Ariza: Season 1, Episode 26 Review

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Ep 26 Cover

Summary:

Mert and Haşmet are both rushed to the hospital in critical condition after suffering gunshot wounds.  Halide and Ali Riza await news as their loved ones go through emergency surgery.    

The Ihtiyar reveals her identity to Ms. Rukiya about Ali Riza.  She also informs her it was her husband who took Ali Riza from her but of course, Ms. Rukiya doesn’t believe her.  She reiterates the story that they took in Ali Riza after he was dropped off at the police station so he wouldn’t be placed in an orphanage.  The Ihtiyar attempts to tell Ms. Rukiya that she appreciates everything that she did for him and doesn’t know how to repay her for what she did, but Ms. Rukiya is offended and tells her there isn’t anything to pay back since Ali Riza is her son and asks her to leave and to stay away from Ali Riza.  The Ihtiyar tells Ms. Rukiya that Ali Riza will eventually find out the truth, so she wanted them to be the ones to tell him and allow him to decide how he wants to continue his relationship with them, but Ms. Rukiya refuses to listen.  Before she leaves, Ms. Rukiya finally gets ahold of Ali Riza who gives her the news that Mert has been shot. 

After Ms. Rukiya arrives at the hospital, Ali Riza tells her what happened, so she proceeds to yell and blame Ali Riza for Mert’s condition.  She accuses him of not protecting their family like he promised and causing their family a lot of pain.  Ali Riza leaves the hospital in a trance double thinking about the path he took to get revenge which has been a long road that has caused his family a lot of grief.  As he wanders the streets, Hasan finds him and assures him he’s not to blame.  He tells him he’s been doing the right thing to bring down the bad guys and knows he won’t stop until he’s done.  Ali Riza finally realizes he has to finish what he started and at that moment, the ambulance carrying Hashmet arrives.  Once Halide sees her father on the gurney, she becomes worried and asks Ali Riza if today is the day she loses all of her loved ones like she always feared.  Ali Riza doesn’t let her give up, he tells her they need to hold on to each other and stay strong so that their family can survive.

The Ihtiyar discovers that Haşmet was also attacked at the same time as Ali Riza so she meets with Mithat to get information, but he denies any knowledge of the situation however he suggests it could have been Balaban since he has problems with both of them.  He tells the Ihtiyar that he’ll investigate and punish him once he confirms he’s responsible, but the Ihtiyar tells him it’s not necessary and removes him as patron as well as dismantles the table and consortium.  She leaves a stunned Mithat and goes to the hospital to check on Hashmet and Ali Riza.   

Burak calls the hospital to check if Mert died but discovers Mert is in surgery.  Soon, Balaban arrives who tells him he’s aware of what’s going on and tells Burak he has Ali Riza where he wants him.  Burak realizes that Mert was targeted on purpose to distract Ali Riza.  He also tells them Haşmet may or may not die after their attack, but he could retire due to the severity of the wounds he received so they won’t have to worry about him.  Balaban’s intent is to go after all of Ali Riza’s loved ones, so his next target is Halide, however, Burak tells him Halide is not to be touched.  

Later, Murat and Burak meet to discuss their situation and discover via Mithat that the Ihtiyar has gotten rid of the table, so Burak assures Murat they don’t need anyone because now they will do what they planned all along.  They will continue with the war and destroy their enemies one by one.  Although Murat expresses doubts, he goes along with Burak’s plan. 

Meanwhile, Mithat calls Balaban to let him know there is no more consortium but Balaban had already anticipated she was going to do that.  He tells Mithat they should attempt to lure the Ihtiyar’s associates to join them before she speaks with them so they can start creating their own table. 

Soon after, as Ali Riza is leaving the hospital, the Ihtiyar finds him to check how he’s doing and to offer her help however he tells her he doesn’t need anyone anymore.  The Ihtiyar tells him he won’t survive if he fights alone, but Ali Riza tells her what’s the point in living if he can’t protect his loved ones.  He tells her he’s following his own path and if he’s going to die, then he’s ready to die fighting for the things he truly believes in.

As Ali Riza prepares to take matters into his own hands, he calls his army friend, Aslan, to help him fight against his enemies.  Together, they prepare to ambush Mithat, Burak, and Murat during their secret meeting with prospective associates. 

Once they have everything ready, Ali Riza stops by Haşmet's house and encounters the Ihtiyar there who is updating Haşmet on the consortium situation.  Ali Riza overhears her tell Haşmet that he needs to know the truth, but when he asks her what truth she’s referring to, she tells him it’s about his father.  She says Balaban is only trying to confuse him and confirms his father is dead.  When he insists on knowing the truth she was referring to, she tells him that the day will come when he’s ready to hear it but he’s not ready yet and leaves.  Haşmet asks Ali Riza to calm down and tells him he heard he was planning on something against Burak and Mithat.  After Ali Riza confirms, Haşmet tells him to take Sabri and his security to help him but Ali Riza tells him he doesn’t need help. 

Before Ali Riza leaves, he checks on Halide who tells him she’s worried about him since everyone else seems to be getting better except for him.  She encourages him to talk about what he’s feeling but he says he can’t for fear of not being able to get back up again.  When Halide reiterates the words he told her when they were at the hospital about helping each other when one of them falls, Ali Riza tells her it's true but it’s still difficult for him.  Halide tells him she understands he’s hurting because of what his mom said to him at the hospital, so she tries to explain that she was just hurt, however, Ali Riza tells her she’s right.  He explains that he’s tired of making sacrifices while his enemies continue to live their lives like normal but promises that he’s going to stop it.  When Halide asks what he’s doing, he just tells her he has business to take care of and will be back later and leaves. 

Later, Ali Riza and Aslan arrive at the location where Mithat’s meeting is taking place and proceed with his plan of attack.  As they make their way to the conference room, Balaban arrives afterward and sees the damage left behind by Ali Riza so he calls Burak and warns him they have unexpected guests and leaves Mithat, Burak, and Murat to fend for themselves against Ali Riza.  Although the playing field isn’t even with 2 against over 20 men, Ali Riza and Aslan manage to kill everyone except for their main goal: Mithat, Burak, and Murat.   

During the shootout, Murat is shot, so Burak takes him and they attempt to escape but Ali Riza follows them leaving Aslan with Mithat.  In the parking garage, as Burak and Murat are about to leave in their vehicle, Ali Riza yells at Burak and challenges him to face him like a man.  Burak faces him but Ali Riza shoots him twice before Murat can take him and escape. Meanwhile, Aslan has Mithat at gunpoint when the Ihtiyar and Safir show up.  They tell him to put down his gun because Mithat is on their side, however, Aslan tells them the only person who can tell him what to do is Ali Riza.  Soon, Ali Riza arrives and refuses to let Mithat go accusing him of conspiring with Balaban, however, the Ihtiyar says Mithat was the person who called her to tell her about the meeting.  Mithat denies working with Balaban but promises he will find out where Balaban is hiding.  Ali Riza tells him he has one chance to provide that information otherwise he’s coming back after him to kill him. 

Later that evening, Ali Riza and Halide have an intense conversation about his suicide mission.  She’s concerned because he’s ignoring her calls again, but when he tries to say he was just taking care of business, Halide tells him she knows he was attacking his enemies by himself.  She accuses him of not having any concern for her knowing that he could get killed and doesn’t consider how she will feel if something happens to him.  Ali Riza explains he’s tired of being quiet and taking action before their enemies come after him.  When Halide tells Ali Riza that he treats her like she doesn’t exist, he tells her she doesn’t understand all the rage he’s been feeling inside.  He confesses if was given the opportunity to go back into the past, he would do it so he could return to being a regular taxicab driver and his only concern would be getting the money for Nihan’s wedding.  He says he wouldn’t have driven that night she got into his cab even though it means they wouldn’t have met but it also means his sister would be alive.  Halide tells Ali Riza that everyone has a moment they wish they could go back to and do differently but of course, it’s not possible.  She tells Ali Riza that he needs to stop keeping her in the dark and consider her before he does anything so Ali Riza promises from now on he will tell her all his plans before anyone else. 

The following day, Mithat rolls out their operation to attack Haşmet, Ali Riza, and the Ihtiyar.  However, while Burak is purchasing firearms needed to attack Haşmet, Halide sees him and rushes home to inform their security to be prepared for Burak’s attack.  Also, Ali Riza receives a call from Fusun who lets him know she overheard Murat and Burak talking about a surprise attack, so he lets the Ihtiyar know and plans a trap for Murat and Balaban.

 

Cliffhangers:

Burak arrives at Haşmet's house shooting at everything that moves thinking that Halide isn’t home, however, when he sees her car in the driveway he freaks out.  Ultimately, Burak continues with the attack and continues to assault Haşmet's security while Halide and Hashmet are inside waiting for him…   

Meanwhile, Melek surprises Mithat while he’s enjoying dinner.  She confronts him about his involvement in the attack on Haşmet and accuses him of being a traitor, however, Mithat tells her since there is no more table, then everyone is responsible for themselves.  She warns him that his day will come when someone will kill him as she secretly points a gun at him under the table…

Murat and Ryfky follow the Ihtiyar and begin attacking her vehicle trapping her in a parking garage, however when they think they have her trapped, out comes Ali Riza and Aslan to counterattack.  While Aslan stays to attack Murat, Ali Riza goes after Balaban.  Murat and Ryfky are not able to continue to defend themselves against Aslan so they flee…

Ali Riza approaches Balaban by killing his security until he reaches the top of the parking garage where Balaban is waiting for him.  As he approaches him, Ali Riza realizes he ran out of bullets, so Balaban tells him it’s just his bad luck like his life and throws a smoke bomb and escapes…

As Ali Riza looks for Balaban, he receives a phone call who appears to be from his dead father… 

 

Questions Left Unanswered:

Will Burak continue with his attack on Haşmet knowing Halide is there?  Will Halide shoot him to protect her father?

What will Murat do once he discovers it was Fusun who revealed their attack plan to Ali Riza? 

Will Melek shoot Mithat?  If she does, will his security shoot her? 

What will the Ihtiyar do now that she knows that Murat, Burak, and Mithat wanted to kill her?  Will she plan a counterattack herself? 

Will Balaban figure out that Mithat is just using him or will they both continue to use each other until they get what they want? 

Was it really Ali Riza’s father calling him or is it all a trick Balaban is playing on him? 

 

What I Loved:

One of the things I really loved about this episode is the narration by Ali Riza that we haven’t had since episode 1.  We got to hear what he was thinking and how he was feeling as he explained how much he had to endure while other people were telling him what he had to do instead of just completing the path he started.  Through his narration, he decides to go at it alone so he can do it his way without having to make exceptions.  This was a treat because Ali Riza never really talks about his feelings unless Halide is making him talk, so I hope we hear more narration in upcoming episodes so we can continue to hear how our beloved character endures whatever comes his way.

I loved the addition of the new character, Aslan, who happens to be Ali Riza’s army friend.  They fight together so well like if they were each other’s shadows.  I loved that we got a glimpse of his mission in Libya to see what kind of strong and fearless person he is just like Ali Riza.  I look forward to seeing more of him, especially in action scenes.   

 

What I Disliked:

I absolutely hated the way Ms. Rukiya treated Ali Riza at the hospital after she found out Mert was shot.  It was completely unfair of her to blame Ali Riza when it was Mert who insisted on accompanying him.  Ali Riza has gone out of his way to protect him and keep him out of the dangerous world he got into for Nihan’s death.  She needs to apologize to him because he already carries too much blame on his shoulders without her adding to it.

I dislike the fact that the Ihtiyar saved Mithat and didn’t let Ali Riza kill him.  Is she really that naïve to think that Mithat has no responsibility in Hashmet or Ali Riza’s attack or is she just playing along with him until she finds out what she needs?  She appears to be a very smart lady who has dealt with a lot of conniving, greedy businessmen in her life so why is she letting Mithat get away with everything.  Or is she?    

I also dislike that Murat has once again become Burak’s puppet and turned into a full-blown Ersoylu.  I was hoping that he would switch sides or perhaps take Fusun and leave but it appears that he has joined his brother in the war and will just end up getting hurt or killed. 

 

My Thoughts:

First, I was amazed that Ali Riza and Haşmet have again “made up” and seamlessly transitioned back into the great power duo that we all love to watch.  Perhaps it’s because he knows that the Ihtiyar is his mother or because he knows Ali Riza is innocent in regards to his father’s past, either way, I just love that these two amazing characters can have an intense argument one second and then have a calm father-son conversation the next.   

Although this episode had some great action scenes, it also had too much family drama in my opinion.  I feel like the conversation between Ms. Rukiya and the Ihtiyar was too long plus Ms. Rukiya was too harsh with the Ihtiyar and didn’t give her the benefit of the doubt to explain her situation.  Ms. Rukiya should have doubts of who her husband is by now after hearing that he may be responsible for Halide’s family’s murder so if he could do that then he could definitely have stolen a baby.  In fact, Ms. Rukiya was constantly crying which was getting annoying.  We understand you’re scared of losing Ali Riza but he is not the type of person who will stop having a relationship with the person who he thought was his mother for the past 20 years.  I really hope the addition of Aslan will add more action scenes that we absolutely love to watch since Tolga Sarıtaş is the king of action scenes.        

Last Updated: Mar 20, 2021 20:04 pm (UTC) Filed Under:
Author
Dee Lo ~ Guest Contributor
I love Turkish dizis. Huge fan of Tolga Sarıtaş and Ayça Ayşin Turan.