Halka Review: The Best Suspense, Crime Turkish Series to Date

 The Circle

- This review contains spoilers of events & characters

Halka 2019

22^nd March 2021

I’ve started watching the famous Turkish series Halka – starring Serkan Cayoglu, Kaan Yildirim and Hande Ercel – after I’ve been encountering its clips, promotion photos and highly positive reviews all over the social media platforms. I can’t deny that it has taken me quite some time to take the first step and watch the show since I was quite apprehensive that it might be way too complicated for my own taste. I actually watched the first episode of the series kind of sure that I won’t carry on with the rest of it because I had that pre-idea that this highly praised series is a bit too much for me personally. But thankfully I turned out to be wrong!

Halka is unquestionably one of the best Turkish series to date. It’s the perfect blend of interwoven characters and storylines that are mingled together in a clever method leaving the viewer astounded by each event and unveiling of details. And the focus on the characters’ development is spectacular; not only the main characters are the ones that’ll take you by surprise, but also the secondary characters will be unexpected and surprising. For instance, the character of ‘’Terzi’’ who is an assassin working for the organization is one of the characters that adds high intensity and suspense to the events; he’s a fatal weapon if he’s after someone to terminate his life – because he’s known for not leaving any mission uncompleted voluntarily. He’s a killer with style in Halka; he gets business done and eliminates unwanted people with no hesitation. So, when the moment comes and he’s released from the organization, I was like ‘’don’t leave the show please’’ because his character is that shady, dangerous threat that propels and motivates the dynamic partnership between the main characters to develop and thrive early on. At the very beginning, he’s the same guy who connects both pasts of Cihangir and Kaan; the past that Cihangir doesn’t remember and the crime that has been falsely thrown at Kaan are both stemming from the Terzi incident when he’s seemingly killed but no body is found!

Erdal Yildiz as Terzi

I’m writing this review as I am watching the series and I thought I’d write down my own thoughts on how this series has changed the local and international status of Turkish shows from being overly, unrealistically romantic and dramatic to being plot-based and meticulously interwoven to give the audience a good story and believable characters they can relate to.

Serkan Cayoglu and Kaan Yildirim

Of course, the entire cast of the show equally carries the interesting and complex events but I have to say that the dynamic and growing equation and brotherhood between Cihangir and Kaan is the one and only main factor that served the entire storyline in the most beautiful way.  Prior to Kaan, Cihangir didn’t find a real equal friend with whom he can interact fully, with no precautions. With Kaan, on the other hand, they are both on the same level of thinking, craziness, audacity, attitude and skills – with various magnitudes of these traits of course! But each of them also has different characteristics that make each stand out and, at the same time, complement the other in a powerful way. Cihangir is silent for long periods at the start of the series but Kaan is outspoken. Cihangir is subtle, quiet, determined, tricky with an unwavering wit. Whilst Kaan is outgoing, clever, charismatic, fast and focused.  Plus, Kaan is somehow lethal in that he’ll find out who framed him for the crime or he’ll die trying! Their level of mutual understanding convinces Cihangir that Kaan is the brother and friend he’s been looking for. In episode 12, Cihangir states to Kaan ‘’From now on, there’s only one person I trust and that person is you Kaan”.

Serkan Cayoglu and Kaan Yildirim

2^nd April 2021

The journey that Cihangir has been through from episode 1 trying to figure out the spans of time and memories he forgot all of a sudden is quite a shocking and powerful journey. But what I liked is that he already knew – three years prior – that these kinds of information he found will compromise all of his existence. His so-called “parents” and Halka would’ve never let him get away with it so simply because it doesn’t help their interests and because Kaan is also part of the game. Later we know that Kaan is the one to inherit all of this!

Cihangir Tepeli

After watching episode 12, I was quite impressed with the turn of events and the action sequences. Mastering such scenes doesn’t only stem from the choreography but from the actors as well. When they were trying to escape the ‘’Yeni Hayat’’ clinic - or whatever it is – I almost lost hope that they’ll actually be able to get out. Nevertheless, Kaan never disappoints! The swiftness with which he snitched that clipper was a smart trick – he did it even though he got shocked quite several times!

The smoothness of the relationships in this series is much appreciated too; for in real-life love and relations aren’t at all super-fast and overly romantic. Mujde and Cihangir share such an amazing love story. They share many similar characteristics, for instance both can be very stubborn! They have this similar viewpoint towards life in general which makes Mujde so intriguing for Cihangir upon first glance. At the beginning, it was as if the viewer was left alone deliberately to do the comparison between the two ladies: Mujde vs. Cihangir’s fiancé, Irem. Two are poles apart. Irem continuously frowned at Cihangir’s face and pressured him which he surprisingly took in so well. It’s understandable that he noticeably changed, but pressuring someone who suffers from anxiety and insomnia won’t make things any better. She tried to help her fiancé by revealing the truth but she acted in such a rash way that she ended up losing her life. Mujde, on the other part of the equation, doesn’t force herself on him and stands her ground. She acts all weird, unpredictable, and maniac-like which makes her even more interesting. Mujde is simply the kind of woman Cihangir can sit with and talk life and business. She is a powerful female who won’t overpower him.

Mujde Akay

Mujde and Cihangir

9^th April 2021

Kaan and Bahar – the police officer – has a relationship of their own which is slowly brewing and growing stronger as they trust each other better as the episodes move forward. Their bonding initially started with her ditching the continuous tracking of him, warning him of possible traps, providing him with info. he needs to stay alerted and in the picture. But she doesn’t dare to tell him the truth which strikes me as the right decision as it is really not for her to reveal such a pivotal, live-changing secret. At the start, she was not in favor of collaborating with a ‘’criminal’’ – what’s his crime with no body found? – and probably saw his attitude as arrogant and too self-confidant. Nevertheless, he managed to earn her trust and they turned into more partners than co-workers. They smoothly and silently fell in love with each other, in love with each other’s characters and determination; their actions showed affection with no words spoken!

Bahar Berkes

Bahar and Kaan

Today I finished watching the final episode of Halka – episode 19 - and I am genuinely impressed by how much a masterpiece this series is! I got attached to the storyline and events from episode 1 and even though the finale included many surprises and didn’t 100% clarify what are the destinies of Cihangir and Kaan - and Cagatay – the series actually is one of the best Turkish productions till date. This is one of the best performances by Serkan Cayoglu who portrayed Cihangir Tepeli in the most perfect way. The young Tepeli man is super quiet, and ambiguous; a man who doesn’t blabber at all and only talks when necessary.

Kaan Yildirim is an impeccable actor as well; he outshined himself as Kaan Karabulut. Karabulut is more of a street fighter whom you better not provoke purposedly! His mother, Humeyra Karabulut, is from where he derives his strong character and will. He tells her his seek for revenge from his father’s killers will be solely for her own sake, as a sort of compensation for all the hurt and suffering she has endured over the years. Kaan’s relationship with Humeyra is made all strong, solid and impenetrable so that when the truth is revealed it’s all the more shocking and unfathomable for him. She was always the only stable figure in his life and losing her, in any form, will damage him permanently.

Humeyra Karabulut

Behind the scenes

Both young men – Cihangir and Kaan - are good in heart and they unanimously but unknowingly worked together to end this crime organization named Halka. At the end, they do succeed and it costs them lots – their lives and loved ones. The brotherhood they developed throughout the 19 episodes was so organic, mutual and is what helped them reach unprecedented levels of power where they came head-to-head with one of the upper leaders: Altemur. Cihangir tried to explain the situation to his father – Ilhan Tepeli – saying that you can’t possibly obey all orders especially if they turn out to be misleading and unjustifiable – like for instance the order to kill Iskender Akay in episode 4 – but unfortunately Ilhan is too afraid to even negotiate anything with Vekilharc; he’s simply too afraid and reluctant to break the routine he’s used to for years and years!

Iskender Akay

And I can’t forget about Cagatay Erkmen - son of Cengiz Erkmen – portrayed by Mehmet Yilmaz Ak who’s such a lunatic freak with a remarkable sense of humor. He’s ready to wreak havoc just to inherit his father’s legacy. When he realizes he’s got a brother, he’s enraged by the idea that another man might share his destiny. After all, Kaan is a superior, unmatched rival!

Cagatay Erkmen

Cihangir along with Kaan come as the long-awaited spark of change Halka needed since too long. They straightforwardly negotiated and disobeyed orders, didn’t kill Iskender and sought to free all enslaved members of the organization by destroying and terminating the secrets and evidences held against them. With the start of 2021, a second season was announced but more likely with a different cast which is not preferable at all since the original cast and actors are already imprinted in the audience’s minds as their respective characters which only alludes to the great work they’ve exerted, the dedication and craftsmanship they’ve shown to convey such a powerful storyline authentically.

Serkan, Hande and Kaan - Behind the scenes