I still have hope (Umut and Ozan) - introducing the series

Original title: Benim hala umudum var
Title Translation: I still have hope (pun - Umut, the main heroine, in Turkish means hope).
Broadcasted in Turkey by Star TV and Fox TV in 2013-2014
Episodes: 33 (?)

Umut (Gizem Karaka) is a young woman of 23 lives in a poor neighborhood of Istanbul with her mother, younger brother and stepfather, who has three other children. When she was 6 Umut lost her father and Zeliha, her mother, re-married Zafer, a taxi driver who was a widower. When he met Zeliha, he was living alone with his three children, Musa, 10 yo, and two twin girls, Yelda and Selda, seven. His desire was to remarry a woman who could be a good mother to his children.

After marriage, the couple had a child together, Ali. Umut hardly adapts to her new family and she has a difficult relationship with her siblings, especially with Musa (violent and trouble maker), who is constantly influenced by the twins against her. Umut works at a famous beauty salon.

Ozan (Sukru Ozyildiz) is a 25 years old young man, rich, funny and playboy who falls in love at first sight when he meets Umut by chance. When he learns that she works at a beauty salon, he goes there and insists to be hired as a hairdresser, for her sake. The two like each other very much and they begin to know each other better, so a profound love appears between them. However, Ozan still doesn't tell Umut much about him and who he really is, because from the very beginning she revealed her prejudices on the rich people. Because she comes from a poorer family and despises the rich, Ozan lies to her that he is poor too. Both keep their love away from people's sight: Umut because she has a traditionalist and strict family, Ozan because he lied about his origins and because his parents wouldn't accept Umut as their daughter in law.

As the relationship goes on, Ozan wants to reveal his girlfriend who he really is but never finds the right time to do it and the more he loves her, the harder it seems for him to tell the truth.

The series tries to be a modern Cinderella with new problems: how long can Ozan lie that he is poor? What will happen when Umut finds out the truth? Can they live together, having so different backgrounds and different conceptions of life?

Eventually they get married, but Ozan had an affair before marriage and that woman becomes pregnant with him. When Umut finds out, she leaves him and asks for divorce, trying to give a chance to a young man, Hakan, who loves her. From what I read on the internet, I understood that the series was supposed to have 60 episodes, but because the rating dropped sharply at a time, it ended after the first season as it follows: Umut and Ozan reconcile, Melis (the pregnant woman) dies and the two heroes grow the orphaned child together.

Cast

Gizem Karaka - Umut
Surku Ozyildiz - Ozan
Berk Oktai - Hakan, Ozan's best friend, the owner of a models agency. He becomes Umut's boss and he falls in love with her too.
Lacin Ceylan - Asude, another owner of a models agency
Ali Erkazan - Zafer, Umut's stepfather
Nergis Corakci - Zeliha, Umut's mother
Sermin Humeric - Emel, Ozan's mother
Levent Ozdilek - Ragip, Ozan's father
Burak Altay - Musa, Umut's elder stepbrother
Belgin Erdogan - Hale, Umut's best friend, whom Musa will fall in love with

Feriha and Emir - episode 3 summary

Riza and Mehmet are at the police station, with Unal and Emir Sarrafoglu. Feriha is on the hall, but she tries to hide herself. Riza and Mehmet don't try to avoid paying for the car's damages, even if they have to pay a lot of money. They prove to be honest people, though, Unal despises them because they are poor. Anyway, Unal despises his son too because he was a fool to leave such an expensive car, days on end, at the mechanic's.

Zehra is cleaning Sanem's house. They try to sell their valuable things to find the money for the first bank rate. Feriha may go to school again, because her mother insisted to Riza. At the University, she has to lie about the reason of her absence and she avoids speaking to Emir. Mehmet is fired from the mechanic's and tries to find a job in the newspapers ads. Feriha loses some beads in a classroom and when she goes back to find them, Emir is there with the beads in his hands. They try to speak together and Feriha wants to tell him the truth about her, but still she doesn't have enough courage.


next episode: Feriha and Emir - episode 4 summary

Feriha and Emir - episode 2 summary

Feriha tries to get out of the car without being seen by Mehmet, and goes home. Emir leaves the car to Mehmet, because he can't repair it immediately. He is called by his mother, Aysun, and goes to the hospital where is his little brother, Can.

Feriha is scolded by her father because she lied concerning an expensive mobile phone: she got it from Emir as a present, but at home she told her parents that Cansu gave it to her. Learning the truth, that Cansu didn't give Feriha anything, Zehra and Riza believe that the phone was stolen and punish Feriha by not letting her go to school anymore.

Cansu's step mother, Sanem, tells her that she will send her to learn for the University in another city. Cansu doesn't want it and threatens with committing suicide. Finally Cansu take some pills and in the morning it is Feriha who find her unconscious and takes her to the same hospital where Can is.

Mehmet, seeing what expensive car has Emir Sarrafoglu, wants to take a ride by it, together with a colleague, and has an accident. The car is badly crushed. Mehmet's family find out about the accident only the next morning.

next episode: Feriha and Emir - episode 3 English summary

Feriha and Emir - episode 1 summary

Feriha (Hazal Kaya) is a beautiful girl who lives in a luxury neighborhood from Istanbul, but her family is a poor one. Her father, Riza, is a doorkeeper for a block, Zehra (Vahide Gordum), her mother, is a cleaner and she helps her husband cleaning the houses of the rich people. Feriha has a twin brother, Mehmet, who attended just the primary school and now has problems finding a job. They have a younger brother, Omer, who is about 10 years old. All of them live in a small apartment in the basement of the block, they have many things given by the rich ones and generally they can't afford living a decent life.

Feriha is the only hope of the family, because she is very intelligent and has won a scholarship at a private University. There, she meets only rich people's sons and daughters and feels ashamed with her origins. When she accidentally comes across Emir Sarrafoglu (Cagatay Ulusoy), one of the richest and most handsome student of the University, - nicknamed the heir of the night life because his father, Unal, has a very fancy night club, Hills - Feriha pretends she is rich too and tries to behave like the rich ones, hiding who she really is. Fortunately, she has a good friend, Cansu, who lives in her block, and who often gives her expensive clothes and footwear. Therefore, it's not very difficult for Feriha to look like the rich ones.

In the first episode we also meet Emir's friends: Koray, the son of a politician, and Hande, a beautiful blonde haired young girl, who likes to manipulate everybody and who can be dangerous, sometimes without her will. She is hopelessly in love with Emir, while Koray is in love with her. Emir, who usually is a typical play boy, feels attracted by Feriha, because she is much different from the other girls he had met.

They become friends and one evening when they are together on a car ride, Emir's car stops suddenly. It's raining heavily and Emir calls a mechanic. Unfortunately, the mechanic that comes, is Mehmet. Will Feriha manage to not be seen by her twin-brother?

next episode: Feriha and Emir episode 2 summary

To read all the episodes summaries please access the Feriha page

Iffet episode 9 summary

Cemil and Iffet are talking in the street and Betul watches them from behind
the window's curtain. Mrs. Asuman, Betul's mother, begins to realize that
obliging Cemil to marry their daughter was a big mistake, because Betul
seems to be unhappy. Asuman will try to persuade Feride, Cemil's mother, to
make her son behave properly in his family, and to not look for Iffet anymore
since he is a married man, because the neighbors gossip about it.

At the company, Dilek announces publicly that she gave her ex-husband some shares. Ali Ihsan gets angry and loses control, hitting Omer and telling that he will kill him. Nil packs her luggage and wants to go away because she thinks that now Iffet will tell him about her drug addiction. Ali Ihsan tells Iffet to help him with this problem. Iffet goes to the airport, where Nil is, and manages to make Nil change her mind and to throw the drugs in the airport's toilet.

Ali Ihsan and Iffet are looking for a restaurant to rent during their wedding party, for a wedding dress and a costume, and so on. In the meantime, Cemil is watching them secretly. After a while, Nil starts trembling because she doesn't have drugs anymore. She still finds a sachet, but throws it away when the door bell rings. It's Cemil and he doesn't know anything about Nil's addiction. Erhan invites Gulin to dine together, but they starts quarreling and she leaves before the orders to be brought at their table. Feeling angry, Erhan starts drinking a whole bottle of alcohol and then drives his car home. On the road he speaks on the phone with Dilek and is not attentive, when a truck blinds him with its lights and violently hits his car. Erhan is seriously wounded, and taken to the hospital where the doctors cannot say if he will live.

While his family waits for him to wake up, Gulin, who tries to get Ali Ihsan back, announces that she is pregnant.

• previous: Iffet episode 8 summary
• next: Iffet episode 10 summary 

Medcezir / Tide - episode 3 summary

Yaman is at hospital. Orkun lies to everybody that he saw the fire while driving home and noticed that someone might have been inside, so this is how he saved Yaman. Asim is very angry with Yaman and makes a complaint at the police believing that he was guilty for the destruction of the house. In the meantime, there are discussions again between Selim and Ender if Yaman should stay with them or not. Therefore, Yaman will be taken to jail directly from the hospital.

 In this episode we learn that Kenan, Yaman's brother, is married to Ayshe, and that he has a very good friend, Giray, who knowing that Kenan will be in prison for one year, tries to seduce his wife. Ayshe, tired of her husbands problems, accepts Giray as her lover and starts a secret relationship, thinking that later she will divorce Kenan. It is Giray who persuades Hassan to withdraw his  complaint against Nevin for stabbing him.

In the group of Orkun's friends, one of them tells the truth about the fire and who really burnt the house, though nobody has the courage to speak loudly about that, even if they know that Yaman is falsely accused. Selim interrogates Yaman, but the youngster doesn't want to tell what he knows considering that this is a problem between him and Orkun. Selim supposes that he is not guilty, but without a testimony or a witness, he has no choice and can't get Yaman out of the prison.

Faruk, Mira's father, asks a sum of $ 500,000 from Ender, who gives him the money without any question. After a while, Sude, Faruk's wife, sees them talking privately and believes that her husband cheats her with Ender, because they had been lovers long ago, when they were younger. When she asks him what he talked with Ender, Faruk admits that he is bankrupt and was forced to borrow money from their neighbor, as being the only person who could immediately help him with such a big sum. Sude is amazed at what she hears and later she will tell Selim everything, hoping that he and Ender will have an argue on this matter (Sude is a negative character who tries to manipulate everybody around her to take advantages.).

One day Ender goes to prison to see Yaman and feeling sorry for him, pays the bail getting him out. In the same day, Selim manages to take Nevin out of the prison too, so mother and son meet at Selim's house. In that evening there is another charity event at Faruk's and Selim insists that Yaman and Nevin join too. Unfortunately, Nevin starts drinking and gets drunken. In the morning she goes home without waking anybody up.

Next: Medcezir - episode 4 summary
Previous: Medcezir - episode 2 summary

Medcezir / Tide - episode 2 summary

Yaman is given an annex of the large house of Selim's to live in. During the evening he speaks with Mert, telling about his life. Ender hears their conversation from the terrace and feels sorry for the hardships Yaman had to endure. Then she proposes him to work with the team of workers at a house designed by her that must be ready for some customers. Yaman gladly accepts the job, because he has worked in civil engineering before. Mira sees him and is glad that he didn't leave for good. Yaman finds out that his mother is in prison and Selim promises him that he will do his best to help Nevin as much as possible. Hassan is at hospital, but he doesn't have serious injuries.

Mira starts arguing with Orkun because he left her on the doorway carpet after the party where he had a fight with Yaman. Orkun doesn't seem to care too much about what Mira has to reproach him, because he already has an intimate and secret love affair with Hale, a girl from their group of friends. The next day is Eylul's birthday and Mira can't buy her an expensive present because her card is blocked. Finally Mira asks Orkun some money telling him that she will give it back in 2 or 3 days. At the party Mira and Orkun have an argue again, this time because Yaman is there and Orkun is jealous on his interest in Mira. During that night, after the party, Yaman, Mira and Mert go by Mira's car to the hospital because Yaman wants to persuade Hassan to not sue his mother for having stabbed him. After a while Selim, Ender and Faruk notice that their children are not at home and get worried because they have no idea where they could be. At the hospital Hassan accepts the deal if he is given 15,000 Turkish lira. Yaman gets angry but starts thinking from where he could get that much money. On their way home, he stops at the house to finish some work. Mert goes home alone but Mira stays a little while with him. In the meantime, Orkun sees them talking and wants to take revenge. When Yaman is alone, Orkun comes with several firends and beat him. During the fight, by accident they produce a fire. Advised by one of his friends, Orkun saves Yaman from the flames.


Next: Medcezir episode 3 summary
Previous: Medcezir episode 1 summary

Medcezir / Tide - episode 1 summary

In the first episode we assist at two main subplots. The family of the rich man Asim Sekip Kaya has organized a charitable event. It's evening and many rich people gather in the large yard of Asim's  property. Here we can see Selim Serez, Asim's son in law, a successful lawyer, then Mert, Selim's teenager son, Mira and Eylul, two very good friends. Mert likes Eylul very much but she only mocks him calling him a monkey, because he is shy. Then comes Ender Serez, Asim's elder daughter and Selim's wife. She is an architect and she works at the family company. Then we meet Faruk Beylice, Selim's neighbor, business man too, married with Sude and father of Mira and Beren. He speaks with some apparently friends and out of this conversation we learn that he has business and financial problems and that his family don't know about them yet. Mira, Faruk's elder daughter, is together with Orkun Civanoglu, a childhood friend whom everybody expects her to marry with. During the series Orkun will prove to be a dangerous person and will become mature at a certain moment when an unexpected sad event is going to come across his life.

The second subplot of this first episode shows us the main hero Yaman Koper (Cagatay Ulusoy), living in a poor neighborhood of Istanbul called Tozludere. It's his elder brother birthday and he wants to buy him a cake. He affords buying just a small one which is shared with Kenan. Kenan sees a beautiful car in front of the confectionery - it's owners are buying something inside - and profits of the fact that the car isn't locked and the contact keys are there. He gets in the car, takes Yaman with him and drives at full speed under the amazed eyes of the owners who immediately call the police. While they are taken to the police station, Selim Serez is called to come and investigate the case as their lawyer. He comes and interrogates Yaman understanding that he is not guilty. Now we can see Yaman's mother, Nevin, who is a night club singer. Kenan gets one year of prison, but Yaman is released and Selim gives him his visit card offering to help him with a job whenever necessary, because he thinks that Yaman can be a successful man if he has the chance to get rid of poverty. Then Yaman goes home where he has a tensioned conversation with his stepfather, Hassan, who generally behaves badly with his wife's boys and think that their place is in jail. Yaman leaves home and tries to sleep in a park but he is attacked by two guys. So, under these circumstances, he is forced to look for Selim and asks him for help. Selim offers him shelter and a job in exchange of the promise that he will continue his studies, despite Ender who thinks that it is not a good idea to bring a tramp inside their house.

In the same day when he arrived, Yaman and Mert become quickly good friends and then he meets Mira. Both of them like each other and feel a powerful attraction. Being very sociable, Yaman is invited by Mira at a party in that evening, and there, Orkun notices the attraction between the two and starts being jealous. In the second evening there is another charitable event and now everybody learns that Yaman comes from Tozludere, so they avoid talking to him anymore. Orkun takes advantage from this situation and tries to beat Yaman. During the fight he hits Mert too, by mistake. In the morning, learning about what happened, Ender tell Selim that they can't keep Yaman anymore because he makes troubles to the people around him. Yaman hears the conversation and decides to go away.

Faruk Beylice, Mira's father, is in a delicate situation: he invested his money in a fake business and lost everything. He blocks Mira's card without telling to his family what's going on. Some creditors are looking for him to take their money back. therefore, he goes to Ender, who was his lover before marriage, and asks her to help him with no more than $ 500,000 without telling her why he needs so much money. She accepts to help him unconditionally.

Yaman wants to go back home, but he doesn't know that his mother, angry with Hassan because his son left for good, stabs her husband. Hassan is taken to the hospital with light injuries and Nevin is about to go to jail. Fortunately, Selim is her lawyer and he will persuade Yaman to still live in his (Selim's) house because he hasn't got anywhere else to go.


Previous: introduction of the series
Next: Medcezir - episode 2 summary

Iffet episode 8 summary

Iffet is impressed and surprised that Ali Ihsan wants to marry her, but she refuses him. After that she goes to her friend Serpil and tells her what happened. Serpil is glad to hear that, but Iffet explains that she doesn't love him and that's why she refused.

Cemil and Betul start quarreling because of Iffet. Ali Ihsan can't sleep and in the middle of the night goes to Iffet house and, assisted by Nimet and Saime, declares that he loves her and asks her to accept his ring. Shortly after, Iffet comes back in the villa as Ali Ihsan's fiancee. Dilek can't stand her and has fights with her brother on this topic.

Nil continues to use drugs and buys them from a dealer met in a night club. One night she takes an overdose and falls by the walls outside her house. Cemil finds her and takes her inside. He also realizes that Nil has a problem with drugs. While the rumor that Iffet will marry Ali Ihsan is heard in the neighborhood, Cemil starts doing what he wants in the house of his wife, and tries to persuade Iffet to not marry Ali.

In Dilek's life appears Omer, her ex-husband, who has no money and lies to Dilek that he can help her become the owner of the company in the place of her brother, Ali Ihsan. In fact, Omer will only profit of Dilek's honesty.

• previous: Iffet episode 7 summary
• next: Iffet episode 9 summary 

Iffet, summary of episode 7

Cemil is taken to the hospital while Ahmet goes home and washes his hands of blood. Nimet sees the knife and starts crying. She calls her sister who is very surprised to hear that their father stabbed Cemil. Soon, Ahmet goes to jail for what he did. Iffet goes to the hospital to see Cemil and in the meantime Ali Ihsan calls her but she only says she has some problems to solve. Betul and her family comes to the hospital too and seeing Iffet there, she threatens her that she will take revenge and will punish Ahmet the way he deserves.

Dilek finds out from Saime about what Ahmet did, and insists on firing Iffet because she may cause troubles to them. Ali Ihsan doesn't agree, but still, Iffet goes away from their house, being moved to another property of the family by Dilek in a moment when Ali Ihsan is not at home. Seeing this, Saime quits her job. Later Iffet goes at Nil's and finds her taking drugs, so Nil brutally sends her away. In the meantime, Dilek asks Emre, one of Ali Ihsan's best friends to contact Iffet's neighbors or relatives and find out anything he can about her. Emre will tell Dilek only a few things trying to persuade her to give up hating Iffet, but will tell everything he knows to Ali Ihsan.

During that evening Ali announces his family that he is going to marry Iffet. The next day Erhan, who likes Gulin and tries to be her lover, hurries to tell her the news, thinking that now that she is free, they could start a relationship, but Gulin, who sincerely loves Ali Ihsan, goes crazy and starts crying.
Ali Ihsan goes to Iffet's house in the evening and takes her to a leisure park hired just for themselves and asks her to marry him offering her a diamond ring.

• previous: Iffet episode 6 summary
• next: Iffet summary episode 8