The Portuguese-language show End of the Line is a multi-camera sitcom that brings the comfort of an old-school live studio audience’s reaction to a generic family drama. The show follows Ivan, a van driver (how hilarious!), who has been separated from his wife for the majority of their 20-year marriage because he simply doesn’t know how to live a responsible life. He’s been mooching off of his wife for the longest time, somehow still living in the same house as her. Their son, Ivandro, on the other hand, happens to be in love with the rich heiress of a businessman. Ivandro, who is 18 years old, seems quite serious about his girlfriend Ju, while Sandra is completely fed up with Ivan. She’s finally made the decision to get divorced for real, so will they stay married or will Sandra follow through?
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The Show?
Ivan runs an illegal van business for customers who are unable to afford the local bus. It’s a waste, though, because, for the most part, Ivan manages to do a trip or two and then ends up making a mess of things, leaving passengers to find their own way. However, Ivan’s van is causing a huge problem for the big bus company that his wife Sandra drives for. So much so that the bus business is on the verge of shutting down. Sandra is desperate to keep her job, but she also wants Ivan out of her life for good. As it is, he’s got no money, and if he stops driving the van, then he’ll be an even bigger headache for Sandra. For the most part, End of the Line covers Ivan’s muck-ups throughout the day when he’s not driving the van. His van is a bust; he asks the local mechanic to fix it in the cheapest way possible. He tries to plug his appliances into the local eatery’s slots and messes up the wiring. There’s a large hole in the middle of the city; he tries to fill it up himself, messing with the plumbing of the whole city. While Ivan is incomprehensibly useless, he still cares for his son.
Ivan gets his son a job at the motorbike taxi company, which also happens to be illegal. By this time, Sandra has reported Ivan’s vehicle so she doesn’t lose her own job. However, learning that her own son will be investigated makes her worry. The hole gets deeper when Sandra finds out that the van is actually in her name, which means she’d only be messing things up for herself. They manage to use the press and the business owner of the taxi company, who also happens to own the bus company (businessmen, amirite?) to fix things up for Ivan and Ivandro. On the other hand, Ivan and Sandra are drifting further apart than ever. Sandra happens to be seeing Robson, a nerdy fellow who happens to be the inspector for the bus company. He and Ivan obviously don’t see eye to eye, but Sandra is simply having a fling.
While Ivan is desperate to stay with Sandra and still loves her, realizing this more whenever he sees her around Robson, he manages to mess things up for her more and more by the day. On a very hot day, he raffles her air conditioner off to a local saleswoman. He makes her give away her brand-new double-door fridge to the local eatery because he messed with the wiring. He thinks her brand new fancy bag is a trash bag and ends up ripping it while fighting with her over it. I suppose this is what comedy is. He even manages to mess up her work anniversary of 10 years because the fridge is a bust and the beers are hot. On top of that, he reminds her that there’s no growth in her job and she’s been slogging for nothing for the longest time (how infuriating!).
Does Sandra Manage To Sell The House?
Desperate for some peace of mind, Sandra decides to sell the house that she and Ivan supposedly built together (I’m sure it was all her own hard work). He doesn’t have anywhere else to go and also doesn’t want to let go of this house, so he stands in the way of Sandra when she tries to sell it off. He gets the password for the real estate app and deletes all the messages Sandra receives. She never really hears from anybody, but she manages to get one potential client named Sérgio. The man wants the house for him and his daughter, and somehow Sandra ends up having work on the day she’s meant to show it to him, so she hands the job to Ivan. Obviously, Ivan messes it up completely, telling them the house is infested by termites, the plumbing is bad, etc. But, since the van is in her name, Ivandro tells his father that she plans on selling the van if the house doesn’t sell. Ivan is desperate to sell the house then, and somehow, again, it is Sandra and Ivan who convince Sérgio together to buy it.
What Happens At Ivandro’s Party?
Ivan isn’t just a terrible husband; he’s also a terrible father. He forgets that his son has been named employee of the month, and when Sandra asks him to help her set up the party for Ivandro, he blatantly refuses. Somehow Sandra convinces him to make the slideshow and a speech because she’s caught up in work, and sleep-deprived Ivan makes a blunder there too. He’s been seeing a new lady named Jerusa, and Jerusa has been asking for explicit pictures of Ivan. He takes the pictures and sends them to her, but she doesn’t like them very much. On the other hand, when he plays the slideshow in front of the whole town, making a speech about his son, he ends up showcasing the explicit image, ruining the party and his life in seconds. Sandra’s obviously had enough at this point and speeds up the divorce process with the help of her new lawyer. But will she succeed?
What’s Ivandro Up To?
In the middle of all of this, Ivandro abruptly tells his family that he’s engaged and going to be married to his girlfriend. He also tells his parents that his girlfriend’s family believes that he’s rich and that his parents are still together. Supposedly, Ivan has a van business of 15 vans, and it’s the girlfriend’s father who is planning on buying off the bus company and investing in Ivan’s business as well. Ivan and Sandra decided to fake their romance and their luxurious lives in front of Ju’s parents. Everything is going perfectly, and it almost looks like Sandra can actually tolerate Ivan’s presence until the lawyer shows up with their divorce papers. They pretend it’s a game where they occasionally get divorced as a joke since they’re rich and don’t have anything else to do (very nice). Somehow the save works, but then Sérgio shows up, claiming that Sandra and Ivan scammed them because Ivan’s been evading taxes for years.
Do Ivan And Sandra Stay Together?
Ultimately, Sandra decides to confess to Ju, saying that they’re poor, but that her son loves her very much and would do anything for her. Supposedly, it’s all okay, though, because the entrepreneur’s father also did something similar back in the day to win over his wife. However, Ju’s parents think Ivan and Sandra are still together. This is when the lawyer asks them to sign the papers, proving that the divorce is, in fact, real. Ivan has an imaginary scenario where Sandra tells him that she still wants to be with him. But that’s not how things play out; instead, Ivan has to put in some work and make her listen to their wedding song. Sandra ends up falling for the act. End of the Line ends with Ivan breaking the fourth wall and telling us, the audience, that sometimes your dream scenario doesn’t play out exactly right; however, you can still make things work. Ultimately, End of the Line has a happy ending, with Ivan, Sandra, and Ivandro happy and together!
