Old Money Review
Director: Uluç Bayraktar
Date Created: 2025-10-11 02:47
3.5
Old Money Review: Directed by Uluç Bayraktar and written by Meriç Acemi, Netflix Turkish drama Enfes Bir Aksam brings together an impressive cast led by Engin Akyürek as Osman and Asli Enver as Nihal, along with Nur Efsan Durmus, Selin Sekerci, Sedef Avci, Serkan Altunorak, Taro Emir Tekin and others. This series, consisting of eight episodes with approximately 40 minutes each, gets deep into the matters of wealth, legacy and love in a world upended with privilege and power.
Old Money Review
Old Money is the story of Osman, a self-made businessman who used to be nobody, and Nihal, a heiress who’s just trying to keep her suffocating real estate dynasty alive. Professional rivalry soon turns personal when Osman’s growing business directly threatens Nihal’s inheritance. A tale of twisted love, one that will put pride, trust and the price of success to the test, starts as a battle between old money and new desire.
I’m going to be honest, I was expecting this drama to be your run-of-the-mill enemies-to-lovers kind of show, where we as viewers are just supposed to assume that there’s an enemy because the protagonist himself doesn’t suspect that he’s one. But the show did get to me. Netflix’s Old Money is the standout among romantic dramas for its mercurially accurate portrayal of human emotion. Osman is not being shown as any other hard-nosed tycoon who thinks of nothing but how to make more money. We see his war wounds, the insecurities behind the bluster and a man that doesn’t want to lose control.
Meanwhile, Nihal is no damsel-in-distress type. She’s smart and clever and struggling tooth and nail to uphold her family honour while the world around her is on fire. I liked that she doesn’t sit around waiting for someone to rescue her; she’s flawed but determined, and that makes her human.
There is an incredibly subtle yet intense chemistry between Engin Akyürek and Asli Enver. Their romance doesn’t happen at warp speed. It simmers quietly, beneath layers of insults and wounded pride. And though the Turkish drama Old Money is suspenseful entertainment, what hit me most was its emotional honesty, the moments when love becomes a war zone between ego and vulnerability.
The best thing about the show is the exquisite blend of themes: love, tension and class struggle. Old Money, the name, refers to the essence of the show, a generation war, a conflict between born-to-power people and those who struggled their way to the top. Seeing Osman and Nihal race around that world, I couldn’t help but envision the two of them standing on different sides of the same vision.
Some of the side plots are also filling out the show richly. The crush of the character Arda for Berna and Mahir, who is struggling with inner anger and attachment phobia, enriches the show emotionally. These side plots may seem tiny at the beginning, but they bear the reality that all relationships in the Old Money series are coloured, at least partially, with ambition and insecurity.
Above all, I adore how the show never fetishises wealth. With all the gold-plated mansions, designer clothes and yachts, the actual drama is one of human emotion, jealousy, guilt, love and loss. It’s clear that the richest of hearts can be poor, and money can’t purchase peace.
There were points in the middle of the season when business discussions ran long and overly impassioned monologues took over. I did feel that the drama didn’t move the story forward. Sometimes it seems like the direction is a little bit at sea, and I’m having to figure out for myself what’s going on.
Another problem here is the tendency to layer symbolism on a bit too thickly, scenes that are too earnestly in search of meaning and become muddled. The show is strongest when it stays centred on its characters and their emotions; weaker when it overreaches in pursuit of poeticism.
But these aren’t deal-breaker flaws in my series. The storytelling remains genuine, and the performances constantly bring you back in. It’s that type of show, the kind where you get sidetracked but find yourself coming back to find out how it all resolves.
Engin Akyürek infuses Osman with subtle power, of a man caught between power and desire. He performs in an understated, magnetic fashion. As Nihal, Asli Enver is poised and rich. She animates the battles of a woman attempting to survive in a man’s universe, and we’re drawn to her by default. Their on-screen chemistry is so natural that each argument, glance, and silence speaks volumes.
The rest of the cast, including Taro Emir Tekin and Sedef Avci, also must be praised for injecting warmth and energy into the narrative. They, and the rest of the cast, give Turkish Series Old Money a dense, complex history of family, the past and second chances.
Without giving you any spoilers, I will say that the conclusion of Old Money left me with some rather conflicted emotions. It’s bittersweet, poetic, and open-ended — the kind of ending that will linger in your mind long after the end credits. It implies that a new beginning is always an option while acknowledging that some wounds never actually heal.
Netflix Old Money Review: Summing Up
All in all, this Turkish drama is monumentally watchable. It’s mature storytelling, with raw emotion and gorgeous visuals that may not upset your perceptions of the film, but they’ll haunt you. It’s a slow-burning romantic drama that pays you back for waiting patiently — not the kind you binge-watch one night, but the kind that still won’t let you be after it’s done.
If you enjoy shows about love tangled by pride, class, and destiny, Old Money will be a surprise for you. It’s not a matter of who’s richer or stronger — but who’s willing to be weak in a world where anything can be purchased and sold.
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