To Love To Lose Review: Sparks fly between Kemal, a loan shark enforcer, and Afife, a struggling screenwriter, when he arrives at her family restaurant to collect debt. However, they must face the consequences of their choices as they explore the love that they feel for one another.
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To Love To Lose Netflix Cast
İbrahim Çelikkol, Emine Meyrem, Hakan Çelik, Yasemin Kay Allen, Deniz Türkali, Görkem Sevindik
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To Love To Lose Series Directors
Selim Demirdelen, Kurtcebe Turgul
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Original Title
Ayrılık da Sevdaya Dahil
The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of 45-50 minutes.
To Love To Lose Review
In Netflix’s newest rom-com, chaos ensues in both Kemal and Afife’s lives as they juggle the troubles of their individual situations while struggling with their feelings for one another. While Afife is desperately trying to keep her restaurant from going under, Kemal is trying to handle his complicated relationship with his absentee father while trying to handle his relationship with his fiancée. Thus, a chance meeting at her place over debt collection becomes the reason for sparks flying, and the story showcases the consequences of their various actions.
By far, To Love To Lose feels like a mature and lived-in series that handles complicated, adult relationships, situations and feelings. There is no one way for things to unfold, as both characters have several responsibilities and situations that are keeping them preoccupied. Now, throw love into the mix and things just get even more difficult. The series brings a nice message about love not being a cure-all for every situation, and the most interesting part is its showcase of flawed characters who are shaped by their pasts and are unsure of their futures.
You find yourself in these characters as they hope to find simple and fulfilling things that might be simple but have a profound effect on their lives. With debt looming over them both in one way or another, the series gives their relationship a very interesting boost that will leave viewers feeling the slow-burning tension of this relationship. At some points, it feels forbidden as well, which adds to the intrigue of the situation. The series builds the relationship through conflict, mutual respect and emotional revelations that make them feel like real people with grounded and authentic experiences.
The series does a great job with these two characters. They are resilient, strong and people that we might know in our lives. While Kemal is structured, tough, but also soft sometimes in a way that makes your heart melt, Afife is tired of life giving her a bad hand and of always setting boundaries and trying to make ends meet. Both of them are struggling to find themselves in some ways, and that’s where you relate to them both. Both of them bring out the vulnerabilities and nuances of their characters extremely well, and you find yourself lost in their story.
The series central theme and tone are a little melancholic sometimes, mostly because the idea that love doesn’t always fix every problem or that losing love is sometimes an inevitable part of life is not often explored in media. The series does a good job of showcasing these complicated feelings and breaking down these situations. It doesn’t glorify or vilify these feelings and situations; on the contrary, it does a good job of just letting these feelings be. I found myself rather hooked to the series, and it did somewhat creep up on me.
Final Thoughts
To Love To Lose is a memorable watch that will leave an impression on you. Its depiction of romance is a bit different from what you’d expect and gives us a slow-burning love that doesn’t always reach the perfect ending. If you are into realistic shows with emotional realism and deeply drawn characters, this one’s a great bet.
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