Noor Jahan has been winning hearts for months now, an exciting show about a possessive, dominating matriarch who refuses to relinquish control. Noor Jahan (Saba Hamid) is a mother-in-law to dread, a woman who thrives on the world revolving around her and putting the women around her in their place. She is a strong woman in a patriarchal world - and continues to pass down patriarchal notions, such as women being a burden despite, obviously, being a woman herself.
Over the weeks, we've seen Noor Bano (Kubra Khan) enter the fold and slowly, steadily turn Noor Jahan's world upside down by breaking her family apart. But honestly, did Noor Bano have to work very hard? In the end, it was Noor Jahan's own behavior which turned her children against her.
In the finale, we see Hunaid (Noor Hassan) and Safina (Alina Abbas) remove themselves and their child from Noor Jahan's misogyny for the sake of their daughter. Hunaid had been brainwashed by his mother to do his bidding and believe her word as final, but with the arrival of his daughter, that devotion has been shattered. While she already lost two sons, Hunaid has always been her loyal eldest son who saw her struggles and stood by her. This is a big blow for her and it's his anger which sets Noor Jahan's change in motion.
Now left alone, Noor Jahan has time to think and reflect. What are the life choices she has made? What caused this hatred towards women? What was the need for total control? It's with Noor Jahan's reflection that we, as an audience, are finally made aware of Noor Jahan's circumstances and how she came to her present state. Noor Jahan has been the villain of 31 episodes and suddenly, in episode 32 (the finale), we come to learn that Noor Jahan's climb to success and respect was a painful path strewn with struggle. Everything Noor Jahan has dished out is a reflection of what she faced in her own marriage from her own in-laws - and while being mistreated is never an excuse for mistreating others, it certainly creates room for empathy.
In the end, Noor Jahan apologizes wholeheartedly to her sons and daughters-in-law through letters, letters of self-reflection, moments of awakening which have come over time and fortunately, Noor Jahan's change is not rushed. This is a woman left alone, a woman who has gone from being the center of the world according to her sons to now celebrating her birthday alone. She has time to reflect on her mistakes - and reflect she does.
In the end, "Noor Jahan" is a story of generational trauma, bad behavior passed on through generations. Noor Jahan loved her sons, but wanted to control them like puppets. She ordered them to mistreat their wives from hoarding divorce over their heads to encouraging Hunaid to abuse Safina to mistreating her own granddaughter - but what makes Noor Jahan redeemable is her decision to learn, her decision to apologize and rectify her mistakes. Noor Bano was the push to make Noor Jahan see her flaws and herself chose to break the cycle of trauma by forgiving her husband and in-laws for their hand in her father's death.
The performances have been excellent. Saba Hamid is the life of "Noor Jahan," perfectly enacting a character who we've loved to hate for weeks and yet, one who we sympathize with by the end. Alina Abbas deserves a round of applause for playing the show's most lovable character, Safina, a character we rooted for with our whole heart. Noor Hassan made Hunaid feel human, a character trained to be a robot who finds his heart by the end. Kubra Khan has been perfect as Noor Bano, the perfect nemesis for Noor Jahan, a woman with the courage to go head-to-head with her mother-in-law, a woman who loses herself in the same battle she has been fighting against and learns to forgive. Ali Rehman Khan, Zoya Nasir and Hajra Yamin have been excellent parts of the cast as well and honestly, each actor deserves their own separate paragraph for their part in this show. The female relationships and bonding alone have set "Noor Jahan" apart from anything else on television, showing how women can stand up to support each other and lift one another up.
Is there room for criticism? There always is, it's very difficult to fully satisfy viewers on all accounts. Murad and Noor Bano's story ended on a cliffhanger in the 2nd last episode and yet, their story just moves forward without showing the resolution of that charged scene. Yes, as an audience, we are intelligent enough to deduce that Murad's threat of taking his life was enough for Noor Bano to rethink her feelings towards him and the two came together for the sake of their child. But this is a face-off we genuinely wanted to see and would have made their reunion much more satisfying. Still, it's a small bump in the road of an otherwise great finale.
Could one call "Noor Jahan" a saas-bahu drama? Sure, absolutely. But more than that, "Noor Jahan" turned into a thrilling watch, a statement on power dynamics within a household and how generational trauma is passed down. "Noor Jahan" is a must watch for 2024!
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