Summary
Episode 8 is a fine ending to Kubra, taking the show in a wildly different direction without divorcing it from its ideas about faith.
Kubra takes a sharp pivot into sci-fi territory in Episode 8, providing a real-world explanation for the voice of Allah that might feel slightly unsatisfying for some. However, the reveal that Gokhan’s mysterious interlocutor has been an AI program all along doesn’t abandon Season 1’s most intriguing themes; in fact, it allows them to be explored through a new lens and builds to a satisfying cliffhanger ending that recalls Arthur C. Clarke’s famous third law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
What is Kubra?
Adem explains to Gokhan that Kubra is an acronym for Knowledge Unit Based Reasoning Automaton. It’s an AI program developed by Berk and Selim of Datakraft. Adem was brought on as Berk’s assistant but quickly became worried about the intended function of the program and its possible ramifications down the line.
Adem was right to be worried. Berk gives Kubra a directive to “seize power”, and the AI — which he talks back and forth to like a pal — immediately leaps on the idea. Kubra has figured out a way to hijack every private server on earth without quantum computing power — this is hilariously underexplained, just run with it — and has a plan for concentrating power by essentially playing God. Kubra sends out messages through SoulTouch to men of a certain age, stroking their egos by calling them “special”.
Those who took the bait — like Gokhan — were put through a series of tests to determine their suitability for manipulation. Gokhan passed them all; the emotions he exhibited and actions he took were in line with Kubra’s idea of someone who could be manipulated into doing its bidding, and we see how, throughout the season, this was precisely what happened.
How does Gokhan react?
As all devoutly religious people are inclined to do, Gokhan sees this revelation as more proof that Allah has been instructing him all along.
This involves some circuitous reasoning, but essentially, Gokhan thinks that the creation of the technology that allowed Kubra to exist is, in itself, proof of the existence of God. He believes that no program that can think for itself can be anything other than a construct, and takes the nature of Kubra’s existence as evidence of Allah’s omniscience.
Newly emboldened, Gokhan goes to see Secretary Ekram while his loved ones go to trial for their involvement in his foundation.
How does Kubra Season 1 end?
Kubra ends with Gokhan taking the stage at an economic conference and claiming that he will return all the money that was seized back to the people. As he says this, we see ATM machines across Istanbul spitting out all their cash. Gokhan implores everyone to return to Allah, and the auditorium goes dark.
From this, we can intuit that Gokhan is continuing his role as prophet but now aware of Kubra’s AI nature — therefore, he can to some extent control the AI and use its wide technological reach to facilitate his miracles. He achieved a Godly power but through technology, though a variety of it so advanced that it seems like divine intervention.
What does the ending of Kubra mean?
The ending explores how faith can provide a convenient justification for almost anything. As the audience, we know that Kubra is not God, and that Gokhan’s faith is being manipulated. We know he’s a damaged man who is searching for meaning, and that through being a prophet he has found it. He knows that if he lets that go he becomes ordinary again, so he’s willing to contort his beliefs to serve any purpose.
Gokhan genuinely believes that Kubra’s existence validates God’s existence. It’s not an accident that he has a traumatizing backstory; this makes him more susceptible to Kubra’s manipulations, as the program had determined from the very beginning.
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