As Long As You Want It

I congratulate Halit Ergenç, who added colour to the final episode of the series ‘Kral Kaybederse’ (If the King Loses), adapted from the novel, with his extraordinary acting skills. I'm not really one for watching series. But I must admit, I'm a fan of actors who play their roles well. Halit Ergenç's series always catch my attention in this sense; I can't help but watch them.
The script of this series, which tells the story of a man who considers himself superior to everyone else, who boasts about his wealth and appearance, who is spoiled and insatiable, and who always says ‘I’, actually seems to teach humanity a lesson. This original script has been written in a way that affects the viewer. The series focuses on the experiences of the character Kenan, starting from his childhood. The protagonist of the series, and of course the novel, is Kenan, a man of considerable material wealth who later loses everything he owns. He visits a psychiatrist and recounts his life story. In fact, the series doesn't have many characters. We could say the entire series revolves around four people.
 
Gülseren Budayıcıoğlu is known for writing novels inspired by real-life stories. However, for ethical reasons, the identities of the characters in the book If the King Loses are not disclosed. This is a good thing. As with all the works of the psychologist-author, it is known that the character Kenan Baran is a composite of different client stories.
The author tells us about a man who was raised like a ‘king’ by his mother, a rich, handsome and spoilt character and state of mind. The series tells the story of narcissistic Kenan Baran, who was raised like a king by his mother, and the events that unfold when he cheats on his wife Handan with Fadi, whom he meets at a nightclub. Kenan Baran, a wealthy construction engineer, is a man who can charm any woman with his aura. Kenan, who spends most of his day gambling at the club with his wealthy friends, is cheating on his wife Handan with his closest friend. While Kenan's life continues in this manner, the arrival of Fadi, a university student living in poverty and suffering from domestic violence, who starts working alongside him, will change everything. 
‘If the King Loses’ is a series that depicts the downfall of the narcissistic and successful construction engineer Kenan Baran after he cheats on his wife Handan. Set in the 1990s, the series focuses on love turning into betrayal and power turning into weakness. The behaviour patterns in their relationships, which coincide with symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, begin to change from the moment the lead actor and the novel's protagonist are admitted to a nursing home. A life lesson is taught to all of us through Kenan. This is what I find important and captivating about this series. This lesson is about the inner peace gained through the journey of transformation into a benevolent person, alongside the material and spiritual torment we inflict on ourselves with our aimless ambitions. In this novel, you witness a true life story and inevitably find something of yourself in it. Through Kenan's character, you experience once again how true the saying ‘it's never too late for anything’ really is.
After watching this series, I felt deep in my bones once again how difficult it is to be a good person. You understand that in order for a person to know and understand themselves, they must develop pure love. You closely observe in the film scenes how powerful this bond of love that connects everyone can be. You see that there is a fountain of love in the heart of every being, and that when the tap of that fountain is turned on, every person can bestow the happiness they deserve upon themselves and their surroundings. You grasp how much the absence of love, the deprivation of love, complicates the flow of human life. 
Love is with us from birth. If the body is saturated only with the intensity of the emotion called love, it almost gains sanctity. In this way, life itself becomes sacred. Thus, regardless of what they look like or what they do, one begins to feel unconditional love for all beings, without distinction. 
In our lives, those who dislike us or those around whom we do not feel good, in the simplest terms, can be our enemies. If we remain stuck in the quagmire of hatred and lovelessness, we will continue to think that they hate us. However, if we say, ‘We want a peaceful life, we want peace,’ we must know that peace will not simply fall into our laps from the sky, but will blossom and spread from within us as a manifestation of the love inside us. Because peace comes from love.
People are as happy as the good deeds they do in their lives. When we see a good person, we should at least be able to imitate them, to reflect their actions in our own lives. Conversely, when we see a bad person, we should look for their faults in ourselves.
 
Kindness is the only investment that never goes to waste. Thinking kindly keeps us alive with courage. The traditions of nations may differ, but kindness is the same everywhere. Kindness done for personal gain is not kindness. For we are not usurers, we are human beings. We must internalise doing good as a phenomenon outside the chain of cause and effect. We must do good without any personal gain in mind, simply for the sake of doing good. This series deeply conveys these feelings to us, reflecting the virtue of being human through slices of life. In the end, the King did not lose; in fact, he won. Yes, it really is never too late for anything, as long as you want it...