PaulVilla

One of the beauties of Turkish series is they have a large & varied cast - which creates multiple threads of drama within a single series. This creates great entertainment...but can also cause some unsophisticated viewers to miss the "needle in the haystack".

This series has just finished airing in Urdu/Hindi dubbing. As with the other reviews on IMDB, you'll see YouTube comments complaining about the ending not resolving some (ultimately pointless) issues. But I can assure you, without going into spoilers...the ending of this series is beautiful & complete. Especially if you appreciate something poignant about the beginning...

When Umut reaches shore, alone in the boat...Elif is the first to hear his cries. So obviously, it seem as if she has rescued him.

But it's important to recall...at the point that Umut appears, Elif is a broken woman. After two failed births, she seems to have a perpetual sadness & hopelessness.

It's the appearance of Umut that actually rescues Elif. When she holds him for the first time, you see a huge smile & the return of her innocence. Somewhere deep down - she understands that she has only come "back to life" because of this child.

This causes her to lash out whenever her husband Yilmaz suggests going to the authorities or seeking out Umut's biological parents. She uses every "trick in the book" from emotional blackmail to outright threats.

For whatever flaws this series has...the poignant relationship between Elif & Umut isn't made obvious. So many in the audience can superficially view Elif as a villain...as most of the time, she chastises her husband about his uneasiness about the "adoption".

But if you appreciate the "shades of gray" in life...it's clear that despite not biologically having given birth to Umut...circumstances molded Elif into an equal (if not greater) mother to Umut - compared to Derya.

All of what's discussed above takes place in the beginning of the series. When you watch the ending (again, without going into specific spoilers)...there's an appreciation of this fact. Just as in the beginning of the series, we see Elif's eyes go from tears of sadness - to sparkling with happiness & hope.

Despite any other "loose threads" caused by the apparent cancellation of this series...the ending is very satisfying - again, if you appreciate the beginning!

I almost didn't watch this because of the mixed reviews. But put it on with the family, and it was a fun thrill ride. Start to finish, it never had a boring moment. Hollywood is so lost now in over-production & politics, these kinds of effective & straight-forward thrillers are very rare to come across. Wish they made more like this!