Can You Spot These 5 Cliches in the Dizi You`re Currently Watching?

The other day I found myself re-watching a Turkish dizi. The male and female leads got tangled up in some typical dizi hijinks which led to them getting in a car together. They needed to follow a villain to see what sort of a trap he was planning. By this point, the hero was already head-over-heels for the heroine, but he couldn’t let her know that yet because, well…reasons. At the same he would`ve rather cut off his own leg than compromise her safety, so when the seatbelt gets stuck, the music swells, he throws caution to the wind, leans in, and helps her out even if that means being inches away from her and having a hard time pulling away.

The fact that dizi heroines are incapable of putting on their own seat belts is a bit of a running gag among the dizi fans. Watching that scene made me remember a few other cliches that might be repetitive and a little cheesy, but that also contribute to the overall dizi magic. 

1. The hot (preferably shirtless) man chopping wood

Yes, you read that right. Let me set the scene for you: the female and the male protagonist just had a fight, or some huge truth was revealed. The hero is in pieces. He`s torn. He needs to clear his head and release some of the pent up anger he`s been carrying around with him. Where does he go and what does he do? “Forest” and “chop wood for a fire” would be the correct answers here. It`s a funny cliche that fans gear themselves up for whenever they watch a preview for a new episode and see the characters venturing out into nature. The guy gets all of his frustrations out, the girl and the fangirls on the other side of the TV screen get to swoon over a hot man doing some manual labor, and there`s wood for the fire. As far as I`m concerned, it`s a win-win-win situation, even if it is a tad bit cliche.

2. The getaway house

This one is very much connected to the wood chopping cliche because this activity often times takes place at some cabin or getaway house that only the hero knows about. He goes there whenever he needs to think. He`s never brought anyone there, except for the heroine, of course. That`s why, when the world is in shambles and the heroine desperately needs to find the hero before his architecture firm/advertising company/shoe design business implodes or a rival steals and pitches his idea to win an extremely important competition, she knows exactly where to go. Whether it`s a house in the woods, a chalet on top of a mountain, or some remote cabin, it becomes a staple in the couple`s relationship since some of the most angsty and romantic scenes take place there.

3. The “she`s not like other girls” cliche

The heroine is never like the other girls which is a cliche in and of itself. If the hero`s ex only eats organic salmon and drinks triple-purified water, the heroine will be treating herself to fast food, munching on baklava, and eating any traditional Turkish meat dish that she can get her hands on. The ex is concerned with keeping up appearances, being in the press, and always dressing the part. The heroine will be an avid gardener, writer, or make perfume in her bedroom, and will always go for cute clothes that she feels comfortable in (she`ll also have a tiny closet, yet wear multiple new outfits in every episode, but that`s a topic for another blog post). The ex might have a lot to offer, but she never notices details about the hero. The heroine notices the little things from the very first meeting, even if the two of them meet because he catches her keying his car because, without realizing, he made her lose her university scholarship and she`s set on getting her revenge.

4. The big misunderstanding

The hero and the heroine understand each other better than anyone else in the world…until they don`t. A misunderstanding is what typically sets the story into motion, but it`s the second big misunderstanding that the fans start to brace themselves once they`re about ten or eleven episodes in. By that point, both halves of the ship have most likely declared their love, which of course means that now they have to break up again, so we can get to the yearning, jealousy, and the eventual groveling and apology stage of the storyline. It happens in every romcom or dizi without exception and it`s a pretty tough time for the fans, but not as awful as when the writers decide to hit us with—

5. The much-dreaded amnesia subplot

Note to all Turkish dizi heroines: if things are going well, you`re about to get married, and you don’t want to spend six episodes watching your fiancé plan his life with his ex because he got amnesia and he doesn’t remember you even existing, do not let said fiancé get on a plane. Not even if he promises to quickly take care of business and make it back in time for the ceremony. 

Can you spot any of these 5 cliches in the dizi you`re currently watching? Let me know in the comments down below!

- ieva | the dizi spell