Series / Resurrection: Ertuğrul

Recounting the life and trials of Kayi Clan warrior Ertugrul Ghazi, Resurrection: Ertugrul is a Turkish historical drama produced by Tekden Film from 2014-2019. Set during the 1200’s, the series begins with the titular figure and a handful of his men going out for a hunt, awaiting his promotion to Head-Alp from his father, Kayi chieftain Suleyman Shah.

As Ertugrul and a handful of his friends embark on the hunt, they are thrust into a conflict with a legion of Knights Templar holding a father and his two children captive. One of the captives, a girl named Halime, thanks Ertugrul for eliminating her captors and decides to stay with Ertugrul in his tribe. Alas, Halime’s presence in the Kayi clan leads to commotion both within the camp and outside, landing Ertugrul in the midst of a tumultuous conflict as he tries to secure a new patch of land for his people to migrate to.

A sequel series titled Kurulus Osman , revolving around the struggle of Ertugrul’s son Osman Ghazi as he grows up to become the founder of the Ottoman Empire, is currently airing.

All five seasons are available for viewing on Netflix.

Tropes included in this series in general:

• Antagonistic Governor:
  • The Tekfur of Karacahisar appears to be this trope after placing an embargo on goods being sent to his city by the Kayis; he reconsiders his stance later and sides with Ertugrul, causing a subversion. His right-hand man Vasilius plays this trope straight after ascending to the position. Not only does he organize the old Tekfur’s assassination without Helena being fully aware, but also focuses on using that power to annihilate the Turks.
  • The end of season 3 introduces Ares, destined to fill in for Vasilius after the latter’s defeat at the hands of Ertugrul. Subverted when he later reforms and converts to Islam, while giving up his position of power in the process.
  • Season 4 gives us Tekfur Kritos, who holds a similar sentiment toward the Muslims as Vasilius and is inspired to attack them even more after his son’s death.

• Arc Villain:
  • Season 1: Petruchio Manzini and Karatoygar. After Karatoygar loses his political stature, the void is filled by Emir Al Aziz Muhammad. Then, Al Aziz undergoes a Heel–Face Turn, leaving Petruchio as the Big Bad for the remainder of the season.
  • Season 2: Baiju Noyan, eventually joined by Emir Sadettin Kopek midway through.
  • Season 3: Master Simon, and to an extent, Ural Bey and Kopek again. Then Ural kills Simon, and in comes Tekfur Vasilius to occupy that empty spot.
  • Season 4: Initially split up between Tekfur Ares and Kopek yet again, then later joined by Tekfur Kritos after Ares converts and becomes Ahmet, with Kopek becoming the bigger threat by that point. Then, after Kopek is defeated, Kritos is seemingly the only noticeable threat to the Kayis still left, only for Noyan and his sister Alangoya to make an appearance, positioning them as the villains by that point.
  • Season 5: Dragos, the Mongols (led by Alincak), and Emir Bahaddin. Later, Bahaddin is killed and Beybolat is introduced (Working under the alter-ego, Albasti), who goes on to form affiliations with both of the former two parties at some point. Once it seems as though only Albasti is still standing, another villain (Arikbuka) revives him, and lives long enough to become the Final Boss of both this season and the series in its entirety.

• Artistic License – History:
  • Ertugrul, being but one among a multitude of Seljuk lords in the service of Kaykubad I, likely never met either Baichu Noyan, Ogedei Khaan, nor Berke Khaan in person at any point in his lifetime.
  • Some of the various conquests (particularly of castles) Ertugrul is depicted as undertaking in the show were actually done by Osman I, his son.
  • The Kayi tribe are still ruled by Suleymanshah when they enter Anatolia. According to Ottoman histories, however, Ertugrul was already the overall leader of the clan when they first went there.
  • There's nothing indicating at all that Baichu Noyan had ever set foot in Anatolia before the Battle of Kose Dag in 1243 AD.
  • Ertugrul and his warriors assisting in freeing Kaykaus II from the Ilkhanate while he's on route to Iran to be executed. While it is true that Kaykaus was freed from his Ilkhanate pursuers by his fellow Muslims, this was due to the efforts of the newly Islamised Mongols of the Golden Horde, primarily their ruler Berke Khaan, who pressurised the Byzantines (effectively the Golden Horde's vassals at the time) to surrender him to their custody. In real life, Kaykaus was made a beg of the Golden Horde by Berke who attempted to use him to stir up rebellion against the Ilkhanate in Anatolia, but this sort of petered out and Berke had to settle for decisively defeating the Ilkhanate at Terek in 1262. The show does respect this aspect of history by depicting Ertugrul as having acted on Berke's orders, though.
  • Sungurtekin, Ertugrul and Gungdogdu's older brother, mentions that after their tribe was defeated by the Mongol Empire in Central Asia that he managed to survive by becoming Chinggis Khaan's overseer of horses. While there was a similar sort of position in the Mongol Empire and the Mongols were keen on integrating talented foreigners into their organisational system where possible, it is unlikely that the Mongols would have allowed Sungurtekin to enter this position; as their policy towards noblemen was typically to execute them as a general thing. It's also worth noting that Sungurtekin is an actual historical figure himself and there is no evidence of him ever having been a part of the Mongol Empire anyway.

• Badass Pacifist: Ibn Arabi, full stop. A shining moment occurs toward the end of season 3, when during a mission to heal a poisoned Sultan Alaeddin, Ibn is prevented from entering the facility where he is being held. Ibn remains calm, relaxed, and unwilling to so much as even pinch his aggressors, and after being finally admitted entry, succeeds in restoring the ruler to health.

• Batman Gambit:
  • Season 4 has one revolving around Ertugrul’s Papa Wolf relationship with Gunduz. Tekfur Ares sends his ally Titan to introduce himself under the alias “Darius” and build an amicable relationship with Gunduz. At the ripe opportunity, Titan escorts Gunduz to Karacahisar in an attempt to entice Ertugrul into a trap.
  • Another example (With some aspects of Papa Wolf) occurs with Bamsi late in season 5. During a carriage ride, the Umurogullari kidnap Bamsi’s son Aybars before handing the kid over to Dragos. When Bamsi learns about this, he becomes so desperate that he ignores Ertugrul’s announcement that they were going to rescue him and when he arrives, he is told that Aybars’ life will only be spared if he brings Alincak to him. When he does, Dragos reveals that not only did he want to ally himself with Alincak for once, but that he plans on murdering the kid directly in front of him.

• Big Bad: Sadettin Kopek (Power-hungry vizir who seeks to eliminate Sultan Alaeddin and his successors to claim his seat) influences the majority of the strife that befalls the Kayis, with only Seasons 1 and 5 not featuring his direct involvement.

• Big Bad Duumvirate:
  • Karatoygar and Petruchio have an alliance of some sort in the first handful of episodes, therefore making them eligible for this trope. Later, Al Aziz and Titus (The latter being The Dragon to Petruchio) are also shown to interact with each other and conspire against Ertugrul despite their differing affiliations.
  • Season 2 does this with Noyan and Sadettin Kopek once the latter arrives, working with one another to impede Ertugrul but neither man being truly subordinate to the other since they are associated with distinct entities.
  • Season 5 has quite an elaborate one: it starts with Emir Bahaddin and The Mongols (The former being backed up by the latter during his tenure in Konya), and later Albasti, who fills in the void after Bahaddin is dispatched. Then, Dragos becomes part of the villain network after Albasti makes an agreement with him to eliminate the Kayis.

• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Geyikli manages to save a weak-handed Ertugrul’s life from a Mongol force by piercing the attacker from behind with his wooden spear.
  • Later that season, Ertugrul’s brother Sungurtekin manages to rescue Halime and Deli Demir from a Mongol ambush in the nick of time.
  • One season later, a spectacular example occurs when Ural and his alps attempt to systematically execute Halime and the other hatuns, only to be interrupted by Ertugrul, who proceeds to lead his men onto the scene and finish the traitors off once and for all.

• Big Eater: Bamsi Beyrek embodies this trope. He may be a powerful soldier on the field, yet he typically won’t be satisfied to engage in military conduct unless he eats a large hunk of meat beforehand. Heck, he’s even been known to recover from serious injuries or conditions after getting his hands on some comestibles.

• Big Good:
  • Suleyman Shah, the chieftain of the Kayi clan, plays this role until he dies in the final moments of season 1, leaving his wife Hayme to take the position until sometime in season 2, when Ertugrul legally becomes the new head of the Kayis.
  • Korkut and Candar Beys (Seasons 2 and 3, respectively) are downplayed variants of this trope because although they have some seniority over Ertugrul, they enforce separate clans from his and therefore are relatively limited in terms of interfering in Ertugrul’s affairs.
  • Berke Khan, leader of the Golden Horde, becomes this at the end of season 5, leading the Muslims against Hulagu Khan after Ertugrul forms an alliance with him.

• The Blacksmith: Deli Demir, and a pretty badass one at that, considering he fights alongside Ertugrul a few times and is shown to be just as capable as defending himself as he is with crafting the weapons he uses. Following his death in season 2, Turgut Alp fills this role.

• Brainwashed and Crazy:
  • This happens to Ertugrul’s close friend Turgut in season 1 after being captured by Petruchio and given liquid narcotics to alter his behavior.
  • Season 3 has Toktamis, who is fed a poison created by Master Simon, causing him to start an uncontrollable rampage in the marquee before his brother Candar executes him, believing him to be a traitor. Several episodes later, the same substance is given to Ertugrul, causing him to undergo a similar scenario to Toktamis. Though unlike Toktamis, he survives the ordeal.
  • Season 4 contains a group of mercanaries called The Warriors of Hell, a small cult whose members are suffering some form of this phenomenon, indicated by their erratic behavior whenever they appear on-screen.

• The Bus Came Back:
  • Having been absent since the beginning of season 1, Yigit and Dundar finally reappear near the beginning of the next season. Also, Bamsi (Though he returns far earlier that season).
  • Dogan returns to the spotlight a few episodes into season 3, having been disguised as a merchant in the Hanli Market.
  • Sungurtekin Bey, who previously appeared in season 2, reappears a good way through season 4, helping his brothers eliminate Sadettin Kopek as he begins to spread his influence in Karacahisar.
  • Selcan Hatun reappears midway into season 5, after having not been seen since the end of season 2. Likewise, Gundogdu shows up a while later and he even helps Ertugrul fight against Albasti/Beybolat.
  • An example from earlier in the series, Emir Al Aziz. He seemingly disappears from the picture after Titus cuts all ties with him and murders Al Aziz’s uncle, leaving him a sobbing wreck. Toward the end of season 1, he makes one last appearance visiting the Kayis before they migrate to new territory before vanishing permanently from the script.

• The Chessmaster:
  • Kurdoglu Bey, the envious younger brother of Suleyman Shah. First, he forges a secret alliance with Karatoygar to receive weapons that he needs in order to rebel against his brother. Then, just after his lackey Baybora stages a protest against Ertugrul, he offs him so as to scrub any connection that the men had with one another. Then, once the Kayis settle into a patch of land given to them by Emir Al-Aziz, he orders an alp to attack his brother, then shoots him with an arrow so as to make himself appear heroic to the clan. Then, he sends his other goon Alpargu to attack Gokce (Thinking that the man approaching her is Kurdoglu), then have Ertugrul kill him in order for them to not realize that the mastermind himself is still well and alive. He also agrees to help the Knights Templar by using the now-drugged Turgut as his top soldier in his path to taking over the tribe, only becoming blatant to the others after he takes the marquee by force.
  • Ural Bey, whose jealousy toward Ertugrul kickstarts much of his villainy and initially makes his guilt appear obvious in the eyes of his kin. However, he manages to turn the tables against Ertugrul, first by hiring Francisco to kill the women and children of his tribe, then killing Francisco himself to hide the relationship between the two men, then gains the favor of his father and sister after the latter has a falling out with Ertugrul and Aliyar. Only until the last few episodes of season 3 does Ertugrul finally defeat Ural and his followers.
  • Commander Dragos in season 5. He passes himself off as a bell ringer and assigns his disciples to pose as merchants in Sogut (And in Lais’ case, as a right-hand man for Tekfur Yannis) so no one would easily identify them before they become powerful enough to make an meaningful impact. He also murders Umur Bey as part of an attempt to frame Gunduz not because he holds a personal grudge against Gunduz, but merely so that it would benefit Dragos’ cause. Even after the Kayis finally expose him, he resorts to wandering the city as an upper-class merchant as part of an attempt to slaughter the whole population of Sogut so no one would remember how they might have risen to power.
  • Emir Sadettin Kopek should not be forgotten. First, in season 2, he sends Gumustekin to falsely accuse Ertugrul of a crime. Then, he personally stops by to release Noyan from his execution, knowing full well the extent of the casualties that would result from his freedom. The following two seasons, he arranges legal deals with Ural, Simon, Vasilius, and Ares, poisons the Sultan, and prompts Alaeddin to frame Emir Nizamettin and try cutting ties between him and Ertugrul as a result of the latter suspecting Sadettin of being the guilty party. When that comes to pass, he injects another poison into a roast pheasant, this time proving fatal, and succeeds in convincing Giyaseddin (The to-be sultan) to incarcerate Ertugrul since he was the only other person present at the sultan’s final meal.

• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome:
  • Happens to Akcakoca from season 2 onward, being replaced by Artuk Bey as the resident doctor.
  • The last time we hear from Banu Cicek is of her having a son offscreen, after which she vanishes from the story altogether without much of an explanation.
  • Sugay Hatun is another contender for this trope, appearing near the end of season 4 to become a wet nurse for Osman and Savci after Halime’s passing. She mentions wanting to start a new life with the Kayis, but neither she nor the tribe she came from are even so much as mentioned come the next season.

• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder:
  • Titus sees himself fit as the master of the Templars because he’s well aware that his superior Petruchio doesn’t have the guts to actually lead his soldiers into battle or fight his foes face-to-face, and thus disowns the man for these weaknesses not long before his death.
  • Kurdoglu, Suleyman Shah’s younger brother, who intends on forcefully snatching the chieftain’s position with support from Karatoygar and Petruchio. He does manage to take over the clan near the end of the season, but since his elder sibling isn’t dead yet, he only gets to remain the Bey for a short time.
  • Vasilius displays this attitude toward the Tekfur of Karacahisar, intending on murdering the official and using that power to launch a campaign to massacre the Kayis and other Muslim societies in the area once he gets the opportunity.
  • Aydogmus Bey sports a variation of this toward Gunalp Bey, fully intending on storming into the Kayi tribe while Gunalp isn’t around, though whether or not he truly intends on overthrowing his supervisor is never made clear.
  • In season 5, Dragos holds this attitude toward Tekfur Yannis. Tragically, the latter only begins to realize how vulnerable he is to Dragos once Lais (One of Dragos’ minions, posing as Yannis’ top official) proceeds to mortally strangle him, permitting Dragos to take ahold of the former Tekfur’s stronghold.

• Co-Dragons:
  • Titus and Marcus to Petruchio in season 1.
  • Also in the first season, Baybora and Alpargu to Kurdoglu.
  • Tankut and Ulubilge to Noyan in season 2.
  • Philip and Petrus to Simon in the third season. Petrus becomes a co-dragon to Vasilius alongside his general after Simon’s death.
  • Lais and Tara to Dragos in season 5, the former being replaced with Uranos after getting publicly executed in Sogut town square.
  • Eynece and Mergen to Alangoya near the end of season 4.

• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
  • Petruchio in the first season is thought-oriented, runs the Catholic Knights Templar, and rarely travels alongside his army.
  • Noyan in season two. Whereas Petruchio is in charge of a large military coalition but has very little battle prowess of his own, Noyan is in charge of the Spiritualist Mongol Empire, is an absolute tank of a human being, and frequently joins his soldiers in battle and fighting alongside them.
  • Simon. Unlike the battle-oriented and terrifying Noyan, Simon is an affluent businessman who uses his mind and finances far more often than his swordplay and his ability to instill fear in others (Not that Simon completely abstains from doing it, though), even so much as trying to instill a positive image in the eyes of the merchants working there.
  • Vasilius at the end of season 3. Even though both him and Simon are known to be incredible behind-the-scenes schemers and are high on the social hierarchy, Simon's power is backed by business and commerce, while Vasilius gains his power from being the governor.
  • Season 4 has Tekfur Ares shape up to be a worthy successor to Vasilius, but unlike his Muslim-loathing predecessor, Ares ultimately gives up his bigoted ways, converts to Islam, and remains that way for the rest of his life.
  • Season 5 has a couple of notable antagonists: Dragos differs greatly from Ares in that although he becomes Tekfur after assassinating Yannis and is given a chance to change for the better after being told about Islam, he remains opposed to the Turks to the bitter end. Alincak could serve as this to Noyan in that while Noyan was respected by Ogedei Khan for his commanding skills, Alincak is constantly berated by Hulagu for his inability to properly lead his soldiers due to his multiple failures against the Turks.
  • In terms of right-hand men, there’s Titus and Tankut. While both men display some form of hostility toward their masters, they occur in far different circumstances. In Titus’ case, he’s aware of Petruchio’s inability to fight like most of the men who serve him, giving him the initiative to take the helm and eventually succeeding. Tankut, meanwhile, acts rancorously due to his physical abuse at Noyan’s hands, and while he does form a faction separate from Noyan at one point, Sungurtekin defeats Tankut before he can actually become a powerful leader in his own right.

• Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
  • Although Ertugrul remains the central protagonist for the entire series, he can be easily contrasted with Tugtekin Bey from season 2. Whereas Ertugrul is stoic, calculating, and cool-headed, Tugtekin constantly lashes out at others and displays zilch patience in most situations, even prompting Noyan to give him the moniker of “Fiery Boy.”
  • Aliyar to Tugtekin. While the head of the Dodurgas was known to constantly butt heads with Ertugrul, the hero of the Cavdar tribe is the polar opposite; a prudent-minded individual who isn’t one to take the initiative first, preferring to think carefully about the situation at hand and never once does he think about betraying Ertugrul, even after his brother Ural convinces Candar and Aslihan (Father and sister) to believe that Ertugrul is a menace to the Cavdars.
  • In terms of Elder Tribal Heads, there are many details that contrast the brother duo of Suleyman Shah and Korkut Bey. Whereas Suleyman shows nothing but praise for his son Ertugrul, Korkut attempts to execute his nephew after believing he murdered his son Tugtekin, only stopping after Tugtekin is brought to him alive.

• Cool Old Guy: Several of the older protagonists count, including Suleyman Shah and Deli Demir (Both fairly competent fighters, often going into battle alongside the beys and alps when given the opportunity).

• Divided for Publication: Even though it isn’t entirely surprising (Given that episodes of Diziler series tend to run for approximately 2 hours), Ertugrul really pushes the envelope. Whereas most Turkish dramas run for no more than two seasons, Ertugrul runs for a grand total of five (More than 336 hours over the course of 448 episode segments, most of them being 45 minutes each).

• Evil Old Folks:
  • Grand Master Petruchio Manzini, who commands the nearby Templar coalition in season 1 in spite of his physical inability to actively fight his enemies.
  • Kurdoglu Bey, younger sibling of Kayi chief Suleyman Shah and very much envious of the latter’s position, driving him to numerous ends to knock him out of the seat and claim it for himself.
  • Emir Sadettin Kopek, who is first shown releasing Noyan from Kayi imprisonment in season 2 before going on to commit higher-stakes atrocities like getting another Emir framed for trying to kill the Sultan and then poisoning his dinner peasant so he could take him out of the picture, among numerous other activities.

• Evil Uncle:
  • Kurdoglu serves as this to Ertugrul, Gundogdu, and Dundar in season 1. However, it only becomes fully obvious to the good guys after he hijacks the tent and orders the alps to carry the unwilling ones to their execution.
  • Aslihan’s uncle, Bahadir Bey, shows up early in season 4 to claim the Cavdar tribe from Turgut alongside his wife Karaca, who thereby serves as her evil aunt since Karaca has no opposition to Bahadir’s schemes.

• Face–Heel Turn:
  • A variation of this happens to Turgut after getting captured by the Templars and being exposed to liquid narcotics to serve their campaign. Once they return him to Ertugrul, Turgut stabs him in the back, nearly killing the Head-Alp and prompting the tribe to keep him imprisoned to prevent another tragedy. Downplayed in that Turgut had no control over his so-called betrayal of Ertugrul. Oh, and he gets better by the end of the season.
  • A straighter example occurs with Hamza Alp. He was one of Ertugrul’s most prized soldiers back in season 1, then goes along with Abdurrahman Alp to gain information from the Mongols by pretending to side with them during the following season. Unlike Abdurrahman though, Hamza is genuinely corrupted by the promise of riches and betrays the Kayis out of such a vice. Even when he tries to repent later, his attempts are cut short after Noyan offs him, firmly leaving him without Mother Hayme’s blessing.
  • Secretly enacted by Afsin Bey after he murders Halime’s father. While Ertugrul does become suspicious of him, he never finds out explicitly if Afsin truly betrayed the Kayis by being the one to commit such a sin before he leaves at the end of season 1.

• Five-Man Band:
  • The Hero: Ertugrul, the leader of the alps in Suleyman Shah’s army.
  • The Lancer: Bamsi, an impulsive alp whose glutton tendencies and constant snarling serve as a stark contrast to Ertugrul’s cleverness, earnestness, and self-control.
  • The Smart Guy: Dogan, while prone to joking around like Bamsi, is certainly more practical than the latter and often tends to persuade his ally to actively participate during serious situations.
  • The Big Guy: Turgut, a towering fellow who almost always fights with an axe as opposed to a sword like the rest of the group.
  • Token Female: Halime, although rarely involved in battles alongside Ertugrul per Kayi customs (And when she is, it always involves her being escorted by Ertugrul from one place to another), serves as a love interest of sorts to the Head-alp and thus deeply motivates him before he heads into a fight.

• Foregone Conclusion: Since Ertugrul’s youngest son Osman grew up to become the founder of the Ottoman Empire, nothing bad that happens to him over the course of the final two seasons ends up killing him.

• Greater-Scope Paragon: Sultan Alaeddin Kayqubad fits this trope, serving as a grand-high patriarch not only to Ertugrul and the Kayi clan, but the entirety of the Muslim world.

• Greater-Scope Villain:
  • In season 1, the Pope serves as this not only to Petruchio, but also to Cardinal Thomas and the Ministers who visit the castle near the end of the arc. His influence also applies to the Lone Wolf Boss Templars in season 2 and Master Simon in season 3.
  • Ogedei Khan serves as this to Baiju Noyan. He’s also the only character of this type who shows up onscreen, toward the end of season 4.
  • The Byzantine Empire to Vasilius, Ares, and Kritos during the 3rd and 4th seasons, as well as Dragos in the fifth.
  • Hulagu Khan to Alincak, Arikbuka, and Kiyat in the fifth season.

• Go-to Alias:
  • Petruchio and Titus, who go undercover in the city of Aleppo as Tatos Harput and Ebu Hisham, respectively.
  • Noyan uses this in a couple of season 2 episodes, as well as a different one in season 4, where he momentarily dons the moniker of “The Traveler”.
  • A protagonist example happens in season 3. A man who drops by the Kayi-Cavdar grounds claiming to be a traveling merchant is later revealed to be Sultan Alaeddin Kayqubad.

• Heel–Face Turn:
  • Selcan Hatun in season 1. After spending much of the season constantly scheming against her fellow Kayis and collaborating with Kurdoglu occasionally, she ceases to commit any truly malicious acts after Kurdoglu conquers the Kayi clan from the inside, giving her a considerable change of heart. Season 2 goes out of its way to give this character her own story arc so as to make up for the atrocities that had been committed by her during season 1.
  • The Tekfur of Karacahisar is set up to become a major threat to the Kayis after he embargoes the goods arriving at his city through the Hanli Market. But with a little convincing from Ertugrul and his alps, he lifts the embargo and commends them on saving his daughter’s life.

• Heel–Faith Turn:
  • Claudius, who had initially been sent to murder Ibn Arabi in the first season. Ironically, it’s an encounter with Arabi himself that convinces Claudius to convert to Islam and change his name to Omer.
  • Helena, who becomes Hafsa after her conversion to Islam. Subverted in that she’s not malevolent at all, and also abhors living with the Byzantines. While she initially shows some hostility toward the Kayis, she only acted that way because she wasn’t aware yet that the men who attacked her were Vasilius’ men in masquerade.
  • A game-changing example occurs with Tekfur Ares (Who becomes Ahmet upon converting). He sides with Ertugrul after testifying against Sadettin Kopek, then having a dream where he encounters Ibn Arabi, who convinces him that he can seek a better life by allying himself with the Turks.

• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • Selcan taking an arrow meant for Gundogdu in season 1. Because of this, Gundogdu is prompted to travel with the other alps to stop the remaining Templar warriors following the destruction of their base.
  • If it wasn’t for Banu Cicek reaching her arm in front of Gunduz in the third season, the arrow that was headed his way could have easily killed him. Downplayed in that Gunduz still gets seriously injured by the projectile, but the limb-blockade was able to soften just enough to prevent it from being life-ending.

• In the Hood:
  • The season 5 villain Beybolat wears a face-concealing hood whenever he poses as Albasti.
  • During his introduction in the second season, Noyan briefly wears a cloth covering almost his entire body. He also wears a hood when he presents himself as “The Traveler” near the end of season 4.
  • In terms of heroic examples, Ertugrul and his beys have done this a handful of times. For instance, they wore face-concealing articles in season 4 when they walked into Karacahisar, claiming to be Ares’ soldiers until the time was right so they could eliminate the Tekfur’s units.

• Karma Houdini Warranty: Chances are, even if a villainous character is not seen dying or is not mentioned to have died by the end of a given season, they’ll be mentioned in passing sometime during the next season. Examples include Afsin Bey during season 2, Colpan Hatun/Ekaterina in the 4th, and Noyan during the years between the 4th and 5th seasons.

• Knight Templar: The actual Knights Templar show up in seasons 1 and 3 (2 as well, but only in a few scenes) as adversaries of Ertugrul. Meanwhile, the Orthodox Byzantine warriors become a constant appearance starting midway through the third season.

• Man on Fire:
  • Aykiz Hatun suffers a chilling death at the hands of the Mongols in this manner, mainly to demonstrate the type of treachery they are capable of.
  • Esma/Eftelya uses this trope on a hapless woman in season 1, trying to prevent Ertugrul from coming after her by making him believe she committed suicide so he wouldn’t be able to gain any information from her. It works.

• The Mole:
  • The first season has Petruchio position several of his men in Aleppo, donning aliases and sending pigeons back to the stronghold to secure information that they believe could give them an advantage over the Kayis and the Ayyubids.
  • Karabek and Efrasiyab to Noyan in season 2, though only Ertugrul is aware of this for a while since he was the only other character to have seen them in the Mongol camp.
  • Titan in season 4 serves as one to Ares on one occasion, visiting the Kayi tribe under an alias and gaining the trust of the locals so they won’t suspect him of trying to abduct Gunduz in order to lead Ertugrul into a trap.
  • Dragos and his lackeys are oh-so befitting of this trope in the fifth season, in which they take on seemingly-normal occupations throughout the streets of Sogut while masking an elite military coalition bent on placing Asia Minor under their influence.
  • Hamza and Abdurrahman both pretend to side with Noyan in order to gain vital information for the Kayis and Dodurgas. Even though Abdurrahman manages to pull off the ploy as intended, Hamza sadly ends up succumbing to greed and actually betrays Ertugrul in the process.

• Non-Action Big Bad:
  • Grand Master Petruchio in the first season. While he is the de-jure leader of the Amanus Mountain region Templars, he is a frail old man who hardly engages in active combat and spends most of his time either plotting within his fortress or going undercover to obtain vital information.
  • Two seasons later, Master Simon also displays traces of this trope, being the owner of the Hanli Market and far more likely to use his wits and financial knowledge than his weapons when it comes to conducting his schemes.
  • Not as much of a full-on Big Bad as the previous two, but Tekfur Kritos shows a few qualities of this trope at work. He’s not too adept when it comes to direct brawls, but he is clever enough to both govern a whole city and an elite battalion (And is actually present to supervise his army slightly more often that the other two examples).

• Off with His Head!: Those who meet their end via cranial disembodiment throughout the show's run include Sahabettin Tugrul, Kurdoglu Bey, and Petruchio Manzini in season 1, Kocabas Alp, Gumustekin Bey, Bogac Alp, and Doruk Bey in season 2, Ural Bey in season 3, Sadettin Kopek and Tekfur Kritos in season 4, Lais, Uranos, and Dragos in season 5.

• Oh, Crap!:
  • Sadettin Kopek reacts this way after finding out that his superior, Sultan Alaeddin, is temporarily staying with the Kayis and has a feeling he might be suspected of trying to plot an assassination attempt.
  • Kopek does this again when he sees a handful of judges coming into the Bazaar pavilion, seemingly throwing off the verdict that would have happened had Kopek himself become the judge.

• Proud Warrior Race Guy: The Oghuz Turks and Mongols, both being battle-hardened horse-warriors of the Asian steppes and all. The Kayilar, being relatively recent arrivals from Central Asia compared to the more settled Seljuks, are understandably more intense about it in comparison.

• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Titus’ primary reason for targeting Ertugrul and his kin, namely to get back at them for slaying his brother Bisol.

• Sibling Yin-Yang: Ertugrul and Gundogdu. While the former is typically calm, composed, and perfectly capable of executing his plans in secret, the latter is often loud-mouthed, critical of his younger brother, and prone to having meltdowns. Come season 5, much of Gundogdu’s impatience dies down considerably.

• The Starscream:
  • Tankut. He wants to rally the Mongols to be under his watch instead of Noyan, who has been particularly abusive toward him. The only significant thing he accomplishes during his tenure as a self-made patriarch is killing Deli Demir.
  • Emir Sadettin Kopek and Mahperi Hatun both display this attitude unto Alaeddin Kayqubad, having their own plan to assassinate the sultan. Although the former succeeds in eliminating Kayqubad, his inability to do the same to his son Giyaseddin prevents him from formally becoming sultan himself. Downplayed with the latter, as she eventually repents and regains her son Giyaseddin’s trust.
  • Kiyat comes very close to usurping Berke Khan near the end of season 5. The only reason he ends up becoming this trope is because Ertugrul informed Berke about his plan to try to weaken the Muslims in the war against Hulagu by stealing some vital documents that the Golden Horde were guarding. Downplayed in that he was more interested in working against his superior with the enemy than actually wanting to replace his leader like most examples.

• Starter Villain:
  • Master Simon serves this role in season 3, being set up as a worthy opponent of the Kayi clan up until he dies about a third of the way in, allowing Vasilius to become the Big Bad for the remainder of said season.
  • Trader Simko in season 4 also counts as this. He captures Ertugrul and numerous other people to become his loyal slaves, only to be slain by Tekfur Ares after Ertugrul and several of the other hirelings escape.

• Tampering with Food and Drink:
  • When Aytolun attempts to murder her husband Korkut in season 2 by poisoning water intended for both herself and the Bey, while making sure she gets less of the poison in order for her to survive the symptoms. She succeeds at both.
  • Sadettin Kopek attempts this twice, both times targeting the Sultan. While the first one gets undone by Ibn Arabi, he is triumphant the second time around.
  • In season 5, Dragos manages to add toxic substances to Teokles’ water, eventually killing during his stay at the Kayi tribe.
  • A non-fatal example occurs in season 5 when Sirma tosses an excessive amount of salt into Hafsa Hatun's soup, intent on making Selcan direct her displeasure toward Hafsa and thereby driving a wedge between them.

• Terrible Trio:
  • Kurdoglu, Baybora, and Alpargu in season 1, the latter two conspiring with the former to murder and take the title of Bey from his brother, Kayi leader Suleyman Shah.
  • The close of season 4 gives us Almila/Alangoya, Mergen, and Eynece, a group of Mongols claiming to be fur traders who want to help Noyan attack the Kayis unawares.

• Walking Spoiler:
  • So much as even mentioning the name Sugay cannot be brought up unless one mentions Halime’s untimely death after giving birth to Osman.
  • Another season 4 example would be Almila/Alangoya. Where to begin? First, she only shows up after Ertugrul slays Kopek, who appeared to be the only other antagonist (Besides the Tekfur of Bilecik) left for him to defeat for the past few episodes. Then, we find out that she’s Noyan’s sister, and that her big sibling had actually survived the events of season 2.
  • A season 5 example, meanwhile, would be Arikbuka, the final antagonist that Ertugrul comes face-to-face with in the series. Not only is he never brought up prior to his introduction late into the season, but so much as trying to bring the character into a discussion would require mentioning that he revived Beybolat/Albasti after the latter leaped off a cliff in order to prevent Ertugrul from executing him.
  • Uranos is another season 5 example, primarily because he shows up to replace Lais after Ertugrul publicly executes him.
  • Maria, the redheaded assistant to "John the Baptist" at Hanli Market. Although she's a trained nurse/apocathery and frequently uses perfectly natural means of healing, she also practices some form of magic.
  • The next character to qualify would be Eynece in season 4, disguising himself as a seemingly-benign hide trader, but in reality is similar to Ulubilge in that he supposedly contacts the spirits for vital information.

• Would Hurt a Child:
  • Bogac and Doruk at the end of season 2. The former brutally dispatches Halime’s kid brother Yigit, while the latter runs away with an infant-age Gunduz and comes very close to stabbing him, only being stopped after Mother Hayme fires an arrow to ward him off.
  • Titus in season 1 is revealed to be like this after slashing Dundar across the waist and leaving him unconscious for almost the entire rest of the season.
  • Season 4 gives us Titan and Ares. The former slaps a juvenile Gunduz across the face before kidnapping him, while the latter imprisons Gunduz and almost tries to murder the kid, only being stopped by Titan because they need the child alive.
  • Yet another season 4 instance involves Almila/Alangoya, who plans on butchering all three of Ertugrul’s sons and attempts to strangle baby Osman, only to be interrupted by Sugay Hatun entering the marquee.
  • The Mongols in general have a tendency to exterminate children and babies as they would with adults, which is especially horrifying during the massacre at the beginning of season 2.

Tropes included in season one:

• The Heavy: Even though Petruchio Manzini is the man in charge of the Knights Templar, it is Titus (Petruchio’s most elite soldier) who is most active in pursuing Ertugrul and initiates many of the conflicts in the season without any help from his master.

• The Oath-Breaker: The defining trait of Karatoygar (With his own promises, no less), first established when he commands one of his slaves to kill a man that tried to act against him or else be killed for refusing to obey. When she complies, Karatoygar responds by killing her anyway, believing that she’d use that knowledge one day to try to assassinate him. It eventually comes back to bite him when he orders his soldiers to attack the Kayis, even though doing so would break another promise that he made to them earlier, prompting the soldiers to walk away and cause Karatoygar to lose his political power.

• Dragon-in-Chief: Titus absolutely counts as this: although he is subservient to Petruchio, he’s shown to be far more competent and enabled for physical combat than his supervisor and gets significantly more screen time, too. It is Petruchio’s unwillingness to fight head-on that primarily fuels Titus’ anger toward him and eventually, Titus’ promotion to Grand Master.

• Morton's Fork: The beginning of the first season has one involving Karatoygar, primarily intended to establish his promise-breaking tendencies. Here, he commands one of his slaves to execute a political enemy of his or else she will be executed alongside him. When she reluctantly complies, Karatoygar still kills the girl, believing that she might be capable of murdering him if she had the chance.

• Wise Old Folk Façade: Kurdoglu displays this type of image to his nephew Gundogdu, providing him advice while scheming behind his back as part of his plan to take the Bey’s seat from Suleyman Shah.

Tropes included in season two:

• Bit Part Bad Guy: The Templar legion that Ertugrul runs into halfway through the season, during which he searches for new land for the tribe to migrate to, are the only antagonists who have no connection to either Noyan or Kopek. They only exist to serve as a threat to a small group of non-Templar Christians living over there before Ertugrul arrives and slays them, allowing him to gain the support of the villagers who had been persecuted not long before.

• Daddy's Little Villain: Goncagul Hatun, both in the sense that she’s the daughter of the immoral Gumustekin Bey and the niece of his sister Aytolun, and is at least equally malicious as either of the aforementioned relatives.

• Love Triangle: Two different ones that overlap occur here, with the two common person being Gokce and Ertugrul. One involves the former’s desire to marry the latter, and the latter’s eventual relationship with Halime Sultan (First brought up in the previous season). The other is a downplayed exampled in that while it involves her newfound tryst with Tugtekin Bey, she’s since abandoned her dream of being with Ertugrul to focus on him. Still, Aytolun learns about Gokce’s feelings for Ertugrul and spreads the word to her nephew in order to sever what could have been a fruitful romance.

• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
  • Noyan is certainly a villain you wouldn’t want to make angry. Just ask his lackey Tankut, who has to endure both verbal and bodily abuse multiple times for his failures.
  • Toward the end of the season, Tugtekin gives one to Gumustekin Bey after finding out about his and his sister Aytolun’s scheme to murder Korkut in order for Gumustekin to become the Dodurga chieftain.

• Wicked Stepmother: Aytolun serves as this to Tugtekin, having been responsible for the death of Korkut’s former wife Duru and targeting Korkut himself next. Downplayed in that Tugtekin initially knows nothing about the fact and actually takes some of her words at face value.

Tropes included in season three:

• The Big Bad Shuffle: The first third of the season begins with Master Simon, the Bazaar proprietor, and Ural Bey, who serves as The Rival to Ertugrul that season. Then Ural murders Simon before the plot segues into Vasilius filling in the void.

• The Dragon: Batuhan Alp to Ural Bey. He eventually splits from Ural and forms his own faction.

• Driven by Envy: A driving factor behind many of Ural Bey’s reprehensible actions, which includes having his men burn all the carpets the Kayis had sewn as they were being delivered and hiring hitmen to kill those working against him at a few different points.

• Enemy Mine: Sadettin Kopek briefly teams up with Ertugrul and Aliyar after a now-independent Batuhan abducts Aslihan (Whom Sadettin desperately wants to marry) for interrogation, prompting the Bey of the Kayis to help him just this once.

• Halfway Plot Switch: This arc initially seems to be about Ertugrul getting involved in the trade process via the Hanli Bazaar and his rivalry with Ural Bey. Then Ural slashes the market owner, while the governor of Karacahisar embargoes the Kayi goods that were supposed to arrive in his city, thus changing the direction of the arc from that point on. And that’s not even discussing the fact that season 4 picks up directly after the events of the season 3 finale…

• Make Way for the New Villains: Shortly after Master Simon is killed off, the character of Vasilius is introduced and serves as the biggest threat for the next two thirds of the arc.

• Professional Killer:
  • Francisco is hired by Ural to ambush a carriage full of women and children, then later slain by him in order for the bey to make himself look heroic.
  • Ural later hires a Greek named Karakoncalos to head over to the river to interrupt the Kayis’ gold-mining operation and murder his could-have-been servant Hacaturyan (who revealed the gold deposit to the Kayis).

• Sadistic Choice: Ertugrul, after acquiring Habli Bazaar, is tasked with marrying Aslihan Hatun, daughter of Candar Bey. If he declines, he’ll become a pariah in the eyes of the Cavdars. But if he accepts the marriage, he’ll earn the ire of Halime Hatun, the woman who’s already his spouse. A particularly cruel double example happens in this case: Colpan, in an attempt to sever their relationship, falsely informs Halime that Ertugrul has considered taking Aslihan’s hand, while Ertugrul himself ends up making the decision not to go through with the marriage at roughly the same time, greatly angering the Cavdars. The fallout from this dilemma is so catastrophic that it becomes the first step toward Aslihan and Candar’s eventual disowning of Ertugrul and his tribe.

• Unholy Matrimony: Colpan Hatun, wife of the unscrupulous and conniving Ural Bey, proves herself to be just as despicable as her husband several times.

Tropes included in season four:

• Even Evil Has Standards: During the last couple of episodes, when Tekfur Kritos meets The Traveler, the latter offers to give him a sip of blood. Not as in wine, but actual human blood. Naturally, this disgusts the pious governor and also foreshadows that the man Kritos invited to his table was none other than Noyan, the primary antagonist from the sophomore season.

• Hijacked by Ganon: Not that he has any direct connection to most of the villains that showed up in the season beforehand (And by extension, season 3), but Noyan’s presence near the end comes as a surprise both to the viewers and to Ertugrul and his alps.

• Someday This Will Come in Handy: Ertugrul tells his son Gunduz a story about a cyclops-like creature named Tepegoz. One day, a brave man dealt with the beast by injuring it in the eye and although it didn’t kill Tepegoz outright, it caused him to lose his eyesight and weakened him in the process. This story becomes useful when Gunduz is abducted by Titan and taken to Karacahisar, where he encounters Tekfur Ares. After Ares announces that he wants to rechristen Gunduz to Kronos, the Bey’s son boldly pulls out a stone from his pocket and jabs it into one of Ares’ eyes, causing him to be half-blinded for the remainder of the season.

• Villainous Mother-Son Duo: Downplayed with Mahperi Hatun and Giyaseddin. While the former certainly holds a grudge against Ertugrul and has her own agenda for dethroning Sultan Alaeddin, the latter only acts hostile toward Ertugrul after his father dies, not knowing that Sadettin was the one who administered the murder or that his mother had conspired against the sultan. Not only that, but both of them reform after being offered shelter in the Kayi grounds.

• The Worf Effect: Happens to Ares (Who served as one of the primary antagonists at the beginning of the season, now named Ahmet) after Tekfur Kritos figures out his current affiliation and sends the Traveler, AKA Noyan, to kill him off.

Tropes included in season five:

• Distant Finale: The entirety of the season serves as this, taking place an entire decade after the events of the third and fourth seasons (Which themselves took place five years after seasons 1 and 2).

• Facial Horror: Happens to Artuk Bey after the Mongols interrogate him regarding the location of several important documents, responding with the burning of both of his eyes when he refuses to give them a reply.

• For Doom the Bell Tolls: The Bell Ringer/Dragos violently rings the cathedral bell after murdering Umur Bey.

• Not the Fall That Kills You…: Beybolat/Albasti jumps off a cliff into a river far below to escape from Ertugrul, at a height that clearly would have offed him. And while it does render him unconscious briefly, he gets revived by Arikbuka.

• Obfuscating Disability: In his Bell Ringer persona, Dragos uses a small pouch placed beneath his garbs to make it appear as though his back is hunched.

• Secret Circle of Secrets: Dragos’ legion counts as this since he and his members operate under aliases around Sogut, doing so while preventing most outsiders from figuring out their true identities.

• Secretly Wealthy: He might appear to be poor and helpless in his alter-ego, but Dragos is certainly a well-to-do individual, having accumulated plenty of treasure and soldiers, with plans of obtaining even greater wealth as he continues expanding his legion.

• Soft Water: Although it initially seems as though Albasti may have killed himself after jumping into a river from a rather daunting height, he gets restored to life once Arikbuka comes across his body, playing this trope straight in the process.