The fifth episode of Asur: Welcome to Your Dark Side opens 11 years ago in Varanasi. Shubh is arrested from his home for killing his father. DJ worked on this case. In jail, Shubh makes huge drawings of demons on the wall and writes in Sanskrit, “Anth Asti Prarambh” which means ‘The end is the beginning’. He reads a lot of books on mythology in jail and even gives sermons to other prisoners about achieving a stable state of mind. An inmate cuts his hand and colours Shubh’s feet red with blood. This is eerie and almost looks like the forming of a cult.

In the present day, Naina watches the news about another body being found. Nusrat visits her and assures her that Nikhil is alive. Nusrat also tells her about the theory of Nikhil being the murderer. Naina is disgusted and doesn’t believe it.

After ideating the murder of an innocent woman, Nikhil is frustrated and disturbed. He demands the kidnapper for some cigarettes.

Lolark asks his boss, Shashank Awasthi, for permission to let DJ work on this case from the jail’s premises but Awasthi denies the request saying that it will harm the reputation of the CBI. Lolark leaves after making an emotional appeal to him.

Nikhil watches the news of the body of the neuroscientist being found. Her crying family is also shown and Nikhil is crushed. In his rage, he starts slapping himself.

Lolark reaches Varanasi to find out about Shubh Joshi as instructed by DJ. After not getting anything substantial from the police station and the record room, Lolark decides to visit the police officer who was in charge 11 years back.

A man regularly visits the Central Jail to counsel the prisoners. DJ sits in his session with other prisoners. The man is Kesar Bhardwaj.

Surprisingly, the kidnapper enters Nikhil’s room and shows his face. He talks to Nikhil about religion and the selective nature of morals. This scene runs parallel with Kesar’s session in the jail. Kesar talks about feeling and letting go of the guilt of killing someone. He also says that there are two sides to every person- the good and the bad.

After his lecture, DJ goes up to Kesar and they talk about religion and karma.

Awasthi finally permits DJ to work on the case. Space is cleared in the prison for the CBI to work on the case along with DJ. A new member, Samarth, joins the team.

Lolark visits ex-inspector Yashwant, the police officer who had arrested Shubh. Yashwant says that Shubh was a strange boy who killed his father without any remorse. Shubh was 18 but he didn’t act his age. All the older prisoners were impressed by him and his aura. He used to make weird drawings on the wall, read scriptures all day, captivating everyone’s attention through his talks. However, one day the jail caught fire and 4 prisoners were killed in it. Shubh was one of them.

The CBI team gets to work. DJ tries to think what could be the connection between all the victims. He also instructs Nusrat to find out why the killer is using a Balinese mask. DJ figures out that the killer is using Nikhil’s family to blackmail him into ideating murders for the killer’s targets. He immediately makes provisions for the safety of Nikhil’s family. Samarth says that the only thing common between all the victims is that they were noble and rational people. Lolark tells DJ about what he learns about Shubh. Since Shubh’s body hasn’t been found, DJ believes Shubh is still alive. He tells Lolark to talk to Shubh’s family.

Meanwhile, Nikhil does something with the television’s wiring to get an analog channel on the television. Looks like he is making sly attempts to communicate with the outside world.

Samarth and DJ talk about mythology and religion. Samarth suggests that they try to study the victims’ horoscopes.

Nikhil receives his second target who is a big name, Aditya Jalan. He asks to see some proof that his family is safe before continuing with the murder. The killer shows him the footage of his family.

Naina notices officers outside her home and visits DJ in the prison workplace to confront him about it. DJ tells her about the possibility of the killer blackmailing Nikhil. She doesn’t understand and rather rebukes him.

Lolark finds Shubh’s records from a record room. He forwards all the information including a half-burnt photo of Shubh to the CBI team in Delhi.

In the last scene, we see DJ remembering Shubh’s arrest 10 years ago in Varanasi. DJ tells Shubh that this is for his own good but in turn, Shubh looks him in the eye and says, “Jhooth kabse sahi hone laga”. Back in the present, DJ looks coldly at Shubh’s half-burnt photo.

The fifth episode of Asur: Welcome to Your Dark Side ends with a lot of mystery about Shubh’s whereabouts. However, now that the killer’s face is revealed, it could be that the killer is none other than a grown-up Shubh.

Episode rating: 3.5/5