Once I actually dug into the history, the writer in me just grew all the more frustrated because, just like you outlined, there's literally so much that could have been lent to the character that would've rendered the character fascinating but also easy to empathize with.
The writer in me apparently decided that I needed another maligned Queen to adopt, instead of letting me finish my Anne Boleyn or Daenerys Targaryen fics. Magnificent Century is too good at birthing plot bunnies. At least the two bunnies that were hopping most have combined, so hopefully it’ll work out. The brainstorming process is fun.
It's actually similar to how I often feel about his mother too since, whether she had fallen for Suleiman in some manner or not, I can only imagine how it must've struck her that, "Oh, the rules and traditions can be broken actually—I just wasn't good enough for them to try."
I think that the series did Mahidevran no favours as a character by not acknowledging what a huge deal it was that Suleiman broke the one mother, one son rule with Hürrem, and by having her as Haseki Sultan when the title was created specifically for Hürrem in history.
Imagine if, as a Şehzade, Suleiman bent the rules with Mahidevran by continuing a sexual relationship after Mustafa was born, relying on birth control to ensure that there was no second baby. In episode 3, instead of Mahidevran’s pregnancy being celebrated, there’s a question mark over whether it will be allowed to continue. Mahidevran could hope that Suleiman will welcome the pregnancy, now that they don’t have to worry about Selim I’s reaction, especially when Mustafa is his only surviving child. He does not, so it’s aborted to comply with the rule. Mahidevran could blame Hürrem if she believes that, if not for her, Suleiman would have wanted their baby.
Now imagine how she would feel if, when Hürrem becomes pregnant for the second time, Suleiman celebrates and never considers forcing an abortion on her.
Later, Suleiman breaks with centuries of tradition by freeing and marrying Hürrem, creating the title of Haseki Sultan for her, and making her the next highest-ranking woman after his mother.
From Mahidevran’s perspective, Suleiman’s willingness to throw out the rule book for Hürrem when he never considered doing the same for her would not just be hurtful, it would be frightening because of the potential threat to Mustafa. In theory, any Şehzade can claim the throne but, in practice, Suleiman has a lot of power to stack the deck. Not all sanjaks are equal, even if there’s no specific crown prince’s province. There must have been some that were basically dead end assignments, or that were unfavourable because the distance from Istanbul would mean that they’d be the last to know when the throne fell vacant.
The very fact that, in real life, Suleiman was able to form a sort of insular little family for himself, all with the permission of his mother and others Mahidevran would've spent more time around and who are now fawning over the rising favorite, must have been a wound.
One point I find fascinating is that, in the account of the incident with the Russian concubines, Hafsa Sultan was sorry that she had given the one gifted to her to Suleiman, took her back and married her off ASAP, so it wasn’t just Suleiman deferring to Hürrem’s feelings.
(There's been a small inkling of an idea in my head too of a fic that's just Mustafa reacting to the birth of each of his half-siblings. Because I think he started out close to Mehmed and Mihrimah and then, for all that proceeded them, the estrangement and differences between them seemed to grow.)
Tiny Mustafa went from being the apple of his father’s eye, told that “my Mustafa is worth the world”, to seeing his father dote on his half-siblings while spending less time with him and his mother. Even with Mehmed, he questioned whether his father would still love him, and whether he was still a Şehzade.
When Bayezid is born, and Suleiman is hugging Mehmed while Ayşe Hafsa cuddles Mihrimah in her lap, Middle-Sized Mustafa looks left out, as well as worried about the impact on his mother. He attends the naming ceremony (I think it’s the only one he attends, but I’m open to correction) but his expression is glum. I could see that being when it hits him that he’s something of an outsider in the family, and how it would spur him to want to impress Suleiman, not to mention have his father to himself for a change, by going on campaign.
I love the idea of Mehmed emulating Mustafa’s heroics and being praised while Mustafa was criticised. It would highlight that Suleiman looks on Mehmed as the next Sultan, and sees his heroics as a good sign for his future rule, while Mustafa is viewed as a rival by Suleiman, first to Mehmed, and eventually to Suleiman himself.
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