I did not find the series totally satisfying. I kept watching because of the presence of remarkable actors such as Halit Ergenc (Irfan), Asli Enver (Aishe), Birce Akalay (Ilay) and Onur Saylak (Egeman 2).
The story is supposed to be about money as the main motivator in life, but it is also about revenge and family dynamics, in particular father-son love.
While Ergenc brilliantly conveyed all the subtleties of Irfan's character, his beautiful relationship with his son, the extent of his despair, his dilemmas, his humanity, and the journey that led to his transformation, I found the character played by his wife, Eda (Nur Fettahoglu), quite annoying. During Season 1, she was a ticking bomb, ready to explode anytime. In Season 2, the character had more depth and nuance, but the attraction between her and Egeman was not obvious. He kept on evoking their once brief relationship as the highlight of his life, but there were just no sparks between them. Regarding the changes linked to the Egeman character, Ozan Guven was more playful and managed to convey Egeman's childish aspects whereas Saylak displayed the darkness of his soul to the full extent. Only at the end did the two characters merge.
The main bad guy in the story (Suleiman, played by Mesut Akusta) could not elicit the slightest sympathy and yet, he was omnipresent. I found him irksome and predictable as a character (more than his son, Hakan, who was quite touching). I could not understand why a sophisticated and beautiful woman such as Ilay could be his mistress. If she needed money for protection in order not to give way to despair, why did she ever start dating Irfan in her youth? The relationship between her and Suleyman and also between her and Irfan was not well articulated and to me, she remained a mystery (I think Akalay tried her best) (here, "money as the sole motivator" remains too shallow). Kudret (Veda Yurtsever), as Suleyman's first wife, was more interesting because of all the twists in her character. Finally, Asli Enver, as Ayse/Nihal, was quite compelling, she brought the needed passion and warmth (again, her relationship with her father, to me, was an unnecessary ark and did not add much to the story).
All and all, it was an interesting series with a provocative premise, but it just dragged on for too long. I think too many secondary aspects were evoked only schematically to sustain the viewer's interest. Ergenc, as usual, immersed himself deeply in the role but I felt there were moments of downturn because the screenplay was just not coherent all along. The finale was compelling though.
