Summary:

After Ali Riza defeats his opponent in the fight, he finally gets the opportunity to speak with Selim who unwillingly provides information about Balaban and his father.  Ali Riza learns that Balaban has always been very secretive but the only person he ever confided in was an uncle who no one ever saw or knew his real name.  He also learns that Balaban’s parents were killed in a car accident and are buried in a Catholic cemetery in a nearby city.  Ali Riza also asks Selim about his father’s death who tells him he heard from Balaban that the Ithiyar had him killed and threw his body into the sea, but the facts have always been a mystery.  Ali Riza recounts the story Balaban gave him and says he picked up his father’s body in Hatay, however, he didn’t have the opportunity to see his face because he was told he wouldn’t be able to recognize him due to the accident he suffered.  Selim suggests that he could be alive which causes Ali Riza to lose his temper, so Selim takes the opportunity to attack him, but Ali Riza ends up killing him instead.  As he attempts to leave, he encounters more men outside who he has to fight to be allowed to leave which he ultimately does with the help of Ferit who’s waiting for him outside.  As they leave, Ali Riza receives a call from Halide who asks to speak with him immediately, so he asks Ferit to check out the cemetery where Balaban’s parents are buried to get their names to start their investigation.

Following the consortium meeting, Mithat updates the Ihtiyar to inform her Ali Riza was voted out as the sword and replaced with Burak.  She asks if Murat and Burak learned from their father’s mistakes, which Mithat assures her he already spoke with them and warned them to act accordingly.  She asks Mithat if he will also be faithful to her, which Mithat also assures her he will always be faithful to her and to the table. 

When Mithat leaves, Safir asks the Ihtiyar why Ali Riza wanted to be removed as the sword so, in a flashback scene, Ali Riza proposes a plan to be removed from his position so he could have more freedom to follow Balaban to discover who he’s working with.  The Ihtiyar warns him of the risks, but Ali Riza tells her it’s the only way he can get to the truth.  Ultimately, the Ihtiyar agrees to his plan and promises Ali Riza if he succeeds, she will reward him with a chair at the table.  Afterward, the Ihtiyar informs Safir the table is split and knows a war is about to begin at any moment within the consortium. 

Once Halide sees Ali Riza’s injured face she becomes worried but after fixing his wounds, she tells him that Mert overheard her discussion with his mom about his dad’s possible involvement with her family’s murder.  Ali Riza then informs her about the information he learned and tells her his plans to go to his father’s grave to check if his body is still there.  

Before they can continue, they’re interrupted by Sabri who tells Halide her father wants her home immediately.  Halide refuses but Ali Riza urges her to listen to her father to avoid additional tension between them.  As Halide gathers her things, Sabri tells Ali Riza that Haşmet is more upset because he felt like he was betrayed by his son. 

The Ihtiyar visits Haşmet and Melek to discuss work issues but first, she congratulates Haşmet of Halide’s engagement to Ali Riza, however, Haşmet tells her he received a video from Balaban that shows Ali Riza’s father is involved in his family’s murder.  The Ihtiyar informs Haşmet she knew Mehmet Emin Altay but was just a hitman who raised Balaban but was killed years ago.  Melek suggests that perhaps Ali Riza got involved in their world for a reason, but the Ihtiyar tells her Ali Riza is the only innocent person involved since he was dragged into their dark world.  As the Ihtiyar and Haşmet prepare to leave to discuss further work issues, Halide arrives and accuses Haşmet of being unfair to Ali Riza and tells him he can’t forbid her to see him.  

Later, Ali Riza speaks with Mert who wants to know why Halide claims their father is involved in her family’s death.  Ali Riza explains the situation and that he’s learning a lot of information about their father that makes him wonder if they even knew who he was.  Mert tells Ali Riza that he doesn’t have to do it alone, that he’ll support and help him since it involves their father.  Ali Riza tells Mert that he believes their father may be alive after the information he just received so he suggests they go to their father’s grave to dig it up and prove if his body is still there.  

Afterward, Ali Riza meets with the Ihtiyar and Haşmet at her house to inform them of the information he obtained from Selim about Balaban.  He provides the names of his parents and the cemetery they’re buried at and at that moment, Ali Riza receives a call from Balaban.  He informs Ali Riza he’s surprised he discovered the information about his parents and asks if he set a trap for him, but Ali Riza tells him if he was planning on doing something to him, he would do it in his face.  After they hang up, Haşmet orders Ali Riza to get the missing information on Balaban as soon as possible so they can get rid of him before their next meeting and storms out.  Ali Riza follows him and asks if they can talk since they haven’t spoken since he kicked him out of his home, however, Haşmet tells Ali Riza he has nothing more to say to him.  He only plans on talking to him about business but reminds him to stay away from Halide.  Ali Riza doesn’t back down and tells him no one can prevent him from seeing Halide, so Haşmet warns him he can be a problem for him if he insists.  Ali Riza attempts to explain that he could never betray him and just didn’t tell him about his father because he wanted to have more information first, however, Haşmet tells him he may not have reacted the same if he was the one who told him first.  

Later that evening, Halide escapes her house to meet with Ali Riza by the pier.  She tells him Haşmet won’t talk to her or let her explain his situation, so Ali Riza tells her that he attempted to talk to him earlier as well, but he refused to listen.  Ali Riza tells Halide his plans of opening their father’s grave to confirm if he’s still buried.  Halide tells him she wants to accompany them since she’s also involved and confesses to Ali Riza that it will be difficult for her if they do confirm his father really was responsible for her family’s death.  She says she would be unhappy and doesn’t know if she would be able to make him happy if they were together.  Ali Riza tells her if it’s true, then he won’t make her decision because he will leave her so they can go their separate ways to avoid that difficult situation.  

Mithat, Burak, Balaban, and Murat meet to discuss their next steps against Ali Riza and Haşmet.  They decide on attacking Ali Riza first and Mithat comes up with a plan to spread rumors to get Haşmet to react to give them an excuse to attack him.  Later, as Burak and Fiko are enjoying the view of the new vehicle they took from Ali Riza’s gallery thinking he was too scared to confront him, it explodes causing Burak to vow retaliation.  

As Haşmet is enjoying his dinner, the Ihtiyar asks him to go to her house so they can finish their discussion earlier that day.  Once he arrives, she tells him that Ali Riza is not guilty of anything his father did and explains that Mehmet Emin Altay infiltrated the mafia on a secret mission for several years during which time he hurt her emotionally.  She asks Haşmet to stop blaming him, so when he asks her how she can trust him so much when she doesn’t trust anyone, she tells him she’s Ali Riza’s real mother.  She explains how he was stolen from her when he was a baby then told he was dead until she found out he was alive.  Haşmet asks if she orchestrated it so he could get close to him, she confesses that she did.  She explains she’s been watching him and protecting him from afar, but when she learned his sister was killed and Ali Riza went after the Ersoylu family, she made it so that Ali Riza would get close to Haşmet for protection and eventually close to her.  Haşmet asks when she plans on telling him the truth since it will disrupt his family, but she tells him she doesn’t know but wants to do it soon so she can be reunited with her son. 

The following day, Safir is attacked while at the cemetery where Balaban’s parents are buried, however, he’s able to defend himself.  He locates the registry book with names of the families that are buried there so they can continue to check into Balaban’s past.  After, Safir gives the information to Muzaffer to investigate Balaban’s family and report to the Ihtiyar his findings.  

As part of Mithat’s plan, Haşmet receives word that some of their associates are not happy with the amount of money they’re receiving and others are upset at how much money they’re paying, he decides to speak with Yakub, who is in charge of transportation.  Sabri informs Haşmet that Mithat and Yakub met privately who made changes but didn’t share the information with Haşmet.  He orders Sabri to intercept the money collected and once it’s done, he calls Haşmet to confirm it’s taken care of.  Meanwhile, Haşmet meets with Yakub who tells him he was only following Mithat’s orders, but Haşmet still has his guard take care of him permanently.  After, Haşmet calls Mithat to let him know that he settled the problem among their associates, but they still need to discuss the changes he’s making without his approval.  Mithat immediately calls Burak to let him know they have a reason to attack Haşmet and proceed with their plan. 

Muzaffer informs the Ihtiyar they discovered an Italian company ran by Balaban but appears to be a legitimate company.  He reports that he couldn’t find any information about his uncle or his mother which means that they went through a lot of trouble to hide the information but Muzaffer assures her that he will keep searching until he finds something.  

Ali Riza, Mert, and Halide go to the cemetery where Ali Riza’s father is buried so they can confirm their suspicions that he’s alive.  Once they dig up his grave, they discover it’s empty.  As they discuss their next steps, Ali Riza notices some men hiding who are getting ready to attack.  Before they do, Ali Riza makes Mert and Halide hide in their father’s grave as he attacks them first, however as Mert tries to help he gets shot.  They attempt to rush to the hospital to get Mert help, but on their way, he stops breathing so they pull over so Halide can try to revive him while Ali Riza looks on helpless and scared.  Eventually, Mert starts breathing again so they rush to the hospital.     

Balaban receives word that their attack on Ali Riza failed but his brother was shot during the attack.  The news makes Mithat, Murat and Burak uneasy however Balaban says he hopes Mert dies so Ali Riza can make a mistake giving them the opportunity to kill him.

Cliffhangers:

The Ihtiyar reveals her identity to Ms. Rukiya during her visit to her home.  As they share stories of their children, she tells her that her child isn’t dead, but was kidnapped and brought to her… 

After they arrive at the hospital, Ali Riza calls Balaban and warns him he’s coming for him and everyone working with him for what they did to his brother…

Halide calls Haşmet to let him know they were attacked and Mert was shot, however at the same time, two men approach Haşmet and shoot him as Halide screams for him on the phone…

Questions Left Unanswered:

Will Mert and Haşmet survive the attacks?

How will the Ihtiyar react to the attacks on Haşmet and Ali Riza?   

What will Balaban do once he finds out his alliance is planning on putting the blame on him for the attacks?  Will he also declare himself an enemy against Burak, Mithat, and Murat?   

What will Ms. Rukiya do now that she knows the Ihtiyar’s true identity?

How will Ali Riza deal with the possibility that his father is alive?  

What I Loved:

I loved the story twist that it was Ali Riza’s plan to be removed as the sword so he can freely do what he wants to do with Balaban to discover the truth.  I was completely surprised and worried that they would vote on a worse punishment but knowing that they did what he wanted was awesome!    

I loved how Hasan put Burak in his place when he went to Ali Riza’s car gallery and thought they would bow down to him just because he’s the sword again.  Wrong!  Hasan was great when he called him arrogant, boneless, and unbalanced and then warning him that he will destroy him if he gets in his way and make his body disappear.  Wow.   

Although Haşmet is mad at Ali Riza, he still thought about him and his family after the Ihtiyar revealed her true identity.  He warned her that once she tells him the truth, his whole life will be turned upside down as well as the family he grew up with.  It’s heartwarming to know that Haşmet will always have that father-son connection with him no matter what. 

I loved the scene where Halide is frantically trying to revive Mert while Ali Riza is looking helpless and begins to remember Nihan’s death.  I felt their desperation and fear for Mert knowing that if he dies, they wouldn’t be able to survive another death.   

What I Disliked:

I dislike that Murat continues to be a puppet.  I thought he was finally going to step up and take control, but he continues to be used by Mithat and Burak by going along with their plans to take over the table.  I was hoping he would go with his conscience, but now that war has been declared, it’s too late for him.  By staying quiet and not doing anything will get him killed.  

Mithat and Derya.  Mithat was out of line when he told Melek to mind her business when she questioned his intentions on supporting Burak as the new sword.  She was only trying to get him to listen to reason, but since he refused, he deserves whatever punishment Ali Riza gives him.  As for Derya, she continues to live in a cloud as she proceeds with her plans to marry Burak even though Melek tells her she won’t be attending.  Melek did her part by telling her numerous times that she won’t be happy with Burak, so if the wedding actually takes place and she’s miserable after, then she deserves it.     

My Thoughts:

This episode was great because it delivered a shocking ending.  While we were all worried about Mert after he was shot and we were all convinced he would die, out of nowhere Haşmet is shot and left for dead.  It definitely opened up the storyline for a new war within the consortium.  Loved it!

Muzaffer continues to be a complex character and this episode adds another layer making me think he may have been involved with kidnapping Ali Riza from the Ihtiyar.  I feel like he gets nervous or anxious when she talks about it so perhaps he was involved or knows more than what he’s said. 

I hope I'm wrong, but I think the conversation between Ali Riza and Halide at the pier was a warning of what’s to come between them.  I will be heartbroken if they break up for something that either of them has any control over, but it’s understandable that they would not be able to live with each other knowing that Ali Riza’s father wanted Halide’s family dead.  I will continue to hope that he isn’t involved so our beloved couple can have a happy ending.