Who loves cares—and the question of who truly tends to whom
Em meados de maio, a televisão brasileira reunirá dois de seus atores mais experientes em torno de uma pergunta antiga: o que separa o amor verdadeiro do interesse disfarçado de afeto? 'Quem ama cuida', escrita por Walcyr Carrasco e Claudia Souto, coloca frente a frente um avô humilde que perdeu tudo para as águas e um joalheiro rico que perdeu tudo para a amargura — e entre eles, uma jovem cujo cuidado genuíno pelos outros pode ser tanto o alvo quanto a redenção de ambos. A novela estreia no dia 18 de maio, no horário das 21h, e carrega no próprio título a tese que pretende examinar.
- Uma enchente rouba a casa de Otoniel, e ele recomeça vendendo flores em frente a um cemitério — imagem que condensa, sem palavras, tudo o que ele perdeu e ainda insiste em proteger.
- Arthur Brandão, milionário endurecido pelo isolamento, traça um plano frio: casar com Adriana, fisioterapeuta e neta de Otoniel, para transformá-la em herdeira e privar os irmãos que despreza de qualquer centavo.
- Otoniel enxerga a armadilha antes que ela se feche e se posiciona entre o dinheiro de Arthur e o futuro de Adriana, transformando o que poderia ser um romance em um confronto de intenções.
- Fagundes defende que o vínculo entre Arthur e Adriana nasce do espanto diante do cuidado genuíno — algo que o joalheiro nunca encontrou na própria família —, sugerindo que o esquema pode evoluir para algo que nem o próprio Arthur sabe nomear.
- Com elenco extenso e direção de Amora Mautner, a novela se encaminha para uma exploração coletiva de quem, de fato, zela por quem — e por quais razões.
Tony Ramos e Antonio Fagundes se reencontram nas telas em 'Quem ama cuida', nova novela das nove que estreia no dia 18 de maio. Os dois vivem homens em extremos opostos da fortuna, mas igualmente marcados pela perda — e colocados em rota de colisão por causa de uma mesma jovem.
Ramos interpreta Otoniel, viúvo aposentado que, depois de ter a casa destruída por uma enchente, passa a trabalhar numa banca de flores em frente a um cemitério. Ele tem uma filha, Elisa, e dois netos, Adriana e Mauricio. Não há glamour no que faz, mas há determinação: ele não abre mão de cuidar dos seus. Quando percebe que Arthur Brandão, o joalheiro milionário para quem Adriana trabalha como fisioterapeuta, planeja desposá-la para transformá-la em herdeira — e assim manter a fortuna longe de irmãos que detesta —, Otoniel se interpõe. Ele reconhece o cálculo por trás da corte e age para proteger a neta.
Fagundes dá vida a Arthur com uma camada de ambiguidade que o ator faz questão de preservar. Para ele, o que começa como estratégia vai se transformando à medida que Arthur observa em Adriana algo que nunca encontrou nos próprios familiares: cuidado desinteressado. Ela enfrenta dificuldades sérias, e é justamente essa resistência que o aproxima dela. Fagundes descreve a relação não como romance, mas como amizade, respeito e atenção — sentimentos que o joalheiro amargo talvez não soubesse que ainda era capaz de ter.
Escrita por Walcyr Carrasco e Claudia Souto e dirigida por Amora Mautner, a novela reúne ainda Chay Suede, Tata Werneck, Agatha Moreira, Mariana Ximenes e outros. O título — 'Quem ama cuida' — anuncia desde já onde a história pretende chegar: não à riqueza nem aos esquemas, mas à pergunta sobre quem verdadeiramente zela pelo outro, e o que isso revela de cada um.
Two of Brazilian television's most seasoned actors are stepping into a new telenovela that hinges on the collision between a man protecting his family and another man trying to buy his way out of loneliness. Tony Ramos will play Otoniel, a retired widower whose life has been upended by flood. He's lost his house to the water and now works a flower stand positioned across from a cemetery—a detail that carries its own weight. He has a daughter, Elisa, and two grandchildren: Adriana and Mauricio. The work is not glamorous, but it keeps him in the fight for them.
Antonio Fagundes inhabits Arthur Brandão, a jeweler who built himself into wealth from an apprenticeship, then let bitterness calcify him. His wife is gone. His son, Heitor, vanished years ago, though he will resurface later in the story. Arthur has two siblings, Pilar and Ulisses, whom he despises and deliberately humiliates. He speaks poorly of a third sibling, Belmiro, now dead. The thought of leaving them anything when he dies repels him. So Arthur devises a plan: he will marry Adriana, Otoniel's granddaughter, who works as his physiotherapist. By making her his wife, he makes her his heir. The fortune stays in his control, away from the people he loathes.
Otoniel sees what is happening. He recognizes the calculation beneath Arthur's courtship and moves to shield Adriana from it. The two men will collide over her—one defending, one pursuing, each convinced of his righteousness.
Ramos describes Otoniel as a man nearly frozen in time, yet vigorous and watchful. He clings to his family because they are what remains. After the flood takes his home, he returns to work not out of ambition but out of necessity and love. He will do whatever it takes to ensure his children and grandchildren lack for nothing. Fagundes characterizes Arthur's relationship with Adriana differently. He sees it not as predatory but as something that begins unexpectedly and deepens when Arthur observes her genuine care for people—something his own siblings have never shown him. She faces serious hardship, and watching her endure it draws him closer. Fagundes calls it a beautiful relationship precisely because it is disinterested. There is no romance in the traditional sense, he says. It is friendship, respect, attention, care.
The story is written by Walcyr Carrasco and Claudia Souto, with Amora Mautner directing. The cast extends across a full ensemble: Chay Suede, Tata Werneck, Agatha Moreira, Jeniffer Nascimento, Mariana Ximenes, Dan Stulbach, Flávia Alessandra, José Loreto, Rainer Cadete, and others. The novela will air in the 9 p.m. slot and is scheduled to premiere on May 18. The title itself—"Quem ama cuida," or "Who loves cares"—suggests where the weight of the story will ultimately rest: not on money or schemes, but on the question of who truly tends to whom, and why.
Notable Quotes
The main traits of Otoniel are those of a man almost stopped in time, yet vigorous, with much observation and concern for his grandchildren and daughter. Being a widower, he clings to this family and fights for it with all his strength.— Tony Ramos
Adriana brings honesty in everything she does and says. She has real care for people. Their relationship is beautiful precisely because it is disinterested—friendship, respect, attention, care.— Antonio Fagundes
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a man like Arthur, who has built everything himself, need to marry his granddaughter's physiotherapist to keep his money safe?
Because he's not really protecting the money. He's protecting himself from the people who raised him to believe family is transactional. Adriana is the first person in his life who cares without wanting something back.
And Otoniel sees through it immediately?
He sees the shape of it, yes. But what's interesting is that both men might be right about different things. Otoniel is right that Arthur's plan is self-serving. Arthur is right that Adriana's care is genuine. They're fighting over the same woman from opposite truths.
So the flood that takes Otoniel's house—that's not just plot mechanics?
It's the hinge. It strips him down to what matters. He loses everything material and discovers he still has something to fight for. Arthur has everything material and discovers he's been fighting for the wrong things.
Does Adriana know what Arthur is doing?
The source doesn't say explicitly, but the way Fagundes describes it suggests she might sense something real beneath his intentions, even if she doesn't understand the full scheme. That's where the tension lives.
And the son who disappeared—Heitor—he comes back?
He does, later. Played by Renato Góes. So Arthur gets a second chance at something he thought was lost. The question becomes whether he's learned anything by then.