Leyla: Hayat... Ask... Adalet...

The first and middle parts of the first season of the series are really, really good. Especially the episodes between 10 and 20 are truly excellent. It feels like each episode has the intensity of a "final" episode, and this is wonderfully integrated into the story. However, after episode 28, things really start to go downhill. By the time episode 30 rolls around, it becomes almost unwatchable.

This is what happens when a series doesn't wrap up with a proper ending. It gets filled with unnecessary scenes and irrelevant story elements. As you continue watching, you start to realize how ridiculous everything seems.

The actors are genuinely talented, and the director's ability to convey emotion in the scenes is quite successful. But as I mentioned, if the script isn't well-written, nothing else really matters.

In short, a series that starts off strong and pulls you in ends up completely ruining itself in the last few episodes.

Is it worth watching? Yes, but you might want to be selective.

I am learning Turkish through my love of these dizis, but they are long (2+hours). This is one of the few that I do not skip any parts. The story is compelling, tragic, and suspenseful with charming supporting cast that I've seen before. It also uses some of the same techniques and music as Kara Sevda, another one of my favorites with a similar tone. Cemre as Leyla sparkles on the screen and the young Leyla and Gino scenes are amazingly talented. Those two have bright futures as actors.

Nur is a beast and the actress embues her with such evil with those wicked looks and temper, I'd like to see her in a big Hollywood production playing the Evil Queen in any story. My only criticism is that I wish that Alperen did not look so downtrodden and perpetually on the verge of tears as Civan (adult Gino). Little Gino was brave and strong and a fighter. I'd like to see more of that in the adult version.

From episodes 1 to that episode where Neco is about to unalive Noor wrapped in carpet and chain. This series could've ended there, that's the sweet spot - retribution, justice served!

But NO! Like several other Turkish TV series, they decided to inject ridicul0us subplot to extend the story into several more episodes. They made Civan lose his memory back to the time when Leyla was just a house cook and not his wife and they also decided that Leyla and the rest of the cast were prohibited to remind Civan about the current and real circumstance - that Leyla is his wife - what??? And instead call back the ex-girlfriend as that is the memory that he recalls. What?????

I have loved this series and excited waiting every episode UNTIL the memory loss episode ...... I lost interest now. It became funny, utterly silly, meaningless and ruined what was once an exciting Turkish TV series.

If I've written this review 2 - 3 weeks ago prior to the memory loss episode, I could've given it 10 stars, now it was reduced to 1.

This series ended at episode 34 or 35. If you've watched all those episodes, you've watched the "live telecast". If you're still watching after episode 35, it's like watching replays. This sort of BOOK 2 is a remake of the plot, same story different characters and perhaps some circumstances. They dismissed the previous family/characters - the family f Tufan which Nur deceived and played with for a whole 35 episodes. Now they put in new set of characters or a new family in a new house, that Nur is deceiving and playing with all over again. If you've watched upto episodes 35, you're done! Continuing so woud be boring and a waste of time.

.... the writers, director or whoever decides to pump-up the story to stimulate excitement as it's already going to the direction of The End, and they don't want to end it because the sponsors and advertisers do not want to.

I'll be honest, I really truly love this series, earnestly waiting for new episode each week. I like the ping-pong of domination between Nur and Leyla, waiting for the next episode to find out if Leyla won or Nur succeeded, eagerly waiting for the unraveling of secrets, for the downfall of the mighty intelligently cunning conning Nur, and just when I thought it's the end of Nur, they decided to give Civan an illness and lose his memory - that and onward episodes got messed up big time.

And to boost the story further, they decided to give the supporting casts their own story, whose insignificant roles from the beginning is nothing but mere observers, reactionists, wallflowers and added accessories. All of a sudden Hatice had an extra marital affair, when there was never a hint of that from the start, where did that story came from? They also decided that the character Ferda suddenly has no dignity and pride to not divorce Mali after she found out the infidelity right under their noses. That surprisingly, Tufan is something else (I won't spoil it for those who are starting to watch it). After several episodes without hindts, no clues, no traces, no warnings - all supporting characters are conning each others. This series has become a comedy! As a member of Turkish TV series viewing public, let me tell you this - We're not interested! Focus on the main plot and related subplots, nothing very circus-y, please. We are interested on the vindication, the vengeance, the fall of Nur, perhaps the unaliving of Nur, the hardships that leads to the lonely unaliving of the evil character.

And why do they have to hide the truth from the amnesia'd Civan? From the start, Leyla could've easily and conveniently tell Civan that they're married, that they're lovers since kids, show pictures, videos of their wedding, marital documents, testimonies of all the people around them. Perhaps, that's the advise that a psychiatrist in real life would prescribe. Why hide? Because the doctor says so? Or the writers who want to lengthen the series to please the advertisers and annoy the viewers and ultimately ruin what once was a great TV series?

Please stop treating us viewers as stupid as the series, just because we're watching it. Focus!