Season 1 • Episode 20
LatestWhen his father passes away, Estácio (Osmar Prado) and his aunt Úrsula (Ida Gomes) receive his will and are surprised to discover that most of the inheritance was left to Helena (Lúcia Alves), a previously unknown daughter. In the will, her father asks that his daughter be taken in by her relatives. The news infuriates Úrsula, who has been in charge of the family business and caring for Estácio since his mother passed away, and does not accept Helena willingly, seeing her as an intruder in the family. In addition to Úrsula, someone who is not pleased with the girl's arrival is Dr. Camargo (Rogério Fróes), father of Eugênia (Ângela Valério), Estácio's fiancée. Even so, Estácio obeys his father's request and takes the girl to live with his family. Helena has a cheerful and outgoing temperament and her arrival affects everyone's lives. At first, she is hostile to Úrsula, but later wins her sympathy.
Acting
Ida Gomes devours scenes as the bitter aunt Úrsula.
Writing
Gilberto Braga's debut—every inheritance clause is a weapon.
Creator
Gilberto Braga
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Gilberto Braga's first telenovela—he'd become Brazil's most celebrated soap writer, creating Pantanal decades later.
Based on Machado de Assis's 1876 novel, this adaptation reframed 19th-century class anxiety through 1970s Brazilian television's emerging social consciousness.
BR
