Sen Çal Kapımı-Is It More Painful To Forget Or To Be Forgotten? Part 2/2
“The very essence of romance is uncertainty.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
Welcome to the second and last part of my efforts of making peace with the amnesia plot. Today we will take a look at the last 5 episodes of season one and we will try to understand what kept us watching and loving #EdSer’s love story despite some unfortunate plot choices.
I have to admit that the last 5 episodes had a much lighter mood compared to 29–34. (If you want to read my review on the first 5 episodes you can find it here.) This is because Serkan is already infatuated by Eda all over again even though he doesn’t have his memory back just yet. Let’s explore how the story evolved from 35th episode to the 39th which was the season finale.
Episode 35: The One Where He Finally Remembers Her
“no,
it won’t
be love at
first sight when
we meet it’ll be love
at first remembrance
’cause i’ve recognized you
in my mother’s eyes when she tells me
marry the type of man you’d want to raise your son to be like.”
Rupi Kaur — for him
This is probably the best episode written by the evil twins Duygu and Tunus. At this point in their story, even though Serkan doesn’t remember Eda yet (until the end of the episode) EdSer are in love and kind of happy again. The only problem is that Serkan doesn’t have the courage to tell Eda his feelings. Meanwhile Eda is unhappy and desperate to see that things have come to this point (she’s about to get married) and Serkan still doesn’t remember her completely.
Right from the beginning of the amnesia plot, the thing that excited me the most was the idea that, two people who are meant to be with each other will fall in love no matter what. I hoped that the writing of the show would be a testimony of that and even though Serkan didn’t remember Eda he would fall in love with her all over again. And he does. However he still waits to completely remember her to tell her that he loves her. I’d prefer it if he declared his love to Eda first and maybe later his memory came back. I guess according to the writing team this was a more dramatic way.
Since this is how it occurs in the show, Rupi Kaur’s poem complements the idea that what we consider as love at first sight might be us remembering someone or recognizing someone. If you believe in soulmates, why not believe in this too? Why not believe that the person we love will always be familiar whether we know him/her beforehand or if it’s our first meeting ever. They will feel familiar because they are whom we have been waiting and hoping for. This is why when Serkan remembers Eda everything falls into place , no questions are asked because part of loving someone is recognizing them as our better half.
Episode 36: The One Where He Makes Promises
“Sometimes people don’t understand the promises they’re making when they make them.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
Looking back at these episodes is bitter-sweet for me. On one hand, I know how they will end and where they will lead, on the other hand I am able to see more into some unfortunate events. It is not always easy to put my anger aside and not to wonder why the writers were so cruel. However I also know that life itself can be cruel at times as well. It is rare that the same people are tested with so many sad things happening to them but it’s also possible.
In this episode the newly reunited EdSer are chasing Deniz who doesn’t want to sign the documents that will annul the wedding. Serkan makes promises repeatedly to Eda about how he will never forget her and how he will make her forget all those terrible things she had to go through while Serkan couldn’t remember her. While Serkan acts like this is the last time they will ever be parted, as someone who’s watching the second season now, I watch with a cautious smile on my face.
It’s mostly a happy episode although they chase Deniz and get stressed over it at times. Sadly the episode ends with Eda finding out about Selin being pregnant and turning down Serkan’s proposal because of it. Anyway that marriage proposal was very rushed if you ask me. So it was kind of better for it to be cut off like that. Also what can be better than the double proposal Eda and Serkan experienced before Serkan’s plane crash. All in all, another episode that shows that whatever plans we’re making or whatever promises we’ve been making, life happens and sometimes changes everything.
Episode 37: The One Where She Decides To Leave Him
“Love comes quietly,
finally, drops
about me, on me,
in the old ways.What did I know
thinking myself
able to go
alone all the way.”Robert Creeley -Love Comes Quietly
This is the last episode to be written by Duygu and Tunus aka the evil twins. It starts with Eda turning Serkan’s proposal down. A puzzled Serkan tries to understand why the woman who has patiently waited for months for him to recover from his amnesia suddenly gives up on him. Eda is indecisive about telling Serkan that Selin is pregnant with his baby. The episode has a lot of sad but beautiful moments like the scene above where they recite each other lines from the Little Prince and Eda ask Serkan to tell her about their future.
On this episode the emphasis is finally on Eda and how she feels. When she tells Serkan that she feels tired, we all feel for her. Serkan knows it too. Eda has been Serkan’s rock. She held on to Serkan and their love and waited patiently for him to remember her but pregnancy is probably at her limit. I was glad when Eda decided to leave she at least left Serkan a letter which gave him the chance to follow her and also allowed him to understand why Eda was reluctant to ride into the sunset with him.
As Robert Creeley’s poem suggests, once we are in love, it becomes impossible for us to fall back into our old habits. Love changes us chemically and irrevocably. That’s why every time Eda or Serkan tries to leave the other they come back to each other like a boomerang. That’s why Eda can’t really leave Serkan and he can’t accept that she leaves him. Even though they keep pushing each other continuously in the name of protecting the other one, they keep coming back to each other like a boomerang.
Episode 38: The One With The Bucket List
“Again and again, even though we know love’s landscape
and the little churchyard with its lamenting names
and the terrible reticent gorge in which the others
end: again and again the two of us walk out together
under the ancient trees, lay ourselves down again and again
among the flowers, and look up into the sky.”Rainer Maria Rilke -Again And Again
This episode is written by one of the favorite writing teams of Sen Çal Kapımı, Fikret and Kerim. That’s easily noticed through the episode with the light-hearted comedy they brought with their style. This one is a fun episode despite the sad news about Serkan’s tumor. Because he fears for his life, he makes a bucket list which consists of a bunch of activities he wants to do with Eda. This gives way to some romantic and also comedic scenes.
The whodunnit aspect of the episode may not be executed in the best way but I didn’t mind at all. This episode is a lot of fun with the comedy it presents especially in the second part. It does feel a bit rushed and I’m sure if they had more time on their hands they could have made an even better episode. Still the feelings and the comedy is there. Serkan is in pain because he finds out that he is very sick and of course he doesn’t tell Eda about it. Eda doesn’t understand how come all of a sudden the man who wants to always be in control has decided to let go and enjoy life.
Rewatching this episode made me realize that my biggest issue with the dark ages of Sen Çal Kapımı and the second season is that they introduce a new plot but they don’t really let us digest it. Serkan’s tumor is like that as well. I remember it being introduced in a rush, probably because they were already planning to make a time jump on the second season. But neither Serkan nor Eda were given the time to live with this terminal sickness.
In this episode, Serkan’s desire to do as many things as possible with Eda is endearing and yes I feel for him. However it doesn’t provide the approach I would wish for. That’s why I included Rilke’s poem. There’s a reason at weddings in Turkey the wedding officiant asks, “In good days and bad days, in sickness and health do you take this man/woman as your husband/wife?” Because that’s what it’s all about. That’s how true companions live till death does them apart. As the poem suggests, the couple goes through things again and again only to look up into the sky and enjoy life, even though there are graveyards with lamenting names.
Episode 39: The One With The Message In A Bottle
“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”
― L.R. Knost
We have finally reached the last episode of the first season. Again written by the Fikret-Kerim team, this episode caused some mixed feelings because of how it was executed. Unfortunately it was shot at a time when Covid 19 was at a peak and many people from the cast and crew were sick so I must say that even the fact that we got an episode was a huge thing.
This was another episode that was more funny then romantic but it was again marked by the truth about Serkan’s illness which he kept from Eda until the finale. The most meaningful scene without a question was when Eda and Serkan wrote messages and threw them in the sea. These messages in the bottles were not just meaningful because Serkan was realizing a dream he wished to do with his brother who passed away, but they also both wrote messages that were full of hope and motivation. Maybe Serkan’s was a bit more gloomy but it was a message of hope nevertheless.
This two part series was my attempt at showing you that the so called dark ages were not that dark. They actually included a lot of beautiful and meaningful scenes that I enjoyed. I think the general vibe I get from the show since episode 29 is, don’t take this too seriously, don’t expect this beautiful love story to go the way you want. Eda and Serkan are imperfect like real people are. Consider that friend who always asks for advice but then does that stupid thing again. Yes, that’s EdSer for you. But it didn’t stop us from loving them yet and I hope it never does.
Dear reader, thank you for reading so far. This is the last time I’m writing about Sen Çal Kapımı unless I feel extremely inspired when the second season ends. Let me know how you feel about remembering the dark ages of #EdSer? Have I succeeded in making you feel better about these episodes? Let me know your thoughts, I love reading your comments, they always make my day. Find me as @edsavaseri on Twitter. Hope you have a beautiful day wherever you are in the world right now. Sending you love and light from a very hot Muğla night.
-Eda
Check the recaps of other episodes of SÇK:
Part 1: What’s In A Love Story?
Part 2: Are They Already In Love?
Part 3: Love Is Like A Fever
Part 4: Love Makes Us Stronger
Part 5: Growing Older and Wiser Together
Part 6: An Essential Guide to True Love
Part 7: Right Before The Dark Age
My other articles on Sen Çal Kapımı:
