Sintonia: Season 1, Episode 4 “Do The Right Thing” – Recap, Review (with Spoilers)

[Unless Said Otherwise] Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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Doni and Nando get the opportunity of a lifetime as Rita tries to gain forgiveness from not just Cacau, but Jussara.

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Network
Netflix
Director(s)		Johnny Araujo
Writer(s)		Kondzilla, Guilherme Quintella, Felipe Braga
Air Date		8/9/2019
Introduced This Episode
Formiga	Matheus Santos
Lucrécia	Martha Meola

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Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Hold up, was Scheyla Juninho’s wife all this time?

He Can’t Look Out For You Forever: Rita, Scheyla, Nando, Juninho

In a way, it is probably known by Scheyla that her husband won’t live forever, maybe even see their child reach adulthood. So, of course, when it comes to Rita, who is more demanding than Doni, she cautions her about asking or doing too much. After all, she may have grown up with Nando, but he is her family.

And she may have good reason to worry. Nando is a manager now but with Juniho’s screw up, and how he took advantage of that, he gets promoted to a drug runner. Also, with Juninho still screwing up, it seems Nando comes to the decision he is better off dead than a continued liability.

Commentary

A part of me wonders if Scheyla feels threatened by Rita. For while there is this, “We’re brothers and sister” kind of vibe, at this point nearly everyone is in their late teens. So when it comes to crushes, first kisses, maybe first sexual experience, was Rita that to either boy? Also, Nando is a young man with options, as seen in the last episode, what led to him marrying Scheyla? Was it strictly due to her getting pregnant, did she hold him down in the past, or what? What is their story since, at this point, she hasn’t evolved beyond being the mother of his child and is slowly creeping towards seeming insecure?

New Beginnings Are Hard With Old Troubles: Formiga, Rita, Cacau, Sueli, Jussara

Rita and Sueli are still clashing a bit, but only due to Rita being ambitious and Sueli more cautious. Perhaps even skeptical of all Rita wants to do since she believes she has ill intentions. Which she isn’t alone in. Rita finally sees Cacau and while they hash it out, make peace, Jussara calls BS. She is far beyond forgiveness and still wants to beat Rita’s behind.

Making only Formiga finally saying he likes Rita the silver lining of her day. At least until they have sex and the condom breaks. That pretty much ruins everything – even if Formiga says he’ll take responsibility.

Commentary

A part of me wonders what is Rita’s reputation? Doni is the MC, Nando, a dealer, but Rita seemingly is different things to different people and doesn’t have a universally agreed-upon outlook. For example, Chico notes, when talking to Doni, Nando is lost, but he doesn’t say the same for Rita despite her barely avoiding the law. Does he, and most adults, outside of Jussara, think she is just struggling due to her lack of parents? So rather than hold her accountable, they give her a pass?

Like Sueli, for example, how did she see Rita before taking her in? Did she keep tabs at all or was so busy with her church that Rita wasn’t really on her radar? Also, was there more to her staying away from Rita’s mother than she is letting on? Heck, was there more to Charice and her relationship?

I say that due to there being a consistent pattern of insecurity with Scheyla, maybe Sueli, and Doni being called that, as noted in the next topic. So could Rita’s initiative be similarly threatening to Sueli like how Charice once made Sueli insecure? Be it about boys, school, or other things?

Oh, and one more thing, can Rita not end up pregnant? I get part of what this show is doing is showing the good and bad of the Favelas, but with all we see from Rita, there is the need to question how will they handle a pregnancy? Will they show us an alternative to Scheyla, and have her keep this hustling spirit, despite a child on her hip, or will she follow Scheyla’s example and settle down with Formiga? Someone we barely know but could use some more information on.

Patience & Understanding: Eder, Doni, Chico, Lucrecia, Dondoka

It has long been established Doni operates on a certain level of privilege. What hasn’t been pushed though is that his mom and dad, Lucrecia and Chico, want to see him provide the same privilege to his kids. Which, don’t get it twisted, his mom supports his creative expression. The problem is, Chico avoided the streets, and while his son has a friend like Nando, he isn’t drug dealing or caught up in that life. So, naturally, he doesn’t necessarily want him to be an MC for he already flirts with that lifestyle through Nando, so to be not around users and in a tempting environment? It’s too much.

But Chico may not have to worry too long. Eder finally gets Doni a gig and without Dondoka supporting him much, he bombs. Not Juninho, it’s only a birthday party, but without any supporters or friends there, his stage presence is nil, and he doesn’t have fun with it. He gets paid, yeah, but the dream remains unrealized.

In fact, with his father possibly having a stroke that night, the dream may have become a nightmare.

Commentary

The further we go, admittedly, the less interesting Doni’s story becomes. Maybe it is because he is more protected from the outside world than his friends? Perhaps due to characters like Eder and Dondoka not pushing you to want to know more about their lives? Either way, I’m hoping something kicks his storyline in the pants and pushes him beyond the baby of the group.

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