Clai Rice

This is a strong and entertaining psychological thriller with some truly great acting by the lead and by several of the supporting cast. As an American who has never been to Turkey, I was fascinated to see everything--cosmopolitan Istanbul with its gleaming towers, coffeehouses, and seedy alleys contrasting with the rural village. The story is dominated by such familiar tropes, but this is masterfully handled with a strong post-modern narrative through-line. One supporting character is named "The Author". Fatma cleans his house, and he becomes interested in her and writes a novel with a cleaning woman named Fatma as the title character. A few times we hear him narrating Fatma's actions and thoughts, but of course we don't know if he is talking about his character or the character we are watching. The post-modern element enlivens all the characters and their choices because we can view every action and speech against the backdrop of what such a character is supposed to say and do in such and such a situation. In this way, Fatma's "uncivilized" decisions may be transformed into those of a "civilized" male author. In one of the best scenes of the show (minor spoiler alert), the Author sits down with Fatma to learn from her what she is thinking and feeling. We can imagine that we are witnessing two things at once--two different overlapping plays. In one, he is an author interested in people and tries to learn more about a person by talking to her frankly and openly, but as a man he still lacks real understanding of her interior life. In the second, he is an Author having a mental conversation with a character he has created in order to see what will be happening as he continues to write his book. I really want to tell you what happens, but I should not ruin it for any viewer. This conversation is magical, though, in how it manages to create for the viewer the kind of split universe or self-alienation that represents the way many people (the show argues) handle traumatic events, especially the way women deal with the traumas repeatedly pressed upon them by men. So while you may see many characters and actions that are typical to this kind of story, the layering of signification is handled well enough that we can easily see the actions and words of some characters as bound to the plot, necessary to the story, while certain words and actions appear to jump free of plot necessity and imply therefore a freedom or self-determination. This transforms scenes that might have been melodramatic in conventional shows into gut-wrenching acting at a rare level for television. Fatma has no jokes or laughs except when she deals with children -- then her face lights up and her whole body becomes that of a child herself. These moments of invitation keep us attuned to her even when we threaten to become tired of her put-upon behavior. I suggest that you watch the show the way that the show is teaching us to really see and hear people. I watched in English subtitles, which were adequate. It is best to glance at the words but listen for the meanings. Everything about this show is well-done. Pacing, makeup, framing, all contribute to a brilliant experience.