I love Hatice and Ibrahim's first wedding night. Excitement radiating out of both of them (Ibrahim is more openly excited for once, while Hatice is more restrained, flipping their previous dynamic on its head), Ibrahim letting her veil out so gently almost as not to hurt her and enjoy the moment to the fullest, Hatice longingly staring at him, seeking his touch as a part of her still can't believe that this is even happening, but it is, so she lets her excitement visibly rise too as Ibrahim draws back her hair and takes her jewel off, both of them still processing, facing what has just transpired after so much struggle and separation, that they're already "in heaven", that this is not a dream but a reality, both of them accepting at the same time that they're actually here, in this castle, together, finally giving in, drawing their lips closer more slowly but then more confidently and Ibrahim unbuttoning Hatice and all the rest, and fully embracing this single moment that caps off with the meaningful symbolic gifts both have given to the other - the butterfly and the handkerchief standing there, together (with that vial in the distance opposite to the gifts as well, signifying both the ended struggles and the new ones in store for this new status quo). And all of this is portrayed without a single word of dialogue. This indeed is their first night. And what's more, it is Hatice's first night, even though she has been married before. Now it is a wanted night in a wanted marriage that only gives her hope and life and drives her to actually believe in the unattainable from this point forward, hence the whole sensation is so novel and raw and pure.
{And right before we also have Gülfem getting the gratitude and acknowledgement she deserves as a bonus, along with the future omen of Ibrahim not fully delivering on his promise to Gülfem in the future, yet the first night coming next remains untainted even so. Honestly, what more could you want?}
Sadika and Matrakci become a more fascinating story with each rewatch and one of the main reasons why is the parallels it has with two other resident tragic couples.
[My initial plan for the post was for it to only be about Satrakci's parallels with Ibratice, as I wanted to rework what I said in this IG edit I made for Sol's birthday back in July (I've been unwell ever since I was graced with the Ibratice parallels then), but upon rewatch I noticed the Hürremleo parallels as well, so why not include both, right?]
In terms of Hürremleo, the parallels are looser at first; they can be seen more through some similarities in role either Sadika or Matrakci have to Leo or Hürrem, as well as the ties they have with them in the respective plots, but then the parallels become more and more direct due to the shared, ongoing tragedy of both stories.
Both Leo and Sadika are from another country and come in Istanbul for an ""ulterior"" motive connected to their love: Leo searches for his Alexandra, while Sadika seeks vengeance for her Ariel. They gain others' favor along the way and it's this exact favor that complicates matters for them even further: Sadika is sent to Hatice and Ibrahim's castle, while Leo is sent to a painters' workshop, both encountering difficulty to finish their respective duties or missions, what's ordered to them by the rulers in general (killing Süleiman ordered by Louis, finishing Süleiman's portrait ordered by SS himself). The agency of both of them is constantly violated when they only want to be done soon as possible (Leo's aforementioned "order" itself is merely a part of this, and even though Sadika wants to seek her vengeance, the pressure is definitely wearing on her too). Both of them get someone (Nigar, Matrakci) to send their letters to the people related to their 'purposes', their closest people there, really. Both of them are labeled as traitors and are "dealt with" in the same episode after their 'traitorous' acts have been revealed in some way.
There's a whole post to be made about Sadika's parallels with Hürrem, but overall it's their whole trajectory in the harem that is paralleled: they win over some main authorities (the dynasty and SS respectively) but not others, however those who are won over are really won over, their fondness and trust is really earned (until it's broken at some point, whether permanently or for a while, namely due to something to do with murder on different scales: Ayşe Hatun's murder - that both Hürrem and Sadika are tied to - or the murder attempt on SS); they cling to their original faith at first (parallel scenes with their crosses) and become muslim for more pragmatic reasons (I believe Hürrem started developing some feelings for SS right when she fainted in his arms, with her praising him in front of Gülnihal after that scene, and having flashbacks later and so on, but it was all a gradual process); their motivations have to do (at least at first in Hürrem's case) with revenge due to their past experiences, their loved ones' losses; they are seperately tutored by Sümbül Ağa (and both call his name wrong at times!); the concubines dislike and mistrust them due to their respective rises in the ranks and both have beefs with Ayşe Hatun in particular. Both Sadika and Hürrem also have Leo and Matrakci respectively as likely to compromise what they have accomplished, so they don't want them around themselves much (at least not until Sadika finds use for Matrakci and yet she doesn't want him to go much beyond that use, understandably), no matter how much they may appreciate them or what they do for them.
Both Matrakci and Leo are harem outsiders that perceive that whole world as foreign or just beyond them no matter how close to it they appear to be at this point, so the only thing they can do is go with the flow and navigate it together (Matrakci obviously knows way more than Leo but still). They are ordinary people that somehow always end up at the heart of the action (i.e. the jannisary rebellion) due to their ties with the main characters (Hürrem and Ibrahim respectively). Both of them are characterized by their strong loves. Both of them are insistent on taking every chance they get to meet their loves no matter how impossible it may seem. Both of them lean on hope to get closure with their loves no matter how delayed (Matrakci) or inconceivable (Leo) it is. Both of them are devastated at the end as they face the consequences of being involved in a supposed betrayal. Both of them want their own lives to be taken instead of having to deal with the aftermath of the painful event (that would include having to see their loves suffer or them having to make their loves suffer).
Both Matrakci and Hürrem are people who are still on their path to adapt, but get more and more ingrained in the palace life eventually to the point they get inseparable from it much later on (and that is also helped by their contrasting relationships with Ibrahim). Both of them function as Leo's guides to the inner workings of the castle at certain points. Both of them are motivated by their resurged or newfound care for him here and try to help him in many ways. Both of them try to arrange for their loves to leave (whether subtly or directly, whether for real or as a ruse for another order to be followed). Both of them have to deal with the deaths of their loved ones, brought forth by their hands, due to a cruel order of the same person. Both of them can't seem to forget the experience, no matter how much one might push them to. Both of them keep it close to their hearts.
The more we go, the more tied together these different people get. From Sadika who comes to the harem with a mission that becomes likely to get compromised and that comes to involve Hürrem (when does Hürrem first dream of Leo himself, with him telling her he'll save her? Oh, right - when she was exiled in Edirne for Sadika's murder of Ayşe!); to Sadika aiming more adamantly for SS's chambers, becoming a direct threat for Hürrem, thus she sends her away; to Leo arriving in Istanbul and then showing up all the more in the place Sadika is sent away in; to Hürrem seeing Leo again for the first time in that same place; to Hürrem meeting Leo there again, with Sadika getting involved too for a bit, suspecting something and searching at Leo's things (and it's namely there almost all her meetups with Matrakci are as well); to both the orchestration of Leo's death and the final sealing of Sadika's fate being all tied again to Ibrahim's castle (the main room and the dungeon, respectively), to Ibrahim himself.
Ibrahim seems to "bless" both respective couples or at least the people that are part of them that are more tied to him (Matrakci, Leo); one instance genuine, the other quite performative (wanting to marry Matrakci to Sadika throughout many episodes; telling Leo to confess everything in order for Ibrahim to ""protect"" Hürrem in E24), but ultimately, he screws over both of them at the same time, in the same episode (Hürremleo at day, Satrakci at night), without hesitation. They are forever torn apart and only the surviving have to deal with the fallout (no wonder Matrakci's anguish right after Sadika's death is immediately followed by Hürrem's cries in the hammam!).
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In terms of Ibratice, along with the more basic similarities in role these four people share with one another and the ways they're tied in their respective plots, we have more outlined but deceptive parallels that solidify and become more legitimate due to the joint inevitable future tragedies that await both stories.
Both Ibrahim and Sadika are loved before they feel anything for the people who love them in return. They make their first move only when they sense they can latch onto these people due to different reasons, but they still grow eventual fondness for them regardless. They are the more restrained, cautious side in most of the interactions. They are the ones mostly sending the letters.
Both Ibrahim and Matrakci are the more active forces in their dynamics with their significant others: they seek the opportunities to arrange the meetings, they mostly send the gifts. They are more persistent to fight for their loves however possible. They respect each other's feelings (at least to a point in Ibrahim's case) because they get each other and they get it. They're close witnessers of the others' happiness.
Both Hatice and Sadika have faced the death of their former husband and have trauma related to that, regardless of their different views on said men and their different reactions. Both of them are pressured by those above them in some ways (Hatice to marry Mehmet Celebi; Sadika to avenge Ariel as quickly as possible, at all costs). Both of them are wary not to be seen, of the reactions of others while meeting Ibrahim and Matrakci respectively. Both of them strive for put some distance between Ibrahim and Matrakci respectively, no matter the reason.
Hatice's dynamic with Sadika in particular, along with Ibrahim's with Matrakci, is only bound to put Sadika and Matrakci's parallel story at a center stage. Both Hatice and Ibrahim relate to the hurdle Sadika and Matrakci are apparently experiencing, as this is a hurdle they both have recently experienced and they (Hatice especially) want Sadika and Matrakci to flourish, so they obviously plan to marry them.
However, just like Hatice is a distant witnesser to what's happening around Sadika and the similarities between the four are again very baseline, that relating of Ibratice's to Satrakci is merely relating by assumption. Ibrahim and Hatice think that a love story is happening in front of them, but despite of the similar secret meetings both duos have in the palace gardens, Sadika and Matrakci aren't quite a love story. It's more about Sadika seeking ways to smooth her situation over and fulfill her mission. While Matrakci really loved her, the way Sadika's feelings develop turns out to be way more complicated and it all starts from an initial sense of discomfort, even fear (given her previous experience with Bonçuk Ağa, why wouldn't she be wary of another man who wants her and pursues her?; I think the main reason why she grew fond of Matrakci regardless was him actually showing Sadika basic respect in spite of his passionate feelings he also struggled to contain at times, along with him helping her that unconditionally. And given how many traumas related to that she's experienced - not just by Bonçuk but also by Süleiman - of course that would mean the world to her. Him actually being decent to her and facilitating her mission? Of course that would come to comfort her at least a bit.), then moving to gratitude and only then, finally, to appreciation and fondness (even before his offer for escape in E25, as she called him a good person several times before, in E24 as well) and even then, the objective is prioritized most. The letters weren't letters for her uncle but for the Hungarian king. They all were involved in a spy mission and no one realized it until it was already too late.
But the more we head to the reveal of who Sadika truly is and the characters' realizations and reactions, the closer Satrakci end up to Ibratice. Along with Sadika becoming fonder of Matrakci, more parallels between her and Ibrahim crop up as both of them emerge as traitors to the Sultan not just through their parallel plot-lines in the same episode with Leo/Hürrem and Süleiman respectively (with Ibrahim as the more indirect traitor in both the Leo situation and his involuntary involvement in Sadika's own 'traitorous' actions; though both him and Sadika are placed as killers in their parallel plot-lines: one of Leo - a successful attempt, the other of Süleiman - an unsuccessful one), but also through one finalizing action that will directly threaten the sultan (more metaphorically in Ibrahim's case and more literally in Sadika's) that will bring them on their way to execution.
Sadika is immediately disarmed and imprisoned, awaiting for her fate while the full extent of her several crimes is yet being uncovered. lbrahim's single crime is still pondered on by Süleiman, so he isn't directly confronted, it all rather seeming like his relationship with SS is on a high instead, having no idea what would later come forth. Both Ibrahim and Sadika are supposedly given a way out by (Ibrahim's other lover :DDDD) Süleiman and Matrakci respectively - Ibrahim apparently solidifiying even more his perhaps no longer shaky place next to his majesty and Sadika getting hopeful for a few moments that, maybe, an escape is truly possible (this can also be a parallel with Hatice to an extent - with her having worries earlier but ultimately brushing them off until the unavoidable truth is delivered to her, just like Sadika). Both are executed anyway.
This is where the parallels between Matrakci and Hatice come in: Both Matrakci and Hatice will have to grapple with these respective deaths. The loves of both emerge as traitors executed by the order of another person - of the one person, the next person Matrakci and Hatice value the most. Even though Ibrahim's death comes as a surprise to Hatice, while Matrakci is all too aware of it, having to follow the order himself, their pain is the same. And both of them are urged to get over it "with time", but they struggle to (and Hatice doesn't manage to at all; just like Sadika, she'll want to AVENGE her (other) husband who SS killed).
All these different people are tied together all the more directly and from the very beginning: Ibrahim brings Sadika in the castle per Matrakci's request due to Matrakci's pity and compassion for her; the first move Sadika does to gain favor is done during Hatice's engagement to Mehmet Celebi; Sadika becomes Hatice's main lady not only due to Hürrem's suggestion, but also because she too has come to like her; Sadika and Matrakci's whole story takes place in Ibrahim's castle once again; Ibratice's wedding opens the path for a possible Satrakci wedding, as I already mentioned; both Sadika and Matrakci (along with Leo) are next to Hatice during the jannisary rebellion and witness the loss of her child; Ibrahim and Matrakci order a brooch and a necklace for Hatice and Sadika respectively at the same time after Hatice loses the child; the closer Satrakci get to Ibratice's orbit in general, the more chipper Ibratice get over said possible wedding, trying to realize it... until Satrakci's doom suddenly comes forth, once again by the same person they've been "blessed" by before {and on an interesting more symbolic note that links that doom even more with Ibrahim: we have water motives around both Satrakci and Ibratice. Matrakci's last moments with Sadika, with what will only become a relic of the past, were on a boat (coming full-circle, as Sadika herself also arrived in Istanbul by a boat, ready to embrace her future). Ibrahim traveled on a ship to Parga, a remnant of his past as well, after everyone learned about his relationship with Hatice and it was unclear what would happen. Both relationships were threatened and in a completely final way, in terms of Satrakci. The freedom symbolism of the ship is pretty much taken away for the boat namely by the guy for who it meant freedom to quite an extent and it's turned into a close, inevitable, encompassing doom instead of a further, temporary one (although one could argue that some of the original freedom symbolism remains against all odds, as Matrakci allowed Sadika to put the sack on her head herself - but the outcome isn't changed regardless and this is sadly the most he could do in this situation...). Ibrahim himself is quite associated with boats too outside of that and this association is even called back in his last episode. Ibrahim is executed at night, just like Sadika is. Okay, I may be reaching here a bit, BUT...}.
Regardless of his earlier "blessing" of Sadika and Matrakci, everything is discarded after the betrayal and Ibrahim will make him execute her anyway, constantly insisting for him to move on. What's more intriguing, he tells this to Hatice as well, presenting the very assertion of "moving on with time" that she'll challenge in the future namely over her grief for him [the "scales of relation" tip again - it's now Ibrahim who distances himself from Matrakci's circumstances (even though he will end up unable to due to what'll come for him in the future), while Hatice relates to Matrakci's pain (and she'll continue relating to it in the future). It's kind of fascinating that Ibrahim and Hatice are actually at odds for this and that it is one of the first things they're actually at odds for outside of their different relationships with Hürrem, even before Hatice's first pull of rank on him; it may not be just a matter of viewpoints (and coping mechanisms: Ibrahim strives to completely move on from his painful experiences, to not even recall them and expects others to do so as well, while Hatice arrives at a point when she no longer can after the person she leans on the most is also taken away from her, after her brother too is taken away from her; how can she cling to peace any further, will it be possible? She desperately wishes to make it possible, however...) - Ibrahim at this point definitely wouldn't want her to grieve for him forever, he would like to spare her that pain, still though...]. So Matrakci and Sadika skip straight to Ibrahim and Hatice's tragic ending in spite of both Ibrahim and Hatice's hopes for them to get that initial happy ending of their wedding instead. This is how Satrakci emerge right up as tragic mirrors to Ibratice that'll only be an omen for the future, no matter how many ups there otherwise are and will be, no matter how much everything seems to be smoothed over.
Hatice and Ibrahim have never been more divided from each other up to that point than in E43-E44. While Hatice always sensed when Ibrahim was actually in danger or she's lost him in any way (i.e. E35 when she felt something in Edirne while Ibrahim was with Nigar), nothing came up when he was shot; he didn't even tell her what happened to him until she found out herself; they were seperated while he was recovering; the wait for Ibrahim to come back felt like an eternity to Hatice and she went through several breakdowns at once (and his carriage was right in front of her but she couldn't see him, her only thought until the very end was that he was dead, isn't that what her dream with the "crying" statues meant?); when he came back she wasn't allowed to spend at least some time alone with him as SS wanted to talk to him; even their sleep was interrupted. The only thing that Ibrahim asked Hatice to do was to play him his mother's song on the violin (I like to think that Hatice started learning the violin in order to become closer to him, to who he is, to his past again after what they went through with little Mehmet).... but he no longer associates even that with Hatice anymore.
Ibrahim and Hatice's wedding in the show is the grandest, happiest, most feastful wedding of the series, with as many celebrations as can be. It's obvious why, of course: given the show has the most "foreign politics" plots at this very point, we have to have separate moments of the ambassadors and the people of power acknowledging that whole ordeal, it's the first ever royal wedding we see in the series and it's both a payoff of so many episodes of development of Ibrahim and Hatice's story, a high culmination point, and a setup of the right upcoming close matter of the Jannisary rebellion and the future, more far looming (or that's how it merely looks like) issues of Hatice and Ibrahim's relationship (Gülfem's usual prominence is set aside for a bit to make place for Nigar); each wedding in the show signifies a major change to the status quo, but namely Hatice and Ibrahim's wedding accentuates that the most, as it doesn't just have someone permanently moving to a new place/castle (Hatice here and in E94, Nigar in E44-5, Mihrimah in E99 etc.), giving birth (Mihrimah to Ayşe Hümaşah after her own wedding, but Hürrem to Selim during Hatice's wedding) or getting wounded (Ibrahim during Hürrem's wedding, mirroring E10-E11 a bit) and new twists on established dynamics (not just the wed couples but also Mahidevran and Hürrem, SS and Mustafa, Hürrem and Leo in E17; Nigar and Ibrahim in E17 and E44-5; Hürrem, Hatice and Ibrahim, Hürrem and all the others in general in E42-3; Ibrahim and Matrakci in E44-5 etc.), but it also has a timeskip, showing the older kids to literally stress that a next stage of the characters' lives is coming forth. We get to see what a wedding is like for the first time, in its fullest and most detailed to accustomize ourselves even more in this world, so this may allow for the other weddings to lean on a more individual focus of the characters of the wedding themselves and what the wedding entails for them and those around them, the celebrations dimish and even the time the wedding's given could do so too depending on the narrative point of said wedding (more time could be given to the aftermath of the wedding than the wedding itself like in Nigar and Matrakci's case), formal weddings for ulterior, political purposes and alliances increase much more (while Hatice and Ibrahim's wedding is one of the biggest exceptions in the series and it's fascinating that we begin with it) and we get to have more bittersweetness or outright tragedy if the wedding is such for the characters. The weddings aren't only happy, they can also be like a funeral and we gradually arrive at a stage where we can actually observe that, not having it simply be hinted at (like Hürrem and Hatice's respective weddings to Lala Kasim's son and Mehmet Celebi were hinted at). The grander yet more interpersonal stakes and the bigger lean inside the empire are punctuated by the weddings as well.
{All that is to also say that it's sad that Hürrem claims that she won't get the wedding Hatice gets but Mihrimah will get it instead, when precisely hers and SS's wedding is the closest to Hatice and Ibrahim's in terms of massiveness, unprecedentedness (a big shift in traditions due to a love match as well, or rather, an even bigger one as a sultan hasn't freed and married a concubine for a looong time), structure (ceremony, feasts for the people as well as for those around the sultan and a major parallel event during the wedding, in this case Ibrahim's wounding) and feel (yes, a sorrowful element is around for everyone other than the married people this time instead of the everpresent happiness in Ibrahim and Hatice's wedding that contrasts only with Mahidevran's anguish that isn't even about the wedding, but an even bigger joy is presented for Süleiman and especially Hürrem; in E42 itself, the focus is all on the double joy with the ongoing princely circumcision and the surprising wedding in the very end, while E17 has an ongoing wedding and the surprising birth, so the focus shifts more), while Mihrimah's is a genuinely sorrowful wedding, more parallel to Hatice's E94 wedding than her E17 wedding instead.}
