Barzakh episode 5 ended with Shehryar and Scheherazade heading up to the mountains to find Harris, who ran away from Mahtab Mahal after the showdown between his grandfather, father and uncle. It also revealed that Mahtab was killed only because Jaffer’s brother Jabbar located the young girl for the village elders. The last shot had Jabbar and Jaffer finally looking each other in the eye after what happened came out in the open, so many years after Mahtab’s death.
Spoilers Ahead
What was the prologue song about?
Barzakh episode 6 began with everyone singing Alamgir Haq’s very popular song ‘Dekha Na tha’, which was featured in one of the early episodes of the show as well. Jaffer claimed Saifullah used to love this popular song. The song was all about the kind of headiness love causes. The kind of love that makes you get lost in your own dreams. This rightfully describes the state Jaffer and the rest of the family were in. The love all of them had for that one person who was no longer with them. In the case of Jaffer and Scheherazade, they were seeking Mahtab. For Shehryar, it was the love he had for Leena. For Saifullah, it was the love he unexpectedly found in Lorenzo.
Did Jaffer and Jabbar have a conversation about their past?
Jaffer and Jabbar finally were face-to-face and wished to talk about their past. Simultaneously there was also a vision of their younger selves conversing about their past. When the brothers touched the tree in the atrium, the two went off into another land, tied to the same tree with red roots, as showcased throughout the show. It was as if the brothers were forced to converse with each other. Jabbar spoke about feeling like a fool and futile as their mother only praised Jaffer for bringing in money by working hard to the point she was obsessed with the idea that someone would steal it. Jabbar was jealous of his older brother and he never had anyone to talk to about how he felt. On the other hand, Jaffer revealed how awful and ashamed he was of having a father who never had the courage to live his life and decided to kill himself without worrying about the consequences of his suicide on the family.
Jaffer’s life changed after this major tragedy, and he claimed to have made sure he would never become like his father was. Jabbar, however, saw this as an insult to their parent figure. Jaffer had an aim, but the now old man eventually confessed to having lost the ability to love someone after losing Mahtab the way he did. He was close to admitting that he might have made mistakes that changed his relationship dynamics with everyone in the family. Both brothers came back to their reality only to find the tree that took them to another world intact, while the villagers had completely destroyed everything in it in the atrium that sheltered the twelve elders.
Why did the villagers make Scheherazade their leader?
Scheherazade and the other villagers were on the way to the top of the mountain hours before the lunar eclipse. All the villagers were carrying small suitcases with them, which could be carrying the clothes of the girls that went to the other world with the fairies. Scheherazade was not sure if she knew the way up to the mountain where the fairies in red would descend, and she was frustrated as no vision appeared that could help her and the villagers.
Tasleem was the only person who trusted the young Scheherazade to lead them to the point of salvation that would fulfill their goal of helping the lost daughters. Tasleem was the wisest one in the group and declared Scheherazade to be their guide, as she and the priest Wali were the only people to have reached the topmost point. Scheherazade was overwhelmed, yet she chose to lead them. The villagers, by the end of the episode, did reach the top of the mountain, and left the suitcases for the lost daughters.
What was the conversation Shehryar had with Leena?
Shehryar had joined Scheherazade and the villagers, heading towards the mountain as well, but his goal was to seek Harris and bring him back. He had a conversation with Areeb, the bell boy with Mahtab Mahal, who tried to reason with him that the pain caused by losing a parent and losing a partner were two different things. Areeb described losing a partner as losing a part of the body. The body and mind endure a lot of pain, but the two eventually get used to the loss. For Harris, he had lost a mother, which was like losing the shelter and comfort we seek as humans in case of any calamity. Areen requested Shehryar give Harris time to process the pain instead of forcing him to talk.
Shehryar was panicking, as he did not want to lose his boy the way he’d lost his wife. He began his journey alone; the man could finally see Leena as an angel in a pink dress, and they had a heartfelt but brief conversation about their life and marriage. Leena revealed she knew how her passing had deeply affected him and his job as he lashed out at a patient who had suicidal thoughts. Leena also revealed she’d seen him attempting to kill himself but stepping away at the last minute. The conversation proved that Shehryar had not gotten over the shock of losing Leena and could not wrap his head around the reason she chose to kill herself when she was the one who loved life.
What were Saifullah’s concerns?
Saifullah was the one at Mahtab Mahal looking for his father and uncle Jabbar. He felt Jaffer had left him just like before, and this was bringing back all the traumatic memories of his childhood. Saifullah finally had a conversation with his deceased mother, who had not spoken to him in her last years because of her depressive state. His mother finally spoke out and spoke about not needing conversation to realize they understood each other through the silences as well. His mother finally forgave him as they said their goodbyes, and he now knew he would never see his mother ever again.
What did Harris learn about death?
Harris was the first person to have seen the women in the red clothes, and asked if he was the reason why Leena killed herself. He also asked if his mother would be alive if Harris hadn’t been born. As a child, he had many questions about life and death because he had been living a lie so far. There was a lot of guilt in him upon realizing his mother may have chosen to harm herself because of him. On learning his grandfather was seeking Mahtab, the young boy had hoped to meet his mother, Leena, in the same fashion, but he couldn’t. He had several questions but all he hoped to do was receive a hug from his mother. The women finally surrounded him, which could be an indication of them not having the answers to his questions, but they were still willing to give him immense energy and courage to move on and lead a fruitful life with his father. The father and son finally reunited.
Did Jaffer finally trek to the top of the mountain?
Jaffer and Jabbar came back to Mahtab Mahal only to find the atrium destroyed. The villagers probably wanted to erase all memories of the elders who’d caused a lot of pain to many families ever since the chain of events began to affect them after Mahtab’s murder. Destroying the atrium was probably the aim they were fighting for. Jaffer’s return helped him come to terms with the mistakes he made over the years, not loving his sons being one of them.
Saifullah was surprised to meet his father, and the duo finally decided to make the trek to the mountain. It was surprising to watch Jaffer change his mind about the relationship he shared with his sons and their deceased mothers. His conversation with Jabbar might have been an eye-opening experience, but it seems too quick for someone to have had a shift in his mindset, while only a day ago, the father and son were bickering about the life they have led so far.
Jaffer, who had given up on wanting to meet Mahtab, had a change of mind and began his trek with Saifullah towards the top of the mountain, where he was supposed to unite with Mahtab on the day of the lunar eclipse. It was outlandish how the two made quick enough progress to run into Scheherazade, Shehryar, and Harris. This was a real family reunion, with everyone finally choosing to forgive each other and move on. Since Barzakh is possessed by the spirit of magical realism, small discrepancies could be ignored.
Is Jaffer dead or alive?
After having met his family on the foothills of the mountain, Jaffer wanted to make the journey with his deceased wives dressed in pink as angels up to the top of the mountain. The old man was now full of regrets as wives were not alive anymore. Since Jaffer could see them he figured leaving the mortal land with the support of his deceased wives would be ideal as he never acknowledged or loved them. This was his way of apologizing to them for the mistakes he made many years ago. He’d had no time to rectify them, but walking up to the mountaintop was his penance. Jaffer probably sensed his end was near, which meant his steps were calculative. This would be the last time anyone would see any of them as angels. These women probably got their closure after all these years, which was Jaffer’s penance over his mistakes, which would allow their souls to eventually move on.
Jaffer gave his children one last hug before walking towards the summit where he was supposed to meet Mahtab. He fell on the ground due to his old age. He was picked up with all the energy by his younger version. This could be an indication of the fact that a young Jaffer was looking forward to meeting Mahtab on the other side, and he wanted to fulfill the desire of that man, who had fallen head over heels in love with her.
As the young and the old Jaffer reached a cliff, the old man disappeared as the cold clouds touched him. Jaffer either killed himself or was swept away by the winds to the other side of the world. Everyone had assumed Jaffer was a selfish man, but he finally got to do what he set out to do. The scene moved to what we believed would be the other side, where Jaffer and Mahtab finally met and were happy to have found each other. This is reminiscent of the last song from the Hindi film Laila Majnu, which treats the deaths of two lovers as happy because they would finally reunite in the other world as they were not allowed to have each other in their real one. It was indeed a happy ending for the two complicated people who wanted to live with each other despite the many obstacles life had put in their way.
Barzakh ended with women in red clothes coming forward to take the suitcases left by their family. These family members were in remorse all their lives for having pushed their daughters to a life they never wanted to live. These daughters moving to the other side with the fairies was the only escape they knew. These girls emerged from behind the rocks wearing the clothes their family had for them in the suitcases. These clothes gave them an identity and a face. There was no confirmation if these girls were back in human form, to be reunited with their families. These girls could very well be on the other side. Due to societal pressures, they either kill themselves, or the family murders them. The third option was going to the other side with fairies, and now that they had their clothes, it would be easy to identify and acknowledge them.
