This article contains spoilers for Kübra episode 1.
Kübra is a Turkish Netflix drama following Gökhan (played by Çağatay Ulusoy), a military veteran from Istanbul who leads an ordinary life working as a mechanic. However, that life is changed when he starts receiving messages on an app called SoulTouch from a user called Kübra. Their messages seem to predict the future, and this realization causes Gökhan to work through a crisis of faith.
The first episode of Kübra shows us the beginnings of this mysterious connection between Gökhan and whoever Kübra is, and shows just how powerful their predictions can be. Here's a full recap of the first episode of Kübra.
What is SoulTouch?
Kübra begins with footage of a crash. A car has collided with a truck, and a young boy is trapped inside and shouting for help. Luckily, Gökhan is at the scene, and he manages to rescue him from the wreckage.
After the titles, Gökhan meets with his girlfriend, Merve. She tells him to stop always being a hero and to worry about how she might feel if something were to happen to him. Apparently, he's changed and has frequently been looking for trouble since returning from the army.
During their chat, he gets his first message from Kübra on the SoulTouch app: "you are different!" Merve assumes he's using it to flirt with someone, but Gökhan maintains the app is for spiritual discussions only, but promises to find out who this new person is, and what they want.
Gökhan heads to work at Master Hamit's garage; whilst there, he is perturbed to find his co-worker Serhat (his boss's son) nowhere to be found, and he can't get hold of him on the phone. After work, he meets his soccer team for a match; whilst getting changed, he gets more cryptic messages from Kübra, telling him that Merve is the perfect match for him; he asks how they know Merve, but they don't answer.
Serhat finally arrives; he's been out drinking, much to Gökhan's annoyance, but the pair go out and play and end up winning their game. After the game, Gökhan spots Serhat buying something from two men at the side of the pitch but doesn't bring it up. Afterward, the whole team grabs dinner to celebrate.
At the table, Gökhan asks Serhat what he was buying; he refuses to tell them, and our hero promptly gets up and heads home. There, he receives more messages again, telling him that Kübra is looking at Merve right now, and inviting Gökhan to 'free his mind' and 'listen to his heart'.
The following morning, Gökhan decides to go with Merve on her way to work, and they discuss the messages. Merve continues just to see Kübra as someone trying either to hook up or mess with him, but Gökhan's not so sure. As he leaves, she encourages him to ask about being made a business partner at Mahit's. He's worried about asking, in case it causes tension between him and Serhat, but agrees.
Kübra's first predictions
At the workshop, Gökhan never gets the chance to ask, because Mahit's concerned with Serhat not having come home. He's then surprised when Haluk (the father of the boy from the crash) drops by to thank him for saving his son, Fırat, Gökhan graciously tells him anyone would have done what he did, and says that it's clear the boy was meant to live a long life.
Sadly, Haluk confirms Fırat has been diagnosed with Behçet's disease, but the course of treatment he's receiving is unfortunately not helping. As Haluk leaves, Gökhan gets more messages from Kübra, warning that the diagnosis is wrong. Confused, Gökhan stops Haluk and tells him to seek out a second opinion; Haluk doesn't seem willing to heed his advice. After the interaction, Gökhan deletes the SoulTouch app from his phone.
Then, we see a flashback of a horrific incident in Gökhan's time in the military. Whilst in the barracks with his fellow soldiers, gunfire tore through the building, and Gökhan was the only survivor of the attack. Back in the present, Salih texts Gökhan, telling him Serhat had been spotted in Külhan. Gökhan seeks him out, and finds his young sister with him, smoking weed. She rushes off, and Gökhan tells Serhat off for hiding out from his father. Serhat tells him he won't be coming back for a few days, and demands Gökhan leaves him alone.
Back at home, Gökhan admonishes his mother for not paying attention to Gülcan's whereabouts before heading back to the garage. Whilst he's busy, the SoulTouch app reinstalls itself on his phone, and he's stunned as the telltale notification rings out.
This time, the messages are displayed on his phone, but one also displays on his computer screen. This latest one is a warning that neither fortune nor misfortune can be avoided. After reading this latest text, Gökhan hears screeching tires outside and follows the sounds to another car crash.
After witnessing the crash, he speaks to Hodja for help interpreting what the messages are. Hodja warns that these connections between real life and the messages are coincidences. Once again, Gökhan says he'll stop speaking to Kübra.
The next day, Haluk and his son return to visit Gökhan. He'd taken Fırat to see another doctor, who did confirm the previous diagnosis of Behçet's disease was wrong. What's worse, if they'd continued with the course of treatment he was on, Fırat could well have died.
On his way home, Gökhan receives a map in a message from Kübra, pointing him to Budak Street. Gökhan heads to the location but doesn't see anyone, so he messages Kübra, demanding they reveal themselves. Kübra retorts that "real darkness is within light. Real light is in darkness. Give ear to the darkness. You'll hear my voice". Then, Gökhan watches as the city lights in front of him switch off completely... and then he hears the call to prayer ring out, and he drops to his knees.
Kübra is now streaming on Netflix. For more shows to enjoy, check out our picks for the best Netflix shows we think you should be watching right now.
