Girls from Ipanema Series Thereza & Helô Couple Review

『A Story of Women’s Solidarity and Independence Blossoming to the Rhythm of Bossa Nova』

🎥 Series Overview

🎬 Title: Girls from Ipanema (Coisa Mais Linda, 2019-2020)
🌍 Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Women’s Growth / Music
🗓️ Production & Release: Netflix, 2 seasons, total of 14 episodes
⏳ Runtime: Approx. 40–50 minutes per episode
📺 Platform: Netflix

👩‍💼 Cast: Mel Lisboa – Thereza
Thaila Ayala – Helô

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

✒️ Thereza’s Love Story: Expanding Boundaries and Self-Directed Relationships

Thereza is a professional woman (journalist/editor) who constantly inspires her friends with feminist ideals. Her love story begins with what seems like the “most ideal marriage”, then transforms into the “most complicated and destructive relationship”, and ultimately becomes a journey toward finding a “free and self-directed identity.”

🪁 Relationship with Nelson: The Illusion of the Ideal Modern Marriage

With her husband Nelson, Thereza pursued what was then almost unimaginable: a “free marriage.”

• A Modern Appearance: Nelson supported his wife’s career, and the two also boasted a sexually open and free relationship. This starkly contrasted with Ligia’s violent marriage and Malu’s old-fashioned one, making Thereza and Nelson appear to represent the “progressive utopia” that society longed for at the time.

🪀 The Hidden Shackles and Tragedy: But the flaws in this relationship emerge.

• Secrets of the Past: It is revealed that Nelson has a daughter, Conceição, from his past relationship with Adélia. This shocking truth shakes the very foundation of the “free and honest relationship” that Thereza believed she had defined for herself.

• The Absence and Scar of Motherhood: Thereza and Nelson suffered the pain of losing a child in the past, and Thereza carries complicated feelings toward motherhood. When Nelson hides the existence of Conceição while trying to take responsibility as a “father,” Thereza feels she has lost both her control over family planning and her trust in her partner.

• Struggle for Control: Thereza always tried to intellectually control and lead the relationship, but Nelson’s lies and secrets force her to realize there are areas beyond her control. Ultimately, this marriage becomes her greatest self-deception and drives her to leave for Paris.

🌈 Romance with a Woman: New Freedom and True Self

In the latter half of season 1 and in season 2, Thereza forms a deep relationship with another woman, Helô.

• Discovery of Sexual Identity: Her relationship with Helô marks an important step in which Thereza explores and acknowledges her sexual and emotional desires outside the framework of marriage. She finds true comfort and empathy in a relationship with a woman, unbound by social norms.

• Feminist Fulfillment: While Thereza was a “theoretical feminist” fighting for women’s rights at work, her relationship with Helô brought her “practical freedom.” This romance breaks down the boundaries of sexual orientation and completes her conviction that love’s form is hers to decide.

• A Transitional Relationship: Even if the relationship does not last forever, it represents Thereza’s bold breakaway from male-centered norms, prioritizing her own emotions and escaping the complexity of her marriage with Nelson.

🪶 Relationship with Professional Success: The Most Important Partner

The most consistent and successful “relationship” in Thereza’s life is with her career (journalist/editor).

• Foundation of Self-Realization: She establishes her presence by raising women’s voices, fighting gender discrimination, and rising to the position of editor-in-chief.

• An Inverse Relationship Between Love and Career: As the series progresses, her marriage begins to falter due to Nelson’s jealousy and secrets, yet her career advances steadily upward. This suggests that for Thereza, the most reliable and stable partner is herself and her work.

📝 Subjectivity Beyond Love

Thereza’s love story portrays her as an intellectual representative of the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s, showing her struggle to expand the boundaries of marriage and sexual norms. The process of exposing the tragedy and hypocrisy hidden in what seemed to be the most progressive marriage conveys the message that true freedom comes not from appearances but from honesty in relationships and self-directed choices in life.

Ultimately, Thereza follows the path of life she chooses, not her husband’s. She leaves for Paris, and even upon her return, she remains focused on her career, embodying a woman who does not separate personal happiness from social and professional success.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★