Don’t Leave follows Semih who undertakes a voyage of self-discovery by diving into his past when his girlfriend Defne breaks up with him out of the blue.
The Turkish romance drama stars Burak Deniz and Dilan Çiçek Deniz in the lead roles of Semih and Defne. Don’t Leave is directed by Ozan Aciktan and also features Ceyda Düvenci, Berrak Tüzünataç, and Sükran Ovali.
Don’t Leave Story Summary
Semih (Burak Deniz), a street artist, believes in living freely but finds a stable job for a regular income as he also has to pay his bills. His longtime girlfriend, Defne (Dilan Çiçek Deniz), has just broken up with him, and he seems to be hit with the news out of nowhere. He struggles to accept the breakup as he reels from the abruptness of his now ex-girlfriend’s decision.
While reminiscing when he met Defne for the first time at a bar, he remembers being mesmerized by her and couldn’t stop himself from making a move on her. Clearly, he was impulsive, and Defne’s first impression of him wasn’t great. Semih’s friend explained to Defne he isn’t usually like this around women.
Defne and Semih met through their mutual friends at the same bar frequently and developed feelings for each other over time. They had obvious undeniable chemistry and their attraction soon turned into love and they got into a relationship quickly.
Semih, clearly in love with Defne, asked her to move in with him through a grand gesture of painting her mural in one of the streets, just months into their relationship and she accepted.
In the present, Defne has broken up with Semih and she seems to be moving on quite fast, from Semih’s point of view. Everyone around Semih seems puzzled when hit with the news and no one quite knows the reason for the breakup.
Introspecting his past relationship with Defne, Semih tries to understand what went wrong in their connection and whether he could have done anything to save it. Were the issues always present, or did he just brush them under the carpet?
Don’t Leave Ending Explained
Semih looks into his past again and he comprehends that though Defne and Semih were completely in love, they had problems. Defne got too jealous when Semih checked out other girls and he couldn’t deal with that dark aspect of her personality. Defne found it hard to relate to his quirky, outgoing personality, and Semih worried that she was too simple and boring for him.
Semih had issues with goodbyes, hence he distanced himself from Defne when she shared with him that she lost her grandmother. He revealed to his co-worker that he doesn’t know how to handle funerals and goodbyes. Later, a hurt Defne wasn’t too keen when he turns up at her work trip as he wasn’t there for her when she actually needed his emotional support.
In the present, Semih finds that moving on isn’t as easy as he thought it would be. He attempts to get on with other girls but lacks an emotional connection with them. He tries his best to move out of the apartment that he and Defne used to live in and takes advance pay at work to make the process faster.
Does Semih Move On From Defne?
Semih and Defne finally meet at the apartment when Defne comes to return something and she tells him that she is moving to Germany. Defne explains the reasons for their breakup and reveals that she was disappointed with him.
Defne felt that she was holding on to the connection but it had already run its course. She reveals that Semih didn’t make an effort to fight for her when she left him, and she also points out that he is arrogant and thinks just about himself, not her.
After the conversation with Defne, Semih gets emotionally disturbed, struggling to complete the work on time. Ceyna, his boss, visits his home and reminds him of the promise he made to finish a project for which he took an advance payment.
During a phone conversation with his mother, the truth about why Semih struggles with goodbyes is revealed and that seems to be because his father left him and his mother when he was little. This emotional trauma has stuck with him ever since but now, he finally acknowledges it and is ready to tackle the issue, so that he can handle his heartbreak better.
Semih finishes his project and this impresses as well as pleasantly surprises Ceyna. He thanks her for understanding him when he was in the depths of despair because of his breakup. After the conversation with Defne, Semih finally seems to be moving on and doing better in his life. He adopts a street dog which seems to symbolize his readiness to take up responsibilities and commit to connections.
Semih’s efforts at healing his past result in his work life and his relationships with people, in general, improving. When Semih meets Defne by chance again, they seem to have a frictionless conversation, signalling that both of them have moved on from their past and have taken their individual paths.
Don’t Leave is now streaming on Netflix.
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