Her Own Destiny

Senhora do Destino runs on one of the cruelest premises ever sold as entertainment: a poor migrant mother has her newborn daughter stolen, and the woman who took her, the magnificent monster Nazaré, spends 20 years enjoying the lie. Renata Sorrah plays her with such relish that the character became national shorthand for scheming.

Susana Vieira anchors the other pole as the robbed mother, dignified and unbending, and the collision course between the two women, set across those 20 years, gives the show its shape. Carolina Dieckmann, José Wilker, José Mayer and Adriana Esteves fill out a cast that knows exactly what kind of story it is telling.

The fake heiress con at the heart of it gives Sorrah endless scenery to chew, and she chews every inch. The machinery of the scheme can creak, and some chapters spin their wheels waiting for the inevitable. But when the lies begin unraveling, few novelas deliver payoff with this much glee.

All 221 chapters are streaming on Globoplay. Our score: 7/10. Tonight, pick this if you love watching a great villain dig her own grave in slow motion.