Written by Avani Trivedi
To Love To Lose, a new Turkish drama, is now streaming on Netflix for all those who love a brooding male lead and a determined female lead.
The episode begins with Afife (Eminé Meyrem, Lazare) in a market, running from place to place to buy things. Every place she makes a stop at, people know her and are invested in her life. They ask her about her job as a screenwriter and even give her suggestions. She is clearly a neighborhood favorite.
Afife is a frazzled character. The music when she is on screen is chaotic and the scenes transition quickly to convey her hectic life. When Afife enters her home, it is a cluttered space. Her family is not much help either. Afife runs a struggling restaurant where all her employees end up leaving her. When she asks her family for help, they are very reluctant to do so and only step into the restaurant after much convincing. Even then, they are barely any help.
Kemal (İbrahim Çelikkol, As the Crow Flies) is just the opposite. When he is introduced on screen, the music changes from chaotic to calm. The color palette also changes into softer colors. He is portrayed as a calm and capable man, and he speaks with confidence and gets things done. His family is completely different from Afife’s. They all have each other’s backs and are very dedicated to each other.
The first episode perfectly sets the stage for their contrasting personalities and lifestyles. In true Turkish TV show style, the episode is 44 minutes long. The episode is also played out as Afife describing what a screenplay is and there is plenty of foreshadowing of what is coming ahead.
The contrast on screen, depending on who’s being shown, can be quite jarring for some viewers. Afife’s chaotic to Kemal’s calm can be boring at times. Although frenzied, when Afifie is on screen, one has no choice but to pay attention to not miss anything. So when the scenes shift to Kemal, his calm and collected demeanor may come across as monotonous to some.
The protagonists don’t meet until the very end of the episode, indicating this might be a slow-burn story. This is a good watch for lovers of the tropes, “savvy guy-energetic girl,” “a bad boy male lead” and “enemies to lovers.”
