Devran is a highly emotional person who seems to feel the pain of his family members acutely. He also has the intellect to carefully plan a path to demand justice for his family. His observational skills help him understand quickly the nature of Iskendar’s money laundering business for a bigger player, which gets revealed to be 'Karga'. After Devran wins a large amount of money against Iskendar at the tables, he informs the police about the criminal activities. His machinations are designed for Iskendar to find his way to Devran in Istanbul, which he will have to do as he will need a new method for the money laundering.
Within this backbone of the episode are some beautiful studies of human emotions. I will highlight the ones that stood out to me.
Greed vs Wistfulness
In the opening skit, Devran almost gives up and leaves the table. He cannot bear to look across at his father while remembering the limp body of his young brother in his arms. The way he cries about Boran is heart-wrenching. He says that his brother wasn’t greedy or as manipulative as Iskendar. He just desired a new phone and then he got further sucked in by a father’s love that he never got. Devran remains devastated that Boran lost his life for his naivete and that he, Devran, couldn’t keep him safe. In his mind, it is crystal clear that Iskendar's greed and apathy has destroyed the people he loves. Iskendar must pay and it is only this conviction that makes him put his mask back on and go back to his seat across his devil of a father.
Greed and wistfulness are not the same thing. Boran's desire for the finer things is nothing in comparison to the destructive greed Iskendar has. They are not of the same ilk even though Aysel would have Iskendar believe Boran was greedy.
Who is Mete Han?
Devran starts this cat and mouse game by introducing himself as Mete Han. I explained the legend behind Mete Han and his father in my review for episode 1. When he comes back to Istanbul after his big financial win, Ali Hayder corners him and asks who is Devran exacting revenge for? For Boran or himself? He ponders this for a moment and comes to the realization that he is trying to get justice for his family.
In this quest, Devran went against his girlfriend Esme, who fears that Devran will find himself in over his head too soon. Esme, who is a law student, pushes him to use the law to corner Iskendar. Herself a victim of domestic abuse by her father, Esme is using the letter of the law to keep her father incarcerated. Far from being a decorative hanger on partner to a intellectually gifted genius, Esme’s pragmatic advice gives Devran good ideas about how to create an illusory legal trap that Iskendar will think he can exploit Devran with. And that is how the fictional Mete Han is able to reel in Iskendar into the family honey trap.
Family Dynamics
Devran sees and acutely feels the brokenness of his siblings and his mother. The way he is able to comfort his brother Yaman and sister Ceylan shows the patriarchal role he has played in the family even though Ferman is the eldest. Ferman, the tight lipped, uptight brother, who feels he should be treated with the most respect but feels inadequate next to Devran, has a perpetual frown on his face and doesn’t let go of any opportunity to undermine him. This must be an old habit between them because Devran simply ignores all the snide remarks, makes light of it with humor and focuses on caring for Ceylan, Yaman and Gülce.
The way the narrative is building, we are already being given the pieces that Iskendar will manipulate to get even with Devran. Egoistic Iskendar, who has an extremely high regard for his own intellect, will not let his son get the better of him. Both Iskendar and Devran will up the ante on the next round.
On a separate thread, we see the family dynamics shifting for the king pin mafia family known as the Kargas and Iskendar’s own dysfunctional family with Aysel, Imre and Cesur. While younger brother Karga is making a move at displacing older brother Hakim who is responsible for Boran’s death, Cesur is making a move in displacing Iskendar. We can assume that Devran, in his turn, will also exploit these shifting pieces as the story unfolds.
A quick side note to give a shout out to Taner Ölmez as Cesur and Seda Akman as Aysel, who are both doing a great job as the sinister mother son pair.
The Emotional Journey
Alfred Hitchcock said, “If it’s a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.” And that is how I am feeling about this excellent production. Aras’ brilliance aside, who is one of the most effective Turkish actors in using his voice modulation to perfection, there is an organic quality to the storytelling that touches the emotions. From Devran’s inner conflict of grieving for his family versus trying to do something about it, to Ceylan’s silence rooted in her guilt around Boran’s death, the slice of life story seems very real even though it is set within a fictitious world of white collar crime. I will illustrate one small example.
As someone who lost a young sibling when I was 16, one of the hardest times were the hours and first few days right after his death. I still remember someone questioning how the family could laugh in the evening after his passing earlier that morning, at the end of a difficult battle with cancer. That defining moment made me realize the importance of accepting that we are human. With the greatest of grief, we are also empowered with emotions to eventually overcome the grief. We find ways to find healing with our loved ones, learn to re-appreciate a sunrise and the gift of a new day, even though our universe shifted on its axis. And it is in this vein that this is my favorite shot of the episode.
Each of the family members are in their own vortex of pain but they make an effort to come together as a family and try to find a new normal. Boran’s place is conspicuously empty but the rhythm of life has begun to move again. Meals are eaten together at dinner time, there is the bickering between siblings, there is the mother trying to calm things down. Does it mean Boran is forgotten? Never. It just means life has had to move on despite the hole he left in his family’s life.
Deha is not just a work of fiction. It revolves around human dynamics that are thought provoking beyond a simple revenge story. These are layered characters and I am very much enjoying understanding each one better as we go. I look forward to sharing my thoughts on next week’s episode. If you would like to follow along with my interpretations, please subscribe to my blog!
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@ Article Copyright by mh./ [@entrespire, twitter]. Follow me on Instagram: @soul_phoems
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