

The prologue of the show began with Jaffer leaving his family and moving to the city. This broke the heart of Jabbar, otherwise known as Lumberdaar, who had begun to resent the money Jaffer sent home. Jabbar also began to follow what was written in the ‘Book of Nothing’ and the instructions in it and egged the villagers to act upon his interpretation of it. Jabbar saw a pregnant Mahtab’s father burning all the letters she had written to Jaffer. Mahtab decided to send her letter to Jaffer through his brother Jabbar. He later informed her that the villagers would eventually get hold of her and she should leave the place before that happened. 

Jabbar, after reading the book, assumed that it said the illegitimate child out of wedlock between Jaffer and Mahtab would be unholy for their precious land, and the villagers believed his words. As the young pregnant woman tried to navigate her way out of her village, she was cornered and killed by the village elders. This was a case of honor killing. The women who would not adhere to the norms set by a family or a group of people from a small community were killed by them for daring to rebel. This was what Jaffer meant when he said Mahtab was snatched away from him. Post the death of Mahtab, it was as if a curse descended on the village, the twelve elders who were responsible for Mahtab’s death were dead the next day, and they were the ones right now buried beneath Mahtab Mahal.

Did Jaffar feel betrayed?

Since the prologue was a flashback, the next scene took us to Mahtab Mahal, which was now surrounded by the villagers who were making offerings to the twelve elders that were killed and who were buried beneath Mahtab Mahal. Jaffer obviously felt betrayed by Scheherazade for letting these people into his property, as he considered her to be his trusted confidante. Saifullah and Shehryar also considered this to be ridiculous, but none of them were able to get the villagers out of the hotel. 

Was Tasleem angry?

Tasleem was the local elderly woman, as shown in the third episode, who carried out a prayer meeting of the lost daughters. She was a part of the entourage that showed up at Mahtab Mahal to offer prayers to the souls of the elders. She wanted to speak to the angel who we assume was her father, one of the elders that killed Mahtab and was buried beneath the said property. Tasleem began to converse with the said angel about misinterpreting the book to their benefit, and blamed him and the other men for targeting women for stepping outside of the boundaries of their homes. This was a subtle dig at people misinterpreting the societal and religious norms and making things up as per their convenience. Tasleem was indeed angry because she was a witness to an atrocity many years ago that led to the death of twelve elders, followed by many women disappearing and being taken to the other side by the fairies. 

What was the offer given by Jaffer to the villagers?

Jaffer was a smart man who believed he had the right to buy the land that held the burial ground of the twelve elders. He claimed to have learned late in his life that Mahtab’s death was caused by the elders, who’d died the very next day. To further antagonize the villagers and showcase his money and power, he chose to buy the land off them, including Jabbar. He offered to pay them one lakh each initially to surrender access to the atrium that held the burial ground. Initially the villagers were ready to accept it, but Jabbar was not, which led to a tiff between the brothers. 

What did Tasleem reveal?

A distraught Tasleem finally revealed the final letter written by Mahtab to Jaffer. The said letter many years ago was handed over to Jabbar, which he gave to the village elders instead. Tasleem was angry at the turn of events that led to these tragic circumstances. She was tired of men taking decisions for women, including Jabbar as well, who thought it was right to stop Mahtab from leaving the town and keep her from having a life of her own with Jaffer. Since Jaffer was old and his memory was all over the place, he was distraught to know his flesh and blood did this and possibly kicked off a chain of events that could not be changed from that point on. Even though Tasleem walked in as one of the villagers, she could not help but reveal the fate of not just Mahtab but several women of the village, and Jabbar’s involvement there.

Where did Harris disappear?

Shehryar was hardly bothered by what was happening in Mahtab Mahal as he was frantically searching for his son Harris, who had just learned that his mother had committed suicide and had not accidentally drowned in the bathtub. This revelation could possibly change the dynamics of him and his father. Initially, Shehryar assumed the boy had locked himself in the bathroom. He came back to find it open and the bathtub with water. Watching a bathtub filled with water brought back the traumatic memories of Leena’s death, but thankfully Harris did not harm himself. The young boy could not be found anywhere on the property, and it was assumed he’d probably trekked towards the mountain as the lunar eclipse was the next day. The young boy was probably searching for his own answers amidst the chaos, and Shehryar wanted to be by his side, trying to be a more accommodating and understanding father, unlike Jaffer.

What happened on the day of the lunar eclipse?

As the sun rose, Shehryar, his father, and Scheherazade were off to the mountains, and not just to witness the lunar eclipse; there was a wedding scheduled, and all three of them wanted to find Harris as well. Jabbar tried to stop them from leaving, as he did not want to bear the consequences of the marriage between a departed soul and a human being. As they were being stopped, the angels, including the mothers of Saifullah, Shehryar, and Leena created a phenomenon by joining hands. They collectively tried to form an energy in Mahtab Mahal, which forced everyone to leave with only Jabbar stuck inside the hotel. This was probably the angels’ way of punishing the man, as he as a child had led the villagers to kill Mahtab’s death and the tragedy that ensued. The energy developed in Mahtab Mahal was just meant to distract the people and get the people going with the task they needed to finish. Jabbar was the biggest culprit, even though, as a kid, he claimed to have loved Mahtab himself as well. 

Did Jaffer reunite with Mahtab?

There were a lot of unsaid events happening as the lunar eclipse was approaching. It was becoming a chaotic scenario at Mahtab Mahal and outside of it. To get a clear picture of what might transpire in Jaffer’s family, many things needed to be aligned. It was safe to assume that Scheherazade was Jaffer and Mahtab’s daughter, and she was in the right place to witness the showdown between the old man and the villagers. She hadn’t shown any vengeful tendencies so far but she knew Jaffer needed her by his side. 

As Shehryar, Scheherazade, and Jaffer set out for the mountains for the lunar eclipse, and to search for Harris, the elderly man had a vision of his younger self with Mahtab under the chinar tree, as shown in the first episode of the show. It brought back a lot of memories, which was rare as Jaffer was struggling with dementia-like symptoms. The old man, however, remembered that Mahtab had said they were indeed one as a soul in terms of understanding each other. Them being married or not was never a crucial matter. This revelation made him wonder about the impending wedding between him and Mahtab. 

Jaffer had an instant change of heart, which Shehryar and Scheherazade did not appreciate. They believed Jaffer should finish the task he started, unlike his actions in the past three decades that suppressed his love which led to him lashing out at his family. This change of heart was rather sudden because Jaffer had been adamant for a long time about marrying the soul of Mahtab. The wedding was on the night of a lunar eclipse and as per the book their union would cause an apocalyptic event. Jabbar was trying to stop that, but the angels ended up restricting him. Jaffer was close to meeting the love of his life again, but he refused to move ahead, and requested Scheherazade to convey Mahtab about him figuring out that they were always together. Jaffer may have finally come to realize he was probably searching for something that was long gone, and the last letter she wrote was also an indication of her wanting to be with him in the wake of her pregnancy. Shehryar and Scheherazade went ahead with the trek to find Harris.

Barzakh episode 5 ended with a flashback to when Mahtab was alive, and she had begged Jabbar to let her go as she was visibly pregnant with his brother’s child. As a conservative young boy, Jabbar chose to inform the elders of her location, which led to tragic circumstances as revealed throughout the prologue of the episode. Mahtab had wanted to live her life with Jaffer and raise his child, but sadly, her life was cut short. Jabbar may have been jealous of his older brother having Mahtab by his side, who was willing to give up her life in the village for him. The young Jabbar was clueless on what he had set in motion ever since Mahtab was murdered. He probably knew there would be dire consequences for this kind of honor killing as he witnessed the red cloth-covered fairies taking Mahtab away to the land on the other side. The scene moves to the current timeline when Saifullah and Jaffer arrive to break the window only to rescue Jabbar. The brothers probably had a lot to talk about and to find closure regarding Mahtab’s untimely death. The brothers might have a falling out over this matter, which might led to Jaffer leaning on Scheherazade even more. 

Jaffer might find a way to end things the right way with his brother as the consequences of Jabbar’s role in Mahtab’s death changed the dynamics the old man had with every subsequent relationship, including the ones with his wives and their sons. Jaffer will take some concrete steps to keep Jabbar away, possibly forever.