Fátima gets what she wants, and the story does not punish her for it.
Em Vale Tudo, a remake e o original de 1988 convergem numa mesma verdade incômoda: Maria de Fátima, a estelionatária social, alcança o que deseja. Ao casar-se com um herdeiro rico e reinventar-se como influenciadora, ela encarna uma pergunta antiga que a telenovela brasileira raramente responde com clareza — se a astúcia sem escrúpulos é punida ou premiada pelo destino. A narrativa, ao recompensar a manipuladora, coloca o espelho diante do público e pergunta o que, afinal, a sociedade admira.
- Maria de Fátima conclui sua escalada social casando-se com Afonso, herdeiro milionário, e parte para Paris — exatamente o que planejou desde o início da novela.
- A tentativa de reconciliação com a mãe fracassa: Raquel, agora rica e independente, recusa-se a confiar novamente na filha que a traiu repetidas vezes.
- Sem se abalar, Fátima já articula o próximo movimento — transformar sua própria imagem em produto, tornando-se influenciadora com campanhas publicitárias.
- O espelho com 1988 é perturbador: na versão original, após escândalos, abandono e até a tentativa de vender o próprio filho, Fátima ainda terminou casada com um príncipe europeu por contrato milionário.
- A remake de Manuela Dias parece confirmar que a armadilha de Raquel não funcionará, e que a estelionatária escapará ilesa — levantando a questão sobre o que a telenovela escolhe celebrar.
Maria de Fátima consegue o que quer. Na remake de Vale Tudo, a personagem manipuladora casa-se com Afonso, herdeiro rico, e parte para Paris logo após a cerimônia, em julho. Ao retornar ao Brasil um ano depois, ela tenta se reaproximar da mãe, Raquel, que prosperou à frente da rede de restaurantes Paladar. A mãe recusa. Fátima, impassível, já traça novos planos: pede ajuda a Renato para se tornar influenciadora e começa a aparecer em campanhas publicitárias, transformando a própria imagem em mercadoria.
Esse desfecho ecoa o que aconteceu na versão original de 1988, quando Gloria Pires interpretou a personagem. Naquela história, as traições de Fátima vieram à tona — ela foi flagrada com o amante César, e um teste de DNA revelou que o filho que esperava não era de Afonso. Abandonada pelos dois homens e desesperada, chegou a tentar vender o bebê a um casal estrangeiro, plano que Raquel frustrou no último momento.
Mesmo assim, a derrota foi passageira. Nos capítulos finais, Fátima e César arquitetaram um novo golpe: um príncipe europeu precisava de uma esposa de fachada para entrar na política conservadora. Fátima aceitou o contrato — um milhão de dólares por ano — e pediu à mãe que continuasse criando o filho, admitindo não ter condições para a maternidade. A cena final mostrava a troca de alianças com o príncipe enquanto César observava, sugerindo que os três manteriam um arranjo paralelo.
A remake parece trilhar o mesmo caminho. A tentativa de Raquel de expor a filha não surtirá efeito, e a estelionatária alcançará seu objetivo fundamental: casar dinheiro e escapar das limitações de sua origem. A novela vai ao ar até o fim do ano, quando será substituída por Três Graças.
Maria de Fátima gets what she wants. In the remake of Vale Tudo, the scheming social climber marries Afonso, a wealthy heir, and by doing so secures the comfortable life she has spent the entire novela pursuing through deception and manipulation. The wedding happens on a Wednesday in early July. After the ceremony, the couple travels to Paris, where they will spend a year before returning to Brazil with plans that extend her ambitions even further.
When Fátima comes back from Europe, she attempts a reconciliation with her mother, who has grown wealthy running the Paladar restaurant chain. The mother refuses to trust her again. But Fátima has already moved on to her next scheme. She reaches out to Renato, asking for his help to become a professional influencer. She begins appearing in advertising campaigns for a brand called Tomorrow, turning her image itself into a commodity.
This ending mirrors what happened in the original 1988 version of the novela, when the character was played by Gloria Pires. In that earlier story, Fátima's deceptions eventually unraveled, but not in the way that might suggest moral consequence. She was caught in bed with César, her lover, by Afonso, who demanded a DNA test when she became pregnant. When the test confirmed the child was César's, Afonso threw her out. César abandoned her too. Desperate and broke, Fátima decided to sell her newborn son to a foreign couple, but her mother Raquel discovered the plan and rescued the child before he could be taken out of the country.
Yet even this catastrophe did not end Fátima's story in defeat. She moved in with a woman named Leila and began pursuing Leila's husband, Marco Aurélio, an executive. In the final episodes, after time had passed, Raquel mentioned to Renato that Fátima was working, though reluctantly. But the young woman had reconnected with César, and together they had devised a new con. César had befriended a European prince who needed a marriage of convenience to enter conservative politics. The prince was actually interested in César romantically, but he needed a wife for appearances. Fátima accepted a contract to marry the prince for one million dollars per year. She asked her mother to continue raising her son, pleading that she simply did not have the capacity for motherhood. The final image was Fátima exchanging rings with the prince while César watched, the implication being that she would maintain a relationship with both men.
The remake, written by Manuela Dias, appears to be following this same trajectory of rewarding the con artist. Raquel's attempt to expose Fátima through some kind of trap will not work. The social climber will succeed in her fundamental goal: marrying money and escaping the constraints of her origins. The novela suggests that cunning and ambition, deployed without conscience, can lead to exactly the life the schemer wants. After the original Vale Tudo aired in 1988, it became one of the great successes of Brazilian television drama. This new version will air through the end of the year, when it will be replaced by another novela called Três Graças.
Notable Quotes
I tried. You know I tried, but I'm not made for this. I like you. Please. You're a grandmother, you love him. Take care of him for me.— Maria de Fátima to her mother Raquel, asking her to raise the child she abandoned
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that Fátima wins? She's a fictional character in a soap opera.
Because the story we tell about whether scheming pays off shapes how we think about justice and consequence. In most narratives, the con artist gets caught. Here, she doesn't.
But the original 1988 version also let her win, right? So this isn't new.
No, it's not new. But it's being told again, to a new audience, in a new context. That repetition matters. It says something about what Brazilian television thinks its viewers want to see.
What do they want to see?
Maybe they want to see someone like Fátima—someone with nothing—actually get away with it. Get the money, the travel, the status. Not as a fantasy, but as a plausible outcome.
Even though she abandons her own child?
Especially then. Because that's the part that makes it real. She doesn't get punished for it. She just moves on to the next thing.