I am on S1 Ep 7 but the description has not come into force yet. There is the usual soap elements - poor orphan daughter - wicked step-mother - fairy godmother - evil villain - troubled hero - and as usual all these elements intermingle with each other so there is the constant conflict of one of them finding out that the other has a hidden agenda. There are the usual tropes of people spilling the endless tea on each other and ending up almost kissing - one car follows another (I also like Tekin's car !} for miles about two cars away and the lead vehicle driver doesn't notice it. He doesn't notice it either when the follower eavesdrops (typical Turkish trope - they never find out anything any other way) on him from behind a couple of leaves. The heroine is a feisty female who cares nothing for money (yeah right). but she doesn't seem to need it as she doesn't have a job and has no problem with living expenses. One thing I found unusual in Turkish soaps is the psycho fiancé's sister Neve? she strips off in front of a perfect stranger and ends up bedding him after he found her drunk in the street. That is not a usual scenario. The women also dress in the skimpiest of clothes - again - not usual for Muslim women - they also spend the night in the arms of men they are not related or married to - albeit platonic - I just find that strange in this culture. I have noticed the anti female violence dialogue in several Turkish soaps now - but once again it is very apparent in this one - it's as if they are only paying lip service to it.

I started to watch this but fell asleep last night. So I will get started sometime today. There is a lot of eavesdropping, as you say. And they don't seem very aware of their surroundings either, as you noted. Turkey is fairly western for a Muslim country. I guess this show is a bit liberal there if women are that relaxed about their dress and their socializing habits with men. I'm sure the more religious people in Turkey must be worried their culture will degenerate like that in western countries, and given what we see happening here, I can't blame them. Do they want transgenderism to be forced on their children? I am hoping that pendulum will swing back toward sanity in the west soon. Film media can have a positive effect on the culture, or negative. On the whole, the Turkish shows seem to have a more central theme, less of the craziness being pushed in the west.

The letter a doesn't always work on my keyboard, and it is really irritating to me now. If it stays this way I am going to have to put this thing in the shop.

Use @ for now. lol

Yeah, I don't know why IMDB doesn't list all the episodes, or StarTV either. Strange

There is something evil looking about Tekin's eyebrows.

I have just watched Ep 13 and Ep 14 is a continuation immediately following the events of those episodes. Are you watching it now?

I am halfway through episode 5 now. Gonul doesn't want her inheritance because it won't bring her mother back, it won't change what bad men have done, etc. Pretty stupid logic there. No, money won't buy happiness, but it pays bills and buys toys. She's cutting off her nose to spite her face there.

Yusuf is her friend, the carpenter and Tekin is the psycho surgeon with anger issues. Kursat is her long lost father who is dying and just found her. Hilmi is the father's attorney and he has dirt on Tekin.

I am getting to know the characters and watching the plot develop. I will catch up

It's more soapy than Kacak - by the way - I am sure I saw some reference in one of the inaccurate previews of Ertan's body being washed up from the sea. Given the unreliability of those previews who knows - my ending is thus - Ertan takes Nurgul for a walk along the cliffs - he tells her that he has never loved her - that he only used her for revenge on Serhat - and that worst of all - he killed her son. Nurgul finds the strength of a maniac at these revelations and in a struggle she hurls him off the clifftop into the sea. She then returns to Serhat. Burkat takes the opportunity to plot revenge on Serhat - they have a fight - Merv intervenes and both are killed but not before she tells him that Umut is his son. The Don dies of a heart attack and Serhat and Nurgul take the boy home with them. Who needs the last two episodes !!! lol

I am making a list of characters so I can keep track of them and know how to refer to them in our chats. I am missing a couple of names so far. Here is what I have now:

Tekin Altinel, ex fiance of Gonul, surgeon, anger issues, narcissist or psychopath

Mazhar, father of Tekin

Lale, 2cnd wife of Mazhar

Nese, sister of Tekin

Ali, doctor friend of Tekin

Figen, prostitute friend and long time lover of Tekin

Gonul, surgical nurse, orphan, ex fiance of Tekin, recently found out who her father is

Kursat, rich father of Gonul, dying, leaving most of his money to Gonul

Sermin, 2cnd wife of Kursat, having affair with ____, scheming for his money

Hilmi, attorney for Kursat and Gonul

Mother _____, raised Gonul at orphanage

Yusuf, ex-con, carpenter. son, Cem, was killed, wife Betul estranged. Seeks revenge against Kursat.

Mahmut, thug friend of Yusuf and employee of Yusuf's father

Ozlem, business partner of Yusuf, red haired girl.

Yusuf's father's name ________

Gonul is in danger from the scheming Sermin and her lover, as well as from psycho Tekin. Yusuf is about to find out that she is Kursat's daughter which will be a dilemma for him, since he likes her and hates Kursat.

I wasn't sure I would like this show at first because it looked like it might be some kind of romance drama, but it is shaping up to be very different. It is another revenge story with a lot more besides.

@strangebedfellows said:

It's more soapy than Kacak - by the way - I am sure I saw some reference in one of the inaccurate previews of Ertan's body being washed up from the sea. Given the unreliability of those previews who knows - my ending is thus - Ertan takes Nurgul for a walk along the cliffs - he tells her that he has never loved her - that he only used her for revenge on Serhat - and that worst of all - he killed her son. Nurgul finds the strength of a maniac at these revelations and in a struggle she hurls him off the clifftop into the sea. She then returns to Serhat. Burkat takes the opportunity to plot revenge on Serhat - they have a fight - Merv intervenes and both are killed but not before she tells him that Umut is his son. The Don dies of a heart attack and Serhat and Nurgul take the boy home with them. Who needs the last two episodes !!! lol

GREAT!!! I like that. That ties up the loose ends nicely, punishes Ertan, saves Umut, and has a happy ending for Nurgul and Serhat.

Crazy Dadayli and Mazmi will have a silly argument as they walk off together looking for women.

I am hopeless with Turkish names - I think the fairy godmother is Mother Hatike. And the young man who works in the carpentry shop is called Ridyen or something similar. I don't know if you have come to it yet - but it's not really a spoiler - at one point his family are discussing Tekin an they say words to the effect well - Tekin has always been the same - he causes great harm to others - but he is always sorry afterwards and does his best to make it up to them - oh - that's all right then!! Mind - I expected him to kill his late girlfriends druggie brother but he didn't. They are making him out to be a brilliant surgeon - as if that makes up for him being a psychopath. Again - the violence to women is ever present - why do they do this - I think they are simply appealing to their audience to whom it is acceptable - but telling them at the same time - this is very naughty and you shouldn't do it - give me your wrist and I'll slap it. Her hero - he wouldn't stop a pig in a passage would he? and that beard is only there to hide his chin I think - I am being nasty because I hate facial hair - who wants to kiss a soup strainer with the mornings toast butter still on it. Ych-y-fi as the Welsh would say. MY goodness - I seem to be in a bad mood so I will stop for now - let me know when you are up to Ep 13 because we can talk more analytically then.

I m finishing up episode 6 now. Gonul is confused, but she ought to remember that Tenik is a liar and a powerful person, he broke her finger, or sprained it badly, and knocked her down. He is an ultra controlling psycho whose idea of love is based on how it makes him feel, not what is good for her. I think that guy Mete Ayan who claims to be ilknur's brother might be a liar who was sent there by Mazhar or Tekin to cover for Tekin. He showed her a prescription record. Tekin could have had a friend of his call in a script for the girl, and Tekin could have bought it. Then there would be a record. That proves nothing. Gonul should not put stock in that, but remember what kind of an asshole Tekin is, how he hurt her, how he controls her, how he told her that it wasn't up to her whether they broke up or not.

Yosuf seems conflicted since he learned she is Kursat's daughter. It sounds like his family is somewhat dangerous and powerful also. Would his dad kill Gonul as retaliation for the death of Cem? I think Yusuf fears that so he doesn't want his dad to know. I think he will figure out that she doesn't know Kursat and has nothing to do with what happened, and she is basically a good person. He has to weigh his need for revenge against his morality here. Is he willing to do the same thing to her that happened to his son, to murder an innocent person who has feelings for him? I don't think he is.

Yes, it is soapy.

Yes the names are hard for me to recall and spell correctly also. Yusuf's younger brother's name is Ridvan. He disposes of vans or something. That's how the American Indians name people, based on something about them: "Runs Like Wind" "Smells Like Cabbage", etc. In that system Tekin would be "Hits Women" and would be a lot easier to remember.

Gonul ought to keep in mind that Tekin is a dangerous man, and the last time she saw him, he "lovingly" prevented her from leaving and she had to sneak out behind his back.

I can use spell check to fix a lot of words. Want shows up as wnt and I have to go back and fix it. Not alwys, but frequently enough that it irritates me. I keep hoping the key will loosen up and start working right again.

I will watch more today and tonight and hopefully catch up quickly.

3rd comment: I KNEW IT! Tekin sent that guy, Mete, to tell his tale. He lied to cover for Tekin with the cops and with Gonul. I just saw the flashback with Tekin and ilknur where he threatened to kill her. And then Gonul shows up at Tekin's place. Why? Is she stupid? Does she think she owes him something? She wanted to say she was sorry. She could have texted him that. He smashed a cup and squeezed the shards into the palm of his hand. And she felt she had to fix it for him. It doesn't seem to occur to her that he injured himself in a blind rage, that it is symptomatic of his intense, uncontrollable anger. When she brought up the hooker he got angry, like she was in the wrong for being upset, for ruining the romance he was trying to get going. Her phone rings and Tekin can see that Yusuf is the caller. Does everybody in Turkey hold their phones where other people can see who is calling? Then Mete the druggy, snoopy, brother spies from the window. If I ever go to Turkey (and I have NO plans to do so), I may have to consult a security expert on privacy issues. Someone is always lurking around, spying on, listening in on somebody else there.

I'm into episode 7 now. More later.

Keep reporting !! A lot of stuff happens to Ganul - as is usual in soaps she makes some really stupid decisions - Gafool is a better name for her. Tefik reminds me of Chakotay in Voyager. (Robert Beltran). After he breaks her finger and blacks her eye she goes back to their flat to water the plants and pick up some clothes. We know he has the key to her flat. From what we see in the wardrobes of the houses they live in at various points in their relationship they are living together. His clothes and hers are in the wardrobe - his shaving equipment and toiletries are in the bathrooms. Again I am wondering at Muslim culture - In Winter Sun couples couldn't even kiss each other let alone spend one night together - they were monitored closely especially young women. Both these soaps are Turkish - yet the attitudes seem to different - Nese for instance is practically a slut - maybe different areas of Turkey have different morals.

I did a quick skimming of articles on Turkish morality. President Ergodan is pretty conservative on certain issues and has been trying to impose tighter controls on the people. Here is an short excerpt form one apparently liberal Turkish writer.

"There is a society in Turkey that is dominated by those who think morals is not associated with honesty, by doing your job well, by being fair, by treating people equally but only with sexuality.

According to the report, 37 percent of the society and 54 percent of AKP supporters consider it correct for police to monitor student accommodations. "

They are against cohabitation, and especially against birth control.

The President even wants to restrict Caesarian sections because he says it makes the mother sterile, which I don't believe is true, or not always anyway, and he wants all Turkish couples to have at least 3 children. Talk about getting too involved in people's personal affairs.

So it does seem that Gonul takes the more liberal view on the issue of women's sexuality and choices. In fact, the whole plot seems to be an attack on the concept of how much men can control what women do in society. Tekin is a metaphor for the male domination over women in that society, I think.