The Turkish satirical drama A Round of Applause is a presentation of an individual’s struggle for existence in the modern world. The Netflix original definitely takes on elements from absurdist literature and makes me want to think of the nihilistic approach that Samuel Beckett used in his play Waiting for Godot. Just like the way Estragon and Vladimir wait for Godot to arrive, Metin waits to find the meaning of his existence. Will Metin be able to find his purpose in life? Will Zeynep get another chance to go back in time and mend her relationship with Metin and Mehmet? Let’s see what the Best Director Award-winner (for Happy New Year) Bekun Oya has in store for us.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Was Mehmet Worried About Their Baby?
Mehmet and Zeynep were excited to welcome their child into the world and started preparing for it. Meanwhile, their family friends Sevda and Burak came to congratulate them after getting the news. As all of them were happily celebrating the arrival of the baby, Sevda and Burak decided to stay over the night at their place after partying together. It was not long after that Sevda and Burak came into Mehmet and Zeynep’s room, asking them if they could sleep together as they were scared of the thunderstorm (now that’s really weird!). They started behaving as if they were Mehmet and Zeynep’s children. However, it was later revealed that Mehmet was only dreaming. The dream could have been a result of Mehmet trying to figure out what his baby would be like. He later told Zeynep that he was mortified that their child would turn out to be as insensitive as the modern people around him. He was scared that associating with shallow people like Sevda and Burak could harm their unborn child.
What Did Kudret Advice Metin On?
The baby (Metin) seems to be a grown man, trapped inside Zeynep’s body, trying to figure out the meaning of his life. He smokes like an adult and ponders over the complexities of life! When Zeynep goes to visit a maternity clinic, she sits beside another pregnant woman, and the baby inside her starts communicating with Metin. He introduces himself as Kudret (projected as a grown adult), who advises Metin on finding the real purpose of life.
Kudret insisted on the fact that he should either decide the purpose with which he was going to be born or have a miscarriage because he was not someone special. This highlights the way modern society has high expectations from its children right after they are born. Kudret was only warning Metin of the consequences of not living up to the expectations of society. Metin told Kudret that he was already suffering from anxiety, depression, restless leg syndrome, and temporary blindness because of his mother’s bottled-up emotions. He shared how he had never, for one day, felt happy being inside Zeynep’s womb. Metin had already given up on his life even before being born. The way modern people have been bringing unnecessary stress upon themselves, it will be very difficult for them to lead a happy life, affecting the next generation in the process!
Why Did Metin Go Back Inside The Womb?
The standards that society has set for us are very unrealistic, which is brought out when Metin goes missing after his birth. Zeynep and Mehmet were seen to be unrealistically composed in such a difficult situation. The composure was a result of the image that they had to maintain in front of people. When they went to the clinic, they were told that Metin had crawled back inside his mother’s womb. Sounds unrealistic, right? But I guess that won’t be something to get startled about in the next few years. Nowadays, even infants are diagnosed with depression in certain cases. With similar cases on the rise, it wouldn’t be weird for children to want to crawl back into the place that they came from. The nurse had advised her not to drag her baby out into the cruel world, but Zeynep insisted on getting her child back!
Meanwhile, Zeynep got a call from Mehmet (from another dimension), asking her to open up about her bottled feelings. He tried to comfort her and told her that he would stand by her side, no matter what. It was probably a figment of Zeynep’s mind that caused her to think in her subconscious state that her husband had been supportive of her once in her lifetime. This was possibly a manifestation of the postpartum process that she was undergoing.
How Did Metin’s Family Affect Him?
With the passing years, Metin was severely impacted by the increasing family tensions between his parents. When he came back home, he was seen gaslighting his parents when they tried to comfort him. He was also hungry for attention, which was seen when he broke a vase and pretended to be hurt. He had imbibed these toxic traits as a result of seeing his parents fight regularly. He was extremely depressed, which flared up when he heard that his mother wanted to get divorced from his dad. The toxicity at his home followed him as he grew up, hampering his studies and life in the process. Zeynep and Mehmet had still not been divorced and were seen getting couples therapy, which in no way seemed to work out for them. Metin grew up to be a brat who had no regard for his parents and had no interest in anything that he did. He was filled with pessimism about life, which was reflected in the rap that he wrote. Metin had been forced to mature beyond his age due to the toxic atmosphere in his household.
What Happened To Metin At The Panel?
Metin grew up to become a DJ, and when he came across Ahu, they exchanged glances. Those glances turned into a coffee date. Metin’s absolute disregard for anyone was seen when he taunted Ahu’s business plan. She was so hurt that she arranged for a panel for him to talk about his own life (so that he could reflect on his follies). He was bombarded with questions of all sorts by the people present in the audience. One of the audience members (wearing a mask) asked him about his earliest memories as a child. Metin immediately recognized her as his mom. He started humiliating Zeynep and asked her to leave him alone. She said that as a mother, she was confused about whether she could go back in time and change her relationship with him.
When Metin came to his old parental house, Zeynep said that she was very lonely and did not like the fact that her only son would never come to visit her. She said that her distance from Mehmet had increased as they aged. While he was leaving the house, Metin overheard Zeynep telling Mehmet that the panel was mediocre and that it did not even have enough audience. When he overheard this statement, Metin’s self-confidence was crushed. As Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage;” we are nothing more than mere actors on the stage of life. Metin’s story of life is a little too realistic for us to digest, as it highlights our inability to accept our lacunas and point out the faults in others.
Did Zeynep Want To Go Back In Time And Mend Her Relationship With Mehmet?
Zeynep was seen talking to Mehmet’s subconscious as he was sleeping. She said that it was easier to talk to him while he was asleep. She told him about the day Metin had crawled back inside her. She told him that that day she had talked to the real Mehmet that she had fallen for. That day, he had readily accepted his mistakes and had no insecurities. She said that she was in love with that man and could not bring herself to love the present-day Mehmet. Zeynep must have wanted to go back in time and mend her relationship with Mehmet. She wanted to get back the old relationship of trust that she had with him without being judged.
Why Did Kudret Not Recognize Metin?
When Metin met Kudret in a coffee shop, he immediately recognized him. However, Kudret couldn’t recognize Metin when he said that he was someone whom he had met while in his mother’s womb. He introduced himself as Sertac and thought that Metin must have been a crackpot to be behaving like that and saying absurd things. It is possible that Metin had a recollection of the period before his birth, but Kudret must have lost it in trying to seek the real meaning of his existence.
Did Zeynep Mend Her Relationship With Metin?
Faced with an existential crisis, Metin gave up on his former job as a DJ, wanting to go back to living his life inside an orange (as a molecule, maybe). He was now focusing on gaining spiritual solace (or fooling people on the streets, feigning to be a saint). He was trying to make a living off of polymorphy on the streets and trying to find the real meaning of his existence.
Later, when Zeynep came to meet him, she was moved by his plight and tried to remind him what a brilliant kid he was. He, however, did not even take a glance at his mother and pretended to ignore her. He was so mad at his parents for having ruined his childhood that he wouldn’t even talk to them. Zeynep was extremely hurt by his behavior and left the place. Meanwhile, as he was meditating on the street, his plastic snake suddenly came to life (as if by some divine intervention) and bit him. He immediately collapsed on the road and got back inside Zeynep’s womb. It is possible that the Kefir that Zeynep had bought for Metin had poison in it, and as soon as he drank it, he died. Possibly, Zeynep was suffering from a mental imbalance, which made her think that poisoning Metin would make him go back into her womb and she could again restart her motherly relationship with her son.
Final Thoughts
The series A Round of Applause is a sympathetic nod to every individual trying to seek their own existence in modern society. The meaninglessness of life has been brought out quite efficiently with stress on the absurd elements. A Round of Applause stands out as it means to go beyond rationality and portray something that has deeper insights. However, we are left anticipating the release of a second part of the drama that would eventually bring to light the events associated with Zeynep and whether she could go back in time (after becoming pregnant after Metin dies) and mend her relationship with her son.
