Trial By Fire – Season 1 Episode 3 “Memorial” Recap & Review

Memorial

In Episode 3 of Trial By Fire, we see Mr Tulsi, the lawyer of the A.V.U.T. informing the victims’ families that Sushil Ansal was arrested and the cops had arrested 11 other people responsible for the fire. They claim that they would contest the accident in court.

Neelam asks the lawyer about Sushil’s older brother, Gopal Ansal’s arrest to which the lawyer claims that the warrant for his arrest was already out. The next day is Ujjwal’s birthday and Shekhar tries his best to stop Neelam from recalling the day of their son’s birth. Mr Suri meets with the lawyer that Neelam and Shekhar talked to.

He warns Suri about the AVUT and asks to take hold of the victims’ families that took compensation from them and were still a part of the association that was suing the Ansals. The next day, Mrs Goswami learns that her son was suspended from school for no reason.

At the Krishnamoorthy house, Neelam finds the birthday cake that Shekhar had hidden from her while Shekhar discovers the toothbrushes of the kids that Neelam had hidden from him. Both parents are trying to comfort each other by grieving their children’s loss. At home, Mr Goswami is fired from his job as well which makes it concerning for the family.

They receive a compensatory gift box from Mr Suri. Mrs Goswami gives the man a call and warns him against harassing her family. Suri is being hounded by the lawyer who asks him to get the families of the victims to stop the trial against the Ansals. At the Krishnamoorthy house, Neelam and Shekhar are still reminiscing the memories of Ujjwal and Unnati.

The couple gets a call from the lawyer who works with the Ansals. He requests the Krishnamoorthys to stop the legal battle against the Ansals stating that the businessmen were apologetic and remorseful about the accident. He suggests that the Ansals would make a trauma centre dedicated to the victims of the fire and a medical centre in the name of the Uphaar victims.

The idea infuriates Shekhar and Neelam as they leave the lawyer’s office. The lawyer then has a meeting with Suri and tells him to act fast on closing down the association. He insults Suri, asking him to never come back to his office as his face scared off his clients. On the way back, Neelam is upset that Shekhar considered taking compensation from the Ansals. The couple have an argument in the car.

Suri is not happy troubling the families of the Uphaar victims but his wife insists to get things done in order to continue their hassle-free life. Suri’s men set out to attack the A.V.U.T. members, especially the Goswami family who are on their way to attend the memorial service. The goons attack the Goswami family in their car. Mr Tulsi arrives and informs the A.V.U.T. that their case had been transferred to the CBI.

Suri gets a distress call from his men stating that they had heavily injured the Goswamis which sends him rushing outside. Shekhar is back home and he tells Neelam about the case being transferred to a higher authority. Neelam apologises for misunderstanding him and the couple celebrate Ujjwal’s 14th birthday by cutting the cake he liked so much. The couple share their silence.

Meanwhile, Suri visits the Goswami house to apologize for what happened but the family is too scared of him and kick him out of the house. Suri claims that he is not as bad a person as they think him to be but the family is not happy with his presence and they ask him to leave them alone.

Frustrated about all the things going wrong in his life, Suri beats up the driver of a car that had parked too close to his. He breaks the vehicle with a bat as Mrs Goswami watches him cause chaos outside her house. The families of the victims gather together at the memorial of the Uphaar victims.

At the same time, Mr Tulsi learns that the Ansals as well as other accused have been set free of all their charges with no explanation from the Central Branch of Investigatio. Mr Sushil Ansal is welcomed back into his office with roaring cheers. Meanwhile, Suri moves into a new home of his own and has a gala time with his family as the families of the Uphaar victims mourn the loss of their loved ones.

The Episode Review

Knowing how it took 23 years for the families of the Uphaar victims to seek justice, I know how infuriating the next few episodes will get. Shekhar is broken but puts up a more practical front while Neelam is furious over the loss of her only two kids because she is a mother and actors Abhay Deol and Rajshri Deshpande do a good side portraying this side of the couple.

Knowing that the Ansals are now in their 70’s and 80’s and still roaming free despite all they did is just appalling and it shows how the Indian judiciary is influenced by the rich. I am glad the makers of Trial By Fire did not try to give fans a different perspective, glorifying the accused in any way.

It seems like a satire that the makers chose to hide the faces of the Ansals so far in the show and only give us glimpses of these businessmen. I think they do not want viewers to look at these characters as actor but as assailants who caused the death of 59 innocent people due to their greed and carelessness.