Hurmat Episode 8: why Hurmat wants out of her engagement to Tabish, and why fans are split

Spoiler warning: this covers Hurmat up to Episode 8, which aired on HUM TV on Tuesday, October 27.

Hurmat Episode 8 went up on HUM TV’s YouTube channel at 9pm on Tuesday and had passed 3.8 million views by Wednesday morning. It continues the turn that has split the drama’s fans this week: Hurmat (Dananeer Mobeen), who fought so hard to get engaged to Tabish (Shahveer Jafry), now wants out.

We last looked at Hurmat after Episode 6, when the question was whether Tabish was a real love story or just Hurmat’s exit from her father’s house. Episodes 7 and 8 answer that, at least from her side.

What happened in Episodes 7 and 8?

In Episode 7, Hurmat loses interest in Tabish and tries to call off the engagement after she learns about his troubled childhood, Filmibeat reported. Her father Akram (Ali Tahir) refuses to hear her reasons.

Viewers also noticed the small things the drama has been laying down. Niche, which collected fan reactions on October 27, points to Tabish fussing over a missing engagement ring when Hurmat needed comfort, and making excuses when she said she wanted to finish her degree before marrying. To a girl raised by Akram, those look like early warnings.

HUM’s teaser for Episode 8 promised the next step: Hurmat turning the question back on her father and raising his past with a woman named Naheed, leaving Akram shocked and furious. That past has been hinted at since the first episode, which opened with a flash-forward of Hurmat in prison, a thread the drama still hasn’t explained.

Is Hurmat right to leave Tabish?

That’s the fight in the comments, and it’s a good sign for the writing that both sides have a case.

• She’s protecting herself. Hurmat watched her mother Nafeesa (Uzma Hassan) give up her voice to keep peace with Akram. Fans like @ll994_ and @Mairakhan1268, quoted by Niche, argue that she sees control in Tabish early precisely because she grew up with it. @neerholic called his excuses about the wedding date a red flag.
• She’s being hasty. Others think she is punishing Tabish for her father’s sins. @suzi_speaks wrote that Hurmat is “losing the diamond” who truly loves her and predicted she would regret it, and several YouTube comments say the whole engagement moved too fast.

Performances and writing

Agahi Talks, reviewing the show so far, credits Dananeer Mobeen with a softness that lets you watch Hurmat’s frustration build, and is more cautious about Shahveer Jafry, saying his potential is “all it is at this stage”. This week’s turn gives him more to work with: Tabish now has to stay likeable while viewers argue over whether he is a warning sign.

Kashif Anwar’s script deserves credit for keeping Tabish ambiguous instead of turning him into a cartoon villain. The risk is the opposite problem: if the drama keeps Hurmat’s reasons inside her head for too long, the “hasty” camp will keep growing.

What’s next in Episode 9?

HUM posted the Episode 9 teaser right after Tuesday’s episode. Hurmat airs on HUM TV at 8pm, and the full episode lands on YouTube about an hour later. The big open question is still the one from the first scene: how does this girl end up in a cell?