Episode 22 was full of brilliantly enacted funny moments, and the plot took a turn towards a final reconciliation between Selin and Demir. Both Furkan and Aybuke were perfect in their roles and provided tight performances. Demir as the intelligent, completely in love but petty boyfriend, and Selin as a rebel without a cause, who is a hostage to her quirky mind, were back in full force with an added pinch of a longing for each other lighting up the screens in ways we have not seen before.
The episode starts with Selin’s reaction at seeing Demir at Eylul’s house after he walked away from their most heated, passionate kiss during their relationship. Her shock, anger and frustration set the tone for much of the episode, as she cannot easily accept his decision to respond to Eylul’s cry for help in the middle of the night, regardless of the cause. In Selin’s mind, Eylul will always be his ex-fiance before his business partner, and there is nothing he can do to convince her otherwise. She was rightfully indignant and he cannot help but resignedly accept her desire to ‘punish’ him for such a transgression.
Demir understands that the deep burning desire she has for him scares her about taking the next step in their relationship, and she will behave unreasonably because that’s what Selin does. When in doubt, she escapes, becomes erratic and goes into Neverland because dealing with reality in a methodical way is far too complex. As a complement to her, Demir is the pragmatic one always with a logical plan, who can put down the flagstones that she can traipse along. Frustrating as her child-like qualities may be to the audience, it is the same qualities that made Demir fall in love with her. He understands her possessiveness because he is no different, and her quirkiness is his daily dose of humor and entertainment. It is what helped him get in touch with his inner self and find the wounded little boy who could finally reach out his hand knowing it will not be left behind. He understands that she reacts in these manners because she loves him so deeply and irrevocably. As such, he decides to come back home and work on their relationship together. He states what I had said a few weeks ago, that the two of them will only work if they heal together.
To Demir, trying to look into Selin’s mind is like looking out at a vast universe, where things move in unexpected directions at unexpected times. He understands that Selin has an unhealthy reaction to feeling that she doesn’t have the choice in a decision, perhaps a remnant of her strict upbringing. He correctly anticipates that she will try to escape their home when he forcibly picks her up from Ayda’s and brings her back.
Pre-emptively, he had all the locks in the home changed and all the windows secured so that she couldn’t break out of the house. His calm demeanor as he dealt with her and her tantrums was a depiction of such a deep and understanding love that if you had not grown with Demir’s character, it would be easy to miss. He is unaffected with all her outbursts because he would much rather have her do it under their roof than away from him. This following exchange is such a great example of the dynamics in their relationship, executed to perfection by both Furkan and Aybuke:
When Selin had found out about Eylul in Episode 19, this is the outcome Demir had been fighting for. He knew she would feel broken but he wanted for her to stay under the same roof and fight through her emotions with him. However, such healing is a journey. They both had to try the path of being away from each other to realize that it is only by being together that they can rise to the next level in their relationship.
Another theme that surfaced and was depicted comically is that ‘it is far easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk”. When Demir had only heard about Selin’s prior suitors, he was able to say to Selin that he didn’t care about her past because he knew she belonged to him. However, now that her high school boyfriend Arda has made an appearance, Demir’s reaction to him is not that much different than Selin’s own to Eylul. He is jealous and annoyed to witness Selin’s easy rapport with Arda, and as an unusual twist for a patriarchal system, it is Demir who devises ploys to follow Selin and show up during her dinner plans with Arda. At the risk of looking silly, he makes it obvious to Arda that his interest in Selin goes beyond than that of a mere boss, and Selin also fully understands where Demir is coming from. Demir and Selin continue with their bickering late into the night, but through the playful exchange, it becomes obvious that they are a heartbeat closer to their reconciliation than they were before.
The next morning, Selin is trying to sneak out of the house again and finds the sole house key in Demir’s bedroom, nestled next to her bracelet that he has held on to since the night at the hotel in Episode 7. It is his talisman for Selin, and finding it helps to break the last tenuous shield Selin had against Demir. She knows he still loves her, and only her. Pretending to be asleep as Selin has her usual verbal diarrhea regarding all her confused thoughts, the smile on Demir’s face says it all. He knew they were back, they were home and they were together. As he opens his eyes, for the first time in days they share a pleasant exchange without either of them feeling like it may be their last.
The episode ends with Yildirim rearing his ugly head again in way of a raid he has ordered on Artemim. He is hell-bent on annihilating Demir because his psychopath daughter’s fragile ego was destroyed when Demir turned down her unwelcome advances on him. He holds Demir, and ergo Artemim, responsible for his continued broken relationship with Alara, and like the typical tyrant that he is, he will spread the blame everywhere but where it squarely belongs: himself. We also begin to see a more humane side to the smitten Burak who is now more troubled with Demir because of his infatuation with Eylul than being displaced by Demir in his father’s eyes. It seems the weak man that he is, Burak will always have an excuse for his poor choices in life. It is sad that Eylul will pay her biggest price in life by filling the need to be with someone after losing Demir, and that after having built a successful career on her own merit, it will be with someone like Burak whose sense of integrity is like a flickering candle. As Demir, Burak and Ferruh get summoned to the police station, it will be interesting to see if the script for the finale will finally hand out the just rewards for the evil spirits like Yildirim, Burak and Ferruh, who wade through life trampling others along the way to validate themselves.
One of the characters I have hardly mentioned in my reviews is Vedat. Throughout the series, his was the sage voice that helped the other characters, and the audience, to separate the logic from the emotions, and focus on doing the right thing by themselves and those around them. Merve and Bora’s broken relationship is a prime example of a reason for a ban against office romance. Two people who are unable to detach the professional from the personal, and unable to prioritize the needs of the relationship over their career, cannot sustainably bring their best to the workplace. Demir's ban only exposed the fragility in their relationship, and as Merve begins to unravel, it is so heartwarming and beautiful to watch fellow divorcee Vedat be the empathic ear to her troubles. Nestled amongst his trees and his soft voice, she finds a sense of peace and reason even her close friends cannot provide. We will not have enough time to explore the budding relationship between these two, but maybe that's another story for another day.
The script for the show is so intricately written, I would have to spend days analyzing all the various themes, details and characters, for none of them are redundant nor negligible. All the lesser characters had interesting arcs either about life choices, social stigmas, stereotypes or about building lasting relationships. Even though our collective hearts are sad knowing that our beloved show is coming to an end, it is so much better to have a show that goes out on a high instead of limping to the finish line, which is a frequent occurrence in the Turkish dizi world. The ratings rose even though the audience knows the show is nearing its finale, and the social media engagement killed all expectations, with the show being the highest ranked for a Saturday night show. There is no doubt that Her Yerde Sen has carved out a special place in the hearts of its fans, with a brilliant cast and story. The trailer from the finale looks beautiful and fun, and I can tell that it will be a celebration of all the amazing chemistry the entire cast brought to life since the summer.
© mh
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