#finally got it to work but now Melo needs a new save

[astoldbychae]

He's so unserious (and it's the funniest thing ever) but still *bites knuckle*

Sidenote: I'm tryna figure out why these damn costume chests are in all these public places. Like, at the park? Ya'll having roleplay parties...at the park? 😮

[lizacstuff]

EPISODE 34 - Sen Çal Kapımı/Edser Asks

(asks under the read more)

Anonymous said: Thoughts on the episode? I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel which is the end of this current storyline. Very much looking forward to Eda & Serkan being reunited at which point I will delete episodes 30-34 from my memories. This episode to me had the same vibe as 32 which overall had the feeling of actual progression for Eda & Serkan. It has been said before but the amnesia storyline and Serkan falling in love with Eda again could have been much more enjoyable with better writing and no Selin or Deniz but this is the plot we were given. So hoping for another Edser filled episode that includes Serkan professing his love to Eda in front of everyone.

YES, LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. Me too. I think we’re close to being rid of Selin and Deniz. 

As for the episode, it was a LOT better than the last one and was probably the easiest episode to watch since 28, but it’s still part of this unenjoyable arc. I agree that it had a similar vibe to 32, which was one of the best of this stretch. The writers seemed to have fixed the Edser screen time issue that plagued the last episode. I always want more, but there was enough in this episode to where at least I didn’t feel cheated. The episode was a lot lighter and had more of a romcom feel than any since Serkan lost his memory and I welcomed that as well. There were a number of very enjoyable Edser scenes AND the icing was very little Selin. 

That gave the episode room to breath, and room for Serkan and Eda to breath, which was much needed. 

Their bickering, starting at the station was fun to watch. And while I was pretty skeptical about an episode centered on Serkan trying to get Eda to admit her engagement is fake, it lead to some fun scenes. Him taunting her in the office about love gave us back some of that old romantic comedy sexual tension. Engin’s couple game gave us a few good moments, but, wow, it was really, really poorly constructed. Seriously, Serkan, you have to find someone savvier to do this sort of work for you. Leyla would have been better, even Erdem would have done better! Probably.  But the looks that Eda and Serkan were giving each other through that sequence gave me life. Squinting, peering one eye open, but always finding one another. Good stuff. 

As for the boxing, I’m glad they waited to do that sequence for a time when she had some anger at him to deal with! It just wouldn’t have been the same if they’d been playfully sparring. I equally enjoyed her beating the shit out of him and how hot her climbing all over him was. 

The catwalk was hot. Like really, super duper, 5 alarm fire, hot. I love that the editors made a 30 foot runway seem like it was 300 feet. And when they turned and she put her hand on his shoulder. I swooned. I don’t even care that it makes no sense to ask your architects to walk in a fashion show... though when one of your architects is as next level beautiful as Eda, you can see why they’d want her. (Sorry Selin, they probably saw you walk at the charity show too, but passed) Though why did they want Deniz? He’s not famous or attractive. It would have made more sense if they’d wanted the famous and handsome Serkan Bolat from the start. Though this way was more fun. GO MELO. BEST FRIEND EVER. Can we get her some sort of prize? She has her dada’s back, ALWAYS.  Serkan and Eda are going to owe her for life.

Having Eda fall off the boat was... extra. Especially since I’m sure she will be fished out no worse for the wear right off the top. Is it too much to ask that Serkan accuses Selin of pushing her? Please!?!?!?

Anonymous said: is it bad that deniz is now annoying me more as a villian than selin.. granted, last ep selin had very little screentime (thank god) and when she was there was usually playing third wheel to edser.. but deniz is slowly getting worse and worse.. manipulating eda into continuing their fake game and now basically pulling the puppet strings with selin. as much as i hated how ceren told serkan about the fake engagement, i WAS rooting her on when she yelled at him about him taking advantage of eda.

Deniz needs to take a long walk off a short pier. Good gawd he’s really turned into a psycho, hasn’t he? 

Look, I know Eda and Serkan are both awesome. They’re insanely good looking and charming and smart and successful, BUT, PEOPLE, even they are not worth losing your dignity and your sanity over. Balca, The Prince, Selin and Deniz... all gone crazy over them.

With Selin this episode, though, she sort of struck me as resigned to her fate. Like she’s still going through the motions of being a psycho stalker and playing the game, but deep down she knows she’s lost.  She’s seen this movie before, she knows what it looks like when Serkan is falling in love with Eda, and she knows it’s happening again and that she doesn’t stand a chance. She’ll keep trying on the off chance Eda gets hit by a bus (or falls off a boat) and because she is seriously not right in the brain, but she’s lost all her swagger. 

Think about all StalkerSelin has witnessed. In 30 she saw them having intense moments by the fire, in 31 she saw them having intense moments on the boat. She knows Serkan took off on her birthday to go help Eda with the project and they spent all day together. Then later that same day she was abandon by him before she could blow out her candles so that he could go save Eda, then she saw him sleep snuggling with Eda, all so they could come back and she could go spy on him planting terrariums with Eda and then he lies to her face and she watches him go to meet Eda for dinner. In this episode, Eda and Serkan were bickering about whether or not Serkan was staring at Eda and they didn’t stop when Selin entered the office and neither one even seemed to noticed her! Serkan is fixated on Eda and Selin knows it. 

She was acting defeated before she got the photos. Now that she has them... what will she do? Crawl in hole and die? One can hope!

Anonymous said: just general thoughts: i was able to enjoy this episode way more than the previous ones and not cause there was miracle occurrence in the episode.. but because there was minimal selin lol. the selin fatigue is real!!! it also helps that while yes, serkan was teasing and trying to rile eda up, he wasn't using selin to do it this episode. for some reason with how it's going (and with neslihan's emoji spoilers for next ep) i do believe he's gonna remember at the end of next ep.

The Selin fatigue is real.  They really ruined what could have been an interesting and good batch of episodes by inserting her unnecessarily into the plot. I really think amnesia was enough drama and enough of a stumbling block without this aggravating nonsense. Every second she is on screen is a chore to watch. 

As for him remembering at the end of next episode, it’s possible. A lot of people are out there selling spoilers (which almost every source of spoilers has been so wrong so many times, that I’m not sure why anyone pays attention to any of them anymore) that he remembers by the end of the next ep. 

Here’s the thing though, he has to tell Eda he loves her before he remembers.  That’s what all of this has been leading to, him falling in love with her again from scratch, so as long as that happens, it’s plausible. But any theory that involves him getting his memories back and then going after her... doesn’t ring true to me. I mean with this batch of writers anything could happen, (because they have some issues) but if they do that, then I have no idea what this entire arc has been about. 

Anonymous said: The mystery person has got to be Ferit, right? ever since that first episode back, they've been sure to throw in one scene each episode where he's delivering some sort of warning to Selin telling her to knock it off. Unless its a random new/returning character that we haven't seen as part of this arc yet.

I don’t know. He’s definitely a suspect, but here’s my thing with that theory, a) Ferit is not the sharpest tool in the shed b) Ferit is usually such a straight forward, honest character. I mean this is the guy that blurted out in episode 1 how happy he was that Serkan was engaged to such a beautiful woman because he considered him his rival for Selin. No filter. 

It’s hard for me to believe he’s become this diabolical and sneaky and savvy. I feel like if he had the photos he’d just hand them to Serkan. But we’ll see. 

He’s on my list of potentials, but I also wonder if someone hired a PI or someone to follow Selin, and on that list of suspects for me is Aydan, Babaanne, Alptekin and Serkan himself. 

Anonymous said: one of my fav scenes from last ep was weirdly the girl talk scene between melo, eda, and ayfer. them talking about eda's feelings and encouraging her was much needed. and for once in the entire show, ayfer actually spoke some sense.. guess her little stint with alex woke up her eyes to love or something lmao. we need more scenes like that where character motivations are laid out plainly.

Ayfer made up for a LOT with that one scene. Wow, she actually wasn’t thinking selfishly and put Eda’s heart first and didn’t immediately vilify Serkan. A miracle! 

It was a very good scene. And when I rank characters (in my head) from best to worst, she’s now above Piril and Ceren! Oh man, Ceren really out did herself with the way she framed Eda’s fake engagement to Serkan. I really don’t understand where her rage at Eda came from, but she better seek help soon if she wants any chance at redemption. 

Also I know it’s terrible, but when Piril was upset about Engin potentially cheating... I LAUGHED out loud. I think I might have also yelled, “SUFFER BITCH!” I really can’t stand her and I loved seeing her miserable. After enabling Selin she deserves the pain. 

Anonymous said: So I kind of felt bad for Serkan because of Eda’s strong reaction to him kissing her but at the same time, not. His out of the blue invitation to dinner and the kiss with no explanation was just never going to go over very well after his recent behavior. And of course she was going to think he got his memory back because in her mind it is the only explanation for him kissing her at this point. But at the same time it would have been really interesting to see how he reacted to her just pulling him in for another kiss. He clearly would have been totally into it and then who knows how the rest of the episode would have gone 🤷🏻‍♀️. They are stuck in a bad cycle, he overlooks her sensitivity to things due to not remembering their past and she is unable to overlook his insensitivity due to their past together. And the writers want to keep dragging this out so Eda & Serkan are constantly interrupted before they can talk stuff out.

They did a nice job of finally having Eda talk about what’s going on in her brain box. She wants her Serkan back just as he was before. Which is understandable, but she’s pinning all of her hopes on Serkan remembering and when he doesn’t she loses it. 

Thank goodness Melo and Ayfer were there to gently talk some sense to her. It isn’t his fault that he doesn’t remember and he’s not doing it on purpose. And as Melo said he’s falling in love with her again, him walking in and kissing her was a big sign of that. I think we all worried he was going to say something jerkish to her after the kiss, but he didn’t. He was just honest that he didn’t remember, and I think slapping him was a little harsh. I mean she’s definitely not in the wrong here, he’s been a whole jackass at times, but she’s putting all her effort into getting him to remember, and she’s not succeeding, but she should maybe recognize when she’s making other headway with him. You know, like him arranging a dinner and walking up and kissing her. Maybe ride that wave and see where it goes! 

As you said, if she’d kissed him again, things would have ended differently. Or if instead of getting angry she had said, “Okay, you kissed me but you still don’t remember, where do we go from here?” However, slapping him in that moment is very true to her character. We know she reacts emotionally, and her spontaneity and volatility are a part of her, and he loved all of her. 

Anonymous said: I guess the writers pay attention to some details - seems the project that got cancelled in 32 was the same Serkan said was going badly in 28. But not other details - Leyla puts down the papers to say the project was cancelled without telling Serkan, knowing that he'd see them on his desk right away, and he does. So wouldn't he have noticed the envelope the day of the surprise dinner? He had plenty of opportunity. I thought this ep it would be revealed he saw the pics but he didn't seem to know.

I find it hella hard to believe that those photos sat on his desk all day and he didn’t open them (in 33) or that they hit his desk this episode after Eda handed them to him and he didn’t open them. So, yeah, either he’s seen them or this was a big writing fail. (Right now I’m thinking it was a big writing fail).

Though personally, at this point, I don’t want them to be found until after Serkan declares his love for Eda. Let him make the decision and then lets have the evidence that makes everything guilt free and easier to humiliate and punish S/D.

Anonymous said: Is Deniz trying to trick Eda into a real legal marriage? is that what is about to happen here? I can't decide if he is worse than Selin now. I'm going to need Ayfer to bring back her threat to expose everything.

They can be equally psycho and bad. I’m not sure overall he’s worse, yet, but he was definitely way worse this episode. How has Eda not noticed that he has interrupted intense moments between her and Serkan too many times to be helpful? That’s one thing I hate about this storyline is that they have had to dumb down both Eda and Serkan to make it work. 

I have no idea what Deniz’s end game is. Is he going to trick her into marriage? But even so, what then?  If she thinks it’s a fake ceremony, but it’s real, what does he think Eda is going to do? Does he really think she’ll think his lies and tricks are charming, and stay married to him? 

Or does he think that if he gets Eda to the wedding day, and Serkan doesn’t make a move, Eda will just go “Okay, then I guess I might as well marry you for real.”  Good grief. The guy is delusional. 

I admit that I yelled, “FUCK YOU” multiple times during his scenes. This was a very vocal episode for me. I was so happy when Melo outmaneuvered him at the fashion show. Finally, someone was able to turn the tables on him. 

Anonymous said: I am so tired of hearing on Twitter that the Eda is entirely to blame for Edser not being reunited yet. Nope, that does not rest entirely on Eda or Serkan’s shoulders. The writers have created a never ending cycle of the two of them hurting each other directly & indirectly and also being manipulated by their so called childhood friend/fiancés. This Serkan does not even believe in true love and has been manipulated to think Eda is an awful person. Eda has been watching the love of her life getting cozy with Selin and he has repeatedly told her that they do not have a future together not to mention Deniz’s manipulations as well. Regardless of what they are each feeling, they do not think the other person feels the same way. The fake engagement with Deniz is awful just like Serkan’s real engagement with Selin is but again not solely Eda’s fault. And saying that Eda needs to be the bigger person because she has her memories is not fair. She does not know if he will ever get them back and again he has repeatedly said they have no future together & he is with Selin. Eda walks into that office everyday to be close to him and she puts up with his crap comments and the bs from Selin in the hope that things turnaround. And for the boxing scene, yes, it would have been great if Eda has poured out her true feelings but not 100% sure the writers would have let Serkan reciprocate in that moment not to mention Deniz showed up 3 seconds later. The real people to blame are the writers that came up with this plot where no one wins.

Someone said Eda is entirely to blame for Edser not being reunited yet? Where are you hanging out on twitter? You need to find better people to follow who understand that Serkan HAS AMNESIA and is being manipulated. No need to play the blame game on this one, it’s a horrible situation for both of them. 

Eda has been dealt a lousy hand, very lousy, she and Serkan are both victimes here trying to find their way out. That being say, she decided to go on the offensive and play a game, and in that game she’s made some tactical errors. Which is not laying blame it’s just saying she’s made some missteps. 

Where she’s going wrong, as I said above, is that she is doing everything to get Serkan to remember, and she isn’t focused in on the fact that he’s falling back in love with her regardless of his memory. That’s pretty extraordinary! 

I really think when she answered “Yes” to loving Deniz and wanting to marry him, that was one of those missteps. A big one. I’m not saying she should have bared her soul right then and there, but I think she probably would have been better off not answering the questions at all. Perhaps telling him that he can’t ask her that while he’s engaged to Selin. Turn it back on him, but saying she loves Deniz when they were having a very serious, raw moment... mistake. And that’s why the whole thing is going to go right up until the wedding day.  Let’s hope one of them puts their stubbornness aside before she’s shackled to a psycho. (Don’t worry, they will). 

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1217

Monday, June 18, 2018

 My brother-in-law George and I went fishing yesterday. Something interesting always happens when we are together. I time arriving at the lake at twilight so we're driving there when it's still dark. One year we saw lights in the bush off of the off ramp to Almonte and a young woman sitting on the barrier crying. We stopped to see if she was okay. She wasn't injured but was pretty shaken up. This was before everybody had a cell phone so George stayed with her while I drove all the way back to Stittsville to find a pay phone. I got the OPP and told them where the off ramp was. I drove back and we waited until an officer arrived and then we continued on our trip. George said she dumped a whole bottle of perfume on herself probably to hide the smell of booze. Please don't drink and drive. So yesterday we're cruising down the 417 with my cruise control set at 105 KPH and we pass an OPP cruiser. Next thing we knew he was behind us with his roof lights going. I pull over thinking I was going to hit with a speeding ticket and when he got up to us he asked why we were driving without the headlights on. Y'see, I had just bought a 2018 Honda CR-V and one of the features is that you can set the headlights on AUTO and the car will turn them on and off as needed. I thought that the switch was set to AUTO. What must have happened was that the last time I parked I automatically turned off the headlights and forgot I did that. The CR-V's dashboard lights up when you start it so I assumed that the outside lights were on too. The headlights were on because I could see that they lit up the road but the tail lights were off. It took several minutes for the officer to check my credentials but he accepted my lame excuse and wished us luck on our fishing trip. We did have a good outing too. We caught 23 fish between us.

 Strangers in Paradise XXV #4 - Terry Moore (story & art). I don't know what Katchoo is looking for in this back story but I am hooked.

 Weapon X #19 - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers) Yildiray Cinar (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Sabretooth's in Charge conclusion. The cover of this issue should have a spoiler alert on it. Weapon X does not join S.I.C.K.L.E. here but maybe next issue as they try to help out their new friend Omega Red.

 Batman #48 - Tom King (writer) Mikel Janin (art) June Chung (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). The Best Man part 1. Tom and Mikel's version of the Joker is a very scary homicidal maniac. I get that Batman doesn't kill but seeing what the Joker did in the church, Batman actually being an eye witness to a murder, and Batman doesn't just snap his scrawny neck when he has a chance, I don't get that. Maybe the Cat will act differently when she joins the fray. I hope so.

 Death or Glory #2 - Rick Remender (writer) Bengal (art & colours) Rus Wooton (letters). I love the art but the gruesome story about human trafficking is hard to take. Glory is a relatable hero and her heart is in the right place. I hope she keeps it there.

 Man of Steel #3 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Ryan Sook (art) & Jason Fabok (art page 16) Wade von Grawbadger (inks pages 12 - 13, 15) Alex Sinclair (colours) Josh Reed (letters). The big bad guy Rogol Zaar has a hate on for Krypton and he does major damage physically and emotionally to Superman when he hits Earth. I notice that he looks like Jonah Hex's ugly brother. He's got an axe to grind and he's going to use Kal and Kara. The teaser mystery of what happened to Lois and Jon is what's keeping me reading.

 Hunt for Wolverine: The Adamantium Agenda #2 - Tom Taylor (writer) R. B. Silva (pencils) Adriano Di Benedetto (inks) Guru-eFX (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Our heroes go undercover in a black market auction in a submarine. What can go wrong? They should have brought a bucket of Flex Seal.

 Doctor Strange #391 - Mark Waid (writer) Jesus Saiz (art & colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Sorcerer Supreme of the Galaxy part 1. It's a new number 1 with a new creative team and they are starting from scratch. Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts is powerless. He's lost all of his magic so he goes to Tony Stark for help. This leads to a space trip, hence the title of this story arc. I have a feeling we'll be hearing "I am Groot" soon. I actually like this new direction mostly because the writing is more mature and not in the "there's swearing" sense. The art is awesome too. I'm going to follow along to see if Doc Strange gets his mojo back.

 Plastic Man #1 - Gail Simone (writer) Adriana Melo (art) Kelly Fitzpatrick (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). This is great. The writing is stellar and the art is gorgeous. I wasn't a big fan of DC's super hero comic books when I started collecting but I loved their oddball books like The Inferior Five and Plastic Man. Plas is like a human ball of silly putty who can transform into any crazy shape. This updated version is wang. If they throw in Woozy Winks, it would be more wang. Deadpool fans would like this too.

 The Magic Order #1 - Mark Millar (writer) Olivier Coipel (art) Dave Stewart (colours) Peter Doherty (letters). Man, this is so good. Mark Millar introduces a dysfunctional family of magicians coping with the murder of one of their fellow magic wielders by another faction of magic wielders. It's good magicians versus evil magicians. I am so happy to see Olivier Coipel's art on the racks again. I recommend this to all you Harry Potter fans out there.

 Astonishing X-Men #12 - Charles Soule (writer) Gerardo Sandoval (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). A Man Called X finale. What? The Shadow King isn't dead? Chuck is helplessly watching his precious X-Men fall into despair as the evil villain prepares to take over the world. I was disappointed that there wasn't a clever twist thrown in to defeat the bad guy, just Chuck rallying to save the day. The point of this story was to resurrect Charles Xavier as the man called X. A new creative team takes over starting next issue and I wish Matthew Rosenberg (writer) and Greg Land (artist) well. There's no one on this X-team that I'm a big fan of so I'm going to bench this one.

 Detective Comics #982 - Michael Moreci (writer) Sebastian Fiumara (art) Dave Stewart (colours) Clem Robins (letters). This is a spooky one shot story pitting Batman against the disenfranchised of Gotham City and their spiritual leader Deacon Blackfire. He's a ghost dontcha know. The whole issue feels like a fever dream

 Kick-Ass #5 - Mark Millar (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Peter Steigerwald (digital inks & colours) John Workman (letters). This penultimate issue has another uh-oh moment for our hero. It really doesn't look like she's going to get out of her situation alive. We'll find out in next issue's conclusion, but I'm banking on more bad guys getting killed no matter what happens.

 Thor #707 - Jason Aaron (writer) continues his stalwart efforts chronicling the adventures of the mighty Thor. The Odinson is back as the star of this book and Marvel celebrates his return by giving this issue a number 1. I like using the legacy numbering though. There are two stories in this $5.99 US issue.

 "God of Thunder Reborn" with Mike del Mundo (art) Marco D'Alfonso (colour assists) and VC's Joe Sabino (letters) catches you up with all you need to know to follow along with what's going on after Jane Foster relinquished the mantle of the Mighty Thor. Jane even makes an appearance and I like how she has recovered. One thing I like about Jason's writing is that he smoothes out the thees and thous to make the Asgardian dialogue less archaic. The change in art from Russell Dauterman's fine line work to Mike del Mundo's painted style took some getting used to but I think he suits the manly change to this book. What's a Thor reboot without the god of Mischief? He's not the only god returning either.

 "The Grace of Thor" with Christian Ward (art) and Joe Sabino (letters) takes us far into the future in a Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy type story starring All-Father Thor and his three granddaughters. Something is amiss with the universe and Thor goes off to see what's what. There's a big surprise on the last page and it's going to be torture to wait for Thor #711 (#5) to find out what happens next. It's going to be a super big gulp of an issue, trust me.

 Batgirl vs. Riddler #1 - Tim Seeley (writer) Minkyu Jung (pencils) Jose Marzan Jr. (inks) Otto Schmidt (epilogue art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Prelude to the Wedding part 3. I loved this classic Riddler story where he leaves riddles for Batgirl to solve in order to save lives. The epilogue doesn't lead into the next duel but does reveal another guest to the wedding.

 X-Men Red #5 - Tom Taylor (writer) Mahmud Asrar (art) Rain Beredo (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This issue did me in. the story is going along just fine with the red team righting wrongs and protecting fellow mutants. Even X-23 and Gabby appear, albeit briefly. Then Namor shows up in his cool new costume (I can imagine Cosplayer getting giddy) and Jean says something noble and then we cut to twenty years from now where major characters are dead. So did the red team efforts fail? The last page by Ed Brisson (writer) Oscar Bazaldua (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) and VC's Cory Petit (letters) is the "Countdown to Extinction" teaser, which sounds like another big threat that will eliminate all mutants. It wasn't that long ago that the Terrigen mists almost wiped out mutantkind. I was talking to Rob McLennan recently about the X-books and why we haven't been wowed by them. We are both long time fans and my opinion is that none of the current writers know what else to do with these characters given the "world that fears and hates them" theme of the X-Men. I love these heroes but the team dynamic isn't doing it for me anymore. Plus Nightcrawler has a goatee now. This X-team is eliminated off my "to read" list.

 Marvel 2 in One Annual #1 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Declan Shelvey (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Letterer not credited. They used the extra long $4.99 US annual format to tell a fuller story featuring Victor Von Doom, the Infamous Iron Man, helping out Ben and Johnny. Victor knows the truth about their missing family and friends and is trying to find out why Ben is hiding it from Johnny. I really like how Chip is keeping the changes that Brian Michael Bendis made to Doctor Doom. He's still super arrogant and self confident but he has some compassion now. I thought the flashback scene with Reed and Victor at the end of Secret War was very enlightening.

 Domino #3 - Gail Simone (writer) David Baldeon with Anthony Piper (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Domino decides she needs help to deal with her nemesis Topaz. The guy she goes to is one of my all time favourite Marvel heroes. No, it's not Spider-Man. He might call her Grasshopper.

[junker-town]

Carmelo Anthony deserved better from the New York Knicks

He had his flaws, but the Knicks shoulder most of the blame for his six-year tenure not fulfilling its promise.

I remember exactly where I was the night Carmelo Anthony broke the record.

I was at a bar called Stillwater Tavern in Hampton, Va., where I did my undergrad years. While my friends were ordering drinks, I was watching Melo go to work against the Bobcats on a cold winter night in January. I was obsessed with the Knicks back then. I still am.

Eventually, everyone saw what I saw: Melo was absolutely unstoppable. All he needed was a hair of space to get his shot up, and God bless the defender who bit on his jab step. Anthony finished with 62 points, breaking Bernard King’s long-standing 61-point record and Kobe Bryant’s 60-point mark for the most points ever scored at Madison Square Garden.

For as long as I live, that’ll be part of Carmelo Anthony I remember.

Now, Anthony is no longer a Knick.

If you’re a New York fan, Melo’s exit is equal parts confusing and concerning.

Six years ago, the Knicks moved heaven and Earth to land a player then regarded as the NBA’s most feared inside-outside scorer. They sent Denver virtually an entire starting lineup �� Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and three draft picks — for Anthony, Chauncey Billups and Anthony Carter. The deal produced New York’s only 50-win season this century, which temporarily brought the Knicks out of the doldrums that plagued them for nearly a decade.

Melo was supposed to retire a Knick. He was supposed to bring New York to the doorstep of its first championship since 1973. He was supposed to make being a Knick fun again. He was supposed to make being a Knicks fan fun again.

None of those things happened. Six years after that blockbuster deal, a lukewarm one ended the era— Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick. He was pushed out the door by a franchise that used his prime to sell tickets, but never thought to strategically put the pieces around him to compete for a championship.

Like a parasite, New York sapped Melo of his best years, then kicked him to the curb, flipping him for the best possible offer. With two more years on his contract in the stacked Western Conference, odds are Anthony never wins the championship he desires.

Let’s get real for a second: Carmelo Anthony wasn’t without flaws.

I’d be remiss not to mention how often my blood boiled when he held onto the ball for eight seconds before jabbing, side-stepping and shooting a flat mid-range J. The league outgrew that move and Melo couldn’t even hit it with the same regularity, but he kept trying. Miss or make, the Garden crowd held its breath when Anthony held the ball for longer than three seconds.

I’d be remiss not to mention how many defensive assignments Melo botched and how many game-winning or game-saving jump shots he missed in the second half of his Knicks career.

I’d be especially remiss not to mention how he couldn’t adjust his game to play alongside Amar’e Stoudemire. We’ll never know what that team could have been had those two meshed on the court.

In total, New York finished 207-269 in Melo’s full six seasons with the Knicks. They won only one of four playoff series and missed the postseason each of the past four years.

That’s all part of the Carmelo Anthony I, and most Knicks fans, will remember, too.

Offensively, Melo was — and still is — in a class of his own. His flaws were his flaws, but New York knew what those flaws were when they traded an arm and a leg for him. They got an all-world scorer who had only been to the conference finals once. He leaves New York an all-world scorer who has only been to the conference finals once.

But as much as you might want to blame Melo — his ball-stopping tendencies, lack of effort on defense and an ostensibly nonchalant approach to winning basketball games — these last six years are (mostly) not his fault.

They’re the Knicks’ fault, first and foremost

When New York’s 54-win team missed the playoffs the following season, the front office didn’t look for ways to get better. They brought Phil Jackson in to blow the team up. That should have been Melo’s cue to leave town and never look back.

Instead, Anthony signed on for five more years with a president who would sleep through a prospect’s pre-draft workouts. That president sold a false dream of a culture change in New York and gave his coaches little-to-no wiggle room to adjust his famed Triangle Offense to adapt with the changing times. He blanketed the Knicks with his read and react system no one but Sasha Vujacic wanted to play. He brought in three different coaches and bulldozed everything built around Anthony in his first three years in New York.

Jackson demolished the Knicks roster, built it back up and demolished it again. Only an 11-time NBA champion would be allowed to do that three times before ownership had enough.

Shane Larkin, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Alexey Shved, Samuel Dalembert, Travis Wear, Pablo Prigioni, Ricky Ledo, Cleanthony Early, Langston Galloway, Andrea Bargnani, Lou Amundson, Quincy Acy, Jason Smith, Lance Thomas and — ah, how could I forget — Cole Aldrich, with a rookie head coach in Derek Fisher. Those were the players Knicks management surrounded Anthony and an aging, battered Stoudemire with when they posted a franchise-worst 17-65 record in 2014. It didn’t get much better from there.

In total, Melo had 72 different teammates during his time in New York. Seventy-two. Of those 72 players, only Tyson Chandler made an All-Star team during the same season as Anthony.

Give credit where credit is due: Anthony stayed professional until the end.

There were no media outbursts, no alternate social media accounts roasting his coaches or teammates. Even when Jackson publicly cast aspersions on the weaknesses in Melo’s game, the most he did in response was post a meme on Instagram.

REALLY #StayMe7o

A post shared by Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) on Apr 14, 2017 at 1:02pm PDT

That’s why Anthony’s tenure and subsequent exit is equal parts confusing and concerning. The Knicks couldn’t put the right pieces around Melo to turn a solid core into a legitimate contender. Now, they’re going to try their hand at putting the right pieces around Kristaps Porzingis, Frank Ntilikina and Tim Hardaway Jr.

Don’t hold your breath.

On Dec. 16, Carmelo Anthony will return to Madison Square Garden as an opponent for the first time since 2011. I’ll expect nothing but a standing ovation from the MSG crowd. Because in spite of his visible weaknesses, he remained strong in one area:

Melo only ever wanted to win in New York. Somewhere along the line, New York stopped believing it could win with Melo.

[lizacstuff]

What did you think of the latest SCK episode? I’m torn. There were some really good scenes, but \insert annoyed sigh\ there was also Celine.

Actually, I really enjoyed it. I watched it last night and then immediately rewatched. There was so much Edser goodness and enough emotional movement that it kept the shipper in me happy even though I am dying for resolution to the secret.  

I'll get to Selin and all the delicious Eda/Serkan down below, but I have to give props to some of the side stories this ep. Erdeem humor is hit or miss for me, but this episode it was a hit. The entire montage of the security camera footage had me laughing out loud. Literal, loud belly laughs, my neighbors could probably hear me. The whole scene was gold from the hilarious footage to the reactions. Erdeem was probably the best, but shout out to Leila photocopying herself, who doesn't want to do that? Then there was the reactions, Engin and Piril being mortified, Efe looking guilty and nervous worrying about what they were going to see, Ferit not being able to hold it together. The way he was turning and laughing sort of charmed me, I wasn't sure if that was acting, or if Cagri was breaking during the scene, or both. Either way, it worked, and I loved it. The only thing missing in the scene was Serkan, because Kerem's reaction expressions would have been amazing.

This got LONG so I’ll put the rest beneath the read more:

Loved Aydan getting out of the house and fully joining Team Edser. It's self-serving to some extent because she rightly thinks that losing Eda due to the secret is the wedge driving Serkan away from her. However, to give her props, the breakup also made her recognize how deep and real Serkan's feelings are, actually Eda's too, and I think she genuinely wants both of them to be happy. Now can we have Seyfi and Aydan actively matchmaking? This would be great after Eda finds out since I assume she's going to be angry and need time to process, so there probably won't be an immediate reconciliation. AySey to the rescue! 

Ayfer on the other hand needs to chill. Most of the time her end advice "protect your heart" is good, but her overreactions and mocking judgements are annoying. It's got to be clear to her that Eda and Serkan love each other and are working through some things, and there is no need for her to wade into it constantly. Eda is an adult and can make her own decisions and mistakes.  As for the other couples Engin and Piril can be funny, but I have no idea what they see in each other and could not be more mismatched so I'm not sure where it's going. As for Ceren and Ferit, I don't understand what Ferit did to upset her throughout the episode, I don't think he did either, but he was sweet about it. I like him more and more. And welcome back Melo! A breath of fresh air.

Now on to the best stuff. The number of heart-felt declarations this episode between Eda and Serkan warmed my cold, icy heart. The fact that they are broken up, but at the same time are at the point of just letting their feelings hang out there for the other to see is super fun to watch.  

Eda believing in Serkan when no one else did, and then being determined to find out what happened and bring the culprit to justice is as romantic as it gets. You go, girl! She might be so mad at him, and so annoyed at him, or even feeling hurt, but at the end of the day she is gonna be in his corner no matter what. That's love. 

Serkan on the other hand. Serkan, Serkan, Serkan. He can't have her around, but he also can't be apart from her. The poor dear is being pulled in half by a tornado created by his own intense desire to be with her fighting against his noble intentions. It's not fair to Eda at all, but his see-sawing should give her every indication that he loves her and is wrestling with something huge. For his part, I hope he's starting to catch a clue on the depth of Eda's feelings. "You want me to leave, because you're afraid of the woman who loves you  more than anything."  Seriously. Seriously!?!!? Wow. She'd never told him she loved him, just that their feelings were mutual. He's always feared that he doesn't deserve her and she'll get tired of him. Well she's standing there, with a broken heart and a bruised ego after he took Selin's side, and still telling him that she loves him more than anyone. He also looked absolutely wrecked, as he should, when she said he had just discarded her. He never wanted her to feel that way. 

On the other hand, I'm not sure Eda fully digested some of his avowals. "I only trust you." HUGE. Eps 7-9 told us everything we need to know about his trust issues. He loves easier than he trusts. We knew how much he loves her, but now we know not only does he trust her, she's the only one he trusts. Swoon. That was huge for him to admit, Eda, HUGE. But also, "I have never valued anyone as much as you." Once again, huge and a huge breakup fail. I don't blame Eda for not realizing the full weight of these declarations, he says them, but they're apart. Still, you take those and add to the way he can't stay away from her, how he's personally invested in her professionally, actively mentoring her, the password (oh man did I love that), the photo, the mug. Lots of evidence of his real feelings piling up there, Eda.  

Which leads to the fact that we're at the point where the pain/gain assessment for Plan A (breaking up to protect her) is in the red. Meaning it's starting to cause more pain than it's prevented. That's where we get to Selin, because she unwittingly pushed things forward for them this episode. I'm not sure what's motivating her, because she seems like a character that would have too much pride to put herself in the position of having to watch a love sick Serkan chase around after Eda like a heartbroken puppy. However, Selin's feelings are in no way the point on this show. They simply don't matter, because in this instance she is a device. A device to ratchet up the tension between Eda and Serkan. A device to drive Eda's impulsivity and showcase a bit of her jealousy. A device to show that Serkan is so far gone over Eda, he doesn't even notice another woman vying for his attention. Also it gave us this:

"I never loved Selin."

Okay, Serkan. I DIED. Like we been knew, but know we KNOW, and we know that he knows. His relationship with Selin was 100% habit and convenience. That also pretty much tells us that Eda is his first and only real love, which makes the way it's changed him so tangible and believable. Also, more importantly than the audience knowing he never loved Selin, now Eda knows. I get Eda's frustration with Serkan not being annoyed at Selin, but she's missing the point that Selin is simply not important enough for him to care. She doesn't rouse any sort of emotion from him, the way he treats her is all fueled by professional duty and personal guilt. The scene in the office was unfortunate, and I wish Serkan hadn't lost his temper, (but not really because it drove their most important conversations) but Eda's impulsivity sort of led it to that place. I get why Eda suspected Selin, in her shoes I probably would have done the same thing, but I also think Serkan is not putting Selin on a pedestal by knowing that she had nothing to do with the sabotage. And Serkan getting angry was the only thing that got Eda to back down, so it was a very inelegant way of de-escalating the situation. On the plus side, it gave us Serkan trying to make things right for the rest of the episode which was amazing. I will never be over the library scene, the autumn walk scene, Eda being his first guest in the new apartment scene. çok romantik!

As for Selin, look, she's ANNOYING. I'm right there with you. The character is entirely self-absorbed and while I think her motivations are murky at best, I think she's driven in part by competition with Eda. Eda won the war when it comes to Serkan, but Selin is still trying to take a battle or two in order to save face. On another note, she spent most of the episode knowing there was a saboteur, that Serkan suspected Efe, and still didn't put 2 and 2 together with the direct threats Efe made towards Serkan in her presence. Seriously, if something doesn't directly affect her, she can't even retain the information. What a useless lump she is. 

Thank you Aydan, for calling out how ridiculous it was that she didn't go to a hotel. I love that Selin was probably like, "Wasn't she on my side the last time I saw her?" Hilarious. Serkan allowing her to stay there, when she wouldn't have been welcome while they were together, was eyeroll inducing. But I think Selin is such a nonissue for him, that he just could not wrap his head around why it was bothering Eda so much. Also his guilt. The thing that makes the game that Serkan was playing with her forgivable, is the fact that he actually feels bad about the part he played in her life falling apart. I'm not saying it was his fault, but he rightly feels guilty. 

However, from that last scene, I think he's going to learn a hard lesson about guilt getting in the way of common sense. Eda is now ready to push him to his jealousy limit!  That final scene escalated quickly, but I think both of them were driven by a fair bit of pride combined with the frayed nerves that have to come with being broken up while they're both still currently, and obviously, in a romantic relationship with one another.

That's hard and I wholeheartedly look forward to them navigating that next episode. From the Fragman it looks like it's all finally coming to a head. Can't wait!