Are They Already In Love? Looking Back At #EdSer -Part 2
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops — at all.”
-Emily Dickinson
I don’t consider myself a romantic but sometimes a girl’s gotta admit to the joys of letting herself be immersed in a love story. If you’re new to this Sen Çal Kapımı series I’m writing, please take a look at the first one here. I’m doing a recap of the series, peeling off the plot on the surface and trying to find a name for each episode according to its singular topic.
Episodes 6–10 consist mainly of EdSer coming to terms with their feelings. They’re kind of closer, after having known each other for a good 2 weeks now. They had some magical moments already, especially in Antalya at the Apollo temple and at the waterfall. Episode 5 ended with Serkan saving Eda from the paparazzi and with EdSer setting off for the sunset on a boat!
Episode # 6: Surrender
What do we feel when we’re falling in love? Usually really positive and happy right? What do we feel when we’re falling in love with someone we shouldn’t? We feel conflicted and confused. This episode is about EdSer admitting to some of their feelings but also admitting to some of their mistakes.
The episode ends on a sentimental note where they not only surrender to their feelings but they also surrender to each other’s arms in an intimate and meaningful hug. Eda learns an impossible lesson in the business world during the episode which teaches her to be more professional and not react to everything emotionally. She learns that she can’t make promises unless she’s sure she can keep them.
Serkan however learns a very different lesson, he learns that letting someone in is easier than building walls, it’s actually a relief to share his sad memories and sharing gives a different sense of strength to him.
The surrender metaphor is reflected also on the capricious singer Sevda, who drives the Artlife team crazy with her unrealistic requests but in the end surrenders to a very tough and determined Eda.
Another surrender surfaces from Selin-Ferit frontline when Ferit admits that it was him who sent the photo of Eda and Serkan’s contract. For future reference we note that Ferit is a good man who didn’t mean any harm to no one.
The last surrender is Aydan giving in and helping Eda in time of need. Not only that but Aydan even accepts taking care of Bobby the dog. At this point in the series Aydan still wants Serkan to get married to Selin but she demonstrates to be a good supportive friend in time of need. She surrenders to Eda’s sweet tongue (“tatlı dil” refers to talking to someone in a sweet manner to convince them to do things they don’t want to do).
Episode #7: Trust
According to me the whole falling in love era ends with this episode and from episode 8 both Eda and Serkan accept their own feelings. Of course they still kind of find it out of place. Especially Eda suffers a lot thinking it’s not her place to fall in love because her job was to unite Serkan with Selin. Serkan on the other hand is more bold, more open, happier because of course he knows that he’s not going to be with Selin if Eda reciprocates his feelings.
The reason I chose trust for this episode is because it addresses trust in one’s feelings but also having trust in someone else. The episode starts with Eda and Serkan seeing each other in a different way, not two complete strangers anymore. They have become partners in crime somehow, having their own secrets.
Eda’s high from the guitar night is ruined by Ayfer’s words, “You’re falling in love”. This results with Eda avoiding Serkan and like most people who have a crush, he interprets it in a wrong way and thinks Eda doesn’t want him. Eda also finally trusts Ceren with her secret and tells her about the contract. The episode ends with Serkan coming to the worst conclusion with Eda’s behaviour and he accuses her of stealing his design.
Misplaced trust is referenced with Melo-Kaan relationship. Kaan uses Melo’s feelings to steal the design drawings. As the viewer we have access to two different sides of trust. Melo is naive and gives herself completely to this man and relationship. Eda is suspicious of Serkan’s romantic gestures and even tells him that she thinks they’re fake when she says, “Just show Selin some of those romantic gestures that you show me but mean it.” This probably shatters Serkan but he can’t say those gestures were genuine.
This episode contains my second favorite scene in the series. Serkan’s birthday celebration on the stairs and the cheek kiss are probably tattooed to every SÇK fan’s brain.
After receiving a very meaningful gift from Eda, Serkan takes a big step the next day and assigns a very important project to Eda. When she feels self conscious about taking on such a big project, he tells her he trusts her. This remark, coming from a person like Serkan is really big. However Eda doesn’t get as excited as he hopes.
She fails in seeing the big leap from Serkan and chooses to focus on the fact that he assigns an expert landscape architect to help her. Had Eda been neutral in her emotions towards Serkan, this wouldn’t make her feel more self conscious. She would understand that Serkan is just making sure she’s not overwhelmed with a project like this. Unfortunately she is struggling with her own feelings so she can’t see it.
In a last attempt to spend more time with Eda, Serkan calls the Artlife team to his house to work. This is where they find out the designs are stolen and the episode ends with a heartbreaking scene where Serkan accuses Eda and tells her to leave.
Episode #8: Revelation
As I keep saying, episode 8 marks an important milestone in EdSer history. Although in the previous episodes we had small moments that showed us they were falling in love, this is the episode we can 100% be sure of it. Of course they both have no clue if it’s reciprocated. That’s gonna have to wait.
For us as the audience many things will be revealed this episode, but not only to us also to the characters. Selin will not be able to hide from Pırıl that she is elated about EdSer break up. Melo will reveal her secret boyfriend is Kaan. Later in the episode, it will be revealed that Kaan has been the one who stole the designs and he was lying to Melo about his feelings.
The night at the barn, Eda and Ferit will get to eavesdrop a conversation between Selin and Serkan which will reveal their point of view to love and marriage. After this Ferit will reveal to Eda that he was the one to send the contract to Kaan and cause the news about them.
When we get to the ending of the episode Serkan is already convinced of Eda’s innocence. He’s also fully aware at this point that he can’t stand being without her. He watches Eda leave 3 times in this episode. First when he tells her to leave and says “Git!”, second when they meet at the park and he says to Sirius, “Gitme demedin Sirius” and third on the last scene, when Eda tell him, “Bu oyun bitti Serkan Bolat”.
This is an enlightening episode where a lot happens and we find out a lot about the characters.
Episode #9: Hope:
Hope Was but a timid friend;
She sat without the grated den,
Watching how my fate would tend,
Even as selfish-hearted men.-Emily Bronte
I need to say this, even though Eda is really sad and mad at Serkan this episode and he acts really dumb not getting the fact that all he needs to do is apologize, it’s one of my favorite episodes.
I mean, who can forget “the mountain pervert” or Serkan’s tears as he watches the video of his mother leave the house holding Eda’s hand. This whole episode, Serkan’s intense looks at Eda are a love letter in and of itself. And he even says to Eda at the mountain house when they’re taking a walk with the handcuffs still on, “That means there’s still hope for us” but he turns it around by saying, “I mean, for humanity”.
Of course games of love can sometimes be cruel. To some, Serkan playing cat and mouse with Eda this episode may seem cruel too. Instead of saying he’s sorry for accusing her, he makes it about the project, not accepting the fact that he’s the one at fault not Eda.
From Eda’s point of view he kept giving mixed signals, kidnapping her from the garden, buying her a dress, trying to team up with her on the project they seized from Kaan, but at the same time not admitting to his mistake or saying a simple thing as “I’m sorry”. How could Eda get her hopes up about Serkan with this conflicting evidence?
Nevertheless the episode ends with Serkan remembering what makes Eda happy. I have to say the park bench on the terrarium was a nice touch. I remember my eyes watering when I saw that. It affected me even more than the note itself. Eda Yıldız finally was granted the hope she needed, that Serkan cherished those moments as much as she did and he wasn’t a log but he could always chop wood for her in case she needed to stay warm.
Episode #10: Denial
This beautiful episode is a real preparation for the incredible episode 11. Still, for me it’s hard to watch because I feel like especially in this scene above and the wedding dress try-on scenes Eda is in a lot of pain. Nothing compared to episode 29 of course where Eda and we as the viewers had to go through excruciating pain.
After all the EdSer development in the previous episode, Ferit and Selin announce they’re getting married in a week. This becomes as a shock to the newly united EdSer. They also misinterpret each other’s reactions which happens a lot in Turkish TV shows and sometimes drives me crazy.
Eda’s competitiveness forces them into another game, this time they start marriage preparations to get Selin to break off her engagement and cancel her wedding. From Eda-Ceren and Engin-Serkan dialogues we can clearly see they’re in denial about their feelings because both fear rejection from the other side. Serkan thinks Eda doesn’t want him anymore and Eda thinks Serkan still wants to be reunited with Selin. On the other hand Engin is still acting like a dumbass and he’s not able to come to terms with who he wants to be with, Pırıl or Ceren.
At the mountain house in front of the fireplace deep and important conversations take place. First one between EdSer and the second between Serkan and Selin. Eda asks Serkan if he is in love with Selin. As the fool that he is, instead of a clear “no” he says “why are you trying to push me towards Selin?” When Eda goes out for a walk with Ferit and Selin asks Serkan if this was all set up to make her call her wedding off, Serkan says yes and tells her you can fill in the blanks yourself. When Selin listens to his phone call with Engin she misunderstands and thinks that Serkan wants her to stay but is too proud to tell her.
Selin at this point is in complete denial, because if Serkan had any intention of being with her, he would have acted much sooner. Whenever they’re together he brings the subject directly to Ferit or the shares so anyone else would get that he was only concerned about the holding. Unfortunately Eda and Selin both have romantic feelings that block their vision. Well it happens to the best of us!
***
That’s it from me from the second part. How are you feeling about the next episode? After watching live on last Saturday I was very angry and my anger was fueled when I got on Twitter to see that everyone was as mad as me if not more. I’m convinced that we are to expect a little more from episode 34. But I have a feeling the show is waiting for some kind of decision that will allow the production to decide its direction. That’s why we’re moving in slow motion and Selin is still with us after 5 very long episodes. They felt like years really. I’m not complaining about the amnesia plot but we definitely need more #EdSer scenes for clear skin and to be able to bear Selin and Deniz scenes.
Thank you for reading this far. Your comments and kind words on Twitter light up my day. If you’re not following me on Twitter I’m @edsavaseri there. Do you like this series, do you wish to see more episodes? Is there anything you would like to see explored more deeply? Share with me on Twitter. Have a great day wherever you’re in the world. Sending you lots of love and good thoughts from a rainy Istanbul evening.
-Eda
