Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Tailor’ Season 3 on Netflix, A Head-Scratching Turkish Drama Trying To Figure Out What Genre It’s Supposed To Be

The premise of Netflix’s The Tailor, the Turkish drama now in its third season, seems simple: two lifelong best friends are in love with the same woman. But this is no ordinary love triangle, as each of the main characters has tried to kill or otherwise destroy one another somehow, and it makes no sense why any of them do what they do. Going into the new season, which is out today, it seemed like our main characters might finally be at peace with one another, as season two ended on a relatively happy note, but that was all a lie, and some huge bombs (literal bombs!) are unleashed once the secrets start to spill out in these new episodes.

THE TAILOR (SEASON 3): STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Clothing designer Peyami Dokumacı (Cagatay Ulusoy) is on a whirlwind trip around the world – New York, London, Paris – to show his fashions to prospective buyers. These are high-end stores, and his future looks promising, although the trip is taking a toll on him and he longs to get back to Istanbul.

The Gist: The Tailor is a long and winding romantic melodrama with enough details to make your head spin. Quick recap: Peyami is in love with Esvet (Şifanur Gül), but Esvet is married to Peyami’s best friend (who is also his frenemy, and also his business partner) Dimitri (Salih Bademci). Last season, both men addressed some childhood traumas: Dimitiri finally opened up about being abused by his father Ari, and Peyami finally revealed to the world that his own father, Mustafa, is alive (he had been hidden away in Peyami’s home, as Peyami was embarrassed by his father’s mental disability.). And to boot, Peyami’s mother, Kiraz, who had abandoned Peyami and Mustafa, returned to their lives. Last season ended happily (as happy as this show can get), which is to say, everyone was getting along but there was still a good amount of underlying tension.

As the third season begins, Peyami returns from his months-long business travels and everyone, including his parents and Dimitri, are thrilled to see him. Esvet, who is still grappling with her love for Peyami despite her marital commitment to Dimitri, is the only one who can’t muster any joy to see him. It’s clear that it’s painful for her to live without the man she really loves, but Esvet lives in a state of perpetual, expressionless depression, so we never quite know what she’s thinking.

When Peyami returns from his trip, Dimitri insists they have dinner at Peyami’s. Peyami’s parents are there, and so is Esvet. The dinner sets in motion what’s to come for the season. First, Peyami makes a big announcement that he wants his fashion line to include shoes, and to show off a sample pair he has created, he has Esvet try them on. Since Peyami and Esvet aren’t able to be intimate with one another, dressing her is the only way he can touch her and show her his affection – last season when he tailored her wedding dress, it was simply an excuse for them to be together, and now here as he slips a shoe on her foot, it’s as if they’re cheating right in front of everyone, but they still keep their emotions in check.

But the intimacy doesn’t last long, because immediately after she tries on the shoe, Dimitri announces that he and Esvet are planning to move to New York. As soon as he makes the announcement, a chime rings: it’s a new clock that Peyami has brought home from his travels, and one that has a deep significance. He received it as a gift while abroad, and the legend of the clock is that it was made for a French duchess who was in love with a colonel. It was gifted to her and she and the colonel married, despite the fact that her hand in marriage was promised to someone else. Peyami explains that the clock only runs when its owner is in love. And now, with Peyami and Esvet’s secret feelings for one another threatened by a move to New York, the clock is set in motion. (This might feel like a clever conceit, but by the end of the season, the clock’s importance fades.)

The episode ends with Esvet visiting Peyami in his office, and him begging her not to go to New York. While this sets up this season’s story, her departure marks the beginning of the many hurdles that face Peyami and Esvet, and it is by far the most realistic thing that happens in a season that eventually heads off the rails in spectacular fashion.

Our Take: I truly don’t understand how we are supposed to feel about the characters and their motivations in The Tailor. Peyami is best boiled down to a tortured creative genius, Dimitri is essentially an abused kid who now abuses others, and Esvet is just unhappy. There’s nothing to like about any of them, but what’s worse is how the story shifts from fairly grounded emotions one minute, to absolutely unrealistic and wild choices the next. While a love triangle is one thing, The Tailor is more like the story of two lovers, Peyami and Esvet, who are kept apart by a mentally ill and volatile manipulator, Dimitri.

As the season progresses, Dimitri becomes more violent and vicious (and yet, we’re still supposed to feel empathy for him and feel some fuzzy feelings for the childhood bond he and Peyami shared), all of which culminates in a truly unbelievable, explosive climax. On the one hand, I am utterly confused by the show’s inability to maintain a consistent tone: the relationships between Peyami and his family seem pure and have evolved in an emotional arc that feels honest, while his relationship with Dimitri is just about as outlandish it can get. I guess I have to give the creators credit for just going for it. Explosions, shootings, death and destruction: nothing is off limits here, and that just feels sort of odd for a show about a fashion designer who just wants to get the girl in the end.

Sex and Skin: None so far this season.

Parting Shot: Peyami asks Esvet whose idea it was to move to New York. She evades the question, and they lock eyes. The camera lingers on both of their eyes in tight close-ups as he begs her, “Stay.”

Performance Worth Watching: While I remain unmoved by anyone’s performance on this show, I guess I’d have to say that we should give it up to Salih Bademci, because Dimitri really is an unpredictable character, and he’s the backbone of this totally weird show.

Memorable Dialogue: Peyami gives a long, drawn out monologue to his family about the significance of his new antique clock, and how it only runs when it can sense a couple is in love. And at the end of his speech, he declares dramatically, “It’s an old wives tale. I don’t believe in those.”

Our Call: Admittedly, I like where this season is going a little more than I liked last season, however, I am skeptical of the whole “clock that runs on love” metaphor, and I’m frustrated that Esvet has absolutely nothing to do other than to sit there and look pretty but sad. The Tailor is a tonally inconsistent romantic drama made for people who enjoy asking themselves, “What exactly am I watching here?” SKIP IT.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.