Breakdown of In dieser Folge handelt es sich um Liebe und Rache.
es
it
und
and
in
in
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
die Liebe
the love
sich handeln um
to be about
die Folge
the episode
die Rache
the revenge
Questions & Answers about In dieser Folge handelt es sich um Liebe und Rache.
What exactly does handelt es sich um mean here?
This is a fixed phrase, es handelt sich um, which means "it is about" or "it deals with". It always uses the impersonal subject es, the reflexive pronoun sich, and the preposition um (which forces the following nouns into the accusative case).
Why is sich needed in this sentence?
Without sich, the verb handeln usually means "to act" or "to trade". By making it a reflexive phrase (sich handeln um), the meaning changes completely to "to be about a specific topic".
Why does es come after the verb instead of at the beginning of the sentence?
This is because of the strict "verb second" rule in German main clauses. The sentence starts with the phrase In dieser Folge (position 1). The verb handelt must take position 2, which pushes the mandatory subject es into position 3.
Why is it In dieser Folge instead of In diese Folge?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Here, it describes a static, abstract location (where the plot happens), so it requires the dative case. Since Folge is a feminine noun (die Folge), the word diese changes to dieser in the dative.
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