Pedaço de Mim

This series is incredibly well-written and directed, with a great cast! Overall an amazing production which kept me hooked from start to finish. A Brazilian telenovela at its best!

The series tackles difficult and dark themes such as sexual assault, misogyny and discrimination. It shows different kinds of abuse that women suffer from men (including their supposed "friends" and even their husbands), from gaslighting to date rape. It also deals with the guilt and shame that a woman may feel after being sexually assaulted, which may last years and even decades.

Another important theme explored in the series is ableism, which is reflected in a secondary plot. The scenes involving this character are very sensible and the actor (who has the same condition as the character in real life) did an amazing job.

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'.

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.

Well it was way to long and the sex scenes so boring and predictable, but the series was enjoyable, the acting incredible, yes it was melodrama but at its best, you get to love the good characters and hate the bad ones. I was tempted at times to just fast forward some of these episodes but managed to watch all of them and that was mainly because of the characters and the different plot lines. What was incomprehensible and disappointing to me was the reaction of the grandparents to finding out the parentage of the twins -- how mean and stupid can they be! I guess a lot of their reaction was meant to stretch the story line, but still. Over all, like I said, way too long but still good.