# Gitmeeda in Sen Cal Kapimi: Creating and Sustaining Suspense within the Romantic Comedy Genre

 

 

Those who watch romantic comedies will agree that the storyline of Sen Cal Kapimi is neither unique nor rare. A pretend engagement? A repressed hero? Class differences? A difficult family? An ex-girlfriend or boyfriend? Misunderstandings galore? Love stories have been written in different languages the world over, with all these themes, for centuries. 

Those who follow this genre will agree that there is a 98% guarantee that the hero and the heroine will walk into the sunset, holding hands to a happily ever after. We don’t complain even as it features a combination of soulful moments, heart-wrenching dialogues, and passionate yearnings between a couple, celebrated over and over again. The predictability of a well written romantic comedy keeps us in a safe bubble, with the comforting inside knowledge that all will be well at the end of the day. Thus, unpredictability or suspense is not exactly the X-factor of a rom-com. So, when you see the furore over the possibility of Eda leaving Serkan in Episode 11 it seems unprecedented. The audience who knows the formula of the genre going delirious over the possibility of a separation! 

Will she or won’t she? #gitmeeda was trending at 7 worldwide on Twitter, and not just within Turkey before the release of Episode 11. The build-up and the ad-hoc climax of Episode 11 makes one appreciate the diamond brilliance of Ayse Kutlu and her team- Erdem Açikgöz, Yesim Citak, and Dilek Iyigün. By treating the first phase of the Serkan-Eda relationship with an independent story arc, the makers cleverly keep the viewers on their toes as millions of people frantically tried to guess whether or not Eda will leave to Italy at the expense of Serkan’s heart. So far, creating suspense in a romantic comedy and sustaining it has been wielded as an art form in Sen Cal Kapimi.

 

How did the makers of SCK structure its plot to cunningly generate a frenzy among the audience for a climax that was not really a climax? Sen Cal Kapimi took its viewers through a journey that started with intrigue, moved through conflicts and misunderstandings, which ended in the climactic kiss leaving the audience gushing and cheering in Episode 11. 

In this blog, I would like to use Freytag’s Pyramid and critique the plot of the first eleven episodes of SCK as a part of a separate story within the larger narrative arc. Amazingly enough, it looks to me like the actual story is starting only now! We are about to find out what happens when someone knocks on your door.

 

According to Freytag’s Pyramid, at the Exposition, we see the characters and the setting introduced. We see Serkan’s arrival from London; and frantic reactions from the employees, while on the other side, there is a grumpy and disappointed Eda carrying the fertilizer sacks to the Nursery. Eda and Serkan have their first explosive meeting at the university, and the mood is set. All of the secondary characters are introduced and we start experiencing the thrill of an Eda-Serkan chemistry. Their first kiss is called an Inciting action- an incident in the plot without which there is no story to tell. 

 

The second stage is the Rising action: these are a series of incidents leading up to the Climax. We understand the character-motivations during this time, as the couples’ pretend engagement creates situations that up the dramatic ante of the plot. The scenes at the engagement party where Serkan and Eda are under everyone’s scrutiny; the nearly revealed contract by Selin; and the almost successful attempts by Kahn to destroy them are all part of the Rising action. As the intensity of the Rising action increases, the audience becomes anxious and frustrated for the Climax. Here is where the strength of the narrative is tested. A lack of rationality, common sense, creativity, and imagination in the Rising action stage can lead to a dissatisfactory climax. We see this in some of the stories that have a resounding start and then fail to retain our attention as it manufactures obstacles and events that the protagonists attempt to surmount. In such cases, the audience gradually stops caring about their success or failure, and viewership declines with only the ardent fans remaining as audience. In contrast, in SCK, as Eda and Serkan grew increasingly frustrated, disturbed, and upset, the audience started projecting their emotions, experiencing the angst of the protagonists as their own. 

 

Episodes nine and ten in SCK were building up to a turning point, which is the third stage of the Pyramid, the Climax. In these episodes, Eda is systematically pushed to a corner where she feels helpless and insecure as Serkan does not open up, and seemingly chooses Selin over Eda. The breaking point for Eda comes in Episode eleven, where Serkan’s mother tells Eda to leave her son to Selin, and we see Eda go to the airport. Meanwhile, Serkan also undergoes turbulence throughout the ninth and tenth episodes as he thinks he does not have the power to stop Eda from leaving. His fears and repressed emotions do not help him be a charming romantic hero. He has to overcome his inner demons as well as the opinions of the two women he trusts the most to have his back: his mother and Selin. He goes against his logic at the final moments of the episode and chases Eda, stops her, and kisses her. A staple, cliched romantic scene at the backdrop of the Istanbul sunset that becomes exquisite because of the powerful portrayal of the Climax and the emotional investment of the audience. 

The creators of the story know what they are doing, and this Climax is by no means the end, but the beginning. 

The success of this serial has been its ability to engage its audience, seducing them into making an emotional commitment. According to Freytag’s Pyramid, the fourth stage is the Falling action: the consequences of Eda and Serkan’s kiss in the Climax, will be dealt with during this phase. Their own acceptance of the Climactic events, as well as others’ reactions to their togetherness, will be seen in Episode 12. Her aunt, his mother, their friends- everyone will have a word with them, not to forget Serkan stood up Selin to stop Eda. 

 

In the final stage, according to Freytag, we witness the Denouement: the phase where one story arc ends, and in SCK’s case, a new one begins. Unlike in romantic comedies, in a Tragedy, this is Catastrophic, as the hero meets with a terrible end. However, Ayse is treating these first 13 episodes as an independent unit that is not constrained by the limitations of the comic ending. Hence, Serkan and Eda will definitely go through a Catastrophic experience. A heartbreak is imminent, considering that Serkan’s father seemed to have played an indirect role in Eda’s parents’ untimely deaths. If this Catastrophe is dealt with in the immediate future, we will enter the second phase of Sen Cal Kapimi starting fresh from the Exposition of the Freytag's Pyramid. This is challenging and complicated and could remain unresolved for a long time. So exciting times are ahead that could make or break Sen Cal Kapimi as we continue our journey of experiencing romantic love in all its glory.