Ask Mantik Intikam 8 Review "It Was All A Dream"

Recap

Everyone who thought the kiss would be real was REAL disappointed. I knew it was going to be fake, so I was only the normal amount of disappointed. Esra spends the episode slowly beginning to understand that she has feelings for Ozan but ultimately decides to run from those feelings. Ozan, delighted that Esra is jealous of him stays near her especially when Musa explains that Esra is scared of her feelings. Melekse thinks her husband is having an affair and teams up with Zumrut to do something about it.

Review

-Esra spends a lot of time trying to not answer why she's been chasing Ozan around, but Ozan is no fool. He knows she's jealous and it makes him smug. Smug Ozan is pretty great so I'm not mad about it. 

-Also, Ozan is still listening to CDs? And he's a tech guy? What?

-Quick discussion about dream kiss. Dream kiss in the fragman was WAY more interesting than the kiss in the episode. Well played fragman people. Manipulate us while still making us happy. 

-We're starting to see Cagla's true colors. She persuades the magazine to use Esra and Ozan's picture on the cover of a magazine instead of the ad inside. She then tells Ozan a different story about the situation. Later Cagla asks for Esra's help in selecting a watch for him. Esra picks out one that suits Ozan best and when he goes on and on about how well Cagla knows him and asks how she knew what would suit him best, she answers coyly but doesn't say someone else picked the watch. Tiny indications that prove Cagla's relationship with honesty is not what it should be...

-Let's talk Ozan and Cagla for a moment. Even though he knows she wasn't honest about the hospital, he doesn't suspect her motives. In fact, he says she wouldn't lie to him. He has a high opinion of her, contrast that with how Ozan constantly degrades Esra. It is annoying. 

-Remember that guy that called Esra bad names in episode one? The one who was going to press charges? The one who basically brought Esra to Ozan's attention after all those years? Well his name is Yusuf and he shows up at the company and almost ruins the tentative balance of lies Ozan and Esra have established. Happily he only wants Ozan to represent him and ask for a girl's hand in marriage. Fun Turkish Culture stuff. 

-ALL THESE SCENES are a 10/10. Esra hitting him with a statue, him overhearing Zumrut and Menekse out their children via speakerphone, forcing Ozan and Esra to pretend they're still married, asking for the girl's hand, drunken Ozan! 

-Best flashback yet. Ozan and Esra as young children is tearjerking. Ozan's father leaving. The bailiff's coming to repossess things at Esra's house. Both of them stealing away to Esra's special place. 

-Beautiful and fun "couple" moments. Particularly when Ozan and Esra are ignoring Yusuf to talk to each other or being annoyed at him for how far away his girlfriend lives. Esra taking care of Ozan when he's drunk. Ozan "sleeping" with Esra's head in his lap. 

-Ilhan Sen can pull off white pants. I will say that. It's not an easy look, but he wears it well.

-Zumrut and Melekse do not share the chairperson role easily. Eco and Elif end up doing all the work while they are both distracted, first by Esra and Ozan's magazine cover, last by Melekse belief her husband is having an affair.

-Insight into their frenemy relationship: Zumrut acts up to provoke Menekse for the hell of it. I knew I loved her. She's not happy unless she's stirring the pot.

-We got to see a tender Zumrut moment where she's looking at a photo album with Ozan's father ripped out of each of the photos. She's sad and I find this storyline highly interesting.

-Zumrut and Menekse team up to catch her husband in the act.

-Praise for Musa. He is the voice of reason in all this madness. He gets the games Ozan and Esra are playing and understands that they are madly in love. 

-Cinar... Ah, Cinar. What can I say... I feel for you. Cinar wonders why Esra keeps running off and where to and why... something tells me he's about to find out REAL soon! (Something is the Fragman... the fragman told me. I need to do these reviews right after I watch the show before the fragman comes out but I'm lazy...)

-Gaia is still after him, which is still a fun dynamic.

-Cinar and Esra share a sweet/sad moment when she questions him about love. Basically, he's talking about her the whole time while she's thinking about Ozan. I have no idea why I have more sympathy for him in this scenario than his twin sister Cagla, but I do. The friend zone is rough.

-AND... here is my favorite scene in the whole episode... yes, more than dream kissing, more than sweet flashbacks, more than Ozan looking fine in white pants... This scene is perfect. Esra trying to avoid Ozan while he's trying to return her bracelet. When he calls her in the hall "Esra!" then has to add that "Hanim. Esra Hanim" I LOST IT... and his exasperated shrug when she runs off again. Too fantastic. Comedic timing is SO important and both Ilhan and Burcu have it. Whoever cast these two was a genius.

-We end with Esra quitting. I have a lot of thoughts about this and I might as well just put them all down since you're reading this and where are you going to go? Right? There is some criticism about Esra running from her feelings, which she is certainly doing, but I assert that she's also trying to do what is best for Ozan more than for herself. Though Ozan told her he and Cagla were just friends, the attitude Esra sees between them are more than friendly. Ozan called Cagla "my soul" and let her caress his face and hold his hand in the hospital. While these interactions might be innocent to Ozan, to Cagla they are evidence of his special feeling to her. Cagla's conversation about the watch Esra selected proved to Esra that whatever Ozan said, there is something more to that relationship. I interpreted her quitting as her way of getting out of Ozan's way. Yes, Menekse said that she should approach love with logic, and logically speaking Cagla would be a better match for Ozan. I really think she is doing some ultimate self sacrifice here... the same way she did when she didn't tell Ozan about THE SUPER SECRET MISCARRIAGE. Ultimately, she doesn't want to cause him any pain. Leaving him is what she thinks is best for him. 

Thoughts/Predictions

-I am so curious about Ozan's dad. I know they didn't address this in the original, but it might be a very interesting twist to add his return to AMI.

-I've said it before, I'll say it again. I love all the side characters. I never skip their scenes, and that is kind of a big deal for me...

-Next episode we're going to find out that Menekse's husband wasn't cheating but is working on another invention and maybe has an investor?

-Ozan will go after Esra to give back the necklace and try to persuade her to go back to work.

-Cinar will see, figure out they have a past, find out Esra is Ozan's ex wife and all hell will break loose.

-Ozan and Esra MIGHT KISS IN THE RAIN AND IT MIGHT NOT BE ANYONE'S DREAM.

-Cagla will see them kiss.

-Most of that was in the fragman, as well as everyone in evening dress so I can't wait to see where they are taking us.... Happy Watching!