Hercai: Season 2 Episode 17 Recap and Review

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Hercai episode 29

A Life Postponed

Yeter!! Get on with it already! We know there was trauma… we know there was betrayal… we know trust was broken.  But come on! This is too much! The guy has practically parted the Red Sea for this woman and she’s still flinching… I’m as patient as they come in matters of love, but even I’ve reached my limit.  It’s time for Reyyan to show her husband some love. It's time for her to get on with life. 

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's recap the episode.

At the end of the last episode evil Azize had set fire to the Shadoglu farm not knowing Miran, Elif, Azat and Reyyan were also there.  She set the fire presumably because that was the place she died. What? you may ask… well, it seems the writers are hinting that Azize is the Ayse of Nasuh’s youth. In a flashback courtesy of Nasuh in this episode we learn that young Nasuh was sent away from the farm by his mother after which there was a devastating fire which killed Ayse (or so they thought). How Ayse survived to become the evil Azize is yet unclear, but the writers are going to have to do some creating writing to explain to us how it is possible that Nasuh does not recognize the love of his life.

This episode starts with our handsome hero saving everyone from the fire one by one.  The scenes after the fire are quite touching as Miran wistfully watches the people he saved being doted on by their loving families.  But there is no one with Miran.  He is a lonely orphan.  When Hazar who sees Miran standing alone touches his shoulder and asks him if he is ok, Miran is taken aback.  Pehaps he even feels vulnerable.  This scene brought tears to my eyes because Hazar who while weak in some respects has the strength of love in his heart.  He has already accepted Miran even though Miran has not accepted him.  The scenes with Hazar and Miran are powerful under ordinary circumstances because of the tension that exists between them, but the moment when they meet as father and son has the potential to be epic.  I hope I'm not disappointed. 

After the fire, Miran takes Reyyan to his hotel so as to avoid Azize’s constant nagging and finger pointing.  What follows are two of the most romantic but yet frustrating scenes of the entire series.  In the hotel Reyyan who is still in shock from the fire remembers the fire after her wedding night and the shame she experienced afterwards.  She breaks down in tears believing that the fire around them will never be extinguished while Miran tries to allay her fears.  With the help of an injured dove in a cage he reminds her that there is always hope even in the darkest hours and they must not delay their lives.  He succeeds in calming her down and despite his intense desire for her does nothing more than give her a chaste kiss her cheek and hugs her to sleep. 

The next morning at breakfast the two meet Yaren’s fiance, Harun, an unusual character with an unknown agenda.  Nothing new is learned from this encounter but it must not be missed as it is one of the most amusing scenes of the season. I'm pretty sure there were a couple of times Akin was holding back a smile. (Scroll down to see the clip)

The chemistry between Harun and Miran is explosive and the two should share more screen time together.

Back at the Shadoglu mansion Zehra learns that her mother has had a heart attack and needs her help.  She decides to go to her mother even though they have been estranged for many years.  We have known that Feride Cetin, the actress playing Zehra, planned to take a break from the show to have her baby and this is apparently the plot device to facilitate that.  But before she leaves, Zehra hides that all important letter that reveals Miran’s paternity in Gul’s doll.  Yup, you read it right.  She puts the letter that can stop Miran’s rage, save her daughter and her husband and end the revenge…. in a doll.

She then proceeds to meet with Azize and tells her that she knows Miran is Hazar’s son, AND that she has Dilshah’s letter to prove it.  THEN she gets into the car and heads off in the sunset to take care of her mother leaving a mess behind her. I would say good riddance but unfortunately the secret she carries with her is too important ignore.  I hope against hope that maybe she was smart enough to get the speedy lawyers who drew up Reyyan and Miran’s divorce papers to keep a copy of it.. or maybe she took a picture of it on her phone… but I’m deluding myself. Why she thinks that Gul’s doll is a safe place for the letter I can never guess.  I keep thinking of Gul dropping the doll in a lake, or the doll being washed after falling in mud, or Gul dropping it at the Aslanbey mansion, or it being burned in another fire… a million thoughts go through my mind… But alas, such is life in a Turkish dizi.  We will now have to be worried about the whereabouts of Gul's pink doll.

After Zehra’s departure, the police arrive at the Shadoglu mansion and arrest…. Hanife! Why? because someone confessed that Hanife gave him money to burn down the farm.  Everyone is in shock and Azize is baffled.  Why would anyone pick Hanife to blame?? Azize is convinced it is the same person or people who are sending the blue notes.  She’s probably not too far off.. She wants to get Hanife out of this predicament but to do so would reveal the connection between the two.  So she tells Hanife to wait a while. 

This doesn't go over too well with Hanife who while at the police station gets a surprise visit from none other than Harun!  Harun tells Hanife he will get her out if she does something for him.  We do not hear what the request is, but Hanife agrees and is set free to go back to the Shadoglu mansion.

At the Aslanbey mansion the night of the fire, Azize who blames Sultan for Elif’s marriage with Azat, arranges for Sultan to be sent to a mental institution in Kars.  This departure is short-lived as and unknown person intervenes at the institution and Sultan is set free with a verbal message to Azize, “your friends send their greetings.” The message is clear to Azize who once again is reminded of the people behind the blue notes.

Later that day, Reyyan and Miran decide to take his grandmother Shukran for a trip to the village away from all the madness.  As they are getting ready to leave, they get an unexpected visit from Filippo, the son of Master Gabriel…. It turns out that master jeweler is dead and his last will and testament directed Filippo to go to the Aslanbeys and tell the truth about the ring.  As the episode ends, Filippo tells Miran that the ring that his mother wore till her dying day was made by Hazar Shadoglu and not Mehmet Aslanbey.

Those were the events of this episode.  Now for the analysis.

At the hotel after Miran has succeeded in calming Reyyan down, there is a sensual scene where he cleans off the soot from her body.  And each place he cleans, he kisses.  His desire is palpable and his restraint is admirable.  Overlaid with this beautiful visual is Ebru Sahin’s melodic voice singing a lovely ballad.  As much as Miran desires Reyyan, he leaves her alone to take her bath and the audience hanging in anticipation.  The scene is beautifully done.  It is also emblematic of the romantic essence of the series.  If they had stopped there, it would have been fine.  Because the audience would not expect lovemaking after a fire.  But the writers teased us with the two in bed, side by side, calm and relaxed.  This would be a perfect moment for lovemaking.  They are a young married couple, clearly in love… Instead Miran flutters his fingers over Reyyan’s eyes and mouth as he has done numerous times before in the past several episodes, and Reyyan looks uncomfortable.  Perhaps it would have been best not to have this scene.  

Cut to another scene where the two are in their own room at the Aslanbey mansion.  Reyyan is packing up for their trip as Miran watches with desire in his eyes. He embraces her and caresses her but Reyyan is oblivious or perhaps unwilling.  Is such a thing possible? This image is as close as Miran gets to stealing a mere kiss from his wife, without success mind you...

They are married.  They have been through hell and back (literally).  He has been with her every step of the way. He will not leave her.  And more importantly they have said over and over again that despite events they would not postpone their lives together... So what's the problem? Could it be that she still does not trust him? Perhaps. Is she waiting for Miran to give up his revenge?  More likely.  If this is the case, then perhaps Filippo’s revelation about the ring will open the way.  Once Miran learns that his mother and Hazar loved each other, it is likely he will see that it would have been impossible for Hazar to have killed her.  Unless of course Azize finds a way to trick Miran once again.  Which brings me to another pet peeve of mine.  Miran seems to have lost all ability to think on his own. He flows with the wind... from Azize to Reyyan. I hope this is not a permanent condition because it will detract significantly from the charm of the show.  But I digress...

If Miran does believe Filippo it will be difficult to see how he could pursue his vengeance. I imagine that Miran will want to learn the full truth of his mother's situation and would hopefully realize that Azize is not the most reliable source for that information.  But regardless of whether he does learn the truth right away, the doubts in his mind will be too glaring to ignore.  I hope against hope that he does not fall back on his stubborn denial of the truth just to avoid facing his mistakes.  Such a thing would mean that Miran has learned nothing at all and has no ability to discern reality from fiction.  But if he does realize that he's been deceived and gives up his vengeance, that will surely give Reyyan comfort.  She will know that her father is safe and that they are on the cusp of finding the truth. And perhaps this sense of comfort is what Reyyan needs to allow her to be Miran's wife in the truest sense of the word. If this is where the writers are taking us, I will withdraw my objection.  But as lovely as the scenes with our beautiful couple are, wasted scenes and repetitive scenes can detract from the flow of the show. So whatever the writers have to do to get to the point of mutual intimacy, they need to do it pretty soon.  There’s only so many times Miran can say the same words of love, and brush his hands over her eyes and mouth… Yeter!

Other notes of interest..

A major secret was revealed this episode but as usual we were left with more questions.  In this episode we learned that Nasuh was no where near the farm during the fire some 50 years ago.  Yet Azize blames him for something so horrible that he must pay for it with his family’s life.  Why Azize blames Nasuh is yet to be revealed, but we can now absolve Nasuh of having set the fire.  We also learn that Yusuf (Nasuh’s long time friend) was with Nasuh and not at the farm.  It is possible to hate someone without having loved them, but there are also examples of hatred born from the betrayal of love.  Sometimes these forms of hatred are more powerful, more deeply ingrained.  This seems to be the case with Azize.  What changed her intense love for Nasuh into such deep hatred is a mystery still, but it must be something so heinous that turns love to hate.  I hope we're not disappointed.

The character of Harun was introduced a few episodes ago.  He is an unusual young man who is not what he seems. He presents as an unassuming young man enamored of his young finance, but we now know he has some sort of agenda. Not only is he pushing for a speedy marriage to Yaren, but we find out in this episode that he will also work with the Shadoglus in their family business. From previous episodes we know that the Shadoglus and the Aslanbeys are 50-50 partners in their business assets.  While the significance of this detail is unclear, it is sure to have some relevance in future episodes.  When Harun meets Hanife in this episode he implies that he knows she has a sister and we can assume he knows that this sister is Azize.  If Azize has taken such care in concealing this fact from everyone, how does Harun know this?  What is his relationship to the Aslanbeys? Is he the Aslanbey heir (Sultan’s son)?  If he is, than this would explain why he knows of Hanife and Azize’s relationship, and it could also explain why he is infiltrating the Shadoglu clan.  So many questions and yet so few answers.

I'm looking forward to finding out how Miran deals with the new truth before him, but even more so, how Azize gets out of this situation unscathed.  I'm also interested in finding out who Harun really is and whether he and Yaren will marry.  And finally, I want to see what excuses Reyyan will come up with to avoid her handsome husband again. Maybe the next episode will surprise me. 

Meanwhile, enjoy this excellent clip from episode 29.

Last Updated: Jan 27, 2020 10:02 am (UTC) Filed Under:
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@AkinNorth ~ Guest Contributor
Just a dizi lover