Summary:
The episode begins with Ali Riza making a shocking discovery that his father is alive but wounded. He attempts to take him to the hospital but Mehmet bay refuses and asks Ali Riza to take him home so he can see his children and wife. Mehmet bay tells Ali Riza that Balaban is responsible for shooting him and just wants to go home like he’s been dreaming of for the past several years.
Haşmet asks Murat for an explanation for murdering his family, especially since he always thought he was the only Ersoylu who had a conscience, so Murat explains that Fuat never protected or loved them when they were young. He says they were forced to be strong and do whatever Fuat asked them to do, so when Fuat ordered them to kill Haşmet’s family, they did. He tells Haşmet he’s been feeling like he’s in a bottomless pit since that day and can no longer continue with the burden. Suddenly, he grabs the gun from one of Haşmet’s security and asks him to forgive him before he kills himself.
In the meantime, Burak is worried that he hasn’t been able to communicate with Murat for several hours, so he orders Fiko and Ryfky to gather all their men to go look for him, but at that moment he receives a call from Haşmet. He tells him he left his brother at his door and explains that he killed himself and will send him the video from his security cameras as proof. Haşmet also warns Burak that he’ll give him time to mourn and bury his brother, but then he’s coming after him.
Later, Halide makes Mehmet bay as comfortable as possible as the Altay family surrounds him as he tells them that they were deceived into thinking he was dead but was actually fighting to stay alive the entire time he was gone and refused to give up hope. The moment gets too intense, so Ali Riza steps out of the room with Halide following him. He tells her when he was little, he always knew when his father was home because the house had a different smell just like now. Ali Riza understands that his father isn’t going to live much longer, so Halide tells him to hold on to those memories to help him keep living. She tells him she still remembers her mother and brothers' smells even though they’ve been gone for a while.
Haşmet arrives at Ali Riza’s house to check how he’s doing and to see Mehmet bay. Ali Riza informs him he’s not doing good but refuses to go to the hospital. At that moment, Mehmet bay regains consciousness and sees Haşmet so he takes the opportunity to tell him that he was not responsible or involved in his family’s murder and assures him it was Fuat and Balaban. Haşmet believes him and gives him his blessing. Later, when Ali Riza is alone with his father, he tells him he’s leaving him with a notebook that has his notes from his mission and entrusts him to finish the job he started, and the notebook will lead him to the right path. Soon after, he passes away and after the burial, Ali Riza asks Hasan to find Balaban.
At the same time, Burak is burying Murat in a private ceremony. After the burial, Fusun shows up at the gravesite to say her goodbyes and to ask for forgiveness, however, Burak appears with the intent of killing her for betraying them. Fusun confesses that she was also planning on killing herself because of what she did but couldn’t go through with it after finding out she’s pregnant with Murat’s child. Burak allows her to live with the condition that she has to leave town so that Murat’s child doesn’t know anything about their world.
Meanwhile, the Ihtiyar receives grim news about her medical condition with her doctor asking her to return to continue her treatment as soon as possible, however, she refuses until her business has been taken care of. Afterward, Safir tells the Ihtiyar that Ali Riza found his father, but died a few hours later. This news leaves a stunned Ihtiyar who thought he was dead. He also tells her that Murat killed himself in front of Haşmet, which causes concern because now both Ali Riza and Burak are going to want to get revenge. She tells Safir she must tell Ali Riza the truth so he can start to get close to her and she can begin to transfer her power and money to him before she dies so he can become stronger and unbreakable. She tells Safir the Shadows have split in two with one group wanting her to transfer power to the Ersoylu family, which is why she can’t allow Safir to kill Burak and Balaban even though they’re intent on killing Ali Riza. Safir asks what will happen if Burak still attacks Ali Riza, she says for her son’s sake, she’s willing to go against the Shadows and kill them herself.
Haşmet informs Melek that Murat killed himself after he confronted him with the death of his family. Halide overhears their conversation when he says they need to act fast before Burak and Balaban attack them. Halide becomes emotional and begs Haşmet to end the war because she doesn’t want to lose any more family members or have to cry at either Haşmet or Ali Riza’s funeral. She tells him she’s tired of the constant attacks from each side, so she pleads for him to stop.
Balaban urges Burak to attack Haşmet and Ali Riza immediately to catch them off guard. Burak agrees and plans on going to Ali Riza’s neighborhood and killing him along with everyone that he loves while Balaban plans on attacking Haşmet. As they make their way, they encounter a large group of armed men blocking the road with guns pointed at them. As they confront them, one of the hands over a phone with a video call from the Ihtiyar. She warns them that if they don’t turn around, her men will attack and if they’re lucky enough to escape, she has several other groups of armed men down the road ready to shoot in order to protect Ali Riza and reveals to them that he’s her son. Burak becomes enraged and refuses to back down, so he tells her he’s getting revenge even if he has to kill her. The Ihtiyar tells them if he kills her, he won’t be able to overcome the shadows that stand behind her. Balaban becomes nervous and tells Burak they have to leave immediately. Once they’re back in their hiding place, Burak demands to know why Balaban didn’t let him fight back, but Balaban is figuring out that Ali Riza got a chance to speak with his father. He determines that the Ihtiyar is part of the Shadows and tells Burak they will be crushed if they continue with their plan. Balaban tells him since Ali Riza is the Ihtiyar’s son, he will inherit all of her power which means they will beg Ali Riza to kill them for what they’ve done to him.
As Ali Riza begins to read his father’s notebook, he discovers more information about the organization that the Ihtiyar is involved with. He learns there are 3 levels with the top-level called the Shadows which consists of 7 members, but no one knows who they are, what they do, or where they live. He claims the rest of the levels of the organization are pawns, except for the Ihtiyar who is the only person who rules over the other levels that report up to the Shadows. Ali Riza is interrupted by a surprise visit from Haşmet, who tells him since they confirmed his father had nothing to do with his family’s death, Haşmet tells Ali Riza he now considers him both a son and friend. He says they have a common enemy but wants them to take different paths. He urges Ali Riza to take Halide and leave and promises to take care of their enemies himself so that he can protect Halide since Burak will not stop until he gets revenge. Ali Riza tells Haşmet he loves Halide very much and wants to live a quiet happy life with her, but he won’t be able to do that until he has destroyed his enemies.
The following day, Ms. Rukiya asks Ali Riza if he’s planning on putting his life in danger again to get revenge for his father’s death, so Ali Riza tells her he’s going to finish the job his father has entrusted upon him. Knowing that he’s going to endanger himself, Ms. Rukiya gives Ali Riza the shocking news that Mehmet bay is not his father.
She tells him he brought him home when he was 10 months old and although she didn’t give birth to him, she always considered him her son just like her other children. Ali Riza is left in shock and disbelief and even more so when Ms. Rukiya tells him his real mother is Berguzar. Ali Riza struggles to understand this revelation and tells her his whole life, family, and home have all been a lie. As he rushes to leave, he runs into Halide who tells him he shouldn’t turn his back on the person who has cared for and loved him all his life. Ali Riza becomes even more upset when Halide tells him she knew the information but didn’t say anything to him because it wasn’t her place to reveal his mother’s secret.
Ali Riza meets with Muzaffer, who apologizes for not being able to protect his father better but states he didn’t know he was alive until two days ago. Ali Riza tells him he knows his entire life has been a lie, so Muzaffer states they were waiting for the right moment to tell him the truth. He says they found him during an operation after his real parents were killed so Mehmet bay took him and raised him as their own child. Ali Riza accuses him of lying about his origins since Berguzar claims he’s her son. Muzaffer tells him Berguzar thinks he’s her son because she became obsessed after her son was kidnapped, so they used her weakness against her. Muzaffer convinced her Ali Riza was her son since he resembled her real baby. He tells Ali Riza that Berguzar is dying and will soon transfer her power to him after which they will be able to destroy the entire organization. Ali Riza accuses Muzaffer of using him and his life in order to set up a trap for her, but Muzaffer tells him they did it for the sake of their duty which is why Mehmet bay died fighting for. Later, Hasan finds a confused Ali Riza at the old taxi stop, who persuades him to continue to treat his family as his family because the most important thing is not what the truth is, but what his truth is. Ali Riza decides to return to his neighborhood to continue to work as a taxi driver and to live with the family he grew up with.
The following day Ali Riza visits the Ihtiyar, who tells him she’s been waiting for years to be able to hug him, but Ali Riza tells her he’s not her son. He explains they found out about her weakness after losing her son and used it against her. He tells her his life was also used but refuses to continue with their game to trap her so and tells her it would be a mistake to transfer her power to him.
Cliffhangers:
Ali Riza meets with Muzaffer to tell him his game is over because he told the Ihtiyar the truth. He tells him he refuses to be a pawn in his game and will no longer work with him. He tells him he will continue his father’s mission on his own without his help. After Ali Riza leaves, the Ihtiyar calls Muzaffer and asks him why he played a game with her, so he tells her any path leading to victory is correct, so he took the shortest path. The Ihtiyar tells him it’s her turn to play and hangs up…
Later, Ali Riza finally finds Balaban’s hiding place. He surprises him with his gun pointed at his head and tells him he’s reached his end, so Balaban tells him he won’t reach the end like his father and proceeds to attack him. They struggle and fight until Ali Riza pins him down and shoots him. After, he burns Balaban’s trailer with him inside…
The Ihtiyar has Safir take Burak to her. She informs him that she has decided to make him take her place after she dies. Burak is confused and uneasy and asks why since she didn’t like him, so she tells him everything changed that made her change her decision. She states the people she considered her friends are now her enemies and if she had time, she would destroy them all. So, the Ihtiyar names Burak as the new patron with the condition that he attack Haşmet and Ali Riza…
Questions Left Unanswered:
Will the Ihtiyar go after Muzaffer after learning Ali Riza is not her son?
Why does the Ihtiyar order Burak to attack Haşmet and Ali Riza if they didn’t have anything to do with her getting deceived into thinking Ali Riza was her son?
Will Burak contain his psychotic tendencies now that he’s the new patron? How will Mithat react to the news?
How does Ali Riza plan on finishing his father’s mission without Muzaffer’s help?
Will Ali Riza and Halide get a happy ending after he quits the mafia?
What I Loved:
I loved the scenes between Mert and Ali Riza. After Ms. Rukiya tells the family the truth about Ali Riza, Mert finds Ali Riza struggling with his situation so Mert assures him he will always be a brother to him even if he doesn’t feel like their home is his home anymore or no longer thinks of him as his brother. He tells him he will only have one brother in this world and that’s him. Ali Riza tells him he has always been proud to be his brother and even though they don’t have the same blood, they have the same soul. Now that is true brotherhood.
I loved that Haşmet finally accepted Ali Riza as a son and suitable for Halide. Although they have always had a great working relationship, he was hesitant to see him as Halide’s partner. I’m sure it had to do with the fact that Ali Riza was involved in their world, but I think he changed his mind after he realized that he is the only person who can protect Halide from anything and anyone. I also loved that Haşmet was willing to take on the battle against Burak by himself in order for Ali Riza and Halide to live a quiet and happy life together away from their world.
What I Disliked:
I didn’t like a few things about this episode because I was left confused, and I felt like they didn’t make sense. First, why is Burak trying to get revenge for Murat killing himself? He saw the video that showed Murat confessing so if anything, Burak should be angry at himself for ruining Murat’s life for being the short-tempered, crazy and egotistical person that he is. Second, why did the Ihtiyar order Burak to kill Haşmet and Ali Riza? Ali Riza was an innocent pawn in Muzaffer’s game, and he even refused to be used to trap her and was honest about it so for her to order his death is ridiculous. Third, Haşmet had nothing to do with the trap so why did she order his death too? And last, since Balaban died, did we ever find out who was the power behind him? Or does it matter anymore?
I also didn’t like that they introduced a whole new story in the last two episodes of the series. The storyline about the Shadows would have been a perfect topic for season two so I’m upset that they will need to wrap up this topic quickly if they plan on Ali Riza accomplishing his father’s mission.
My Thoughts:
I was disappointed that Ali Riza’s father died within the first hour of this episode and didn’t do much except introduce the Shadows storyline. I wanted to hear more details about his whereabouts during the several years he was gone but it was all vague and rushed. The one good thing that came out of his reappearance is that he confirmed he had nothing to do with Haşmet’s family’s murder.
I was even more disappointed that Ali Riza and Halide didn’t spend any time together after Ali Riza lost his father and when he found out the truth about his past. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want to spend time together after dealing with two major life changes since they have always been very supportive of each other. I’m grateful we got a few minutes to see them interact while waiting on Ali Riza’s father’s condition, but it was not sufficient.
I'm still hoping the last two episodes of the series give us closure with a lot of action scenes as well as a happy ending for our main couple that includes a wedding.
