The eighth episode of “Shantaram” begins with another flashback, where Lin Ford recalls his past life while struggling with cholera. Previously in “Shantaram” Episode 7, we saw how Lin arranged clean water for the slum dwellers with the help of Khader Bhai, and because of it, many of the slum people got cured. But now it was Lin’s turn to face the fatal illness. He was shivering and couldn’t even get up, but all this time, Karla was beside him and took care of him in his time of need. Maybe, when Lin fell ill, Prabhu called Karla to take care of him. Lin began to recall the events of the past when he met Gemma for the first time, and both eventually fell in love. Maybe at this hour of dire need, Lin needed love and support from someone he held close to his heart, but tragically, Karla, a stranger in an alien country, was all Lin could have.
Spoilers Ahead
What Did Ravi Hear? What Did Lin Confess to Karla?
In “Shantaram” episode 8, we were introduced to Gemma, whom Lin had met in the middle of a riot when Lin used to drive an ambulance as a side job. Gemma came to him because she had been stung by a bee, and Lin treated her with the utmost care. As the riots outside heated up, Gemma tried to hide inside Lin’s ambulance, where she eventually asked for some drugs. Lin said that the only thing he had was aspirin, which, of course, wasn’t enough to meet her needs. Since that day, they have been together. In another flashback, we saw that Gemma came to meet Lin in prison, but it didn’t seem like she cared about him at all. She told Lin that this was the last time she was visiting him and assured him that she would be alright because she had become sober. Lin asked her about their plan to move to India, for which he had robbed the bank. But Gemma didn’t care about anything else except herself. Lin was shocked and couldn’t even express his anger or pain; rather, he laughed maniacally. Gemma was the one for whom he had committed a crime in the first place, and she just walked out of his life as if nothing ever happened between them.
Lin’s flashbacks came to an end, and as soon as he woke up, he saw Karla by his side. He was getting the care and compassion that he once craved from Gemma. But he now couldn’t thank Karla enough for her presence. However, when Lin was feeling better, he remembered that the slum was an unhealthy place where Karla could get sick, so he told her to go back. But Karla was worried for Lin. She nursed him with all her care and love and finally made him feel better. Lin asked Karla why she was there, to which Karla responded that Lin wasn’t the only one who needed salvation. Lin realized that Karla felt guilty about the fact that she put Lin in danger by bringing him to Zhou’s Palace. So, Karla was there for Lin to ease her remorse.
Lin discussed salvation with Karla, questioning if she truly wanted to make amends for her error. When Karla brought Lin to Zhou’s palace, she gave him Ahmed’s suit, which prompted Lin to ask about him. Karla clarified that they were friends. She might have brought Ahmed to Zhou’s palace, where he fell in love with Christina, one of Zhou’s girls. When Zhou learned of this, she instructed her men to attack Christina with acid. When Ahmed found that out and sought revenge, Zhou’s men killed him. Lin gently assured Karla that it was not her fault at all, but Karla countered that it was technically Karla’s guilt as she was the reason why Ahmed came to the palace and fell in love with Christina. She implied that the fire began in the slum when Zhou’s guy chased Lin, and, in a way, Lin was guilty too, for which he always blamed himself. As they were discussing their pasts, Ravi happened to pass by Lin’s hut and overheard all of these conversations. He believed that Lin was to blame for his mother’s death. Ravi had tried to forgive Lin, but now he only had resentment for him.
Lin, meanwhile, couldn’t hold back his feelings anymore and confessed to Karla that he liked her. Karla agreed that she liked Lin too, but she couldn’t get involved in any romantic relationship because anybody who had come into her life would eventually turn up dead. So, she said, Lin had to leave the town just because he fell in love with her. Lin was heartbroken and couldn’t understand why Karla didn’t want to get into any kind of relationship.
What Did Walid’s Men Do?
The next day, Lin recovered, and the whole slum started praising him, which Ravi couldn’t stand. Ravi told Prabhu that it was Lin because of whom a fire had started in the slum that eventually killed his mother, and thus he held him responsible for the murder. However, Prabhu quickly defended Lin and told Ravi that Lin was with him that night. Prabhu lied to Ravi, because he knew Lin was a good person. Later, when Khader bhai’s truck came back to the slum to give them clean water, Walid bhai’s men stopped the slum people from having it. They threatened them not to accept any kind of help from Khader Bhai, but when slum people started begging for those barrels, Walid’s men started breaking them to waste the water in front of the people. Later, Prabhu confronted Lin and asked him if what Ravi said was true. Did Lin set fire to the slum? Lin maintained ambiguity in his response. He didn’t want to tell Prabhu about Zhou’s men coming here that night when the slum caught fire. Prabhu said that he lied to Ravi and reassured Lin that he was a good man, and that’s why Parvathi got her life back. So, Lin should not feel guilty anymore.
What Happened to Sunita?
Karla arrived at Madame Zhou’s Palace the following morning to talk to Sunita. Sunita, who once tried to run away from the palace, was locked in her room with security outside it. Karla talked to Sunita and asked her to call Pandey and tell him to come to the palace; only then would Sunita be released. But Sunita was in love with Pandey, so she didn’t agree to do what Karla wanted. Zhou approached Karla, saying that nothing is more stupid than a prostitute who falls in love. Zhou knew that from her own experience when she was in love with a K.G.B. spymaster. When that spymaster left India, his enemies caught Zhou and tortured her. Since then, she has started to believe that no matter how much you love somebody, it’s not stronger than the hate left behind. Now she felt empowered, as she was far away from love or a relationship, and that’s what gave her pleasure. She was not a mistress but a strong woman who didn’t need to take instruction from any man. Zhou advised Karla that she could make Sunita comply with her orders if Sunita’s love was in danger. The next day, Karla reminded Sunita that Pandey would never risk losing his family and position to help her because she was just a prostitute. So, it would be better if Sunita would call him and ask him to come to Zhou’s Palace. However, Sunita asserted that Karla would comprehend the pain of betraying a loved one if she had ever experienced love. Karla took a long pause to consider if what she was doing was right or wrong, but regardless of the answer, she was forced to just carry out Khader’s instructions.
What Did Modena Do with Maurizio?
In the other part of the story, Rahim sold the drugs and gave Modena a bag full of cash. Rahim teased Modena by talking inappropriately about Lisa. Modena nevertheless controlled his anger and came back to Lisa. He gave her a share of money disrespectfully, which Lisa really didn’t deserve. Lisa told him that she didn’t deserve this attitude because Maurizio and Modena earned this money only because she agreed to sleep with Rahim. So, this money was her earnings. She still tried to console Modena, but he stormed out of the room. Modena came back to Maurizio to give him their share, which he got from Rahim, but Maurizio revealed that Abdullah had already threatened him to stop the business. So, they decided to sell all the drugs they had and grab all the money to leave India. Modena agreed to the deal and started selling drugs here and there in Bombay. The cash they got was enough for them to leave Bombay and reside abroad. So, both of them started planning what their next step might be. But when Modena brought up Lisa in their conversation, Maurizio told him to abandon her as he didn’t want to give any of their share to her. When Maurizio came back from the washroom, he saw Modena had left with all the money, leaving a single note on his table.
In the meantime, Kavitha’s boyfriend had brought big cartons filled with red notice files into her apartment. The C.B.I. couldn’t allow this process of investigation in their department, so now Kavitha’s room would be used as a C.B.I. facility. Kavitha was also informed that if she got any leads about Lin, she must inform the officers about that.
‘Shantaram’ Episode 8: Ending Explained – Why Did Khader Meet Qasim? What Would Happen To Sagar-Wada?
Lin arrived at Khader’s house to ask about his relationship with Walid Bhai. Khader now had to come clean about his desire to buy Sagar-Wada, which Walid wanted too. Sagar Wada was the most valuable real estate where Khader wanted to build homes for the people of the slums. Khader wanted to help the populace, which Walid wouldn’t do if he had bought the place. So, Khader had to somehow own the land before Walid could do anything. Khader told Lin that when he was 15 years old, his own house was taken from him. Because of this, he was aware of the difficulty of overcoming the pain of losing one’s house. Khader informed Lin that eventually, the people of the slum would need to be evicted, but the residents would get to choose who would evict them. Knowing all of these, Lin realized that he was getting himself involved in another complicated mess and thus asked Khader that if he wanted something from the slum people, then he should have to ask them by himself.
Lin brought Khader to Qasim Bhai so that Khader could make his proposal there. Khader clarified his plan by saying that even if he won the right to own the Sagar Wada property, he would have to evict the slum people eventually, but he could help them build new houses, schools and hospitals. Because of Khader’s honesty, Qasim decided to give him a ring that another slum guy had urged him to give Khader as a gift in exchange for saving their lives. Khader agreed to it but mentioned a line from a Shakespeare play that Qasim found offensive because he wasn’t as well-educated as Khader. Khader apologized, but Qasim requested that he return the ring because he wouldn’t require it, but for a man living in a slum, the ring would remain valuable. When Khader asked what Qasim’s answer would be, Qasim might have responded with a “yes,” since he believed that Khader could provide them with a place to live and other necessary amenities.
The next morning, when Walid Bhai’s men arrived to stop slum dwellers from getting their water, they freaked out at seeing Abdullah and Khader’s other goons standing next to them. The presence of Abdullah with the people of the slum clearly suggested that Qasim had decided to give his support to Khader in the bidding war for Sagar Wada. Soon, Walid bhai’s men and the residents of the slum got into a fight, and Abdullah and Lin beat them until they fled Sagar Wada. They succeeded in scaring them away, but those goons might immediately go to Walid bhai and describe what had happened to them, which would result in a fierce conflict between Khader and Walid. Later, we saw that Ravi was so intrigued by Abdullah and his profession that he told him he could do anything for them. As Abdullah found a slingshot that Ravi was using to target Lin, he warned him not to do anything like that because Lin was an important person to Khader bhai. Meanwhile, as the people of the slum were celebrating their victory, Parvathi came out of her hut, having recovered completely from cholera. Her presence brought a huge smile to Prabhu’s face.
A lot of things have happened in Episode 8 of “Shantaram” that may have a direct impact on the future course of events. Lin and Khader Bhai had openly waged war with Walid Bhai, which might lead to a bigger catastrophe for the slum dwellers. Lin has publicly sided with Khader Bhai, making Walid his enemy. Kavitha, on the other hand, is investigating Lin as well. If she happens to find out any crucial information about Lin, then he may end up in jail again, or he will have to escape India, too. Now, Lin is surrounded by danger from all sides, and as the conflict builds up, we can expect some fast-paced sequences in the episodes to come.
See More: ‘Shantaram’ Episode 9: Recap And Ending, Explained: Did Nightingale Get Lin’s Information?
