To this girl who has homosexual tendencies.

Why not let Aybige shank somone before losing her knife? Same with Hürrem and her poker stick. That thing looked like it was begging to be lodged into someone's temple. Let her take down one girl, not like there is a dearth of them in the palace.

As soon as Malkoçoğlu's rape plot was over (when Armin died) I started enjoying the chracter. I just ignore that plot ever existed, this is a soap opera you can't really judge characters for the insane shit they do. They have to pad the runtime somehow.

So the guy is in a precarious position in the palace. When given a job, usually an investigation, he has the authority to investigate people in positions a lot higher than he is. During his first investigation, the stabbing of the horse he calls Valide Sultan to himself. He doesn't go to her chamber where she'll be seated centre stage like the royalty she is. No, she walks to him.

And I love how the actor does it. This air of authority to people who could kill him, so easily hidden under a veneer made up of respect words that mean less and less the more he speaks them.

But that's it. Even when he knows he caught them he can do nothing so the real dynamic snaps right back into place and he is beneath these people again. The self satisfied barely hidden smirks are gone.

His second day on the job as hasodabaşı and the horse gets killed.

The man is a warrior, a strategist at best. He is not made for palace intrigue. But he adapts quickly. Like, look at this group, aside from Gül all these people are pros in this game (Gül will prove his pro status later, he is still new). He looks like he is in over his head. A lot of hidden conversations happen between them that he seemingly doesn't catch.

After Daye says she saw the dagger with Nilüfer, he asks who she is. Somebody help my man, he has no idea. (Later when questioning Nilüfer he will ask who Gülşah is. Somebody get him a record of the employees at least, damn!)

And look at Daye looking so smug. She thinks she will play this boy like a fiddle.

Oh but the boy is sharp. He catches her lie about not having taken the dagger from Nilüfer. But Daye is quick enough to come up with a distraction.

Then she kinda pulls rank on him.

But here is why I wrote the whole thing. Bowing down to the Valide Sultan despite calling her all the way to him. Away from her chambers and on her feet she doesn't look as regal.

She wins anyways of course but my boy tried and I give him points for that. (I don't like how this was done though, he told Süleyman that he didn't buy Nilüfer's confession and the girl still was executed.)

Investigation number 2. Who attempted to assasinate Hürrem on her way back to the palace after her excile? He figures it out, there is not much to say. İbrahim kills the suspect right in front of him and there is nothing he can do. (He saw İbrahim's treatment of prisoners before where he chocked and tossed people).

Despite having the task to uncover the truth he can't just defy İbrahim.

Investigation number 3. İbrahim gets himself poisoned again, this time by a poison arrow. Vali does great, he investigates two brothers by using them against each other and almost gets what he is looking for but again, rank. Somone high enough ranking kills the prisoners again. He does well baiting Ayas Paşa about taking İbrahim's positions but Ayas is innocent so.

Love him when goes 'ughh mom, you are sooo boring'. She says I'll disown you if you marry Hürrem and he goes,

Right, about that...

Hürrem, despite her best efforts, cannot stack her kids up to be as tall as Mustafa. Hers will always play catch up. Yes Mahidevran has one chance but it is a good chance. The way she looks at her son knowing how strong he is, and the way Süleyman looks at him, through the constant haze of flashfowards is so beautiful. They both know their son is ready.

I wish Mahidevran went fuck it and tried to to kill Süleyman for her son. "You just get in position son, your mother will handle this". Mahidevran was there to witness Süleyman's father take the throne from his own father and kill him. The life of her child (probably unborn at the time and before Mustafa) depended on it because if Selim had failed, his son Süleyman and Süleyman's son(s) would also be killed.

Episode 37 he is playing matrak with İbrahim and erroneously tells him that he's writing the Süleymanname which ticks İbrahim off and Matrakçı clocks it immediately. Then İbrahim goes off and it can't be missed but that first moment where he understands İbrahim's feelings and is afraid. Such a juicy scene. He is such an emotionaly intelligent person.

On a side note it is hilarious how İbrahim gets caught whenever he goes on his tangents about being important.