We are not trapped or locked up in these bones. No, no. We are free to change. And love changes us. And if we can love one another, we can break open the sky. Walter Mosley
Well, how are we doing fandom? I personally have not stopped smiling.
A great episode and one where we got to experience both Serkan and Eda realizing how much the other one means to them and how much they love each other. We are this close to full reconciliation and the small little hints of it were so good this week! Their dynamic has subtly changed and the animosity that we might have anticipated between them after they ‘stood’ each other up didn’t really materialize. I know it’s slow and we just want them to be back together already but I personally love the slow, delicious journey to being reconciled. All the stolen glances, touches, snarky flirting, and then finally a solid conversation are what entice us to keep watching every week.
The theme for this week was change. Characters say it over and over. Serkan is trying to prove to Eda that he has changed, but we also see it in how he’s interacting with other characters too. Serkan is firm in his desire to get back together with Eda and is relentlessly trying to show and tell her of the changes he has made to be a better partner for her. What is less obvious are the changes that she has made over the course of their relationship and there have been some. This is the nature of being in a long-term relationship, you change yourself and your partner changes for you. This is the give and take of caring for one another, one person doesn’t leave their socks on the floor and the other stops humming the Indiana Jones theme music in the morning. This isn’t a bad thing and it isn’t bad for Serkan to feel the need to change for Eda.
Some may say that you shouldn’t have to change yourself to be with someone, but you do if the things you are doing are hurting the other person. The changes that Eda wants from Serkan are reasonable: don’t lie, don’t make decisions that affect her without talking to her, don’t make assumptions about how she will react, stop trying to control every situation. These are negative things that Eda wants him to stop doing and he is determined to make these changes. He’s even making these changes with other people, he is giving Engin more autonomy in the business, he is paying attention to what is going on with Leyla but doesn’t yell at her when she tells him she’s engaged to Erdem.
Serkan is making these changes because he is seeing the benefits, both to the other people but also to himself. He can delegate to Engin now because he has more than work in his life and in doing so he shows to Engin that he trusts him. He’s nicer to Leyla and in turn sees that he has an employee who loves him and is willing to go out on a limb to help him. Serkan is seeing the benefits of adjusting his behaviour and the happiness it brings to others and himself. This isn’t a bad thing at all, and if the changes he is making are self-serving it’s only in the best possible way.
The same applies to Eda. Serkan is changing, yes so that she will give him another chance, but also because he doesn’t want to hurt her again. He is confident enough now that the love she feels for him matches the love he feels for her, which is so wonderful to see. Eda loves Serkan for who he is, she knows him, but there are things that he does that she can’t live with, so Serkan is getting rid of those destructive habits as best as he can, some of which are harder to change than others. He’s overprotective because he’s scared of losing people he loves, so he tries to control things, but it’s isn’t what Eda needs from him, she wants a partner she can work through things with equally.
This is the stressful, beautiful journey that every couple has to navigate. How to make those changes that your partner needs to be happy and feel secure and also how to learn to live with the things that are harder to change. I have lots of hope seeing this episode that Eda and Serkan will work all these things out. Eda too has made changes, she is much less impulsive than she used to be and she will also have to give and take for their relationship to succeed.
What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it.Maya Angelou
What I loved
Eda and Serkan
Each of them waited for the other at a restaurant for hours. We know Selin misdirected Eda to the wrong one and by midway through the episode Serkan has realized this, but initially he thinks that she just didn’t come for dinner. In the last episode, he told Engin that if she didn’t come, it would mean that Serkan would give up trying to win her back. Engin asks after she didn’t seemly come for dinner if that meant that was the end for Serkan but he says no, that we will never give up. He really loves her and is willing to do anything to convince her of that. Eda has decided not to tell Serkan that she waited for him and she thinks he didn’t show up because of a work issue. She is determined to finally write him off as a lost cause and promises Ayfer that she will not spend any more time with any of the Bolats.
At work, she tells Serkan and Efe that she’s quitting. He freaks out that today might be the last day he gets to spend with her and tries to come up with a plan with Engin to spend the day with her. Efe wants her to continue to work for him but she tells him no but he asks her to meet with a new client who is coming to Istanbul soon. Poor Engin; he is a man not really suited to lying as Eda sees through the lie about the Golf resort project right away. Serkan delegates Engin to go take care of the golf resort project, and Engin is once again shocked that Serkan is just letting him take care of projects. The control freak is loosening his grip and Engin also notes the changes.
You're always you, and that don't change, and you're always changing, and there's nothing you can do about it. Neil Gaiman
Serkan’s response to Eda leaving is to ask her not to go, he reminds her that she told him that if he didn’t want someone to leave he needs to ask them to stay. So he does, he tells her ‘gitme’, don’t go. He shows Eda that he pays attention to what she says and takes it to heart, this is growth. She asks him why should she stay, just to be more disappointed? He promises her that she won’t be disappointed again. She tells him that every time she believes him she breaks a promise to herself but this time she has promised her aunt and she won’t break that promise, she is going to stay away from him. The look on his face was heartbreaking.
Serkan and Engin try to be nonchalant and Serkan eavesdrops on Eda’s conversation with the photographer for the charity project. Engin is getting fed up with having to go along with Serkan’s ploys with Eda and starts telling him ‘Piril and I are getting married, we will have 7-8 children, can we have your approval?’ etc. Serkan isn’t listening at all and just keeps saying ‘good, great’. Hilarious.
Serkan does manage to learn that Eda will be at a photoshoot for the charity project his mother is working on and learns from Leyla the location for the shoot. He also talks her into slipping the flower ring back in Eda’s pocket as Eda has snuck it back in his jacket at the fashion show the night before. So this is going to be a thing I think, until he finally gives it back to her when he proposes. Poor Leyla doesn’t want to go behind Eda’s back but she loves Serkan and wants him to be happy so she reluctantly does as he asks. He notices that she is wearing a ring and she tells him she is engaged to Erdem. He is visibly perplexed by this news as is the audience as to what is the purpose of this storyline? As she’s leaving his office she notes to herself that he noticed something about her and that he has changed.
Eda goes to meet the photographer, Can (we see you, Ayse) at a warehouse space. She’s very nervous about being in front of a camera so to put her at ease, he gives her the camera to take pictures of him first. Serkan shows up at the photoshoot because of course, he does. He’s agreed to be the face of the campaign with Eda. He watches as Eda is in various work uniforms, including red overalls (we see you again, Ayse), a medical uniform and a pilot’s uniform. She keeps asking him not to watch her but the poor boy can’t help himself. Can takes many pictures of her in the work costumes and then in her regular clothes as well. She is still nervous so Can tells her to think of her a happy moment and she flashes back to the plane ride in the first episode and when Serkan put her seatbelt on she spent a moment with her nose to the side of his neck. She loves the way he smells and that is her happy place. This becomes truly apparent at the end of the episode. She gets tired of posing but has allowed him to take dozens of pictures of her. Then it’s Serkan’s turn and Can literally takes two pictures of him. Lol.
Serkan comes home with Eda to chaos. Aydan and Seyfi are still there, Fifi and Melo show up, Can the photographer comes to video Eda, Piril and Engin come to have a dry run of ‘meet the mother-in-law’ with Aydan. There’s a lot going on. It turns into a quasi-engagement party, but not really. It’s confusing for most of the characters. The best thing to come out of it is that Eda mistakenly tells Serkan that she waited at the restaurant for him. This is news to him of course and Serkan follows her to the kitchen to find out what she meant. Turns out they were both waiting for each other. In a growth moment for Eda, she believes him right away. He asks if she was going to give him another chance as he wants to be better for her. She tells him that she’s so confused and she doesn’t know what to think. He tells her, don’t think, just feel. SERKAN BOLAT tells her this. He tells her he knows her feelings are as strong as his. He tells her that he just wants her near and they will figure out a path forward together. It’s plain to see that this is what they both want, it’s written all over their faces. At the end of the night, they say good night with their full names, something they haven’t done in a long time.
The next morning Serkan comes to pick her up because they are taking plants to Chef Alexander. He tells her he misses picking her up in the morning. He impresses her by knowing the plants that she has packed up. They arrive not at the golf resort project like Eda thought but at a hotel. Serkan has arranged for Chef Alexander to cook for them, she had agreed to have a meal with him and he wanted somewhere where no one could disturb them. Eda looks very pleased with this idea. Only one problem it turns out the restaurant is on the 25th floor of the hotel. He asks if she might try taking the elevator but she is too scared. Eda offers for Serkan to take the elevator and she will take the stairs but he tells her that he didn’t bring her there to make her suffer and they should just leave. She tells him they can try the elevator.
They get into it and Eda is obviously stressed, he tells her that he will press every button so they can get out anytime she wants. The doors close and she starts to panic and he pulls her towards him and tells her to close her eyes and to calm down. That doesn’t seem to work so he tells her to look at him, and remember them, I assume he means the good times they’ve had. He’s using a soft voice and telling her it’s fine, he’s caressing her arms and then pulls her even closer. She nuzzles her nose against his neck and the dynamic shifts immediately. She pressed against his neck for a couple of floors and finally they part slightly and he asks if she’s okay and then they both lean in for a kiss, and the doors close and the scene ends and we all die of happiness!
Aydan, Seyfi, and Ayfer
Post Alptekin cheating reveal, Aydan has come home and is catatonic. She is this way when Ayfer comes to tell Alptekin just what she thinks about him. Ayfer has a good heart though and after seeing the state that Aydan is in, helps her recover. Aydan apologizes to Ayfer for the family and Ayfer graciously says that she doesn’t hold Aydan or Serkan to blame at all. However, she wants the Bolat family to stay away from the Yildizs from now on. This is not what Aydan wants as she is determined to reconcile Serkan and Eda.
The dynamic duo hatch a plan to spend the day with Ayfer in hopes of softening her towards them and Serkan. Ayfer is at a loss as she is a good person and gets talked into hosting them at her house. Aydan wants to be there so Serkan has to come and pick her up. I don’t know what Aydan pays Seyfi but he is worth every penny as he is the Alfred to her Batman in coming up with a scheme to pretend to have the brother of Alptekin’s mistress after her. These three actors have loads of chemistry together and have given us some great comedy scenes. I am hopeful that I will get my last wish and Aydan and Ayfer will become best friends. The scene with them snuggled up together on the couch was adorable and they both need a good friend to rein in their crazier impulses.
What I liked
Ceren comes to the office and Serkan is determined to sue whomever it is that leaked the original contract and also the recent news that he and Eda have broken up. He puts Ceren on the case to find the culprit but asks her not to tell Eda. She asks him if they are going to court because they have ruined his reputation and he tells her no it’s because they caused Eda to faint. She does immediately tell Eda about the lawsuit but not that it’s because Serkan is mad on her behalf.
Ferit tries to apologize again to Ceren. He tells her that he is messed up but he is sorry that he said that he only wanted to get close to her to make Selin jealous, he tells her that he doesn’t have any feelings for Selin anymore and Ceren starts to soften towards him right up until the moment she sees his face as he watches Selin hug another man. She then says ‘I almost believed you’ and leaves him standing outside Art Life. I will say again how much I have come to like the Ferit character, he is a schmuck but an honest one who really can’t lie to save his life. My take on him is that he is a rich man’s son who saw his whole life’s path laid out for him but it fell apart and now he is floundering. But he is a good person who really is trying to make a life for himself and I believe he does really like Ceren, but I don’t blame her for running the other way because it seems as if she is just the rebound. He is also a useful person to have around as he has already helped Ayfer and now will help with the famous chef’s requests for his kitchen.
He ultimately comes clean to Ceren about his role in the contract leak and she persuades him to tell Serkan and I think this is a good move. Serkan will be mad but he knows Kaan and he knows Ferit now and I think he will forgive him for being naive about Kaan. He and Ceren come to the office early to tell Serkan but he isn’t there. Selin eavesdrops on their conversation and hears that Eda also knew that it was Ferit/Kaan that was responsible for the contract leak and that Selin covered it up. We see Selin writing a letter to Serkan and leaving it on his desk.
So, that’s the end of the Efe character, he was okay but I feel like there could have been a lot more for his story, the writing for the villains has been kind of weak in the show. I still wonder if he’s related to grandma or not.
What I disliked
Ayfer is insisting that Eda stay away from all the Bolats and I get where she is coming from partially. All she has seen them do so far is belittle or hurt Eda, so from her perspective, they don’t deserve her. However, things have changed, Aydan has come to appreciate and love Eda and Serkan, although he has made some bad choices, really loves her. So, Ayfer needs to let go, but I think this is the real problem. She sees how much Eda loves Serkan too and is scared of losing her niece. They have been each other’s only family for such a long time that it has to scary to think that Eda will leave. Ayfer is going to have to learn to let her go.
Selin continues with whatever it is that she does and has time to snark at Eda while trying to make sure the tip she gave to the ‘journalist’ Fatma doesn’t come back to bite her.
Selin really hasn’t played this smart at all. Ceren is after her because she’s convinced that Selin was behind the contract and break-up leaks, Efe is blackmailing her for her shares, Serkan is pretty sure she sent Eda to the wrong restaurant, bad things are piling up and a reckoning is coming. It appears that she is trying to get ahead of the fallout with the letter she left on Serkan’s desk but she could very well be laying all of her sins at the feet of Ferit and Eda so we will wait and see how this all plays out.
I really have a hard time with the Erdem character, every once in awhile he’s funny, mostly in his scenes with Serkan, but for most of the time I just find him annoying. He hinders Melo from doing her job as Engin’s assistant, even though he can’t be fired so his job isn’t at risk. This coupled with the nonsensical engagement with Leyla doesn’t serve the plot nor is it funny enough to be comic relief.
What needs to happen next
- Surprisingly, I really want a redemption arc for Selin, I think that would be interesting and I don’t want to lose Bige Önal from the show
- Ayfer needs to realize that Eda’s feelings for Serkan are real and deep and not stand in their way
- Alptekin needs to come out of hiding and face the music
A fantastic episode and I am very happy with where we left off. Let’s hope we continue on this path and it leads to full reconciliation for Eda and Serkan. I don’t think the grandmother character has been cast yet and that may be due to Covid so I don’t know when we will see her but she is likely the next rock in the path of Eda and Serkan.
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. Rumi