Spoilers from Bolums 27 & 28 follow.
The two overarching themes in this series were: ‘love can heal all wounds’ and ‘medical intervention can treat even the worst psychological traumas’.These past two episodes have made it clear that these themes may not be as cohesively interwoven as Episodes 11-26 may have suggested. Whereas Inci’s love may be sufficient to encourage Han to deal with his inner demons and seek professional medical help, Naci’s love for Safiye and Esat’s interest in Gulben were not enough to transform the sisters from cruel-Hasibe-pawns into loving young women. In fact, it seems as though these love stories (NacSaf and GulEsat) hindered the overall narrative as it made Gulben and Safiye less villainous and threatening.
And, so with Episode 28 we have now firmly returned to the narrative that we suspected would play out after watching the first few episodes: Inci enters Han’s home and causes him to face his past and see a psychiatrist. Alhough this is perhaps one of the outcomes fans were routing for, it was disappointing as the writers seemed to be actively stating that the first theme discussed above (love can heal all wounds) is very qualified and only applicable to specific characters. All of the Deregnoglu siblings are not offered this solution. Accordingly, as we bid farewell to the comedic and poetic tone of this series and return to the tragic horror of Hasibe’s cruelties, let me briefly recount the few storylines that were difficult to let go of.
First: the end of Naci and Safiye
As Deniz Tansel Ongel is now starring in a new TRT1 series, he may or may not return to this dizi. Worse than that however, was the way in which he left this show: Naci and Safiye were a couple with so much promise and hope; the actors really sold the notion that people, just through human connection, can heal one another and better themselves. That, their pairing was broken up in a such a frustrating way was utterly disappointing. If Naci had to die, and had to leave Safiye, why not end their storyline in a beautiful way, with her caring for him until his last breadth? To not only have him depart without telling her the truth, but for her to then see him again only to destroy any memories of their reunion by sharply declaring that he had already died 22 years ago by the bus that hit him, after shredding the letter in which he conveys his truth to her, was terribly frustrating, to say the least. Would that she could have learned of his situation, and that he would have allowed her to stay beside her and help him through his illness. The imagined reunion felt hallow as they were so close to making such an event a reality. It made much of the tender gentleness between them, seem futile.
Second: let’s talk about Gulben.
Her character in Episode 27 was appallingly terrible. All of her strides and development were washed away in one incident on the stairs. She has spent the bulk of her life hating her mother; as a child, she understood that Hasibe was cruel and bad. While her relationship with Safiye is more complex, she has hated Hasibe for a long time, even trying to save Safiye from the Hasibe within her. However, following her incident on the steps, she went from wanting to die to becoming actively cruel, a decision that was deeply upsetting, and very unexpected. Luckily, her character was more moderated this past episode (28), where she decided to lock herself in the bathroom; at least, she was no longer actively cruel. But, all of the progress that she had made have now disappeared. She was back to imagining a fanciful and imaginary Carlos, and casting Esra as her evil rival, whom she tried to banish with the help of a seemingly dead rat. Substantive character growth is essential to a drama, as watching characters make the same mistakes on repeat can be tiresome. I wish that she could have retained some of the kindness and softness that seemed to be her definitive traits prior to the incident on the stairs. (It is possible that some of these creative steps were taken because Ugur Uzunel, who plays Esat, tested positive and had to quarantine.)
And, with the absence of Esat and Naci, it seems the tides have turned to favor a pairing between Ege and Neriman. Though there story provides some bright spots to the series, and a contrast to the ‘adults’ who are weary and weighed down by their individual and collective traumas, their story, in no way replaces the poetry, comedy and romance of the episodes with Naci. The key question for this pairing is whether Ege will try to ‘heal’ Neriman himself or whether he will direct her to seek professional help as Inci has done for Han.
Han
Birkan Sokullu has done a fabulous job infusing his character with so many tones and shades that viewers can be charmed, terrified and truly heartbroken by him - sometimes feeling all of these contradictory emotions altogether after a single scene. The shower scene with Hikmet Bey and the flashbacks to the young Han were especially poignant, powerful and masterfully executed. Similarly, the basement/dungeon scenes were just about as horrifying and terrifying as possible. And, Han’s sly smile at Inci, when he told her that the doctor he had visited was a beautiful woman and that he was happy to continue seeing her was classic Han trying to make Inci regret her decision in forcing him to get help. A truly remarkable performance.
Inci
There was a bit of an optics issue with some of her scenes this episode. She was so overwhelmed with the treatment that she received and the horrors that she witnessed in the Deregnoglu household that she had a panic attack and may have stopped breathing were it not for Mehmud Bey’s well timed entrance. Despite her reaction to the ongoing situation at her in-laws place, she firmly tells her grandfather that she can heal him and possibly them. Though dizis are clearly not reality and are imbued with a large amount of artistic license, the fact that she had a physically negative reaction to what she witnessed, which prevented her from breathing, coupled with her determination to return and “save” her in-laws, no matter the internal torment she suffers, was troubling, especially in the context of DV and recent events in Turkey. A gentle reminder to the writers to consider the various impacts of certain storylines and plot points. Also, the ferocity with which Han approaches his relationship with Inci, telling his doctor that Inci cannot and would not leave him is becoming more creepy and obsessive. Unfortunately, the tone shift in the narrative has made Inci’s love for him less ‘romantic’ and more representative of her own personal traumas, especially her relationship with her father, whom her mother could never save, despite her best efforts.
Final thoughts:
Well, folks? The figuratively scenic detour that we had taken in this show has ended, and we have now stoically returned to the barren highway, where there is nothing in bloom for miles and miles ahead. It is ironic that this is the feeling following Han’s first and second meeting with the psychiatrist. The reason that the theme that love can heal your wounds was so inspiring was that it was unique, filled with the possibility of a better tomorrow. The poetry, the comedy, the romance - these features added an element of enchantment to the story, making the abuse and the other darker elements of the tale more digestible. Put simply, there was hope that a better situation could be possible for the traumatized Derenoglu children. However, with Naci’s departure, and Gulben’s public accident, we have very much returned to where we started: an unflinching obsession with Hasibe, who despite never loving or liking any of her children, is still as powerful, if not more tyrannical than she was in her lifetime, seemingly acting as the sole arbiter of all the goings-on in the household. Her cruelties have no parallel and as we will likely explore more of the horrors that Han experienced in the basement/dungeon, where he learned to see in the dark, I expect this tale will become increasingly sinister and morose. Viewer discretion is definitely advised!
