Cartas do Passado

Solid attempt, but the writers lean hard on convenience. Clues appear from nowhere, revelations hit right on cue, and subplots vanish the moment they have played their part. It is not a breadcrumb trail; it is a whole loaf scattered in every direction, and before long the clutter feels more like noise than guidance.

The early episodes hook you. Each twist sparks fresh theories until the ever-growing pile turns tiring. Logic is the main casualty. Characters pick whatever action keeps the puzzle alive rather than what fits their personalities. Just when an overdue explanation finally seems within reach, the story quietly sidelines the only person who can give it, forcing the search to start all over again. When the show pauses for a genuine emotional beat, you glimpse the stronger drama beneath, yet those scenes fade almost as soon as they arrive.

The finale brings no clean payoff. After more than eight hours, you are left with open questions and an ending that feels like a comma instead of a period. Compressed into four tight episodes, this could have been a punchy thriller; stretched to its current length it wears out its welcome.

Verdict: Give it a try if you love twist filled stories and can forgive shaky logic. Everyone else may find the ride more tiring than rewarding.

Turkish people love drama. I read the reviews before watching the show, and throughout the episodes, I kept waiting for things to take a turn for the worse. But it kept me interested, I actually really enjoyed watching it.

Then I got to the final episode, expecting a dramatic or tragic ending, but it was surprisingly satisfying.

I'm Turkish myself, so I know what most Turkish viewers expect. If someone had been killed, or if there had been lots of crying and dramatic music, they probably would have rated this show much higher. They love over-the-top drama. We're just not used to high-quality shows like this one.

This series seems to me to have been written for or even by teenagers.

The story concerns a a girl, Elif - who is searching for her birth mother. The only clue she has is a pre-natal scan with the name Seda written on it.

No explanation was given for this that I saw. There is a high school class with girls Seda, Zuhal and Banu - the latter is somewhat chubby and is treated abominably by most of her so called "friends". Murat is her best friend - the only one who consistently treats her well. Mert is the class Romeo who likes Seda - but Zuhal likes him. They were quite an unpleasant. Bunch of teens with few redeeming qualities - it was hard to have sympathy with them. In keeping with teen vehicles there had to be a singer amongst them which only served to annoy.

The story continues with the search for Elif's birth mother and which one of the girls it turned out to be. The answer was fairly obvious but their final conversation was simply unbelievable.

The last scenes were so typically teen and served to camouflage the fact that the writers didn't know what else to do.

It could have been good - with better writers. But as it is, it's a waste of time.

Well said by commenter nik-mirko. I couldn't have said it better myself. No wonder there was only one commenter. Such a disappointing ending to an otherwise interesting show, but the end took away from the beginning and the whole middle.

I cannot understand what the writer was thinking of, to bring the show to a close like that. To me, there was no reason to.

We all got a clue midway who the real mother was it brings me to that show, was it Twin Peaks? Or the show with the 4 friends and one got pregnant, and it took the whole show and the ending episode to find out who the person was who had gotten pregnant. They had ended it tastefully.

Not so with Letters from the Past. A good effort, but a terrible ending and leaves one feeling thirsty, yet given juice instead of water and therefore still feeling dehydrated. A disappointing end.

The series focuses more on the past at the beginning, but towards the end it shifts to the future. The acting in the high school scenes is terrible, and even though they appear to be good friends, they are all enemies.

The ending doesn't tie up any loose ends. You don't get answers to any of your questions. Don't watch it, it's a waste of time!