Globo creates a thief licensed by a Catholic saint and an evangelical priest who rescues the criminal

In front of the bedside altar, Gerlos (Sophie Charlot) requests a sign that Santa Rita will allow her to steal the precious statue of the Three Graces of Arminda (Grazi Masafierra) and Veret (Murilo Benicio) to finance the purchase of real medicines for patients who have been deceived with false medicines distributed by villains.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew out the candles, which were relit shortly after. That’s it: the heroine feels empowered to violate herself to save her mother, Ligia (Dera Pais), and the other patients.

In the spirit of Robin Hood, the caregiver views the act not as theft, but rather as an “expropriation,” that is, the removal of an asset for a cause of social good.

After taking the artwork from Arminda’s palace and selling it, Gerlos will face the investigation of her police friend Paulinho (Romulo Estrella), and the judgment of viewers.

Does a thief who robs a thief deserve 100 years of forgiveness? In this case, it is the “good thief” who outshines the “bad thief.”

It is worth noting that authors Aguinaldo Silva, Virgilio Silva, and Zee DaSilva use the character’s faith and fear of divine punishment to mitigate the crime she will commit. It is a way of manipulating general Manichaeism.

Thus, Gerlos has an increased chance of winning amnesty and the support of Catholics, a group that represents 56.7% of the population according to the 2022 IBGE census.

Peace be upon you, Hallelujah

In another conspiracy in the Chacrinha community, the priest Alberico (Enrique Díaz) announces to his daughter, Cailin (Luisa Rosa), that Jorginio Ninja (Guliano Casari) will leave prison and wants forgiveness from his daughter, Joely (Alana Cabral).

The criminal of the past is now a new man: he has become a believer thanks to the preaching of prison cults.

It represents the new birth after a person accepts Jesus and is baptized in water. This theological concept is part of all evangelical churches, including classical Protestants, Pentecostals, neo-Pentecostals and independents.

In previous series, Aguinaldo Silva offered a satirical critique of extreme believers, as in Duas Caras, from 2007, in which Edivânia (Susana Ribeiro) goes so far as to monitor and expose the sexuality of the inhabitants of the Portelinha favela.

This time, in Three Graces, the playwright will likely avoid caricaturing dogmatic fanaticism. Globo is making clear efforts to appeal to evangelicals (26.9% of Brazilians) to ensure a relevant audience in times of audience flight to streaming and other competitors.

Come to me, viewers

In the Three Graces, Catholics and Evangelicals coexist without ideological conflicts. By balancing symbolism from both religious aspects, these series attempt to occupy a sensitive field: the field of spiritual narratives used as a moral compass to justify human decisions.

On this panel, each character becomes a strategic point of contact with the audience’s beliefs, as if religiosity were an emotional shortcut to legitimize choices and sustain dramatic transformations.

By placing a thief driven by good intentions and a criminal renewed by the Word of God at the center of the plot, Globo indicates that it wants to tell stories capable of touching two powerful symbols in the living rooms of millions of Brazilians at the same time: the cross on the wall and the open Bible.