This week was a hectic week. With my life going from being in hiatus (due to, you know… the global pandemic) to have to go to job interviews lined up, it was crazy. But nothing would have prepared me for the craziness of events that would occur in dizi land. So let’s start this recap, shall we?
Masumlar Apartmanı or the Gift That Keeps on Giving
When I first saw the promo and fragments for Masumlar Apartmanı, I wasn’t overly keen on watching the show. However, when the Internet keeps on going on and on about what an amazing show, you have to listen? Right? Needless to say, I had no choice but to watch it… and let me tell I all but screamed!
That’s right, I screamed “VAMPIRE JESUS!” as soon as Birkan Sokullu appeared on my screen, what can I say. You see the first dizi I watched with him in it, was Immortals and let me tell you, Numel had some serious Jesus vibes going for him.
I had a very similar and visceral reaction when Farah Zeynep Abdullah appeared on my screen, seeing the first Dizi I ever watched was Kurt Seyit ve Sura. So, seeing these actors who I had become so familiar with on my screen again was heart-warming.
Masumlar Apartmanı was a dizi that I was immediately drawn too. The writing of the show is well thought out, the editing is great all making it easy to watch. However, I think what makes this show stand out is the characters and how the cast plays them. Maybe its, because Birkan Sokullu acts in the Turkish remake of This Is Us, but I couldn’t help but compare the show to This Is Us.
This Is Us is show that has much acclaim for how it depicted the very complicated and beautiful family ties of the Pearson family. It delves into the childhoods of the main characters and delves into how it might shape the way it deals with their lives, all the while dealing with important issues such as addiction, mental health issues, fatphobia, racism, and numerous other issues.
At first glance, the show could seem like a love story between Han, the only son of his family who is holding his family together and the angel that comes into his life, Inci, with their respective families playing foils in this electric love story.
However, in the first two episodes, we are immediately shown that all of the characters have such depth and are all dealing with such huge problems. From, Safiye one of Han’s sister who initially seems like just the over-controlling older sister, only to pull back the curtain of her childhood showing how her mother treatment towards her, to Han, who is dealing with his OCD tendencies and Inci who is dealing with the trauma and grief at the loss of her mother.
Each of these looks into the characters lives and pasts add such a rich element to the storytelling and makes you care about all of the characters. The first two episodes did a really good job in establishing the characters and the complex relationships between them. Farah Zeynep Abdullah and Birkan Sokullu are so charming in the roles of Han and Inci you can’t help but be drawn to them and root for their relationships. In Han’s family and sisters (Safiye, Gulben, Neriman) and father, we see the difficulties and struggles of living with someone who has a mental illness such as OCD. Through Inci we see how loss and grief can change a person. All of this being said I am super excited for the upcoming episode of the show.
(Also, I will probably be posting a more thorough analysis of the first episode.)
Lastly, because this blog post is called “A Dizi(ng) Week (A Recap) : Or A Week Of “Git Me” (Or Some Variant Of It)”… the episode ends with Inci locked out of her house with Han. Without having any options left, Han says the magical words.
Additional Thoughts/Questions
- Though the first two episodes of the show seem great and the way that they are delving into these social issues is such beautiful. However, I hope we do not see the vilification of Safiye as she deals with her OCD and Agoraphobia. After the reaction to 6. Bölüm of Sen Çal Kapımı it is clear that mental health is important to Dizi watchers. There is also something to be said of mental illness issues being depicted in a less than positive light in media.
Menajerimi Ara, the Dizi of My Heart
Okay, if for whatever reason you’ve been reading my blog, you know that last week I made the outlandish claim that Menajerimi Ara is my favourite dizis of the season. I just wanted to start by saying, that after spending a week giffing the Bölüm, I have no choice but to accept the facts. I have great taste, and Menajerimi Ara is my favourite dizi of the season.
The bölüm starts with a sleep-deprived Dicle being put in another pickle as Feris wakes Dicle up early in the morning demanding coffee though none of the coffee shops is open. With Dicle not owning a coffee machine herself, she has no choice but to go to Barış for help… Because the famous and rich actor totally has one… and he’s her only hope (or so Meral insists).
With the help of Barış, Dicle can make coffee and meet with Feris who is still upset with Kıraç. Attention is drawn to Dicle because she is the one who told Feris that Kıraç plans. Lines are drawn in the agency with Kıraç on one side and all the other agents on the other. This tension is heightened since Feris is now Beren’s agent and Beren and Barış have been offered a new movie. Meanwhile, Kıraç is dealing with one of his clients, Şükran Ovalı trying to return to acting after the birth of her child and Çınar sets Jülide up with a small role in a dizi.
Beren and Barış are at a crossroads, to take the film role or not. Much like Şükran Ovalı, Beren wants to take the role to stay relevant in the film sector. Aydın, Barış’ brother also insists the film role would be good. However, Barış has doubts seeing the script is bad, and he wants to make something of his art.
With everyone telling him to do something, and Barış unsure of the best choice, Barış goes to Dicle asking for her opinion on the script, because she understands his desire to make it in the film industry and what it means to come from nothing.
However, shit hits the fan when the news of Kıraç leaving is leaked in the press. This issue is resolved only to have another issue arise, Barış’ decision. At a dinner party Barış’ reveals he plans on turning down the role a thing he didn’t confide Beren in. Beren is hurt and becomes apprehensive of Barış’ relationship with Dicle. However, things become messier when it is revealed that Aydın is using his brother and connection with celebrities to make money. Barış and Dicle leave the party together, and go back to his house… and because this post is called “A Week Of “Git Me” you know how this episode ended.
Additional Thoughts/Questions:
- Okay… So I am aware that in the fandom there is much debate about whether Barış is using Dicle. I completely understand why people take that stance. He only talks/pays attention to her when it suits his purpose (when he needed help on making a decision) or when he has to for work. However, I love Barış and Dicle as a ship. I also love the fact that the narrative is aware that he is like this (and isn’t romanticizing his lack of interest)… However, Barış does care, because he helped her run away from her dad in the first episode, he bought her pizza, and he fixed her light fixture.
- However, I firmly believe that Barış is unaware of his feelings towards Dicle and her feelings towards him, and thus doesn’t understand how she’s interpreting their interactions. That being said if he hurts her feelings unintentionally or not… HE BEST BE READY TO CATCH THESE FISTS! 🔪🔪🔪🔪
- As for Kıraç, the man just needs to get over himself, owe up to fathering a child, and stop hurting and trying to fire Dicle.
- I also love how the film industry was shown in the episode. We see just how fleeting fame and fortune can be (from Jülide’s scenes being cut, to Şükran Ovalı, Beren, and Barış being worried about staying relevant). We also see that though the film industry is an industry that is dreamlike, sometimes compromises must be made to stay afloat and that actors can’t always have the roles that they want
- Also, as you know from the previous blog post, I am a total hoe for handholding… and let me tell you, this week had me giggling when it came to the hand holding! It was so cute and Deniz’s hands are so BIG and Ahsen’s are so tiny in comparison! (I made an entire twitter thread).
However, that being said, I would like to note that I am not a huge fan of the grabbing wrist method of hand-holding that Dizi-Land is obsessed with…
Maybe it’s the fact that I grew up watching Kuch Kuch Hota Ha and that method of hand-holding reminds me of Aman dragging Anjali to the wedding… but I hate it.
@ the writers of Menajerimi Ara, use your resources aka Deniz’s huge hands, and have him gently hold Ahsen’s in his… BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THE FANS WILL GO MAD!
(Yes, I am fans!).
On Wednesday We Watch Sen Çal Kapimi
This week’s episode of Sen Çal Kapimi starts where the previous episode ended. With Selin shooting her shot and telling Serkan that she would drop Ferit for Serkan but before he can answer, Eda and Ferit interrupt him… And at that moment all I could do was roll my eyes and quote a wise woman who said:
“If you are so ready to drop your fiance for another man… Maybe don’t marry at all. Instead go to therapy?”
I cannot help but to agree. However, Serkan pulls a fast one and pulls Eda in for some casual hand-holding, making his intentions known (to Selin). Eda kisses Serkan confusing the robot man.
Next, we see Engin who is meeting with Ceren to ask for forgiveness. However, I think it is important to note that Ceren is hiding the fact that her father is the bossman at the law firm she is working at, and she hasn’t told Engin this who believes she is a lowly intern. The only reason I bring this up is that as I have said repeatedly, the Engin, Ceren, Pırıl love triangle reflects the Serkan, Eda, Selin nonsense. That being said, in this episode Engin learns that Ceren comes from money, and I believe this will reflect Serkan’s finding out about Eda also coming from money and more about her family (and her grandma) in the upcoming episode. But to get back to the actual plot of the show, Engin eventually learns about Ceren and decides to distance himself from her, focusing more on Pırıl.
Eda talks to Ceren about her feeling for Serkan, and Serkan talks to Engin. Engin asks Serkan to prove that he doesn’t have feels for Eda by distancing himself from her. Ceren, however, asks Eda to dress in a way that would draw Serkan’s eyes to her. Eda dressed to impress is picked up by Serkan (who apparently can’t stay away).
Ayfer finds out about the contract and clause about Eda’s education and is immediately upset. She decides to call Grandma Yıldız to help Eda financially without Eda’s knowledge.
Serkan in an attempt to keep Eda close shows her a house that the firm is going to be working on and asks Eda’s help. She reminds him that she doesn’t work for him anymore and that the contract is void, seeing Selin is getting married. However, Serkan convinces her to stay and they discuss the house and the owner. I am almost 99% sure that this house either already belongs to Serkan, or that he is going to buy it for Eda.
In a hilarious scene that is reminiscent of the drain the pool scene, Serkan tries to get Eda to stay in his life by having Engin offer him a job. Eda’s scholarship to Italy “mysteriously” comes through. With the prospects of Eda leaving haunting Serkan, he pushes everyone out of his life and finds himself becoming ill. Aydan calls Selin to talk to Serkan, however, unbeknownst to her, Seyfi calls Eda. Eda and Serkan read a bit from the book, The Little Prince a thing the folks at the DizzyForDizi podcast probably went crazy about.
Serkan’s fever takes for the worst and he starts having bad dreams. When he asks Eda to take him with her to Italy, Eda has but no choice but to stay and keep him warm.
Which leads me to a random rant. What is up with the Turkish Dizis I’m watching and the characters choosing terrible sleeping positions? Like Serkan has a whole bed in his room, as do Han and Barış and yet all of these idiots decide the best place to fall asleep is on the floor or the couch. Your beds have got to feel better my dudes, make smarter decisions.
Eda is hurt when she realises that Serkan has no memories of asking Eda to take him with her leaves. She is preparing to leave to Italy when Serkan pulls her car over…
and you know what he says! Serkan does what we’ve wanted him to do and confesses his undying love to her and they kiss.
Yeni Hayat or the Things I Do For Serkan Çayoglu
Okay, I have a confession to make. Though this part of the segment is called “The Things I Do For Serkan Çayoglu” and the post is called “A Week Of “Git Me” (Or Some Variant Of It)” I can’t recall this episode… lololol.
I feel like that largely had to do with the fact that this episode felt a lot like a filler episode and I felt like they didn’t need 2 hours and 30 minutes to tell me what happened. The episode starts with Yasemin still “abducted” and asking for ransom money. Timur summons Adem and asks him and only him for help, pushing aside everyone else who works for him. Adem sees this as an opportunity to gain Timur’s trust, however, finds the events leading to Yasemin’s abduction suspicious.
Nevin and Melahat face stress when she learns that Ferda, a woman in prison who has some connection to her and Ece starts asking for money or threatens to tell Adem the truth.
I have a feeling that this Ferda lady may be Ece’s biological mother or the person who helped Nevin acquire a baby seeing that in the previous episode Nevin mentions she can’t have children of her own.
While all of this is happening, Özgür, Timur right-hand man is jealous of Adem taking his place. Özgür’s wife Berna is also unhappy and seems to hate Yasemin planting thoughts in Gökçe’s head about Yasemin.
Adem puts the plan to save Yasemin into motion, however, it is revealed that Kunduzi is working with Timur’s business partner whose name I can’t remember. It is then revealed that they have no plans on keeping Yasemin alive and plan on killing her. However, before they can, Adem saves Yasemin and is shot saving Timur.
Adem reveals to Nevin that he plans on continuing working for Timur, much to Nevin’s surprise. Then we get the most important episode in this whole damn show, the scene where Ece and Adem eat breakfast together. It’s freaking adorable and I literally cannot.
Yasemin talks to Adem about why she wants to run away from Timur, telling Adem of the abuse she faced in her marriage. The episode ends with the Karatan family at breakfast when Adem joins them. Yasemin and Adem receive pictures of their kiss, and the episode ends with Timur’s phone receiving a message.
Additional Thoughts/Questions:
- As you can tell, this episode doesn’t end with “Git Me” (Or Some Variant Of It),
which may be why I don’t like this episode as much as I liked all the other episodes. - However, with apparently seven dizi cancellations looming, I cannot help but be saddened by the potential loss of Yeni Hayat.
- I am super excited about next week’s episode. I love how the show advertised itself as a show about adultery, yet we are getting a much more complicated story…
- and can I say I am super excited about next weeks episode… Adem teaching Yasemin how to fight? YESSSS!!!!