Secrets of Sand

Before prestige television discovered evil twins, Glória Pires was doing the work on Globo. In Mulheres de Areia, from 1993, she plays both Ruth and Raquel, sisters with opposite souls, one gentle, one ruthless, and their rivalry over the same man turns a fishing town on the Rio coast into a battlefield.

The pleasure is watching Pires calibrate the two women down to the walk. Ruth earns your pity, Raquel your horrified delight, and the switches in the scenes they share still impress more than three decades on. Guilherme Fontes, Marcos Frota, Raul Cortez, Suzana Vieira and Laura Cardoso give the town a full population of schemers and saints around her.

The plotting is blunt by today’s standards and the production shows its age. But villainess television this committed never gets old, and the final stretch, once the twins stop circling and collide, grips as hard as anything Globo aired that decade. Raquel remains a masterclass in doing terrible things beautifully.

The full run has been on Globoplay since 2021. Our score: 7/10. Tonight this is for anyone who wants a classic villain at full power, no irony required.