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spoonfullofwit · 3 months

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The HOTD AND MAGNIFICENT CENTURY CHARACTER COMPARISONS ARE NOT PASSING THE VIBE CHECK (in my opinion)

(Mostly talking about the shows. Not delving too much into books because I have not read the books yet. It’s on my TBR. And I know certain details that happen in the books because of videos that talk about A song of ice and fire universe. And I am not delving too deep into the Ottoman Empire history)

Okay....Wow.

Like....wow. Where do I even begin?

Point 1: A quick one to get it out of the way. Viserys I and Suleiman being similar is the best one in regards to that they are so oblivious when it comes to their family and it goes straight over their heads.

They don't understand why their families can't get along even though it so fucking obvious why, and they had the power to put a stop to the infighting if they did the obvious thing. For Suleiman put a stop to the fratricide law to prevent his sons from being forced into killing each and stop their mothers from plotting against each other to save them. And for Viserys not getting married a second time or abdicated the throne while he was alive and give it to Rhaenyra.

They love their wives to death and when Hurrem and Aemma died Suleiman and Viserys souls died with them. They have complicated relationships with their children; they have obvious favorites that caused conflict within the family. Suleiman with Mehmed and Mihrimah. Viserys with Rhaenyra.

I get this comparison. I accept.

But give my man Suleiman more credit because he was a better leader, commanded respect, and always stood on business on every aspect. While Viserys was a little flaky and kind of wishy-washy especially with politics and governance; despite being a decent enough guy he was not a good ruler. While Suleiman is considered the greatest rulers of all time both in the show and in real life because he was decisive, smart, and ambitious.

In a fight/war Suleiman would have fucking obliterated Viserys (without the use of dragons of course). But if not pitted against each other I think they would have been good enough friends. (though I think they would have secretly thought each other was a little weird).

Point 2: The main ones that burned my biscuits.

Hurrem is more like Rhaenyra and I am willing to die on this hill.

People have the uptmost gall and audacity to say that Hurrem is Alicent Highttower coded.....DID WE WATCH THE SAME SHOWS?

Hurrem is so Targaryen coded. At the very least Martell or a little bit Baratheon coded.

Like people are getting caught up on the ONE aspect of Hurrem's character which is that she is a bad stepmom ( i love her but it is the truth) like Alicent since they are both trying to kill their step children to make way for their own biological children...but Hurrem is more than that. And reducing her to just that is a disservice to the core of her character.

Yes Rhaenyra and Mustafa were robbed of their thrones but they are so different with their values and morals. And their gender plays a huge part in that also.

Mustafa did not have to prove himself to anyone or was questioned of his capability of ruling because he is a man. If history played out in his favor, there would not have been huge shift in history. It would have been more of the same because like I said he is a man. Mustafa is not much of an underdog because he has all of the privileges that Rhaenerya does not have access to.

She is constantly having to prove herself and her worth because she is a woman. She is constantly doubted and her honor is always called into question because she does exactly what every man does.

Rhaenyra is willing to do things (blood and cheese) that honestly I don't think Mustafa would have done. And if they met they would have not liked each other.

Because Rhaenyra probably would have reminded him too much of Hurrem.

Hurrem and Rhaenyra are rebels that dance to the beat of their own drum. They are the ones that broke the mold of what is acceptable for women. They were the first to achieve a level that was thought impossible for a woman.

Rhaenyra is the first woman to be named rightful heir to the Iron Throne and first sole ruling Queen (even though sadly it was for a short time). As a character Rhaenyra was balling the fuck out (as she should!). She was arrogant, was not afraid to put someone in their place, larger than life, and she wanted power. She fought in a literal war! Under the right circumstances she would have been a great ruler. She did what thought was best for her and lived life on her terms. Which is something even real women can barely do.

Hurrem was the first slave to become a legal wife of a Sultan and helped create an entirely new title, Haseki Sultan, which is the chief consort of the emperor. Which is the second most power position for a woman underneath Valide sultan (Mother of the Sultan). Haseki Sultan had immense power and influence of the empire! That is a huge step! She began an entire era called the Sultante of Women! She trailblazed for other women to rise up and gain power. All because she stuck her neck out, stood her ground and refused to be walked all over. Hurrem was all or nothing and did not asked but demanded respect. She dared to reached for more despite the heavy risk. She's fiery, charismatic, brave, intelligent, vicious, altruistic, headstrong, complicated, and plays by her own rules not anyone else's. She fought tooth and nail for she wanted.

Sounds very Targaryen to me. Show version Hurrem even have prophetic dreams and has fire and dragon motifs for christ sake!

Rhaenyra and Hurrem were both betrayed, abandoned, and had to move mountains to get what they want while losing a great deal in the process. They don't follow rules that don't serve them and are unabashedly upfront. These two would have been great friends! Hurrem, Rhaenyra, Laena Velaryon and Daemon would have been the best group on fucking earth. They would probably taken over the world in style.

Alicent would not have liked Hurrem. Maybe would not be so hostile toward Hurrem, but still would not like Hurrem's rule-breaking ways and her confidence.

As the saying goes good girls barely make history.

Point 3: The "good girls" in question

Mahidveran is the one who's soooooo damn Alicent Hightower coded. Like they are pretty much the same except Mahidveran is more outwardly viscous.

This is team "I blindly follow rules that don't serve me then get mad when said rules don't serve me." They allow others to control their lives and understandably they became resentful for it, and rest in their victimhood mentality.

They hide behind other people because they cannot stand on their own two feet. They are so self-righteous and refuse to take accountability for the wrong they have done.

I will give Mahidveran props for standing up for herself and her son to Suleiman from time to time. While Alicent waited until the last possible moment to stand up to her father (which resulted in absolutely noting). And I will give Mahidhveran major points for being a more involved parent and did not raise a rapist, drunk, and pedo.

While Hurrem and Rhaenyra went against the staus quo, Mahidveran and Alicent IS the status quo. If there was no Hurrem, Mahidveran would have been just another Vahide Sultan we would not have known or cared about. Or if Mustafa died before becoming a Sultan she would have been just another concubine pushed to the side because she did not break the mold. Which is understandable because it is dangerous for a woman to act out if she does not have protection or leverage. I understand that not everyone has it in them go against the grain and that's okay. Same for Alicent, if Rhaenyra never existed and Alicent married Viserys and carried on having sons she probably would not made much of a impact because again she complies with the restrictive patriarchal view of femininity and cannot fathom living another way because the risk of societal backlash is too great and scary. And again not everyone is strong enough to not give a fuck what societal expectations.

However, my problem with women/female characters like this is that they do absolutely nothing for the progress of other women and do everything for the progress of men. Even for men who don't deserve it (cough Alicent). They help continue the cycle of men dominating over everyone and maintaining a status quo that keeps women disempowered and treated as property and pawns.

I am not saying Hurrem and Rhaeynera are perfect feminists or perfect women or even perfect people. I am not saying everything they did was for the betterment of women because let's be real it was probably not. But women who take hold of their agency and personhood, shows other women that there are alternative ways to live and you do not have stand for a society or system that mistreatments you. Being selfish is the most radical thing a woman can do, because selfish "wild" women shows the gaping cracks of patriarchy, if more women choose to be themselves and live on their own terms then the system would eventually fall completely apart.

Alicent and Mahidveran would have been great superficial friends. They hang and out exchange niceties. Mahidveran would tell Alicent everything she want to hear because that's the kind of friend Mahidveran is (look at Hattice, Shah and Fatma.) And I totally see Mahidveran trying to worm her way into a marriage alliance between Helaena and Mustafa...Which I wouldn't be mad at cus my sweet baby Helaena deserved someone who wouldn't hurt her and keep her safe.

Thank you for reading my Ted Talk. Sorry if its long and got way to philsophical I might make more posts on this because it is very interesting and obviously I have thoughts on this. I love these shows so much.

#magnificent century #hurrem sultan #mahidevran hatun #mahidevran sultan #hurrem x suleyman #sultan suleyman #sultan suleiman #house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower #hotd #game of thrones #fire and blood #king viserys #viserys targaryen

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awkward-sultana · 30 days

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Some thought Roxelana used seductive powers, even potions, to induce the love Suleyman appeared to bear her. They called her witch. — Leslie Peirce, Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire

#Muhteşem Yüzyıl #Magnificent Century #mcedit #Muhtesem Yuzyil #perioddramaedit #weloveperioddrama #Hurrem Sultan #The Concubine Hurrem #Blind Fury #It Is the Policy and Nothing Personal #ottoman history #history #Sultan Suleiman #Awkward-Sultana #period drama #historical drama #turkish history

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chaos-of-the-abyss · 1 month

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very interesting how when firuze is seducing suleiman, she displays a lot of the same behaviors that hürrem does when she's with him. both women make declarations of being worthless, of being meaningless without suleiman, of their lives belonging to him, of their sole desire being to please him, and of their sole concern being his love. both women also very much downplay their pasts before they came to the harem, and make a point of announcing that suleiman is their "destiny" in some way: hürrem when she tells him "i came to you from across the sea, i am yours," firuze when she claims that she saw suleiman in her dreams long before they met. of course, hürrem is more sincere in these things while firuze is coming from a place of deliberate calculation, since she's a spy aiming to kill suleiman. i'm not sure if it's accurate to say that she's consciously mimicking hürrem, since there's no way she could observe how hürrem acts in private with suleiman, though it's certainly likely that she paid close attention to the things hürrem said about or to suleiman in her presence. but i do think firuze is good at reading people; that she intuitively grasped the kind of behavior that suleiman would gravitate towards and put on an act accordingly around him. anyway, i find firuze fascinating and it's cool to consider what might have been going through her head all that time.

we're not going to get into how it says absolutely nothing good about suleiman that that behavior is the type of thing he finds attractive in his women, lmfao. suffice to say that if this show was more self-aware and handled better, the narrative would actually address how narcissistic suleiman can be in his romantic relationships as part of his character's "complexity"

#'complexity' in quotes bc i roll my eyes when a male character being abusive is supposed to be taken as 'nuance and grey area'#firuze hatun #hürrem sultan #sultan süleyman #sultan suleiman #suleiman #muhteşem yüzyıl #muhtesem yuzyil #magnificent century #i ramble #mc tag

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royalsofhistory · 2 years

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💌 Details of the famous painting of “Roxelana” by Italian artist, Tiziano Vecelli, circa 1515-1550.

Hürrem Sultan, or “Roxelana”, was the only legitimate wife of the famous Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent — thus, she became the most influential woman in Ottoman history. Of Ruthenian origin, she was known for her bright auburn hair and profound love of and interest in poetry, which captured the sultan’s eyes and saw her rising from the status of concubine to that of founder of an era known as the “Sultanate of women”.

Under the pen name of “Muhibbi”, the sultan composed the following poem for his beloved wife:

(💌) “Throne of my lonely niche, my wealth, my love, my moonlight.

My most sincere friend, my confidant, my very existence, my sultan, my one and only love.

The most beautiful among the beautiful...

My springtime, my merry faced love, my daytime, my sweetheart, laughing leaf...

My plants, my sweet, my rose, the only one who does not distress me in this world...

My Constantinople, my Caraman, the earth of my Anatolia,

My Badakhshan, my Baghdad and Khorasan

My woman of the beautiful hair, my love of the slanted brow, my love of eyes full of mischief...

I’ll sing your praises always

I, lover of the tormented heart, Muhibbi of the eyes full of tears, I am happy.”

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fymagnificentwomcn · 2 years

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Just thinking how Hürrem was given freedom by Suleiman, which literally did not mean a change in her life other than prestige brought by marriage - she continued to be mentally dependent on him and got absorbed into the system even more… Suleiman’s rejection of Mahidevran, which also contributed to him refusing her freedom (yes she never stood a chance because he never loved her and his favoritism was what decided fates in that system in the end), actually freed her in the long run mentally and emotionally. It was the moment she decided to give up on him and slowly walked towards her full mental independence. And while she still had to obey certain rules imposed by the system due to her having her prince, upon his death, she stopped giving shit and finally voiced all the anger about Suleiman and the system. She lost all the “golden cage”, but she gained freedom from constraints of mind and emotion that the system put on individuals. She was free to get most reflection about the system & form critique of it without being an active part of it any longer. A sad freedom but the truest one any of these women got.

#mahidevran sultan #hurrem sultan #sultan suleiman #magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #meta #mods opinions

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nesiacha · 15 days

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After being critical about the episode "Secrets d’histoire les femmes de la révolution" I am forced to admit that the show remains just as mediocre concerning the episode on "Soliman le magnifique."

With the guests, I learned astonishing new things: Mahidevran would have actually been the mother of three of Suleiman's children and his favorite before the arrival of Hurrem. It's funny, I thought that due to the fratricide law, the rule was that a concubine of the sultan could only have one son; and that Suleiman broke the rule by having more than one son with Hurrem.

Have our guests discovered evidence that this rule had already been broken before under the fratricide law? Or how did they demonstrate that Mahidevran had been the favorite for a time while having the lowest salary among the concubines? The continuation to clarify these surprisingly grotesque points more precisely will be in the next episode (or not), like this alleged physical fight between Hurrem and Mahidevran that never actually happened. Or Mahidevran's alleged repeated crying fits when we have no proof of that (even though justified given the stressful positions of the concubines, generally these women were chosen for their intelligence and ability to keep their composure among other things).

Let's move on to the more serious points: I was expecting the classic but false explanation that Hurrem influenced Suleiman to eliminate Ibrahim. In real life, even if Hurrem and Ibrahim dislike each other, Ibrahim was not executed for that. Moreover, it's strange, the guests of this emission say that Suleiman is not manipulable (which is totally true) and then contradict themselves. We know that Hurrem was his adviser, but she wasn't the sultan.

The most shocking (or funniest to adopt depending on your point of view): a guest explains that some rumors say that Hurrem was Ibrahim's mistress before she was introduced to Suleiman and that she tried to eliminate Ibrahim so that this part of the episode would be forgotten. The guest may claim that it's subject to caution, but it's mostly nonsense (euphemism)

I understand better now why some people dismiss Hurrem and Ibrahim if they've seen this mediocre show.

Finally, Mustafa's execution, I don't need to tell you anything, I imagine you would have guessed on your own which way the explanations of his execution go. I admit to having had false hope when they were finally explaining the laws of fratricide (finally a truth explained that it's not the mothers' fault if the Sultan's sons are enemies) and when a guest was explaining how he wondered how Suleiman could be manipulated to this extent (I thought the guest was going to break the grotesque stereotype that Hurrem had Mustafa assassinated and it's entirely her fault, yes, I had a completely stupid false hope). But in the end, no, false hope not more than that especially when the show says that Suleiman has a strong morality (oh really, the guy mistreats the mother of his son Mustafa and condemns her to poverty even though even his father Selim Yavuz, a man of terrible temperament, left BulBul Hatun, the mother of his half-brother enemy Sehzade Ahmed, alone, which demonstrates unnecessary cruelty on Suleiman's part; Suleiman refuses to give the necessary support to his son Mustafa to defend the province out of fear of his popularity and therefore is ready to sacrifice a part of his people because of it, we don't have the same conception of morality).

Finally, Sehzade Mehmed, son of Sehzade Mustafa, is renamed Sehzade Murad when the show talks about him ( new inaccury) and his assassination. It feels like Suleiman acted on a whim and the show doesn't explain that the rule in Ottoman Empire is that when a sehzade is executed by his father the Sultan, all his sons perish with him. Or maybe our guests were completely unaware of this, which wouldn't surprise me.

Finally, Bayezid's fate is barely mentioned and as usual, the black legend of Selim II is once again briefly mentioned by saying that he was a mediocre leader compared to his father (which is false, I think Selim II was more competent than his father and I say this while also liking historical Sehzade Mustafa). So, in summary, in this show, Hurrem is still in her black legend, even though she did charity and tried to alleviate the fate of the slaves (I'm not saying she's a saint, but nobody was if we had to take her position she was mostly the scapegoat of a system change just like Anne Boleyn was in England to avoid blaming the real leaders), but a man like Tallien who pillages, massacres, betrays for better interests and fills his pockets, a very bloody weathervane is seen as heroic (some will argue that this comparison is anachronistic given that Tallien started in the French revolution but that's the conclusion I draw from these shows). Wow, what magnificent morality.

Other people seeking much more accurate references have gone to read the comic book "Ils ont fait fait l’histoire Soliman le magnifique." I've read it and I'm critical (although the mistakes are less serious). Already in this collection, there are good volumes like Elizabeth I's, but others in which I disagree. There is also a big problem: the comic starts with Mustafa's assassination, which means that many important elements are left out (that's the problem some people have the right to a trilogy in this comic like Napoleon to my despair, while others only have one volume which is insufficient to understand how the character got there). It is made clear that it's Suleiman who is behind the execution even if Hurrem approves and is even relieved by Mustafa's death (natural given the law of fratricide), it's not she who had the upper hand in the execution. However, historical inconsistencies arise: first the story takes up the false legend of Cihangir who dies of grief for Mustafa when in reality they were not close at all ( maybe they didn't meet each other). Selim II is seen as incompetent and Sehzade Bayezid as more competent (still false). We see a somewhat ruthless Hurrem but not enough of her gentle side (and the comic implies that Mahi, although absent-minded, is arrogant, the black legend about these women is tenacious and frustrating). Mustafa only makes two pages of appearances, Mihrimah is absent, Cihangir doesn't appear, only Bayezid makes the most appearances.

A detail that the comic seems to forget: the stranglers are deaf-mutes, so they couldn't argue about the execution of the youngest son of Bayezid (I know it's to accentuate the horror but we must try to remain consistent in history plus it was already horrific to know that a child was going to be executed because of his father's rebellion).

In short, I understand better now why I encounter some people convinced they hold the truth if they've only seen this show or rely solely on this comic.

#sultan suleiman #hurrem sultan #mahidevran hatun #ibrahim pasha #sehzade bayezid

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brazilianreader · 2 years

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i love the fact that Suleiman, Hurrem and Mihrimah are like:

Hurrem: WHY ARE THERE SMALL HANDMARDS ON THE WALLS?

Suleiman: Why are there handprints on the walls, Mihrimah?

Mihrimah: because my little hands are tiny daddy

Suleiman: Because her little hands are tiny!

#hurrem sultan #sultan suleiman #haseki hurrem sultan #mihrimah sultan #magnificent century

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myname-isnia · 1 year

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@faintingheroine sent me this list months ago and I completely forgot about it until now so here we go. Magnificent Century characters sorted into Tumblr word categories

Blorbo (favorite character)

Nigar Kalfa my beloved. Lives rent free in my mind. Loved her ever since episode 1 when she gave Hürrem advice and bawled my eyes out when she died

Scrunkly (my “baby”, so shaped)

Viktoria/Sadıka. 'So shaped' literally describes her so well she's so pretty I love her. Also 5 year old Mustafa bc he's way too adorable for words and I love his chubby cheeks.

Scrimblo bimblo (underrated fav)

Şeker Ağa, aka the one man in MC who would treat me right. He was written out of the show in the middle of season 3 with no acknowledgement whatsoever and I still haven't gotten over it

Glup shitto (obscure fav)

Okay this is gonna take some explaining but sometime in season 3 (I think) a woman comes to the harem exactly once to sell fabric. She mistakes Hürrem for a servant and upon discovering she is a sultana, says "But she looks nothing like a witch!" Her name was Şirin or Şerin or smth like that (I watched the dub so don't judge me) and I think that's as obscure as it gets. And also Hasibe Hatun, who Gülşah forced to poison Hürrem in early season 1

Poor little meow meow (problematic/unpopular fav)

Almost everyone in MC is problematic idk what to tell you. Probably Hürrem and Mahidevran because they're the ones that come to mind when I hear the phrase poor little meow meow. Not unpopular by any means but definitely not liked by certain sides of the fandom

Horse plinko (character i would torment for fun)

Ibrahim, no contest. Just my mediocre knowledge of Greek would be enough to give him a stroke. Also explaining to him that the Divine Comedy is a self insert bible fanfic would be hilarious and I wanna do it so bad

Eeby deeby (character i would send to superhell)

Obvious answer, but Suleiman. Do I even need to explain it

#magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #nigar kalfa #magnificent century viktoria #sadika hatun #şehzade mustafa #hürrem sultan #mahidevran sultan #ibrahim paşa #sultan suleiman

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trtvramblings · 2 years

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disappointed and betrayed by the lack of pargalı ibrahim/sultan süleyman fanfics on ao3

#muhteşem yüzyıl #magnificent century #sultan suleiman #ibrahim paşa #i have no shame

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ibrahimnerde · 2 years

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I find Sultan Sulyman paranoia unreasonable justification to his actions. He is throwing a fit at his son who is also a prince because janissaries rightfully love him. Did they love the sultan too when he was a prince?

Okay your question needs me to go between the show and history.

Did they love the sultan too when he was a prince?

Ik you were probably asking this rehotorically but truth is no SS in his prince-hood didn’t have 1/3 of Mustafa’s popularity. SS was Yavuz Selim I only son ,rumors has it he had an illegitimate son ,but regardless SS was the only candidate. Yavuz Selim I was cruel is an understatement statement and prince SS had to lay low because he was scared he might get executed by his very cruel father. There is that I will dive in to SS prince-hood again.

SS’ paranoia is far more deep than Janissaries loving Mustafa. The root of his paranoia is his father. Let’s dive back to history, Yavuz Selim I saw his father Bayezid II as an old man who isn’t fit to rule anymore so he dethroned him. During that time SS was like 18 years old or something so to witness such a disturbing scene he is traumatized, to see his father dethrone his grandfather or to be accurate a case of “son dethroning his father” he lived with that and no one could be like “son wouldn’t do that to his father” well he witnessed it already. Comparing Yavuz Selim I to Sehzade Mustafa is a bit of a stretch ngl but SS didn’t view them equally either.

The main problem is in SS eyes Mustafa could dethrone him if he wanted to. And since it happened before and he saw it , he believed it might happen again. Selim I used Janissaries to dethrone , Janissaries were on Mustafa’ side ready to support him in anything . In the poisoned Kaftan incident they were willing to be with Mustafa on anything even dethroning SS and that’s actually what they thought he wanted to do. It is Mustafa himself who didn’t wanna do it. But then in SS’ pov Mustafa pretty much could do it and while it not may be his intentions now…well intentions changes .

There is a big difference , to us the viewers, between Mustafa and Selim I. Selim I is portrayed to us that he dethroned his father and isn’t guilty at all symbolizes that he was so willing to do it. Mustafa on the other hand was portrayed to us as he was so unwilling to do it. To the viewers we 100% know Mustafa’s motives are concrete but to the characters to SS specifically Mustafa’s motives aren’t concrete and the people that surround him makes him a bigger threat.

I don’t necessarily believe that SS paranoia justifies his actions. I just understand where did it come from. I could easily say if Mustafa wasn’t surrounded by the people he was surrounded with or if Mahidevran died early, SS wouldn’t be as paranoid but truth is no. SS paranoia is because of Selim I , Mustafa’ surroundings just add fuel to fire.

#magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #sultan suleiman #Sehzade Mustafa #yavuz sultan selim

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444minerva777 · 2 years

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Süleymaniye Camii / Fatih

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ismetgurbuz1994 · 2 years

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Muhteşem Yüzyıl

#Show Tv #muhteşem yüzyıl #kanuni #kanuni sultan süleyman #sultan süleyman #sultan suleiman

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awkward-sultana · 4 months

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Scenes I would have liked to see in Magnificent Century (always being updated)

These are just things I would have liked to see, or honestly just hyper specific scenes I’ve envisioned in my own head. Don't come at me about realism. That's not why any of us are here.

Would love to hear everyone's opinions and what you would have like to see in the show!

Hürrem telling Suleiman about Leo and him accepting it A big part of Hürrem’s power in the harem in the show is that she got away with a lot of things, whether it be through manipulation or Suleiman’s love for her, but mostly it was through being smart and manipulative. That’s a huge part of her character, but it would have been nice to see a moment where she doesn’t win and has to come clean to Suleiman. His acceptance of Leo would have made their love more genuine in my eyes. He knew she was a slave and had a life before him.

Hürrem's past as a priest’s daughter When Hürrem went to Edirne, it would have been great to see her open the palace to the sick and nursed them instead of sitting there helplessly in literally one spot the whole time. We saw her help Hatice medically in seasons 1 and 2 and she was a priest’s daughter so we know she saw a lot of sickness and has some basic idea of giving aid.

Hürrem seriously going off on Suleiman at least once Again, a big part of Hürrem's legacy was how nuts Suleiman was for her and how she could get away with things other concubines couldn’t. I would have liked to see her really loser her temper at him at least once. Maybe go off about how difficult it is in the harem, being a woman battling for her life and her kids’ lives. It would have made their relationship seem deeper than it was in the show.

Generally seeing Suleiman's absolute obsession with Hürrem That man was nuts about her in real life. True Gomez and Morticia Addams.

Some good moments between young Mustafa and Hürrem Like thanking him for saving Mehmet from drowning in the first season or saying, “Thank you for being such a good big brother to my son.” She protected him during the janissary riots, but we didn’t see much day to day interactions between them. It would have made the distancing between them more impactful.

Another grown sultana in the family, like Mahidevran’s daughter Raziye It would have been great to see the dynamic between Mihrimah and another daughter, especially one that was older but still within her age range. The aunts were older than her and she constantly had to show them respect, so it didn’t feel like a fair fight. And Esmahan had to defer to Mihrimah too because she was the Sultan’s daughter. Another daughter who is equal to Mihrimah in most ways would have been fun.

Hürrem pulling away during the whole Firuze thing Hürrem had to stay on Suleiman’s good side because he’s the sultan, but I would have loved to see her pull away from him in small ways, like not spending time with him or choosing to eat alone and not with him. I’m a sucker for a good grovel.

Suleiman actually apologizing for things he’s done Again, I love a good grovel and it never happens in this show. He always just got sick and woke up and told Hürrem how much he loved her. This goes into Hürrem pulling away during the Firuze arc and showing Suleiman her love is reasonably conditional. Again, real life Suleiman was whipped for Hürrem.

Ibrahim and Hürrem bonding at least once over being slaves and considering what their lives might have been like at home This kind of goes into my last point of Hürrem pulling away from Suleiman when he was with Firuze. I always thought that would be a great scene when they’re having dinner with the dynasty members when Firuze was in the picture. I envisioned Hürrem mulling about her “home” in Eastern Europe and confusing the dynasty about what "home" to her seems to mean now that's she's pretty unhappy, then asking Ibrahim in front of all of them what he thinks his life might have been like if he hadn’t been taken. This could have given way to a deep scene between Hürrem and Ibrahim as well as a sweet scene later on of Suleiman asking Hürrem to share her memories of her home.

Firuze slowly losing favor instead of an instantaneous decision There are so many deus ex machinas in the show that act as resolutions to issues and the Firuze thing was one of them. I would have liked to see her slowly lose favor, like treating Cihangir without permission from Hürrem or Suleiman, being disrespectful to Hürrem in front of him, or butting in on the family grieving Mehmet’s injury.

Hafsa and Hürrem bonding over something other than hating Mahidevran, like the loss of Hürrem's unmentioned son It was great to see her realize Mahidevran’s manipulations, but I hoped for a deeper resolution between her and Hürrem. We only see Hafsa acknowledging Cihangir’s illness like once or twice, which is so out of character, but I know they were trying to keep her firmly in the area of antagonist (crappy writing). Hürrem had another son, Şehzade Abdullah, who died as a toddler. Losing a child would have been a good bonding moment for them and brought them back as mothers.

Hurrem’s kids speaking Russian(?) One thing I always found wholesome is when children speak the language of both parents. It would have been a great homage to Hürrem's roots, since we didn’t see it a lot, especially in season 3. On that note, I would have liked to see Hürrem revert to her native tongue when she lost her temper, since that’s super common.

Mercan going over to Hürrem's side and staying in Season 4 One of Hürrem's best character traits was her ability to make her enemies her friends and Mercan was a great enemy. Convincing someone who was so zealously devoted to another dynasty member to come over to her side? Iconic. His and Sümbül's dynamic was also great and watching them being forced to work together would have been fun.

A reunion between Hürrem and Gulnihal, maybe Hürrem meeting Gülnihal's kids and husband and seeing Hürrem's kids grown Characters tend to disappear and never be mentioned again in this show despite their big influence on characters and their development. She should have gotten a kiss on the hand like Hatice and Suleiman did for Afife. She raised Hürrem's kids.

Ibrahim telling Suleiman to stay out of his marriage during the Nigar affair This is probably the most unrealistic thing I envisioned, but I love when one character beneath another in rank or station stands up to that person as a friend. And Ibrahim was getting bolder throughout the seasons so it wouldn’t have been totally out of character.

Hürrem helping Nigar escape with her daughter instead of Firuze The whole Hürrem helping Firuze escape thing made no sense but it was in there to prove that Firuze was a spy. I think I speak for everyone in this fandom when I say I would have liked to see Hürrem help Nigar and Esmanur escape instead and the whole kidnapping Mihrimah’s baby thing not happen. But it would not hinge on the writer's hating Nigar's character and making her lose her mind and betraying Hürrem for a man.

Mihrimah being Selim’s valide sultan Mihrimah was well aware of the fratricide law, it was the whole reason she worked with Hürrem to kill Mustafa. She wasn’t so naïve to think her own brothers wouldn't get caught in each other’s crosshairs. Kösem forgave Osman for killing her own son, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of realism to see Mihrimah and Selim get back on good terms. It’s one of my favorite parts of her real life legacy.

Suleiman letting Hürrem do something really shady for him at least once He couldn't get his hands dirty, but he knew at least to some degree how cunning his wife was, even if he was willfully blind to it. Would have loved to see a "I won't ask questions" kind of conversation between them and Hürrem strolling from the room like a hitman for hire.

Cihangir seeing some sort of consequences for his naïve support of Mustafa As wise as he was, he was so painfully naïve when it came to Mustafa, seeing him face some consequences for that would have been satisfying.

Suleiman seeing more negative ramifications of sending Hürrem away in S3 Suleiman tended to send Hürrem off willy nilly because he could and not really take into account for the ramifications, especially in such a charged atmosphere. Seeing consequences to those choices would have been satisfying and would have reinforced Hürrem's importance as a partner, parent to adolescent children, harem ruler, etc.

Mihrimah’s trip back to the palace in S2 after Hürrem was ambushed being more difficult, like an actual kidnapping I really like antagonists being taken down by their own hubris and it would have been fun to see Hafsa suffer real consequences for her fake ambush.

Hatice going off on Hafsa about how she treats Hürrem at least once in S2 She questioned her a few times in season 2, like when Hürrem's horse was stabbed. She did it a few times in calm ways in season 1 and once or twice in season 2, but seeing her lose her temper even a little would have been satisfying. I think this could have more happened if they had stuck to actual history and Hafsa had come as a slave and not a princess.

Suleiman seeking more comfort in Hürrem Suleiman was described as “weak” for Hürrem and it wasn’t really shown in his more emotional moments. The show expected us to be fine with his speeches and poems and see basic expressions of affection as “weakness.” When Ibrahim died, I would have really like to see him break down with Hürrem, his face in her stomach, the whole nine yards. He really just glared at her in that scene.

Hürrem and Suleiman being more of political and personal partners In the show a lot he tells her to “mind her business” and “don’t get involved in things that don’t concern you.” He also blew her off and treated her like a child when she voiced certain concerns (his condescending little smiles made me feral). A big part of her legacy was being an advisor to him and their abilities to share with each other what they couldn’t share with others.

The real importance of Hürrem's new haseki status and what that meant This was such a thing for me. Hürrem being the first with the haseki status was HUGE in the harem at the time but that whole story line was abandoned for the sake of rivalry between her and Mahidevran, which would have been there regardless. I hated seeing Hürrem curtsy to the sultanas in later seasons, especially in season 4 when Vahide was the actress. It was like having to watch Hafsa curtsy to anyone.

Mihrimah pulling away from Hürrem more during her engagement/marriage to Rüstem "Yeah, I'm doing this for my brothers but do you expect me to happy about it? Gush and fawn over having a kid with a man who kind of repulses me? I have postpartum depression? I'm super unhappy so I can't imagine why." Like I've mentioned before, big fan of having a character's ego come back and bite them and I think Hürrem should have suffered more consequences for basically telling Mihrimah her happiness doesn't matter. She was a little delusional in S4, acting all coy, telling Mihrimah she still loves Rüstem and they would find their way back to each other. Girl...she never liked her husband, stop trying to act like her homegirl and push her to be happy in a marriage she would have rather died than be in.

Gülfem standing up to Hatice at least once Hatice had a real high horse sometimes and even if she was insulting someone else, I could tell it made Gülfem feel a certain way because she was also a slave. This is yet another character I would have liked to see lose their temper in a more aggressive way. Like, girl, have some character development.

Some sort of resolution between Mihrimah and Esmahan Mihrimah had pretty much know other girl her age to lean on, I think it would have been easier to invest inheritance character if you saw her break down maybe once with Esmahan instead of trying to be tough. Like when Esmahan went to comfort her before her wedding. Mihrimha’s fake tough persona in that moment seemed hollow and just like a young bratty kid. Or when Humasah was kidnapped.

Bali Bey manhandle the sultanas a little bit during their questioning about Hürrem's disappearance I’m going to get a lot of flack for this one. I don’t mean him really putting his hands on the actresses, I mean like grabbing Şah's arm when she leaves. I like seeing haughty characters being taken down a peg. They would have seen they’re not as infallible as their status makes them feel.

More bonding between Gülfem and Hürrem at least once Gülfem lost a child and saw what Mahidevran and Hürrem had to go through fearing for their own sons. Hürrem had the chance to pay Gülfem some sort of compliment on the balcony when Cihangir was sick, like "I'm not as strong as you." Out of character, but this is basically an OOC post.

Hürrem let some things take their natural course Like when Mahidevran discharged Esma when she took charge of the harem. Suleiman would have caught on eventually that Hürrem was constantly unable to spend time with him due to taking care of 5 kids, or having to train brand new concubines.

Hatice being happy with her new husband I really liked him.

Hatice getting some closure about Sadika A big part of Hatice’s early character was her empathy for those below her (most of the time). She liked Sadika and wanted to see her happy and I’m sure Sadika had grown some affection for Hatice. I would have like to see Sadika write a letter to Hatice before attempting to murder Suleyman saying something along the lines of “I’m sorry for lying to you, my friendship with you was real but this was more important.”

Hürrem coming together with one of Suleiman's's sisters just as a fellow woman Maybe when Lutfi hit Şah, Hürrem was there and Şah let her pull her up off the floor. They were all women and mothers stuck in a patriarchy.

Mahidevran give Helena permission to clap back at Fatma In that scenes when Fatma was like "Did you really think you were going to marry him?" Saying something like, "At least he wanted to marry me" and Mahidevran laughing.

More affection between the concubines and other harem members and the royal kids They were all raised in the same harem, I'm sad we didn't get to see some found family-ish dynamics. Those kids must have had a lot of "aunts and uncles" in the servants. I'm sure Mihrimah saw more than just one or two of the concubines as mother/aunt/sister figures, especially as the Sultan's only daughter.

A better ending for Gülfem Because what the fuck was that?

Mihrimah going off on her aunts at least once While she had to defer to them because they were older and was an unspoken respect thing, she could get away with talking to them a certain way more than maybe Hürrem could. "I know you're trying to kill my mother and that can't happen because then what happens to us?" or "I know you killed Nazil, who raised us, and you thought we'd never find out and see you differently? Stop acting like you give an absolute flying fuck about us when you know what will happen if our mother is killed or Mustafa becomes Sultan. This is war."

Hürrem showing more affection to adult Mihrimah She absolutely had to defer towards her sons' safety, but sometimes she acted like she actively disliked her only daughter in S4.

Mihrimah not being a brat when she was young (S2) It would have made her rise to power more impressive and more endearing. Sometimes older Mihrimah just seemed like a princess who had never been told no so she always expected to win.

Mahiedvran and Hürrem sharing one sincere hug They had more things in common than not. They were both women, mothers, slaves stuck in a patriarchy and both could lose their sons with one decision from a man who has complete control.

Hürrem having more quietly pervasive PTSD symptoms. She displayed plenty of symptoms like hyperarousal, emotional over-stress, emotional dysregulations, hypervigilance, etc, but a lot of symptoms can be more quietly sinister and they missed that chance. The symptoms they did display first and foremost took away from her character because we couldn't differentiate all the time between angry Hürrem and traumatized Hürrem. "She's angry and violent and irritable? Oh, that's jUsT HüRrEm."

More rank-opposite hand kissing One trope I will forever and forever always live for is shows of deference opposite of rank. When Suleiman and Hatice kissed Afife's hand? Loved it. Suleiman kissing Hafsa's hand? Not totally the same, but kind of still love it.

Afife telling Şah and Hatice she was ashamed of them at least once Would have rocked their shit. And you know she for sure was.

Mihrimah being happy with Taşlıcalı in the end Probably the second most implausible head canon. They had both lost a lot and know what war costs, why not end up with another person who can empathize with your unique pain?

More of Gülfem and Hürrem's real historical relationship Always going to touch on sticking to historical accuracy when I get a chance. Leslie Peirce touches on the fact that Gülfem was probably more of a mentor to Hürrem than she was in the show, guiding Hürrem through what was an unprecedented rise in the harem and, therefore, a huge and probably shocking rise in responsibilities that Hürrem didn't know how to manage on her own. Suleiman trusted Gülfem with Hürrem when he was on campaign and Gülfem was most likely there when Hürrem died. Instead of being the dynasty's emotional support pet in season 3, we should have seen her turn coats for the better.

Women lashing out at each other for their children and not for a man The real reasons Mahidevran and Hürrem probably lashed out at each other the most was because the fratricide law dictated every facet of their lives. Love, sex and jealousy were not half as much on their minds as the show made it out to be. Let me see vicious mothers, not jealous girls.

Hafsa and Hürrem having one good hug Self explanatory

More about Suleiman's late children He had I think 2-3 children before Mustafa that all died of the plague that we never really heard about. And it would have given even more credence of the severity of Mahidevran trying to poison Hürrem when she was pregnant.

More about the entire royal family's grief and trauma with Sultan Selim I That man was batshit and you hear offhanded comments such as "I see your father when I look at you" when Suleyman does something cruel. Go more into that. What was it like to fear for your life, your son's/brother's/uncle's lives? Selim I literally hunted half his family down and executed them. It would have given them so much more depth as characters.

Leo haunting Ibrahim In the back of scenes, the blurry character the audience only just notices, the specter standing over this shoulder in a quiet room, the beating heart beneath the floorboards. The start of the death of his innocence given form, standing at the end of the hall as his body is being carried away. Fucking art.

Nigar being on Hürrem's side in season 3 and being totally psycho about it I would like like to see Nigar regrow the brain cell she had in season 1, but maintained her scorched earth policy in season 3, but on Hürrem's side. Would have been great. Snapped: Harem Edition.

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