#Sehzade Ibrahim

[magnificentlyreused]

This silver and black kaftan was first worn by as Şahin Giray in the first episode of the first season of Magnificent Century: Kösem. It was worn again by Şehzade Ibrahim (later Sultan Ibrahim) in the sixteenth episode of the second season.

[awkward-sultana]

"I know everything, Hürrem. I saw everything…I lived…I sensed…"

[dyingroses]

Magnificent Century + text posts and tweets

[redxluna]

—Peirce, Leslie. Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

lol did anyone see the magnificent century most stable couple youtube poll from a few hours ago? nurbanu and selim having only 8% is a joke especially when the other couples on the list are ibrahim and hatice, suleiman and hürrem, and rustem and mihrimah.......

[skenosbisworld]

Ok, I need to rage about something for a sec.

WHY TF DOES HURREM BOW TO MUSTAFA?! AND ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS!! IT MAKES NO SENSE!!

But seriously, there is no logic in this, and the decision to make Hurrem do this repeatedly is so disrespectful to both her character and her position.

Hurrem is Haseki Sultan. She is Sultan Suleiman's only legal wife, and she is the mother of 4 of his sons. These 4 sons who are in equal standing to Mustafa. For some dumb reason, the show likes to forget that the Ottomans weren't European. The Ottomans did not abide by the eldest son being the heir rule ever. All sehzades had an equal right, and the Sultan only had a specific heir if he himself appointed him. But for some reason, the show completely ignores this, and it pretends that Mustafa was some "Crown Prince." I like Mustafa, but he was never the legal heir.

This is also comparable to whenever it has Mahidevran bow to Ibrahim, which is equally frustrating. The family of the Sultan (which includes his consorts) are always of a higher standing than any government official.

These instances are honestly more frustrating to me than when Hurrem continued to be called a hatun even after giving birth to Mehmed, which by show logic entitled her to the Sultan title, because it was done intentionally as an insult. Having Hurrem bow to Mustafa, and having Mahidevran bow to Ibrahim was both always done with all seriousness.

Everytime it happened, I felt both the overwhelming urge to slap all the characters involved and scream into a deep empty void.

I really hope that I am not alone in my intense frustration with the show's seeming lack of awareness/respect of any proper protocol or common sense.

[things-i-think-and-junk]

Season 3

Okay, bear with me. I've got some ideas on what might have been a better story for Season 3, at least when it comes to the princes.

What I think might have worked so much better is that the focus should have been on Mustafa and Mehmed and the forces behind them, specifically Ibrahim and Hurrem. This becomes a race to see which power would overcome the other. The emphasis would be on the fratricide law hanging over the princes.

We get to see more of their friendship, but at the same time, play up more Mustafa's jealousy, but add in Mehmed growing more afraid of the prospect of his brother as heir. We see him interact more with Ibrahim and Mehmed recognizes that so long as Ibrahim is around, the likelihood that Mustafa has an advantage. Suleyman could have witnessed that and, in tandem with his nightmares, he senses there's tension between his princes and Ibrahim with Mehmed.

Let the theme and atmosphere of paranoia and fear be paramount in the season. Have this building tension, Mustafa's faction and Mehmed's faction recognize that they have to act now. Have also this all out war between the factions. When Ibrahim is finally executed, it clears the way for Mehmed to go to Manisa. On top of that, Mustafa makes a mistake that costs him that sanjak.

Mustafa and Mehmed struggle with their love for each other, but also the recognition that the feelings from childhood can't exist anymore. The more that Mehmed gains favor from Suleyman, the more it's clear that he'll be a threat. So if they really want Mahidevran to be behind Mehmed's death, she has more reason to be afraid and paranoid. She feels there is no other choice. She's lost her most powerful backer and it's clear that Mehmed is about to be named crown prince. That way, her actions do make sense, but still have a feeling of maliciousness. It's also the first real blow to Hurrem and the first real threat to her power. Not Firuze, she's not in this, but the loss of the prince that may gain the throne.

Meanwhile, we have Bayezid and Selim witnessing all of this, absorbing the tension and fear. This could shatter their innocence early and set up the later conflict between them.

The end of the season has Mehmed dying, and the possibility that Mustafa will be the crown prince, but the twist suddenly appears that Selim is given the sanjak. It's not just Mehmed who is a threat, now his younger brothers become a threat as well. The problem isn't gone, it's multiplied. Now, all the princes understand the gravity of their situation and they can't let down their guard. Nothing is solved, it's made worse.

I feel like, not only would this allow Mehmed to be more of a well rounded character, but also begin building the differences between Bayezid and Selim. We see who they will become and how much the loss of innocence shapes them. It influences Selim's drinking, Bayezid's anger (as he feels he never had a chance), and Mustafa feeling that his time might be up soon.

[nesiacha]

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.

[redrosecut]

Magnificent Century couples as Taylor Swift songs

Or I'm too cheap for Spotify premium and had to listen to shuffle while riding the train for two hours.

Renegade - Nurbanu & Selim

Selim is so broken and out of control before Nurbanu and she constantly puts him back together and gives him pep talks while also reaching higher together. But I also don't think she realized what she got herself into when she pursued him to be her ticket to the top.

Would've, Could've, Should've - Mahidevran & Süleyman

It captures pretty well how toxic their relationship was and how it and its consequences will haunt her forever. If only he had never chosen her as his concubine...

Paris - Mustafa & Mihrünnisa

For me it captures how much they are in love and how the doings in the capital become irrelevant when they are with each other.

Illicit Affairs - Nigar & Ibrahim

Okay, this one is kinda obvious and I don't think I need to explain it.

Dancing With Our Hands Tied - Bayezid & Huricihan

It reminds me of how no one really wanted them together, them sneaking around and still somehow making it work. The "But I had a bad feeling" hints towards their tragic end.

[womenoftheottomanempire]

~Hümaşah Sultan~

Hümaşah was born Manisa. She might be born in autumn 1543 during visit of Hürrem Sultan or she might be posthume child of Sehzade Mehmed. According to historian Alderson, her mother's name was Aya. It is known that Aya was married off to Pertev Pasha. After Sehzade Mehmed's death, Hümaşah and Aya Hatun moved from Manisa to Istanbul, Old Palace. Hümaşah was close to her grandparents and her cousin, Ayşe Hümaşah, daughter of Mihrimah Sultan and Rüstem Paşa. Perhaps, both girls were educated together. Both of them were close to their uncle Sehzade Cihangir. Apparently an outgoing personality, the teenage Changir was the perfect uncle to his nieces.

In 1566/1567 Hümaşah was married off to the third Vezir, Ferhad Paşa. The marriage lasted 8-9 years till Ferhat Pasha's death on 06. January 1575. The ceremony took place in the Old Palace. From marriage with Ferhad Pasha she had several children. The known ones are: Sultanzade Hüsni, Sultanzade Osman, Fatma Hanimsultan, Sultanzade Ibrahim, Sultanzade Mustafa. They had at least 4 more daughters but the names are unknown, probably because they didn't reached adulthood. It appears that some of the childern were twins. In August 1575, Hümasah remarried to Sokolluzade Lala Mustafa Pasha. But the marriage lasted also till Lala Mustafa Pasha's death, on 7. August 1580. They had a son Sultanzade Sokolluzade Abdülbaki. Her third marriage took place in 1581 with Gaazi Mehmed Pasha who outlived Hümasah. They didn't have children together.Hümasah sultan also educated and trained Safiye and presented her to her cousin Murad, son of Selim Il and Nurbanu. Safiye lived in Hümasah's household after her abduction but Safiye's role in Hümasah's household is still unclear.

Hümasah Sultan died in 1582, the cause of death is unknown. She is buried in Shezade Mosque. The Mosque was built in honor of Hümasah's father, Sehzade Mehmed.

Her children are also buried in Sehzade's mosque.

[magnificentlyreused]

This gold and silver vest was first worn by Şehzade Mustafa in the first episode of the first season of Magnificent Century. It was worn again by Şehzade Mehmed in the nineteenth episode of the same season. The vest also appeared in the twelth episode of the second season among the belongings of the recently deceased Sultanzade Mehmed. Seventeen episodes later it was worn by Şehzade Bayezid. The vest is next seen on Nergisşah Sultan in the twenty-ninth episode of the third season. It is also worn by Osman, the son of Turahanoğlu Turgul Bey aka Atmaca, in the twelth episode of the fourth season.

Magnificent Century: Kösem used the vest twice in its first season on Şehzade Osman (later Sultan Osman II) and Şehzade Ibrahim (later Sultan Ibrahim) in the twelth and twenty-third episode, respectively.

[awkward-sultana]

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.

The Development of Esma and Hürrem's relationship Esma was one of the harem girls Hürrem didn't like at the beginning of the first season and then she was one of the only people Hürrem ever trusted with her children. I would have liked to see that development, or at least the moment Hürrem chose Esma to be her kid's nanny.

[gulnarsultan]

Hi, I saw you writing for Magnificent Century; do you still take requests? If it's a no then feel free to ignore but if it's a yes then I would love to see what would happen if let's just say that Sultan Suleyman has 2 other sons by another concubine but the relationship between them gets really awful and sour throughout the years "even more so that mahidevran and suleyman" and because the concubine has little to no support (like mahi with Ibrahim pasha & hurrem with suleyman) she gets exiled from the palace along with her two sons, but while they lived a poor live they weren't completely cut off of the outside world so through the years the oldest son came to be the greatest seafarer throughout the world making connection and gaining wealth wherever he goes while the second son became one of the best swordsman of his time and since you are familiar with GoT/HotD they are basically the replica of Corlys velaryon/Arthur dayne. So, after a decade of building their names, the sultan and his other children realize that the greatest sea captain and swordsman are actually his sons/their brothers. How would they react ? 

Hello. I hope you will like it.

Reader and Suleyman have two sons. Smaller than Mustafa, but older than Mehmed. After Hurrem arrives, Suleyman completely turns away from the reader. The reader knows very well that she has to take his children and leave. Otherwise, Hurrem will find a way to kill her children. The reader is escaping to a distant country with her children. Over the years, her first son becomes a famous sailor and her other son becomes a famous swordsman. Their flour reaches as far as the Ottoman Palace. In fact, it is learned that these two famous men were the Sehzades who escaped from the Palace for a time. Everyone is shocked. Because many thought they were. Most likely, Suleyman will invite his sons to the Palace. He will try to give them the titles of Sehzade. Most likely, neither of them will accept returning to the Ottoman Empire and becoming a prince. Sehzades will be very jealous of your brothers. Mihrimah actually wanted to meet them.

[redxluna]

I've always found it interesting that, apparently, for some people the show's efforts to sanitize Mustafa into perfection actually worked against them in people still using the writing to point out flaws of his unintentionally included by the show that made them dislike him.

In this most recent re-watch, the one to stand out to me regarding that so far is how Mustafa, after learning that Ibrahim cheated on Hatice, basically lets him off with a pat on the back and a sort of, "Hey, my aunt's real 'sensitive', you know? So don't do that again, buddy."

If this is truly meant to be the most gallant and noble out of all the şehzades, then why is it so easy for him to wave off harm done to his aunt? Not to mention, we're later treated to Mustafa, after Ibrahim's downfall, swearing that Ibrahim could never have betrayed his father...as if the man hadn't openly been exposed for betraying another dynasty member he was meant to be loyal to in recent memory.

[hurremsultanns]

Hello, dear, I would like to know your opinion on how Sehzade Mustafa was treated so preferably in comparison to Hürrem’s children from the dynasty members themselves. That Mahidevran would do that is no question. She is Mustafa’s mother after all but Ayse Hafsa Sultana does that as well??? Or even Süleyman’s sisters which is… idk… considering that then they lie to Mihrimah’s face about how much she and her brothers are loved from their aunts (I am writing this with Sah Sultan’s scene with Mihrimah in the third season in my mind). They (the aunts) try to give them (Hürrem’s children) such a ridiculous sense of security, it’s, as far as I am concerned, disgusting because their behaviour just says the opposite. In the third season, there is a scene where Hürrem believed that Ibrahim might have hurt her son Mehmed just for Ibrahim to say that he would never do that WHILE Ibrahim is completely on Mustafa’s side AND making Hürrem go through this trauma is just???

So, yeah… with all of this in my mind, I would love to know what you think about this topic. Whatever your answer might be, I am thankful for the time you spend on this question. ☺️✨

It comes to make more sense in Ayşe Hafsa's case in that she doesn't see Hürrem as a member of the family and she actively wants her dead. So her proclaiming her love for her grandchildren while also favouring one of them (probably not realising what she's doing) does make some sense to me. Especially later on. That said, in her defence I think she does care about them enough to take measures when there is an active and present danger to their lives. After all it's her decision to take Hürrem's children to Hatice's palace in episode 55. This seems consistent to me with the type of abusive person that Ayşe Hafsa is.

The idea that Ibrahim at any point cares about Hürrem's children is laughable and the scene where he told Hürrem that he would never kill an innocent is straight up him gaslighting her. He HAS killed innocents. One of whom (Leo) was a formative trauma for Hürrem. Not to mention that in that scene he gloated to her about the idea that she and her children would all die. So I cannot take Ibrahim seriously when he claims that he wouldn"t do it. He absolutely would.

In Hatice's defence she is fairly impartial in the first two seasons. We see her take care of Hürrem's kids and shelter them from danger. That said, things change in season 3 and as @redxluna has pointed out she is willing along with Ibrahim to plan for an outcome that will bring about her nephews' deaths (planning for Mustafa's ascension when Süleyman is sick). This can be attributed partly to her now seeing Hürrem as just a cartoon villain and Magnificent Century's lack of concern with Hürrem's sons' fates.

Şah actively puts Hürrem's sons in danger and I don't think she genuinely cares about them all that much. She is there to defeat their mother and that is all. And I think she very much sees them as an extension of Hürrem.

Fatma was sent by Mustafa to scheme against Hürrem. So she is there to bring about outcomes that would endanger her and her kids. And yet the show expects us to believe that she cares about them and is just calling out Hürrem for being a toxic mother? I can't buy it. And her using Cihangir's death to 'hashtag own' Hürrem and say that she was to blame shows that either Fatma only cared about Mustafa, or the writers, or (most likely) both. Season 4 had a frustrating habit of blaming Hürrem for her sons' deaths though.

[davidcescleo]

While I was watching MC, I always wanted Hurrem to win and I really liked her, she always loved Suleyman and protected her children so she was a pretty rootable character.

Kosem on the other hand is a horrible person but for some reason, I liked her much more than Hurrem, I wanted her to kill Sehzade Mehmet and beat Turhan (because she sucks). This could be because the source of her existence and power is not a man but herself, unlike Hurrem whose all existence depended on Suleyman.

Kosem chose five padisahs (Mustafa, Osman, Murat, Ibrahim and Mehmet) and run the states for like 30 years. What did Hurrem do? She couldn't even listen to the divan without Suleyman exiling her, she had no power compared to Kosem.

I am not mad at her character don't get me wrong I am just annoyed at the writers for never showing (or showing too little) her "state relations" side.