Mentiras desesperadas

Brazilian tv series thought I would give it a go as it was dubbed into English. The premise of the story being unusual as a woman gave birth to twin boys but from different fathers not even sure if it is possible to conceive from 2 different men on different occasions producing 2 sons. However regardless that makes for a very interesting story given the relationship between the parties involved. The main gripe I have is the bizzare decisions that unfold from this a lot that would just seem mad even from the craziest people but I guess they had to make a story of it I am on episode 7 the sons are around 11 funnily enough the adults don't seem to age at all and they all look exactly as they did pre birth. Not sure where this story is heading as it has 17 episodes for me it comes across more of a Soap Opera style series which is fine if your into that kind of show.

The premise of the show is undeniably intriguing, twins with different fathers, which sets the stage for exploring how lies and choices can lead to devastating consequences. The show is engaging and captivating from start to finish; there isn't a dull moment, except for the last 4-5 episodes, which unfortunately feel like a regression. These episodes are stretched and dull, and it seems the creators couldn't resist the temptation to overuse telenovela elements, which diluted the overall impact.

One of the show's strengths is that the major events unfold throughout the episodes, rather than being crammed into the finale. However, the show lacks strong, well-developed characters.

For instance, the character Liana seems to have no real significance other than being a bad mother. She could have been portrayed as a strong, resilient woman who stands up for herself and her children, but instead, she comes across as weak and ineffective. Overall, the characters feel shallow and lack depth.

Additionally, the dialogue often feels cheap, lacking the emotional weight and authenticity needed to elevate the story. This further detracts from the show's overall quality.

On the brighter side, Silvia stood out for me, with Paloma Duarte delivering a truly touching performance. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Julian Paes. Her performance left me with mixed feelings, as if something was missing or incomplete. You keep waiting for her to say or do something impactful, but it never happens.

The idea is good, the fact its based in a true story validates it...but...

TERRIBLE STORYTELLING.

Excessively long, 17 episodes to tell what? We needed 17 in Game of Thrones not in this.

So many better ways to portrait the handling of the situation. To improve the story.

Just a sequence of poor decision making, poor dialog, poor explanations.

AND WHATS UP WITH THE ABSURD EXCESSIVE BLUE PROPS in the tv show? A dozen blue items in every single scene. Just too much. OK, colors communicate but do it in a sutil way.

Everything is blue.. blue pacifier, blue shirt, blue wall, blue pans, blue dishes, blue stuff in the table, blue book, blue skies, blue everything. Annoying and distracting.

Globo aesthetics, with a lot of mistakes taking into account current state-of-the-art on series productions. For example, soundtrack doesn't match Brazilian cultural mainstream at the mid-2000s. Also, when someone sings, fake ambience is applied with autotune. Tomás and Oscar characters are poorly depicted, in a Manichaean way when their personality should be nuanced, and vice-versa. Plot twists are erratic to the detriment of character construction or, on the other hand, most characters aren't developed at all and don't get any depth even after a lot of episodes. Sadly, the plot has a good starting point, but it couldn't get rid of the "novela" aesthetics.

The ideas were good but it's unnecessarily long. 17 episodes is way too much for a single season. The storytelling is also very bad compared to what it could be. You're challenged to believe is so many coincidences throughout the story that made it very hard for me connect with. Like all characters are connected somehow through some unrealistic coincidences. On top of that, it's same old of a typical brazilian show that a couple who fell in love with each other are separated by another couple who want each of them to be with the main couple and then the villains form another couple...for some reason storytellers from Brazil can't get away from this structure in most cases. Besides the main couple and the sister-in-law, I think most acting was 'meh'.