A Wild Ride: Beauty, Betrayal, and a Whole Lot of Drama

I was super stoked when this Turkish series, Leila, first started. I was looking forward to spending my evenings watching this engaging show, getting lost in its intriguing world and beautiful characters.

But, as it often does, reality had other plans...

Leila is a 2024 Turkish production with 28 episodes out so far, and 32 planned. Each episode is a whopping 2.5 hours long.

It has an impressive 8.4 rating on Kinopoisk, but strangely, there are no reviews.

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Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+

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Here's the show's description:

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Leila lost her mom at a young age. Her widowed father remarried a beautiful, intelligent, and ruthless woman named Nur. After his sudden death, the young Leila found herself on the streets, surviving in a harsh and unfair world. Years later, she returns to settle the score with her stepmother, who can't recognize the grown-up daughter who's learned to use her own tactics - lies, deception, and manipulation. But Leila's path is complicated by an old enemy and a first love.

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While I was completely hooked in the first few episodes, mesmerized by the actors' beauty, the vibrant visuals, the pleasant music, and the initial storyline, things took a turn for the worse.

My first question is to the translators or voice actors. Where have I heard the pronunciation of Leila in Russian before? It sounds so awkward and unnatural that even after finishing the series, I still can't get used to it and it grates on my nerves. What's with the Leila pronunciation, anyway?

The story starts off pretty interesting. A young widower gets married to a stunning woman who turns out to be a real witch who hates his daughter. Question is, how did things even get to the point of a wedding?

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His kid's around 5 years old, not a newborn. And the kid's being super open about it too: 'Mom's rotten, don't trust her, she's lying, she's plotting something.'

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But the dad, who's only recently buried his wife, decides to go all in on love and pays the price for it. You'd almost feel sorry for him. He's saying the kid needs a mom, but it's clear he's not thinking with his head or heart when it comes to his new partner.

The dad's played by Ugur Arslan, an actor I've seen in at least a dozen Turkish series by now. He's just one of those guys who seems to be in every Turkish drama out there.

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But in Leila, his role is pretty minor.

Nur, the manipulative, evil stepmom, terrible mother-in-law, and all-around awful woman, is played by Gonca Vuslolu. She's the reason you'll want to keep watching the series.

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Turkish Drama Series Leila 2024 16+

I've got to say, the actress's facial expressions are absolutely wild, and the energy she brings to the screen is electric. Her dancing is a total mood-booster, too - it's like a ray of sunshine in an otherwise pretty dull storyline. I've seen these dance scenes all over TikTok and social media.

Turkish Drama Series Leila 2024 16+

She's a stunning woman, and it's a pleasure to watch her on screen. Smart, cunning, and always thinking several steps ahead - she's a master manipulator who's got everyone wrapped around her finger, including all the men and women in her life.

Turkish Drama Series Leila 2024 16+

Mali's the love interest, and he's a real interesting character - he's the kind of guy who stays loyal, no matter who Nour's with. Their relationship is pretty complicated, but I won't go into details - you've just got to see it for yourself.

Turkish Drama Series Leila 2024 16+

Mali's basically made from the same mold as Nour, but he's a bit less clever and less brave. He's a bit of a pushover, and he's head over heels in love with his owner.

Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+

I've seen the actor in a different role, in the show 'Cloudberry Jam', where he played Rüzgar. He's a charming guy and does a great job.

One thing that struck me is that the story is divided into two parts, with the past and present alternating.

In the 'past' section, we see Leila's journey, the hardships and struggles she faced. It was all really tough, and the only thing that brought her comfort was her friend, Jino. The kids had to survive on the streets, living in poverty, without love or affection.

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Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+ The transitions between past and present in the early episodes are really effective and seamless.

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Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+

The actress who plays Leila as a child is really good, she does a great job of convincing me. She's a cute kid and looks the part.xa0

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As she grows up, she becomes a stunning beauty with gorgeous hair and always perfectly done eyelashes.

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Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+ xa0I couldn't even find his name, but his love interest is played by a kid.

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Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+

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But honestly, who cares? His face just looks super weird to me - I see some African features: a wide nose, flared nostrils, dark skin...

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xa0And then he grows up into this young adult. Any resemblance? The casting director needs a serious head-scratching.

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Wow, what a wild ride. Either life just threw Gino a curveball, or they really cast some questionable kid actors.

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If Leila grew up to be a stunning woman with a strong psyche and a desire to take down her wicked stepmother, Gino didn't. The whole series he just whines, drinks, cries, whines, drinks, whines, cries – it's like he's stuck in a loop. The character is so dumb, it's hard to wrap your head around. I just sit there watching, face-palming myself. Even the dogs living in the house seem to know who's who and what's going on, but not Gino.

And his whining is just getting on my nerves. I don't know how it's going to end in the story, but for me, it ended with skipping scenes with him in them. Unbearable.

Of course, there are a lot of characters here. Let me run through the main ones.

Zeynep Aras played the 'mom' to all the homeless kids, Güzide.

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Turkish series Leila 2024 16+Love this actress – it was great to see her transformation. Güzide is good at keeping secrets and represents all the good on this miserable dump.

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I have to say, the antagonist and 'papa' figure in this show is Mustafa Avkiran - a slimy, yet charismatic guy. His nature always lands him in trouble. He's a ruthless and terrible person, but somehow, people started to forget about that as he got older and nobody really wanted to mess with him.

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The second husband, Nur, was played by Halil Ibrahim Jeyhan.

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It's funny how Gino is not his biological son, but he's more like his father - a total whiner and a pushover.

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Of course, he's also a total coward. He's got a conscience.

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Another interesting character is Sera, Tufan's fiancée, played by Dilara Aksöyek. She's not interesting because of her acting or character, but because of her really weird and over-the-top appearance.

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Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+

I'm not a fan of Ferda, Tufan's friend and sister, played by Gamze Karaduman. She's not really a positive character, and I was annoyed when they replaced the actress mid-series. I'm not a fan of casting changes like that.

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Ipek, Nur's daughter, is a bit of a disappointment. She's supposed to be the sympathetic child, but she just ends up annoying me.

Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+

What I do like about this show is its unique take on the characters. Guzide is the only positive character in my opinion, and the rest are just a bunch of selfish individuals who only care about causing trouble for each other. Even Tufan's grandparents are a bit shady.

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Turkish Series Leila 2024 16+ What I liked:

The show starts off with an interesting premise and a gripping storyline.

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Turkish series Leila 2024 16+ The actors are gorgeous, the mansion is stunning, the scenery is breathtaking, the decorations are top-notch, and the music is perfect. No complaints there.

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I love how they included dogs in the cast - there are dogs living in the house and in the yard too. It's really cute, especially since I'm a bit over cat shows already)

What didn't I like:

One thing that's a chronic issue with most Turkish series is how slow-paced they can be.

They messed up the characters' personalities, making it hard to feel any sympathy for them. I do like Nur, though - he's an interesting character, and I enjoy watching him. But it's a first for me to not feel any connection to anyone else.

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These whiny men are a nightmare. It's like watching a horror show. They're always crying, sobbing, wiping their noses, and wailing with such gusto that it's almost comical.

The constant family drama, screaming matches, fights, and insults are exhausting. It's like watching a Malakhov show. And it didn't start off that way, or I would've turned it off immediately. I hate cheap melodrama.

I even got up on my chair and yelled at the screen)))

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To be honest, the storyline is pretty ridiculous. It's like the whole family is clueless and can't even put two and two together. If the initial plot was based on some semblance of realism, it quickly devolves into complete fantasy.

But, despite the absurdity, I'm curious to see how it all plays out in the end.

And Leila herself is like a real-life Bond: she does whatever she wants, has unlimited cash (like, who needs that many flowers in one room?), and can seemingly get away with anything. It's just so over-the-top that it's infuriating!

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Or, like, she starts a stakeout in a red car and just stops right in the middle of a pedestrian crossing – and Leila doesn't even flinch.

I have to say, the kid cast is pretty cringeworthy. I'm guessing the producers picked them because they're somehow related to the actors, because I have no idea why else they'd choose such mismatched kids. For example, there were flashbacks to an earlier time, and that kid was actually played by Gino.

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Honestly, the main character's younger version is somewhat similar to the main guy, but the actor playing Gino as a kid is a total mismatch. I mean, he's even got a darker skin tone!

The time jump between the past and present is around 15-20 years, but the actors haven't aged well at all. Nur's hair is a bit shorter, but that's about it – the others look like they're still in their early twenties. It's just weird.

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I'm not sure what the point of these flashbacks is – we've already seen how tough it was for the kids and what they went through. After a while, it just gets boring. It would've been better to stick to a single timeline and show their past and childhood before jumping to the present.

I have no idea how this will all end, but I'm hoping for a interesting finale!

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With love, your Grey Mare ←there's a lot more to explore

Other Turkish movies and series:

Leave it to the wind: I want to be a sexy, hot chick and cruise around the resort, kissing a hot guy. Turkish 🍓 and the question: why didn't her face break out in acne from his beard?

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Golden Age: How the Turkish mother-in-law turned the sultan into a mess

Mrs. Fazilet and her daughters: When a cat is a better mother than Mrs. Fazilet is to her children. A crazy series about human greed and endless stupidity

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Black Love: What to do this fall: a dramatic series with a blowing finale. Or maybe you can tell me about this kind of psychopathic love?

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Verdict: This is not a series, but a Game of Thrones record for deaths of main characters in every episode. Death and tears in every episode. Just too much!