"Greetings, brothers! I was searching for Duryodhan and Dushasan. But you are all from the same stock as them. You will have to be cut down too!"
—Bhim
In this episode of Mahabharata, both sides come to the realization that Bhishma stands in the way of outright victory.
And on Day #4, ten Kauravas die by Bhim’s hand.
Tropes found here are
- Karna In His Tent: Bhishma explicitly forbids Karna from engaging Arjun.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Duryodhan rages as to why Bhishma was appointed Commander in Chief of his armies, when he refuses to kill Arjun, thereby preventing the Kauravas from winning.
- Armor-Piercing Response: Shakuni retorts that had Duryodhan not appointed Bhishma as General in Chief, all those other kings won’t be fighting alongside him. It would have been just Duryodhan, his brothers, his friend Karna, Shakuni and Jayadrath against the Pandavas, Bhishma and all other kings.
- Batman Gambit: Shakuni muses that Bhishma is as much a hindrance to the Pandavas’ victory as he is to the Kauravas’ victory. Therefore it is unnecessary for him to act against Bhishma, for the Pandavas will neutralize Bhishma for them.
- Batman Grabs a Gun: Out of frustration with Arjun's indecision, Krishna pulls out the Sudarshan Chakra and prepares to break his vow of non-violence and kill Bhishma, insisting that if Arjun will not do what's right, He has a duty to do so. Arjun convinces him not to.
- Berserk Button: When Bhishma hits Krishna’s arms with his arrows, an enraged Arjun kills his charioteer and causes Bhishma to flee.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Bhim utterly clobbers ten Kauravas to death.
- Deadly Disc: Krishna, frustrated by Arjun’s lack of aggression towards Bhishma, invokes his Sudarshan Chakra and prepares to fire it. A contrite Arjun talks him down.
- Death Seeker: Bhishma has become one now.
- Even Mooks Have Loved Ones: Dhritharashtra and Gandhari break down in tears upon the deaths of ten inconsequential Kauravas.
- Nightmare Sequence: Gandhari recounts a nightmare where she accuses her husband Dhritharashtra of murdering their hundred sons.
- No Sympathy: Deconstruction A grieving Dhritharashtra goes to Gandhari as she is the only one who can empathize with his sons’ deaths. However, he feels that she is actually unsympathetic to him when she recounts a dream where she accuses him of filicide. Gandhari later properly joins him in weeping over their dead sons.
- Trapped in Villainy: Bhishma feels that he is trapped in Duryodhan’s side, because of his inaction while Draupadi was humiliated.
