u/Anna__SS

I saw a video of Emin kissing Ilsu on the head in such a comforting, affectionate way, and honestly, it made me really happy to see the bond they seem to share. I genuinely don’t know whether they’re dating or not. But what matters is that they clearly seem comfortable around each other and have built a really beautiful friendship and bond.

We’ve all seen shows where the leads have amazing chemistry on screen but barely get along off screen, so when fans get to see two co-stars who genuinely seem comfortable, supportive, and affectionate with each other, that’s something worth appreciating. It makes the whole experience even more special for fans.

I just wish people would appreciate these moments for what they are instead of immediately turning every interaction into speculation about their relationship status. Not every hug, kiss, touch, or moment of comfort needs to be investigated or decoded. Sometimes two people can simply care about each other deeply, whether that’s friendship, love, or something only they understand.

Fans can enjoy their chemistry and the beautiful bond they share without feeling entitled to know what happens in their private lives. Honestly, respecting that boundary makes supporting them even more meaningful. Let them have a relationship that belongs to them, while we appreciate the happiness and comfort they bring to each other on screen and off screen. ❤️

Mercan is honestly one of the most understanding characters in this story. What I appreciate about her is that she doesn’t just look at someone’s actions and immediately judge them,she tries to understand the reason behind them. Even when Ates did something behind her back today after lecturing her that they should discuss everything with each other, Mercan was able to understand why he did it.That is exactly the same understanding people expect from Ates.

I’m not saying Ates isn’t understanding toward Mercan, But sometimes his first reaction is to snap or react emotionally without thinking about how deeply his words or actions might hurt Mercan. Sometimes , he processes things through anger first and understanding later. Mercan, on the other hand, often does the opposite. She gives people the benefit of the doubt, tries to understand their emotions, and only then reacts. I just wish Ates would sometimes stop, stay calm, and give Mercan the same patience and understanding that she constantly gives him.

And then there is Eyul.

I completely understood Eyul’s initial anger. She found out about everything suddenly, her entire understanding of her life and relationships , and she needed time to process it. Her hurt was valid. But at this point, she has had time to think, process, and understand the situation. She knows Mercan didn’t wrong her.Yet she continues to behave as though Mercan is personally responsible for everything that happened to her.

What bothers me most is that Mercan continues to be understanding toward Eyul even when Eyul hurts her.At some point, understanding becomes something people can take advantage of. Eyul knows that Ates and Mercan already carry guilt and that they genuinely care about her, and she seems to use that guilt to keep demanding more from them. Instead of moving forward, she increasingly behaves like everyone should keep running after her and proving their love to her.

And honestly, if Eyul’s goal was truly revenge, why is Saliha not the first person she is holding accountable? There is a difference between being hurt and deliberately hurting people who you know did not intend to hurt you. Eyul’s anger was understandable in the beginning, but her continued behaviour is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.

Another thing I don’t understand is Eyul’s issue with Ates loving Mercan. Mercan has always understood Ates’s love for Eyul. She understands that Eyul is his sister and that their bond existed long before her. But why is it so difficult for Eyul to accept that Ates can love Mercan deeply too?

If Ates loves his wife more than his sister in certain situations, why is that automatically wrong? After marriage, shouldn’t your spouse naturally become one of the most important people in your life? Mercan herself puts Ates before her own family at times, so why shouldn’t Ates do the same for her? If I had a brother, I would actually expect him to prioritize his wife in many situations after marriage. It wouldn’t mean he doesn’t love his sister ,it would simply mean his relationship and responsibilities have changed.

And this is why I appreciate Mercan so much. She doesn’t constantly demand to be chosen. She understands that Ates can love his family while loving her at the same time. She doesn’t treat love like a competition where someone has to lose for her to win. She gives people space to have complicated emotions, and she tries to understand them even when she is the one being hurt.

Mercan is also incredibly emotionally strong. She has every reason to become bitter, defensive, or selfish, but she keeps trying to communicate, forgive, and see the good in people. She doesn’t weaponize every mistake someone makes against them. She doesn’t constantly remind people of everything she has went through.That’s what makes her different from the people around her.

But I also hope the story eventually shows that Mercan can have boundaries too. Being understanding does not mean she has to tolerate everything. Forgiveness does not mean allowing people to repeatedly hurt her. She can understand Eyul’s pain without accepting Eyul’s behaviour, and she can understand Ates’s intentions while still telling him when his actions hurt her.

Mercan deserves the same grace she gives everyone else. Her kindness should be appreciated, not exploited. She can be still compassionate, but finally putting boundaries around that compassion.

Arafta just doesn’t have the same feel anymore, and honestly, it’s becoming really disappointing. The biggest strength of S1 was undoubtedly the Mertes chemistry,their dynamic, tension, and the way their story was written made the show addictive. But S2 seems to be relying on the fame and popularity they built in S1 without actually giving them a story that deserves that chemistry.

Even when we get Mertes scenes, they often feel unnecessarily childish or poorly written instead of focusing on their depth, relationship development, conflicts, and chemistry. I genuinely don’t understand what the writers and directors are trying to achieve with them. They have such a strong pair, yet the writing keeps wasting their potential.

And the whole Eyul storyline is being dragged way too much. At this point,it’s becoming repetitive and annoying. The show increasingly feels like it’s revolving around Eyul and Hazar rather than Mercan and Ates, which is not what many viewers signed up for.

If the writers wanted to tell a story primarily centered around Eyul and Hazar, they could have made a spin-off instead of shifting the focus of Arafta away from its core couple. I want the main story to revolve around Mercan and Ates,their relationship, their struggles, their growth, their conflicts, and their chemistry.

S1 succeeded because Mertes had something special. It wasn’t just the plot; it was the chemistry and emotional connection between the characters. S2 feels like it is trying to capitalize on that success while giving us vague rivalries, unnecessary drama, and a storyline about fixing sibling bond.

The writers have an incredible opportunity with Mercan and Ates, but instead of developing that properly, they keep sidetracking the story. Give Mertes a mature, meaningful and well-written storyline. Let them actually drive the narrative. Stop adding childish filler and unnecessary side drama.
Arafta needs to remember what made people fall in love with it in the first place. Bring back the intensity, chemistry, emotional depth and properly written Mertes scenes. S2 should feel like a continuation of what made S1 special, not like a completely different story using S1’s success to keep viewers watching.

1. Ates saving Eyul and the aftermath of the fire
Ates saving Eyul from the fire accident and the fear of losing his sister were clearly portrayed. You could see how terrified Ates was, and his emotions after the incident felt very genuine. But Eyul blaming him and saying that he wouldn’t have saved her if it wasnt for Mercan was extremely harsh. The way Ates’ eyes were literally filled with tears when he heard that showed how deeply those words hurt him. He had just risked his life to save her, and instead of acknowledging that, she made him feel guilty again.
At the same time, Eyul is still being rude to Mercan even after knowing that Mercan risked her own life for her.She is punishing Mercan for something that was never her fault.Mercan had already treated Eyul with kindness even before she knew that Eyul was Ates’ sister.
One thing that felt a little flat to me was Ates’ reaction towards Mercan after the fire. I thought we would see much more of his caring and protective side. S1 Ates would probably have completely lost it after seeing Mercan risking her life. I really miss that side of Ates. I wanted to see him worry about Mercan, check if she was okay and show how scared he was at the thought of something happening to her. After such a dangerous incident, I expected more emotional vulnerability from him towards Mercan.

2. The company partnership and Mercan’s boldness
Regarding the company partnership, I thought Ates forgave Burak far too quickly. His carelessness is going to cost both Ates and Mercan a lot, so I expected Ates to be much more cautious and angry before forgiving him so easily.
On the other hand, Mercan giving her share to Ates so that Ates could have a say in the company,I loved that move. It was such a bold and confident decision from Mercan.
I really like this version of Mercan. Her character has improved a lot. She is still kind and understanding, but she is also more assertive and bold.

3. Ates constantly snapping at Mercan
I would actually love to see angst and disagreements between Ates and Mercan because meaningful conflict can make their relationship more interesting. But Ates constantly snapping at Mercan is something I really don't appreciate, especially when it is not even over something meaningful.
It has started becoming a repetitive pattern: Mercan puts forward her opinion, Ates gets irritated and snaps at her, then later realises he was harsh, apologises, says something romantic and Mercan forgives him. Then he does the same thing again.
At some point, the apology stops having value if the behaviour never changes. Saying sorry means something when the person learns from the mistake and tries not to repeat it. If Ates keeps repeating the same behaviour, then the apology starts feeling like a temporary fix rather than genuine growth.
And honestly, Mercan forgives Ates too easily. I would really like to see her stand her ground sometimes and tell him that his words hurt her. She can understand him without automatically accepting everything he does.
I don't mind Ates and Mercan disagreeing at all. In fact, I would love that. But I want their disagreements to be mature, meaningful and something that helps them understand each other better rather than turning into a cycle of Ates snapping and then apologising.

4. Ates telling Mercan to stay out of it
Ates telling Mercan to stay out of the Eyul situation was also quite harsh. Even though he later said that he didn't mean it that way, it was still rude.
What bothered me was the double standard. Ates interferes in Mercan's matters all the time, but when Mercan expresses her opinion about something involving Eyul, suddenly she is interfering.
Mercan wasn't even trying to interfere in their fight. She was simply giving her point of view. And after marriage, doesn't she have the right to at least express her opinion about something that directly affects her life too? She is married to Ates and is already partially involved in the entire Eyul situation.
I also wish Ates had shown the same boundary towards Eyul. When Eyul questioned his marriage with Mercan, why didn't he tell Eyul to stay away from Mercan and his relationship? If Ates genuinely wants Mercan to stay out of matters between him and Eyul, then he also needs to make it clear to Eyul that his marriage with Mercan is not something she gets to question or interfere with.
And honestly, if Ates really wants Mercan to stay away from the Eyul drama, then he needs to understand that keeping Eyul in Mercan's home makes that almost impossible. You cannot ask Mercan to completely stay out of a situation that is literally happening under her own roof.

5. Eyul behaviour towards Ates and Mercan
Eyul's constant shouting was a little reduced in this episode, which was honestly a relief. I really hope she slowly starts understanding that Ates and Mercan are not the people she should be blaming.
Eyul is still being rude to both Ates and Mercan, though. I appreciated that Ates stopped her when she disrespected Mercan.
At the same time, I don't think Mercan will ever properly fight back against Eyul. Even in S1, Mercan wasn't someone who would easily give it back to people when they disrespected her like muzzy for example , and with Eyul there is the added guilt surrounding the kidney situation. That guilt will probably always make Mercan hold herself back.
But Eyul really needs to stop using that guilt against Ates and Mercan. Neither of them intentionally did anything to hurt her. Mercan literally risked her life for Eyul, yet Eyul continues to punish her for something that was not Mercan's fault.
And I still don't understand why Eyul is not focused on kicking Saliha out and putting her in her place.Saliha has done far worse to her, and yet Eyul seems to direct so much of her anger towards the wrong people.
It is high time Eyul starts questioning Saliha and realises who has actually been manipulating the situation around her. She needs to stop guilt-tripping Ates and Mercan for something they didn't do.

6. Demet and Cemel
The Demet and Cemel storyline finally moved forward, but I was a little confused about where the fiancé came from because he wasn't even there in S1.
I really hope they keep Cemel mature, like the Cemel we saw in S1, rather than suddenly making him toxic just for the sake of creating drama. There is already enough conflict in the story.
I also really want more scenes between Demet and Mercan. I genuinely miss their friendship. It hasn't even been properly shown whether Mercan knows about Demet and Cemel, and I was expecting some teasing between Mercan and Demet about Cemel, and Ates teasing Cemel about Demet.
I really miss the four of them together onscreen,Ates, Mercan, Demet and Cemel. Their friendship and group dynamic were such an enjoyable part of S1, and I would love to see more of that again.

7. The kitchen and office drama and screen time
Apart from all of that, the kitchen and office drama and the romance were good to watch.
I just wish Ates and Mercan were given more screen time Most fans are watching Arafta primarily for Ates and Mercan, so giving them almost the same amount of screen time as the other characters doesn't really do justice to the leads.
I don't mind the supporting storylines at all, but they should support the main story rather than taking away too much from it. I want more Ates and Mercan scenes ,their conversations, teasing, romance, domestic moments, emotional moments and even their disagreements.
They are the central couple, and I really want the story to spend more time developing their relationship rather than constantly moving away from them.

8.The fight scenes and what I hope comes next
The fight scenes were good, and I enjoyed it.Hopefully, after everything that happened, Eyul will slowly become a little softer towards Mercan and start understanding both Mercan's and Ates' point of view.
Overall, Episode 9 was little better compared to previous episodes.

I know Eyul went through a lot, and I can understand why she carries so much pain and resentment. But that doesn’t mean she should constantly make Ates pay for circumstances that were never actually his fault. When Eyul found out that Ates was her brother, she questioned him about why he never came looking for her, and Ates clearly explained that everyone had told him she had died. He even showed her the grave. **What else was he supposed to have done?**He was a child himself, completely alone in the world, with no parents to guide him, and he genuinely believed his little sister was dead. He didn’t knowingly abandon her.
What frustrates me is that Eyul seems to completely forget that Ates was also a child who was suffering. She talks about everything she went through, but rarely stops to consider what Ates went through after losing his parents and then being told that his sister had died. He didn’t have some adult life where he had all the resources and choices to go searching for her. He was just a traumatized child trying to survive on his own.
And the way she constantly guilt-trips him almost feels like she expects him to somehow compensate for all the suffering she experienced, as if his life being different automatically means he suffered less. Sometimes it even feels like she resents the fact that Ates managed to have a better life while she suffered so much. But Ates having a better life doesn’t erase what happened to Eyul, and Eyul suffering doesn’t mean Ates deserved to suffer too. Both things can be true: she had an incredibly difficult life, and Ates also lost his parents, lost his sister, and grew up believing he had no family left.
Honestly, when she finally discovered that Ates was alive and that she actually had a brother, I expected her to have more of a “I finally have someone who is mine” feeling. I expected happiness, relief, and maybe even gratitude that despite everything she had lost, she had found her brother. Instead, so much of her focus remains on what Ates supposedly failed to do for her. She barely seems interested in understanding what he experienced.
And now that she knows Ates married Mercan, who is the daughter of the family connected to so much of Eyul’s suffering, her resentment has reached another level. I understand why that revelation would hurt her, but she still never genuinely tries to hear Ates’s side before judging him. She looks at his decision entirely through her own pain and expects him to see everything through hers.
That’s what bothers me most about Eyul: she wants Ates to understand her trauma, but she doesn’t seem equally willing to understand his. She knows what she went through, so she expects him to carry the guilt for it, but she doesn’t give the same importance to the fact that he was also a child who had no control over what happened.
I just wish Eyul would stop treating Ates like the person who owes her a lifetime of compensation for her childhood. He is her brother, not the person who caused her suffering. She deserves understanding for what she went through, but Ates deserves that same understanding too.

For me, S2 just didn’t click, and a big part of that is Ates constantly saying that Eyul and Mercan are equal to him. I understand that he loves his sister deeply, and there’s nothing wrong with that relationship, but the way the show keeps emphasizing that his love for Eyul and his love for Mercan are “equal” genuinely irritates me.
In S1, Ates’s first priority was always Mercan. His entire world revolved around her, and, honestly, it was the same for Mercan, Ates was her first priority too. Even in S2, Mercan’s feelings and priorities toward Ates haven’t really changed, but Ates’s emotional priorities now feel divided. Personally, I don’t like the direction the writers took with that.
And I keep wondering: if Mercan had started prioritising Burak/Murat in the same way Ates prioritises Eyul, would people be equally accepting of it? What if Mercan constantly said, “For me, Burak/Murat and Ates are equal”? Would Ates genuinely be okay with that? I highly doubt it. So why is Ates’s version of this dynamic treated as completely unquestionable?
What bothers me even more is that Mercan’s entire emotional world still seems to revolve around Ates. Her other relationships barely get the same depth or importance. That ends up making Mercan feel smaller as a character.
I really wish the writers would give Mercan a proper family bond of her own,a sibling, a brother/sister figure, or even a father figure who would absolutely turn the world upside down for her. Someone whose relationship with Mercan exists independently of Ates. And I want to see Mercan have meaningful scenes with them: arguments, affection, protectiveness, inside jokes, emotional conversations,the whole range of a real family relationship.
Because Mercan deserves to have a world outside of Ates, just as Ates is allowed to have a world outside of Mercan. The difference is that Ates is actually being given those relationships and emotional storylines, while Mercan still feels like her entire existence is being reduced to being Ates’s wife.

That’s what makes S2 so frustrating for me. It’s not that I dislike Ates loving his sister.What I don’t like is the intensity and obsession with which the show has written it, almost to the same level as the way he loved Mercan. For me, that changed the relationship dynamic I loved in S1.

And another thing that really bothers me is how almost every Ates–Mercan conversation and scene in S2 somehow revolves around Eyul. They are a married couple! They have an entire relationship, history, and life together. There are so many things they could be talking about each other, their marriage, their dreams, their fears, their future, their intimacy, their individual struggles, even silly everyday things. But instead, so many of their scenes become about taking care of Eyul or discussing Eyul. At some point, it stops feeling like I'm watching Ates and Mercan as a couple and starts feeling like I'm watching them constantly babysit or manage Eyul.
If the writers wanted to introduce Eyul as an important part of Ates’s life, that's completely fine. But why make her the centre of practically the entire season? An important supporting character shouldn't have to consume the main couple's entire storyline. The show could have given Eyul her own arc while still allowing Ates and Mercan to have a rich, independent relationship.
And then there’s the screen-time imbalance. We get so many scenes dedicated to other characters and their relationships, while Ates and Mercan,the actual main couple,feel like they're getting less and less meaningful time together.
That's probably one of the biggest reasons S2 doesn't work for me. I don't need every episode to be 100% romance, but I do expect the main couple to have their own emotional world. I want to see Ates and Mercan talk about things that have nothing to do with Eyul. I want their relationship to evolve, their marriage to be explored, their chemistry and intimacy to have space, and their individual personalities to continue developing.
Basically, I don't mind Eyul being part of Ates's life. I mind that she seems to have become the centre of Ates and Mercan's life as a couple. And when the season is already giving more screen time to other characters, it becomes even more frustrating because the one relationship I actually tuned in for is the one I'm getting less of.