The third episode of season two is titled Cheeti aur Haathi (Ant and Elephant). To me that is a fitting description of the premise of the episode.

While Kavya has finally become the team leader at her new job, Dhruv is struggling to find something new and engaging for himself. Kavya is the mighty haathi (elephant) who can clearly see the bright future and Dhruv is the cheeti (ant) trying to survive in a world that doesn’t make much sense and makes him feel insignificant.

Dhruv starts a new job at a coaching institute teaching mathematics to children. There’s not much for him to do there and he simply enjoys long breaks standing in the balcony with other teachers. He tries to reach out and talk to Kavya, but she is busy putting together a last minute presentation. 

Desperate to pay off his parents loan, Dhruv is willing to do anything to make an extra buck. His colleagues notice his discomfort and make him a compelling offer—to appear for an exam for a student and earn a handsome fee for helping him get a passing grade.

This moment is a test of Dhruv’s character. While he finds the offer intriguing, he expresses his concern and fear. His colleagues are adamant about helping him and add him to the text chain saying he should keep in touch with everyone in case he changes his mind. 

To clear his mind, Dhruv wanders into a nearby garden and starts observing the gardener. The gardener—rather well versed in his work—offers to take Dhruv around and shows him how to take care of different plants.

Dhruv takes a picture of a plant and sends it to Kavya with a text saying “Kavu should we plant this together?” 

Kavya looks at the text but is called into her boss’s office before she has a chance to reply. 

After the busy day is finally over, the two get home. Watching Kavya engrossed in work makes Dhruv feel insecure. He wants to express his concerns to her and talk about his day. He confronts her about why she didn’t respond to his text earlier but Kavya tells him that it was simply because she got busy and didn’t get a chance. 

Once they fight over how work is affecting their relationship, Dhruv and Kavya finally head to bed. Twisting and tossing throughout the night, Dhruv realises that as long as he has Kavya on his side, he doesn’t need to worry about taking up shady jobs to make money. He picks up his phone and deletes the group chat he was recently added to. Perhaps getting rid of the thing that made him question his morals was the first step to stop feeling like a cheeti. 

Dhruv falls asleep in the hope of a better tomorrow and the episode ends on a hopeful note. 

While this episode lacked the brilliance and insight of the previous episodes, it is still an important step towards discovering who Dhruv and Kavya are, outside of each other. 

This episode was a 2.5/5

Little Things Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.