#this is when I wish we got to see Raziye

[awkward-sultana]

Like mother, like daughter (requested by anonymous)

[ottomanladies]

I was wondering which storylines from MC and MC.K you enjoyed which you didn’t and what historical inaccuracies you had the biggest problem with?

Boy this is gonna be long. These two shows have a lot of episodes and a lot of storylines.

Storylines I liked:

anything with a historical basis, basically?

I loved Şah Sultan, I think she was the best among Suleyman's sisters and she was actually smart. In MC a character is always described as smart but they never are??? But Şah was, luckily. A worthy opponent.

I actually liked Firuze's storyline? She was the best among Hürrem's "rivals", though the idea that a concubine is thrown at the sultan by his wet-nurse or his sisters is ludicrous. It was the sultan himself that chose whom he wanted to spend the night with.

Nelim. I thought their relationship was very well done and had its golden moments. It was definitely the best relationship of a prince and his concubine.

I liked the relationships between Hürrem and Sümbül, and Kösem and Haci. I loved how loyal they were and they were basically part of the family at the end.

The friendship between Atike and Farya. It was such a breath of fresh air that an imperial princess would befriend a concubine of her brother? I love how supportive they were of each other and i wish things had gone differently.

The storylines I didn't like:

Valeria and Raziye. It was very important that Suleyman didn't have any children except for Hurrem's during his reign so I was disappointed when Valeria got pregnant.

Suleyman's sister Fatma. Unnecessary, totally the opposite of historical!Fatma, her comments on Hürrem's menopause were really uncalled for and disgusting (also, she is supposed to be older tha Süleyman so most probably in menopause as well???). The fact that she thought that an unexperienced concubine and her baby would be a threat to a mother of 5 adults was so stupid (which is why it didn't work). I also didn't like that she played with Mihrimah's feelings when she sent her man to seduce her so she would divorce Rüstem. She couldn't care less about Mihrimah, she just wanted to sever the damad connection between Rüstem and Suleyman. The only time I appreciated was when she finally left.

Isabella Fortuna. It was so stupid of the writers to try to make us believe that a Spanish princess would decide to stay in the harem of a sultan, with no status at all, because she didn't want to have an arranged marriage. Also, this would have provoked huge diplomatic problems with Charles V, who was Süleyman's greatest enemy in Europe.

Hürrem being kidnapped and held hostage for years, because Meryem Uzerli had left the show. They just could have made her so sick that she had to retire to the Old Palace (historical!Hürrem suffered of some illness for years so it wasn't that out of the world). That said, I think Pelin Karahan handled Meryem's storyline very well during those last episodes of season 3.

I think they could have showed the ups and downs in Hürrem and Süleyman's relationship differently, instead of always having a new concubine threatening her position.

the Iskender/Sultan Yahya stupid storyline. I don't even have comments for this other than: stupid.

the "forbidden loves". They were boring, they didn't add anything to the story and sometimes they even ruined it. The love triangle between Gevherhan, Atike and Silahdar was terrible, unnecessary and it even ended with a suicide (wtf)

Gevherhan's death. Stupid, stupid, stupid. If it's true that Asli Tandogan wanted to leave the show, they could have Gevherhan marry Abaza Mehmed Pasha and go back to his provincial post. Or Murad could have made Silahdar a province governor, marry her off to him and let them leave towards their happy ending. There was no need to kill her off like that. Especially because the writers weren't good enough to portray depression and suicide.

Ayşe's death. Stupid. Farya's actions that led to her death: stupid. If Leyla Feray wanted to leave too (?), Ayşe could have died in childbirth, something way more common than poisoning oneself. Also, the fact that she killed her children........ This was a big no-no for me; I'm sorry but parents killing their children before killing themselves is just something I cannot accept.

Kösem killing off Farya and Silahdar. Yes, I know, the actors wanted to leave. Still, it was stupid. I understand why she would kill Silahdar, he was the one who suggested the Kafes for Ibrahim and Kasim but Farya? Just because she was mother to the heirs so the “future valide sultan”? AND THEN she tried to pin it on Gulbahar, who had ZERO interactions with Silahdar and Farya. Stupid. Kösem was smarter than that.

Kösem plotting to dethrone Murad to replace him with Kasim. Inaccurate, unnecessary and totally stupid; Kösem would have never done it.

Turhan Hatice's characterisation was a little off to me. She wasn't subtle at all and she didn't even seem that brilliant. Also, her flaunting her rank in the harem? It just doesn't seem realistic to me.

Worst historical inaccuracies:

I wish we had seen the separation of the harem between Old Palace and New Palace. I think it would have been interesting to see the Old Palace so alive, full of women and their children. It would have been a great parallel to the Old Palace in Kösem's times.

the titles. I wish they had been more careful to the titles, but I'm not even that surprised because most "popular history" can't get the titles right.

Farya being a princess. I was quite put off when I heard that she was going to be a princess and not Ayşe. I think that detail was unnecessary and they could have just made her a simple concubine or someone that Murad met somewhere and fell in love with, I don't know, but I don't like storylines with princesses. If they had made her an average concubine or even someone that Murad met during one of his campaigns (so. free but not highborn), I think her character would have been even better. 

Murad marrying Farya and Ahmed marrying Kösem. Unnecessary, Kösem was going to be free with Ahmed's death either way, there was no need to marry her. Same with Murad and Farya.... Marriages were very rare!! Kösem was powerful even without having been a legal wife!! Sigh

Nobody ever died of natural causes in Kösem? Every single person that died during the 60 episodes, was assassinated. Every single one. Not even Mehmed III died of natural causes, he was poisoned by Derviş.

Murad IV having only Ahmed and Hanzade in 1632. He had a lot of children, a lot of concubines... why did they show the harem being so empty and useless? I thought the girl who wanted to see him in the first episodes would become another consort but I was disappointed as always. I think that a succession of children constantly dying during season 2 would have depicted better the situation Murad was in and why his decision to execute his brother was not that wise.

I’m sorry this was so long and most probably disorganised.... and I’m sorry that this makes it look like I didn’t enjoy the shows at all but I really did, I promise! I always rewatch whole scenes whenever I have to take caps from them.

[awkward-sultana]

I saw the Mihrimah & Herren request, how about another general set with the theme Like Mother, Like Daughter?

Sure!