With this episode, Altair’s first arc comes to a close. Mahmut Pasha, teenage prodigy and commander of eagles, is now simply Tughril Mahmut, a disgraced former general set to leave Turkiye on a journey of discovery. Though its main character didn’t fare so well this week, I thought the show wrapped everything up nicely in its third effort, considering the amount of material it needed to cover. It put a bow on the conflict in Hisar, lovingly kicked our hero from grace while confirming his suspicions of an impending war, and introduced an important plot device that will drive the story going forward (more on that in a bit). Though Altair hasn’t become the polished production I’d originally hoped for, the stage is set for a new, hopefully more fruitful chapter in the show’s history.
Last time, after hearing that his friend Ibrahim was in trouble, Mahmut left for Hisar without saying a word to anyone. Though he was successful this week in rescuing Ibrahim and the hostages that had tied his hands, his reward upon returning to Turkiye was a demotion. The council’s justification: in addition to acting rashly at first, Mahmut later made the decision to free all the Araban people (subtlety isn’t one of Altair’s strong suits) who had been lured into Hisar by the evil Minister Louis, in the hopes that they could persuade their countrymen not to carry out a larger invasion. Mahmut’s fellow generals would have preferred that he let only a fraction of them carry the message, but they also want war with the Empire, and it’s this second motive that seems to be the real reason for the dismissal. This sudden reversal of fortune doesn’t carry a lot of emotional weight, since it comes so close to the beginning of our story, but it’s the best and boldest decision the show has made so far. Stripped of his rank and without a means of aiding his country, Mahmut is now free to hit the road and meet the two young men who appear at his side during the opening theme.
My previous suspicions about Zaganos were off the mark, though it turns out I was right not to trust him completely – he’s the type of guy who controls a spy network that spans the entire continent, which explains why his troops were located so conveniently in the last episode. Though the Poison General gives his court rival no credit for the happy ending in Hisar, he’s kind enough to give him a necklace that functions as the key to contacting these spies. Why Zaganos would give such a valuable trinket to a man intent on leaving the country is a mystery to me, but maybe a more observant viewer or helpful manga reader can ease my confusion in the comments below. Perhaps Altair is just the type of series to create more questions every time it answers one, à la LOST (though hopefully not as opaque). In any case, this handy plot device ought to provide the thrust for the rest of the narrative, so how it fell into Mahmut’s lap is less important than where it takes us next. After this week, I’m looking forward to seeing where that will be.
I saw Zaganos giving Mahmut the spy trinket as a way of acknowledging everything he did and a way of him being kept in the loop of whats happening.
Plus, if he starts travelling, he might be a good source of information himself.
Zaganos doesn’t really come off as the charitable type. I like the idea that Mahmut could function as an informant – maybe Zaganos has already told his little birds that Mahmut is on the way, and they’ll use him to their advantage somehow.
Not charitable, no.
But more like, he feels like if mahmut is kept in the loop, things my be more interesting and he might be able to use him to his advantage.
Again, I don’t view him as a villain. Just ruthless and pragmatic. He doesn’t exactly want to start a war, but if his country is provoked, he’ll do anything so his country gets an advantage.
Like I believe he was genuinely glad that things ended up the way they did with that city, even though he was fully prepared to slaughter his own men, if it meant stopping the empire.
I guess all I’m saying is that his characterization so far is far more nuanced than the opposition’s, which so far is pretty much one note (I mean, the empire people might as well end their sentences with “Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha”).
Zaganos is not charitable at all, but he knows how to use people’s talent. As the series progress, it’s made clear Zaganos and Mahmu has a begrudging respect for each other and knows that they are needed in any upcoming conflict, even if they don’t exactly like each other. Zaganos gives mahmut the necklace so he can contact his spies which spread in almost every nation in the continent so he can learn more about the other countries and used the informations for Turkiye’s benefit. It’s not like Mahmut is leaving forever, he’s only leaving for a while. If anything, he indirectly makes Mahmut move his spy as well. Also, the leader of the spies has a personal connection to Mahmut.
Also, Mahmut is demoted to Binbashi, which is an actual position in the Ottoman Empire which is comparable to lieutenant colonel. While it’s nowhere near pasha, it’s still a high enough position with some authority, so it’s like he’s demoted to foot soldier. Zaganos giving the necklace to Mahmut can also be inferred as a general giving a task to a subordinate.
I miswrote this part:
so it’s like he’s demoted to foot soldier.
it’s supposed to be: so it’s NOT like he’s demoted to foot soldier.
I saw the Binbashi title in the episode, but it’s nice to get a military equivalent that a Yank like me can understand. Thanks!
The word “Araba” means Chariot or wagon in Turkish, just like it does in Arabic. Well, some Arabic dialects also use it to mean car.
Thanks for the clarification! I do wonder whether the author had that meaning in mind when she used the term for an entire group of people, but the series has used plenty of other Turkish terms appropriately so far, so the benefit of the doubt is owed. I’ve started looking up what the terms mean in advance (like episode 4’s “kulak”), so hopefully I start to appear more knowledgeable as time goes on. 😛