The Netflix Turkish series, Bet Your Life, revolves around Isa, a journalist specializing in providing insightful information on gambling. He was once known for making accurate predictions, but lately he was all over the place. One day, he saw his father in his dreams, and he assumed that his father’s prediction might be the answer to building back his reputation. But as luck would have it, he’d failed once again. He owed money to a gangster, Haydar, and had convinced him to bet on the soccer team he believed would surely score, and as a result, Haydar had lost a great deal of money, all thanks to Isa. Just when he thought he was at the lowest point of his life, he started seeing the spirit of an old man, Refik Argun. The man had been murdered, yet his death was made to look like a suicide. Refik was hopeful that Isa would manage to solve the mystery behind his death. Isa’s father had been a seer, and Refik believed that he’d passed on his gift to his son. Well, Isa was not entirely convinced that he was as talented as his father, but he could see the spirit of a dead man, suggesting that the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree.
Spoiler Alert
Was Erkan involved in Refik’s murder?
The CFO of Refik’s company, Mr. Erkan, seemed to be a shady individual who was hiding secrets. He was romantically interested in Refik’s daughter, Seda, and had completely taken over the operations of the warehouse in Urla. Seda heavily relied on him, but Isa was suspicious of the man. With Refik’s help, Isa soon discovered that Erkan was using the company’s warehouse to store contraband and smuggle it to dealers. As luck would have it, he was working closely with Haydar. The local journalist, Taygun, was suspicious of Erkan, and after closely following his day-to-day activities, he discovered some concrete evidence that established Erkan’s involvement in the illegal sale of artifacts. He met Isa and Seda to discuss his findings with them. According to him, Erkan was moving the contraband in olive oil cans, and his best guess was that Refik had also been involved in the business when he was alive. Refik despised the journalist; he told Isa that he had no idea what Erkan was doing behind his back. Isa tried to vouch for Refik, but Seda didn’t care. She was critical of her father, but Isa was yet to find out the reason behind it.
The next day, Seda and Isa followed Erkan to the docks, where he met Haydar. Seda recorded the exchange between Erkan and Haydar. Erkan was proud of pulling off the unimaginable; he explained how it had become easier for him to hide the artifacts in the warehouse since Refik’s death. He was confident that the olive oil cans would not raise any suspicion; after all, anyone who came to Urla stocked up on olive oil. Seda and Isa submitted the video evidence to the police even though the police were apprehensive about looking into the matter. All of a sudden, Isa and Seda discovered Taygun’s dead body when they went to his house to discuss the case. It was obvious that someone wanted to silence Taygun after they figured out that he was working on a report that exposed the smugglers. Naturally, Erkan was the prime suspect, and the police were after him.
Erkan was planning on fleeing the small town, and he wanted Seda to accompany him. Seda begged him to allow her to take her belongings, and she made use of the opportunity to grab her gun and shoot Erkan in the leg. The police finally arrested Erkan. So, was Erkan involved in killing Refik as well? Surprisingly, he was not the murderer. As it turned out, Erkan had planned his every move carefully. His grandfather, Sadik, was an honest farmer, yet he was sentenced to imprisonment by Seda’s grandfather, Ilhami, who was the local judge. Erkan and his family could not overcome the shame that Ilhami brought upon them. They had to leave the village and change their last names to distance themselves from the scandal. Years later, his grandfather was declared innocent, but it was too late. Erkan had made up his mind to seek revenge on Ilhami’s family, and this was the reason why Erkan patiently waited for the right time so he could publicly humiliate Refik. According to his plan, he intended to tip off the police about the artifacts in the warehouse while Refik was alive, but unfortunately things didn’t turn out as he’d planned, and he ended up getting involved in the smuggling business. Erkan wanted Refik to experience the same pain that his family did, and according to him, killing Refik would have been a lenient punishment.
What secret was Refik hiding?
Most remembered Refik Argun as a rude businessman, and Isa could not help but wonder the reason behind it. Even his daughter, Seda, didn’t think fondly of him, and was suspicious of her father’s involvement in the smuggling business. She clearly didn’t trust him, but why? It is gradually revealed that even though Refik had gotten married and had a daughter, he failed to completely devote himself to his family. He didn’t love his wife and had grown detached from his family. Seda and her mother had to look after themselves, and they gradually lowered their expectations from Refik. Seda could never forgive her father for being absent from her life and for treating her mother poorly. But she didn’t know the reason why her father was the way he was. We eventually discover that Refik had fallen in love with a woman when he was a teenager, and he’d never really gotten over her. Even though their circumstances pulled them apart, Refik continued to love her from a distance. This affected his relationship with his family, and his unaddressed anger and frustration often surfaced, resulting in his poor temperament.
So, who was the woman Refik was in love with? To Isa’s surprise, it was his aunt, Ayfer. Refik and Ayfer were in love and had planned on getting married. All of a sudden, Refik had to travel to Istanbul for business, but he promised to return in a couple of days. It took longer than Refik had anticipated, and what he thought would be a couple of days away from home turned into a couple of months. The lack of technology resulted in zero communication, and by the time Refik returned home, he learned that Ayfer had married a local guy. He was disappointed in her because she chose to believe rumors instead of trusting him. Taygun had spread the misinformation that Refik had met a woman in Istanbul and he was already engaged. After reading the gossip in the newspaper, Ayfer had decided not to wait any longer for him. Eventually, Refik too had gotten married, but neither of them was happy in their relationships. But at the same time, they never really got over their misunderstanding and continued to curse each other.
What led to Isa’s near-death experience?
After Ayfer’s warehouse keys were found in Taygun’s room when his body was discovered, Isa assumed that maybe Ayfer was the killer. He assumed that perhaps after years of trying to make peace with how things had ended up, Ayfer gave up and murdered Refik. Isa guessed that Taygun had figured out the truth and was about to publish it (in his study room, an incomplete draft was discovered with a headline that suggested that Refik’s murder was a crime of passion) and that was why Ayfer had no choice but to kill him. Ayfer was shocked when Isa accused her of the crimes. She stated that she had nothing to do with Refik’s death, and since Taygun was the only one who knew about her affair with Refik, she’d requested him to keep it a secret since lately everyone was trying to decipher Refik’s past. If she was not the murderer, then who was? Refik had grown tired of the question, and he decided that maybe it was time for him to make peace with the fact that he was dead and that he would probably have to roam around the world as a ghost forever.
Isa was still hopeful about finding the truth, but he didn’t expect to meet his worst enemy at a wedding. Isa was at a neighbor’s wedding when, all of a sudden, Haydar showed up with a gun in his hand. He wanted Isa to suffer, and he declared that he would kill his loved ones. Just when Haydar pointed his gun at Seda, Isa jumped in to protect her, and he ended up getting shot. The guests at the wedding managed to stop Haydar, and Isa was taken to the hospital. For a few seconds, Isa’s vitals faded, and he imagined meeting his father one last time.
Isa had always lived with the pain of not speaking to his father when he was alive after a heated argument. He’d insulted his father for never using his power to help his family. While people around them made money following his father’s predictions, they were still poor. Isa blamed him for their condition, and it was only later in life that he realized that his father had been right all along. He’d always told Isa that his predictions would be of no good if one didn’t know how to make use of their situation and their struggles. Isa couldn’t understand what his father meant then, but he later regretted distancing himself from the man who had always been honest in life. As someone who was also blessed with a special power, Isa knew what it was to fail, to hear people laugh and call out names, something that his father had been subjected to all his life. Just having the power to predict the future didn’t mean someone could drastically change their lives; if it were so, Isa too could have lived a lavish life, but it was not so simple. And he regretted blaming his father for something he didn’t have control over.
Who was the killer?
Before Isa came back to life, he remembered his father saying that the only way he could solve Refik’s case was by looking around him, because the truth was right in front of his eyes. Even though it seemed that Isa had assumed his aunt was the murderer and that was why he planned her arrest, we later learn that it was all a trap.
Bet Your Life’s ending revealed that the killer was Ayfer’s husband, Necip. When Isa regained consciousness, Necip was the first person he’d laid his eyes on, and he immediately connected the dots. While Necip knew about Ayfer’s relationship with Refik, he’d recently discovered that Mehmet was not his son. He was Refik’s son, and Taygun was the only person who knew about it. One day, when Taygun got drunk, he ended up spilling the truth. Necip felt betrayed; he had spent all his life thinking Mehmet was his child, and he could not bring himself to accept the truth. He murdered Refik out of envy and frustration. He later got into an argument with Taygun and accidentally killed him, though he believed his death had worked in his favor. Not only that, Necip had revealed that he was the one who had spread the misinformation about Refik’s affair because he desperately wanted to marry Ayfer, the most beautiful girl in his town. Deceit was the only way he believed she could ever be his, and he didn’t hesitate to destroy her life to satisfy his desires. He wanted Ayfer to suffer in prison, and when she managed to escape from prison and confronted him, he threatened to shoot her and later call it an act of self-defense. Thankfully, Isa already knew who the murderer was, and all they needed was a confession. The confrontation between Ayfer and Necip resulted in him confessing his crimes, and he was arrested by the police.
So, how did Isa figure out the truth? Other than the help from his father, Isa also remembered his conversation with Bulent at the wedding (who was also standing right in front of him when he woke up at the hospital). He’d mentioned that Necip had dropped by his lab in Izmir recently. Isa figured out that Necip’s relationship with Mehmet worsened after he returned from Izmir. So, Isa couldn’t help but wonder what Necip had discovered there. He later spoke to Bulent and discovered that Necip had been to the lab to conduct a paternity test, and that was when it was confirmed to him that Mehmet was not his son. Isa realized that Necip had the motive, and all he needed was a confession, and that was why he planned Ayfer’s arrest.
What happened to Refik’s soul?
In Bet Your Life’s ending, Refik’s soul was finally freed after he was forgiven by the two most important people in his life. He got the opportunity to ask his daughter for forgiveness, something that he always wanted to do but couldn’t while he was alive. Watching her closely allowed him to understand the impact he’d had on her life, and he’d realized that she deserved an unconditional apology from him. Refik and Ayfer too got a chance to address their misunderstanding via Isa. They both loved each other, and they believed that in their afterlife they would be reunited, but until then, Refik wanted Ayfer to live her life to the fullest. Isa had also found love in the course of solving Refik’s mystery. He and Seda were in love, and Refik approved of Isa. In the final scene, Isa saw Taygun’s wife, Umit, waiting for him in front of his house. He immediately received a call from his friend/police officer, Erkut, stating that Umit’s body was discovered, and they suspected it was a murder. Who could’ve killed Umit? Isa will surely have to dig into her past to come up with a list of possible suspects. Isa has another murder case to solve, which indicates that another season is possibly on the way!
