Subat

I could write reams about this and still not do it justice. During the first 2 episodes, I thought "I'm not going to like this...", but I am now on episode 16 (still only half way), and the episodes are 90m long!

The cast is massive, nearly all of the characters suffer from some form of insanity, and most provide a great deal of background narrative, giving a sense of authenticity. There is some over-acting, but as you watch each episode, this seems to blend naturally, so that it just appears to be genuine aspects of the character being played. The key characters are excellently portrayed, I found myself empathising even with some of the most brutal ones.

I don't know if it is a true representation of Turkish culture, if so, it appears to be pretty violent, with verbal rebukes that would be appropriate in Western society being replaced with physical slaps. There is a lot of fairly graphic violence throughout the series, which adds to the excitement and fits in with the story-line.

The story-line (in the episodes that I have seen so far) fits several sub-plots together while still maintaining logical integrity and continuity. Puzzles are solved, sometimes in a single episode, but more often over several episodes.

The locations are impressive, featuring underground passages and homes, massive engineering structures, lots of derelict industrial scenes, as well as some luxury homes and buildings.

I could be critical on some technical points, there are a few instances when I thought "that would never happen", but if you ignore those and just go with the flow, it doesn't detract from the absorbing and exciting story.

Normally, I like to keep my hands busy while I watch tv, but with the subtitles, I found that I had to pay attention... so for 32 episodes (each almost 1 1/2 hrs long) I was captivated and not at all productive. But no worries -- this is a very special show. The symbolism and passion, a complete set of characters that you grow to absolutely love (or hate) and each one gets under your skin. I have a new appreciation for Turkish culture and for Istanbul and I am yearning for more shows like this one. A real treat, and I am soooooo glad I took a chance on something I don't normally watch!

I really didn't think I would like this at first---It looked like it would be a mix of Beauty and the Beast with Ninja Turtles. Some of the acting was way over the top, so I thought this might be for a younger audience.

Once I gave it a chance I got completely pulled in to the story. The plot is very complicated, with several plots interwoven. Some are crime stories, some are love stories, and some are about fate, fraternity, loyalty, and betrayal. Also abuse and mental illness. There are medical experiments and a quest for eternal life.

I loved most of the acting. The backstories and character development made me sympathetic for all but the most evil bad guys. Subat and Yagmur especially change a lot as they mature in this story.

No spoiler--but the ending is extraordinary.

Like most of these Turkish shows there is no sex shown but there is a lot of violence.

At times it was obvious that the subtitles had mistakes--especially mixing masculine and feminine pronouns. It made me wonder what else I was missing.

In the reviews someone asked how to watch this with English subtitles. You can watch this with English subtitles thanks to Netflix buddy.

This series is of unexpected quality from a Turkish series. A perfect set of unique characters and legendary scripts awaits you!

I could not pull myself away from it. Loved the show. I really thought the actor playing Double/Davut did an EXCELLENT job portraying the split personalities. Some of the actors were way over the top but there are so many others that were so very good. Hated to watch the last episode since there are no more coming.