Summary
Wedding bells are ringing, but the fate of the world might hang in the balance as a big last-minute twist raises some serious questions about Atiye.
This review of The Gift Season 2, Episode 3 contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.
Check out our thoughts on the first season.
Check out our spoiler-free thoughts on the second season.
We open with a flashback of young Erhan getting caught in the earthquake that everyone believed killed his father, Nazim; present-day Erhan wakes up sweaty and breathless from the memory, but little does he know that Atiye is, at that very moment, stood with his very much alive pops in his dingy, map-festooned apartment. He explains to her that all the pregnant women started to die after the earthquake, which he caused to happen and was told to keep a secret. He didn’t listen to that advice — he called everyone, but the earthquake had hidden all the evidence of what he’d found. That his children were found was a miracle. But he hasn’t told them he’s alive because he doesn’t feel he’s living, really; he’s paying for his sin by enduring the same nightmares and guilt every day and night. Atiye postulates that perhaps Erhan can’t find the door because he’s working for the wrong man. But it’s his destiny to find the door.
Suddenly, a barking dog tips the pair off to Atiye having been followed. On the news, they learn of Professor Oner’s death in a hit and run (this was also the episode’s cold open, his bloody body shrouded in newspapers). Nazim gives Atiye a journal on the condition that Erhan can’t know he’s alive. She sneaks out of the back with it. The man looking for her reports to Serdar, of course.
As Ozan continues to look over the CCTV footage from the hospital and wonder who Atiye is, she visits Erhan with the journal Nazim gave her. She swears him to silence about it. He vividly recalls the book from his memories as he recalls his father being dragged from a car and battered by the incensed locals. He’s been looking for this notebook for years; Atiye says it’ll show them the way. As he scurries around his office, Atiye once again sees the young girl in the white dress. One of the symbols represents fertility, so could hold the key to the world’s pregnancy issues. Another sketch could refer to a secret library of documents taken from the Ottoman Empire’s first and only observatory. When Erhan calls someone to inform them of Atiye’s delivery, the exact opposite of what she asked him to do, Atiye flees with the notebook.
Serap, meanwhile, is with Mustafa. She hasn’t been officially released yet but he’s keeping her sheltered, although she only seems to speak in enigmatic riddles. She’s confident that Atiye will take care of everything. Let’s hope so. She and Nazim are following up on Erhan’s lead, where they’re led through a secret door in a huge library by the little girl in white. Next, she leads them straight through a wall, which hides another secret door boasting a symbol. It opens into an old room full of ancient books; the door closes behind them of its own volition and locks them inside as the little girl plays hide and seek between the shelves. The floor reveals a tunnel network that Atiye has to convince Erhan to find — it shouldn’t be too hard since he turns up at that moment, and Atiye points him to the floor map.
Elsewhere in The Gift season 2, episode 3, Melek accuses Serdar of having Serap released. She’s becoming increasingly panicky and unstable, so Serdar sends her to bed so that he can call his cronies and demand that Serap is found immediately.
Atiye continues to persuade Erhan into abandoning logic and pursuing the tunnel lead, as Mustafa gets a call letting him know that Serap apparently died when she was 16. That’s weird news considering she’s asleep on his couch. Erhan is reluctant to do what Atiye says since he’s getting married tomorrow, so Atiye berates Nazim about not revealing himself to his children. They need him in their life. That’ll make the difference.
Elif is tearfully taking a pregnancy test in the next scene and tosses it away when she sees the result. She talks with Atiye about losing Erhan to marriage; she’s obviously feeling a bit lost and alone in the world. She doesn’t think Erhan is in love with Hannah or anyone besides his work — they’re together because she puts up with him. All Elif wants is for him to find whatever or whoever makes him happy. She invites Atiye to the wedding, which will surely be awkward.
As it happens, it’s awkward right from the jump, as Elif tries to get Ozan to tell his parents about them and he bottles it completely. Erhan and Hannah are revealed to rapturous applause, but you can just feel the fakery in the atmosphere. Atiye introduces herself to Serdar, which seems ill-advised, but Ozan drags her away to interrogate her himself. She tells him that he doesn’t deserve Elif and warns him not to hurt her as Elif’s well wishes to Erhan compel him to take a walk and get some air. Nazim greets him outside, which is a bit of a shock, to say the least. His excuses don’t hold much water, especially when he reveals that Atiye convinced him to come. Erhan naturally feels betrayed, but Nazim tells him to trust Atiye more than anyone. He’s furious that Nazim only revealed himself for this reason, and he doesn’t listen when Atiye tells him that Serdar and Hannah have their own agenda.
In the wake of the wedding, Nazim gives up, and Elif and Ozan have a huge argument about whether or not he’s ever going to tell his parents about them. It… doesn’t go well. Atiye finds her on the floor, drinking, having trashed the place. When Elif asks Atiye if she knows Ozan, Atiye spontaneously pukes in a bin. Elif suggests she might be pregnant, and Atiye recalls sleeping with the alternate version of Erhan. Big twist!
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