Asha Alahan is at her biggest crossroads since leaving her relationship drama with Nina and focusing on herself.

This week’s episode of Coronation Street opens with a rare moment of peace: Asha meets Maggie Driscoll – a woman with a plain appearance but a look that makes people want to listen.

Maggie tells her a very simple sentence: “If you want to talk about it, sit down first.”

It sounds light, but the sentence seems to touch Asha’s heart.

She realizes she has been running all this time – running from her emotions, from the pressure to prove herself, and from herself. From a young girl full of love, Asha has transformed into someone who always has to pretend to be okay. The conversation with Maggie not only makes her stop, but also opens up a period of “returning to her roots” – looking back at her true nature.

As she leaves the cafe, Asha smiles – a small smile that seems to be letting go of a year of frustration. Some Corrie fans on Reddit joked: “If Corrie has a ‘main character era’, Asha is about to have her own season.” And that’s true: according to next week’s trailer, Asha will begin to make a very surprising decision – involving leaving Weatherfield for a while, to find her own direction.

This episode is gentle, but deep. It shows that Corrie is not all about backstabbing and shocking accidents – but also a very human journey, when a girl chooses to stop to become stronger.