Magnificent Century (Muhteşem Yüzyıl)

[Anushka Mokosh]

This episode contains one of best scenes in the entire show. It is perfect start to end. It is spoiler heavy, but I can't wait until someone reaches this point in the show.

Spoiler: Episode 72

Hurrem is happy because it is their sacred Thursday which means she gets a night with Suleiman which is important to her since they aren't in best of relations at the moment and there is a powerful rival, Firuze with whom Hurrem made a bet. Whichever loses favour with Suleiman will drink a very powerful poison and terminate her life. As Hurrem gets to Suleiman's quarters, she is stopped by guards telling her someone is already inside and the smile she was wearing just melts away. The scene cuts to Firuze and Suleiman as Suleiman is making a ring for Firuze and Firuze asks him about the mirror Hurrem gifted him early on in the show. Suleiman looks into mirror and sees a crying Hurrem, but he turns away from it.

The scene cuts back to Hurrem and she is in shock. The tense music which started during the end of Firuze-Suleiman scene continues as guards tell Hurrem that Firuze is the one in the quarters and then camera just focuses on Hurrem who is looking like the world just crumbled. The drum and pipe instrumental follows the change in the colouring effect as camera follows Hurrem who is now returning to her own quarters and monologues about the change. Afife-hatun observes Hurrem as she is leaving, but the camera mostly follows Hurrem and the expressions the actress makes just work perfectly in the context as the entire harem sees her walking, but she doesn't pay them any attention. As she reaches her quarters and her balcony, music takes on a darker tone as we hear a storm raging outside. Hurem takes down her crown and the tense music slowly blends into Hurrem's lullaby as she contemplates her existence in the new-found circumstances where she considers she lost her world again while she observes the storm. She takes out the poison and prepares to drink it. The poison is inches away from her lips as Afife-hatun gets there and snaps her out of the daze and it is only now that Hurrem is starting to cry as Afife comforts her and the colouring effect is dropped.

We later see Hurrem alive and it is explained that Afife told her Suleiman had sent Firuze away meaning Hurrem wasn't defeated yet.

Spoiler: Episode 73

This is really the episode where I really start hating Firuze. Wasn't a fan even before this, but in this one she is really full of it in this episode.

Hurrem is ruthless in this one and I absolutely love it. Hatice and Ibrahim have been stepping all over her with the entire Firuze business and now she is lashing back with any means necessary. I do find the way she's doing it despicable, but after episode 72, really can't get worked up to hate her for it.

 

[Maroosh Qazi]

Glad to see that since the last time I was here another eager fan has also joined in the discussion. I read almost all of what Brian and Anushka, both of u said and thought I would just briefly share my view. So Brian have u now watched till episode 73. That's incredible!

 

[Maroosh Qazi]

The first time I watched this show it was coming on TV in Pakistan and it was I think quite a later episode of season 2. From the time I started watching it in the first viewing, me and my whole family were completely on Hurrem's side. Anyone who stood up against her was simply an enemy of hers. With all the horrifying deeds of hers, others were no saint and she had stood alone through every storm. But as the story progressed after the first 2 seasons even though I could not stop loving her I understood Valide Sultan's warning to the Sultan to not marry her; how it will destroy the family and her to response to Hatice's statement "she is beautiful" that "beauty fades with time" in the very beginning episodes.

 

[Maroosh Qazi]

The first time I watched this show it was coming on TV in Pakistan and it was I think quite a later episode of season 2. From the time I started watching it in the first viewing, me and my whole family were completely on Hurrem's side. Anyone who stood up against her was simply an enemy of hers. With all the horrifying deeds of hers, others were no saint and she had stood alone through every storm. But as the story progressed after the first 2 seasons even though I could not stop loving her I understood Valide Sultan's warning to the Sultan to not marry her; how it will destroy the family and her to response to Hatice's statement "she is beautiful" that "beauty fades with time" in the very beginning episodes.

So initially I hated Valide Sultan and Ibrahim but as the story progressed I began to realise that atleast in my view nobody was a saint or a devil here. Despite the horrifying deeds they had all done, the reasons they did them were understandable and made these characters quite ordinary humans. I am not intending to compare it with Western shows, but for me I had never seen a show before that did not atleast one Saint or one complete devil. Here there was neither a clear saintly character or a marked out devil. And that is what made me fall in love with this show. How all of these characters had blood on their hands, how they could take life without wincing. It made the whole concept of the show amazing to me. I had never seen historical characters presented like that before. In this show whenever u felt u completely could not forgive a character or u were completely in love with this character they did something to prove u wrong. And just when u were about to hate them they would do something redeeming or have a redeeming quality that left an ounce of hope for their character or showed u that they were simply human and even the worst villains in history were humans. I hate that history is normally presented to us in an already opinionated manner and that it is already decided for u who u should hate and who u should love right from history books, history teachers and documentaries all of them are based on opinion in some way or other. And although it is impossible to avoid the contamination of opinion; after all shows are the biggest forms of opinion but yet it would be nice to know that everyone was human first and had a choice and everyone made their own choices; that nobody was a born devil or a born Saint. I am not saying Western shows don't show character development but what I like about Magnificent century is that it is a character-driven show so it just spends a LOT more time with each character and I felt for a while like I was in that palace in that time. That was the magic of the show! I feel nostalgic remembering it.

 

[Maroosh Qazi]

Oh and also since both of u mentioned the character of Ibrahim as being portrayed villain, as I said earlier that on my second viewing I loved the characters of Ibrahim and Hurrem equally. The reason for that was their amazing chemistry. Not currently had the chance to see the show again so not sure where their interactions have reached so far but later on they become so much more intense and deadly and u r watching with baited breath to see who wins even though u already know who is going to win. Ibrahim is such a tragically flawed character. I later on realised he is so hopeless in his flaws that he cannot change them and is almost walking in a straight line to his destruction. He makes Hurrem's job so much easier than it would have been otherwise. His story with Nigar will bring some shocking twists and heartbreaks later on. I hate very few characters in the show but later on I hate her to the core.

 

[Maroosh Qazi]

For me I love Ibrahim because of his love and loyalty to the Sultan. It is such a brotherly bond. Such beautiful and tragic course their friendship takes. Not sure how good the subtitles are but for all their teasing each other with their carefully worded taunts and insults while still smiling at each other's face and Bowing in respect to each other made me ship their interactions on screen like anything. U just wish time and again they became friends and resolved the whole matter! After all they are so alike in many ways!

 

[Maroosh Qazi]

Sorry I did say it would be brief. Shouldnt make any promises while talking about this show!

 

[Brian G Turner]

So Brian have u now watched till episode 73.

Not yet - we paused at episode 55, after the most intense episode to date:

Spoiler

where it appeared that Suleiman might die from his heart attack - resulting in Mahidevran preparing to take over the harem and planning to murder all of Hurrem's children. OMG!

We've taken a break to watch a few other TV shows first - we'll get back to Magnificent Century sometime next year.

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

Glad to see that since the last time I was here another eager fan has also joined in the discussion. I read almost all of what Brian and Anushka, both of u said and thought I would just briefly share my view. So Brian have u now watched till episode 73. That's incredible!

I'm at 73 or was last time I posted. I'm at 97 right now. I'm actually rewatching, but I don't intend on rewatching season 4 because

Spoiler: HUGE SPOILER FOR SEASON 4

Meryem no longer plays Hurrem and she's the reason I adore Hurrem.

Regarding Valide, I liked her most of the time. However, there was a period where unlike Hurrem, her actions had no purpose but to hurt. That's when she was all black. Hurrem was always more or less grey.