Summary:

Burak finally finds out, thanks to Melek, that Murat betrayed his family that caused their father’s death.   When he confronts him, Murat explains he did it to protect him but Burak is too devastated to listen to him, so he leaves.  Murat also leaves after telling Mithat their agreement didn’t include this revelation.  Once everyone leaves, Mithat accuses Melek of sabotaging his authority, so she warns him next time she’ll do more damage to end the pending marriage between Burak and Derya. 

Ali Riza comes face to face with the Old Man, who is actually a woman.  When he tries to get answers to his questions about Fuat’s secrets, she tells him the answers will lead him to his death, not the truth.  She warns him that Balaban is going to attack his loved ones after Ali Riza tried to attack him, so he needs to capture him as soon as possible.  However, Ali Riza asks for more information about Balaban and wants to know what her connection is to him.  When the Old Man tells Ali Riza that he has to do what she orders him to do, he informs her that he won’t continue if he doesn’t know who he’s working with or what path they’re on.  Ultimately, she reveals details about herself, including her real name, Bergüzar Ece, and explains she’s known as the Old Man because of her wisdom since she was young.  She says Balaban ordered Haşmet's family to be killed but believes someone else is behind the order who has a lot of power and money. 

Halide encounters an accident while driving to the clinic.  She runs into a man on a scooter, who turns out to be Balaban.  He pretends to be hurt so Halide takes him to her clinic to fix his sprained hand.  Once he’s there, he comments to Halide that she works with a nurse who has a lot of secrets.  When Seda tries to deny it, Balaban pulls out his gun and identifies her as one of the Old Man’s informants.  When Halide demands to know who he is, he tells her Ali Riza knows who he is because he’s been looking for him.

Ali Riza visits Haşmet to let him know he met the Old Man.  When Haşmet asks him why he’s been keeping secrets from him, he explains he wants to make sure the information he has is accurate since it concerns his family.  Ali Riza tells Haşmet about Adem Zeyrek, who received the order to kill his family from someone named Balaban so Haşmet asks Ali Riza to take him to see Adem and try to get more information from him.

When Ali Riza and Haşmet arrive at his new business, they find Adem dead with a note from Balaban.  Ali Riza tells Haşmet the Old Man believes Balaban may be working with a big corporation or the state but they both think it’s also possible that she can be working with him too.  At that moment, Ali Riza receives a photo of Halide lying unconscious at the clinic so they rush to check on her. 

Once they arrive, Halide regains consciousness who tells them Balaban made their encounter look like an accident as an excuse for her to take him to her clinic.  He told her that he knew Ali Riza was looking for him and identified Seda as one of the Old Man’s informants.  She doesn’t remember anything else because Balaban knocked them both out before he left.      

Ali Riza meets with Muzaffer who confirms Seda works with him but explains he put her in the clinic to protect him and Halide, however, Ali Riza has his doubts and accuses him of no longer trusting him.  When Ali Riza tells him Balaban identified Seda as an informant for the Old Man, he asks Muzaffer who HE works for causing him to get frustrated.  He explains Balaban is trying to confuse him and their target remains to be the Old Man.  When Ali Riza asks Muzaffer if his father worked for the mafia, he denies it explaining he only infiltrated them to try to bring them down however Ali Riza has his doubts.           

Meanwhile, Balaban’s next encounter is with Burak.  He explains he knew his father, who he considered a friend, and told him when the day came that he died, he wanted his son to declare war against the consortium, so they join forces.  Later, Burak confronts Murat about his betrayal of the family.  He explains he did it to protect him, but Burak refuses to listen claiming they could have destroyed all their enemies if Murat hadn’t revealed their attack.  Murat explodes and accuses Burak of allowing his anger to overcome him which gets him into trouble and that is what he’s trying to prevent.  They get into a physical altercation that leaves the brothers at odds with each other.     

Later, the Old Man surprises Haşmet at his home.  Her main reason for the visit is to remind him of his promise to be by her side from now on during consortium business.  When Haşmet asks who she believes is helping Balaban, she tells him she’s not certain, but she suspects it’s someone from their past who they thought was dead and was responsible for taking away their loved ones.  When Haşmet says it’s not possible that person could be alive, the Old Man says they never saw his body.  She warns him they need to be prepared for anything and anyone once they’re attacked.  Before she leaves, she informs Haşmet they’re having a consortium meeting the following day to discuss her plans of adding new people to the table and expects his support.               

During the consortium meeting, the Old Man informs the partners of her intentions of placing new rules to get the table back in order and resume business.  When Mithat attempts to remind her, they have a right to vote on her requests, she tells them it’s not up for a vote or discussion.  She informs them she already decided to bring new people to replace the partners that were killed.  All of a sudden, their meeting is interrupted by a drone that lands on their table with a note from Balaban with a Death List with names of the consortium.  Afterward, Mithat and Melek ask Haşmet if he knows who the new partners are, but Haşmet tells them she didn’t reveal anything to him so he’s in the dark as well.  He asks them when they planned on telling him that Burak and Derya were getting married, so Mithat explains the Old Man requested the union which Melek continues to object to.     

At the same time, Ali Riza has a face-to-face encounter with Balaban after he locates and attacks his warehouse. 

Balaban offers Ali Riza to join him in a fight against the Old Man and the consortium.  He tells him he worked with his father and became friends, so if they join forces, he’s willing to tell him everything he knows about his father’s past.  He gives Ali Riza time to think it over before he gives him an answer.      

Later, Haşmet urges Ali Riza to find Balaban after the message he sent the Old Man during their meeting.  When Ali Riza asks Haşmet if they can trust the Old Man, he reminds him that trust is a constantly changing factor that evolves with the person and situation.  He also tells Ali Riza just because he trusts a person, it doesn’t mean he should too.  Their conversation is interrupted by a phone call Ali Riza receives from Halide who tells him she made plans for them that evening.  After hanging up, Haşmet has THE conversation with him about his intentions with Halide.  He says although Ali Riza isn’t the son-in-law he pictured for his daughter because he wanted her to have a normal life, he knows the heart will choose what it wants so he warns Ali Riza he wants him to give their relationship a name soon. 

Melek devises a plan to get rid of Burak so she asks him to meet her to discuss his relationship with Derya.  When he says he still plans on marrying her and become the head of his family, she reminds him he doesn’t have a family anymore since he’s fighting with Murat.  She tells him Murat is a better patron to infuriate him causing Burak to call his brother a coward, weak, and too sensitive who doesn’t know what he’s doing.  Unbeknownst to Burak, Murat is sitting on the other side of the wall listening to their conversation hearing how Burak really feels about him.        

Ali Riza is called to meet with the Old Man again who shows him a picture of his encounter with Balaban and questions him why he didn’t update her.  Ali Riza tells her he escaped from him, but the Old Man accuses him of backing down to Balaban’s threats towards Halide who is his weak point.  Ali Riza responds that he would do anything for her and all his loved ones to protect them but he won’t give up his honor like his father.  The Old Man tells him his father did not have honor, so when Ali Riza asks her if she knew her father, she says she knew he worked with Balaban so that makes him dishonorable. 

The following day, Ali Riza meets with Balaban who’s waiting for his response.  Ali Riza attempts to get more information about his father first so Balaban tells him his father disappeared suddenly then heard he was dead.  He confirms he was an exceptionally good hitman who always found his target but only killed those who deserved it.  When Ali Riza asks if he ordered Haşmet's family to be killed, Balaban refuses to answer.  Ultimately, Ali Riza tells him he will not be accepting his offer and pulls out a gun to take him to the Old Man.   

Cliffhangers: 

Murat meets with Burak to tell him he made a decision about his future.  He says he realizes Burak will never change and will always underestimate him.  He reminds him he’s the older brother in the family who therefore has more rights to be the leader of the family so he can either obey him as his boss or leave the family. 

Ali Riza captures Balaban and takes him to the Old Man as promised.  Before he leaves, he asks her why she spoke with so much hatred about his father.  She responds with “Because he broke my heart.” 

Ms. Rukiya continues to worry about keeping Ali Riza’s past a secret.  When she tells Muzaffer she plans on telling him the truth, he forbids her until the time is right.  Ms. Rukiya refuses to stay quiet, so she decides to tell Halide in hopes of getting her opinion on how to approach the subject with Ali Riza.  She explains to Halide that Ali Riza isn’t her son by birth, he was a baby who was left at the police station that they took in as their own child.

What I Loved:

I loved the scene where Ali Riza takes Halide to dinner by the pier and tells her about a dream he had about her with the interesting fact that he had it before they met.  To me, it solidifies their destiny.  The dream was about them waiting for a ship, the weather was cold and windy and Ali Riza asks Halide why they going sailing if they can drown.  Halide responds if we drown, then we’ll drown together.  That was all Ali Riza remembers from the dream but when he saw Halide in his cab the night they met, he knew she was the woman from his dream.  Kismet.  I also loved the surprise Halide gave Ali Riza by renting a boat to take them sailing.  It’s so refreshing to see them having fun and doing things together away from the crazy world that they live in.  

Questions Left Unanswered:

Muzaffer is a big puzzle that I still can’t figure out.  He appears to be working with the Old Man but yet tells Ali Riza that he’s trying to bring her down.  What is his goal?    

More questions keep coming up revolving around Ali Riza’s father just like Muzaffer.  Was he really just infiltrating the mafia or was he a true hitman?  Is he the person who ordered the death of Haşmet's family?  What relationship did he have with the Old Man?   

What will Burak do now that Murat isn’t stepping down?  Will he obey him or continue with Balaban and declare war against his own brother?

Did Ms. Rukiya tell the real story concerning Ali Riza’s origins?  According to Muzaffer, he was entrusted to her, but the story she gave Halide paints a different picture.  Is she telling the truth?  

Will Halide tell Ali Riza the truth about his past?

My Thoughts:

I like the Balaban character.  I enjoy watching smart villains because they’re more dangerous and evil and Ruzkar Aksoy is doing a great job portraying him.  I believe there is some kind of connection between Ali Riza and Balaban but I’m not sure yet if family or something else.  I really love the outdoor scenery the show is incorporating like the pier and the park.  It’s so refreshing and colorful that it feels like I’m watching a new show.   Great episode!