'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAX/2gAIAQEAAAAAiH//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAECEAAAAD//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAEDEAAAAF//xAAgEAACAQQBBQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEERMhAAUSIjFC/9oACAEBAAE/AK9Y+oHNFUtCiNi7WpUcnejctq1jySGLI/k/s/I5/8QAFhEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIh/9oACAECAQE/AFp//8QAFxEBAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgADEv/aAAgBAwEBPwCwHM//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Another Self is a Turkish drama released on Netflix on July 28, 2022. The eight-episode-long series, set in a small, picturesque town called Ayvalik, featured three best friends navigating their problems while resolving past traumas.
The central motif of the series is friendship, with Ada, Sevgi, and Leyla proving to be absolute friendship goals in the show. Other themes explored throughout the series were love, spirituality, introspection, finding inner peace, familial dynamics, generational issues, and more.
The series was directed by Burcu Alptekin and it starred Tuba Büyüküstün, Seda Bakan, Boncuk Yılmaz, Murat Boz, Füsun Demirel, Fırat Tanış, Rıza Kocaoğlu and Serkan Altunorak in various roles. In addition to the idyllic settings, the extremely good-looking cast certainly added to the show's appeal.
Another Self plot summary: Can healing past wounds lead to a better future?
Throughout eight episodes, Another Self attempts to answer questions while the protagonist undergoes a mystical, spiritual healing journey. Ada, a general surgeon, Sevgi, a lawyer battling cancer, and Leyla, a social media influencer, are the three best friends at the center of the plot.
Tired of medical treatments letting her down, Sevgi decided to visit a spiritual healing sanctuary in Ayvalik run by Zaman. Ada and Leyla accompanied her but remained in the dark about their friend's family constellation therapy session. Sevgi's cancer miraculously disappeared a month later, and she finally told her friends about Zaman's life-saving healing technique.
However, Ada, a staunch biomedical practitioner and a scientifically driven professional, was immediately upset by her friend disregarding her years of medical education in favor of the unscientific mystical practice. Unbeknownst to the other two, Ada had been experiencing hand tremors that seriously affected her surgical procedures.
Leyla, too, had her issues with oceans. For reasons she could not fathom, she had always been afraid of stepping into the water, fearing she might drown. These issues eventually became the driving force in the women's lives and forced them to follow Sevgi's advice and visit Zaman's retreat.
Thereafter, Another Self was majorly focused on Ayvalik, and various dynamics played out in the small town, with Ada's former lover Tropaz also appearing in the picture. Sevgi sparked a romance with a small café owner Fiko at the retreat, and Leyla faced the music when her husband abandoned her and their son.
Another Self ending: Is Sevgi still sick?
Having accepted and embraced Zaman's practice despite her scientific orientation, Ada finally worked through her past traumas and generational issues in her matrilineal heritage. Yet her present life was far from stable. Her husband, Selim, cheated on her with an employee and got her pregnant.
That was the last straw for Ada, who was already dealing with the truth about her father having another family apart from her own. She finally divorced Selim and returned to Ayvalik, where Sevgi and Fiko were getting serious in their relationship.
The thorn in their rosy relationship was Sevgi's mother, Muko, who disapproved of Fiko and blamed Sevgi's changed attitude on Zaman's treatment. Muko reported Zaman and got his practice shut down.
Meanwhile, Leyla was reeling from the aftermath of her husband being a criminal who was now in police custody. The best friends reconvened with Ada back in Ayvalik and encouraged Ada to give Tropaz another chance since he was the only one she ever truly loved.
The finale of Another Self arrived with Fiko asking Sevgi to marry him and everyone attending their wedding. Ada and Tropaz got back together and confronted their shared trauma of the past. After agreeing to become business partners, Leyla helped Fiko acquire a new place to start his café. Lastly, Zaman declared his intention to take a break from his practice and go on a trip.
However, Ada and Sevgi's joys were short-lived. At night, after her wedding, Sevgi discovered a letter from her mother that contained several details. The story turned out to be the truth about her father, who had been shot to death before she was born. The man she knew as her father was, in fact, just her father's comrade who had vowed to look after her and her mother.
Overwhelmed by the revelation, Sevgi collapsed and was found on the floor by Fiko. It was eventually revealed that she had stopped taking her medications, believing that Zaman had cured her cancer, but her disease was now back.
Meanwhile, Ada and Tropaz's plans to move to Netherlands came to a halt firstly because Ada couldn't leave Sevgi while she was sick and secondly because Tropaz's daughter Flor and her mother Eva showed up unannounced. A kiss shared between Tropaz and Eva hit an indefinite pause on Ada and Tropaz's plans, leaving her at a crossroads at the end of Another Self.
Upset about Sevgi's cancer being back, Ada confronted Zaman and discovered that he had studied medicine too and was a practicing doctor. He also had an estranged son that pushed him to act like a father figure to everyone else. However, even in the end, Zaman's methods were never revealed, and the series came to a close, with all three women reconvening at one of Zaman's sessions.
The ending of Another Self left a lot up in the air regarding the fate of the characters. However, the series would work just as well with an incomplete ending since it came full circle in a way, with the characters becoming another version of themselves through a lot of reflection and some mysticism. The series ended up reserving some mystery for subjective interpretation.
With the right script, though, the second installment of Another Self wouldn't be too bad either, as long as it answers lingering questions from the first season. All eight episodes of the Turkish drama are now available to stream on Netflix.
