A mother’s greatest grief is losing her child, and that is exactly what has been portrayed in the series Love Is for the Strong. The suffering of Rita after losing her child brings out the issues in Brazilian democracy. The able direction of Katia Lund, Yasmin Thayná, and Daniel Lieff has given the series good shape. The cast of the series includes Tatiana Tibúrcio, Breno Ferreira, and others. The ways in which Kevin and his mother fight to ensure he gets justice have been portrayed effectively in Love Is For The Strong. Will Kevin be able to attain justice? In what way will Rita and Sinistro seek justice? We will find the answers to these questions as we progress through the series!
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens To Kevin?
Kevin wanted to surprise his mom, Rita, on Mother’s Day. As he goes out to get flowers for her, something catastrophic happens! While two policemen were chasing down a drug dealer wearing a red t-shirt, they confused Kevin to be the dealer, as he was also wearing a red t-shirt, and shot him on the road in broad daylight. An innocent life was lost to the misunderstanding of the cops, which brought upheavals in the town. There were many witnesses who had seen the murder, and one resident, Marilucio, even managed to record the incident on her phone. While the police force the 11-year-old boy into their van to hide all the evidence and take him to a hospital, Mari tries stopping them but fails. En route to the hospital, Kevin asks Digao why he was shot at, as the young, innocent boy had no idea why he had to face this fate. When Sinistro and Rita get to hear of the incident, they try finding Kevin in all the hospitals but fail. Later, they find Kevin, and they are informed by the authorities of a particular hospital that Kevin could not make it. Rita and Sinistro’s world comes crashing down! Kevin’s last question to Digao has haunted him for quite some time. The conditions of a certain segment of the people in Brazil are very evident when Sinistro struggles to collect some money to bury his brother. The investigation into the murder gets derailed when Digao lies during the investigation, saying that Kevin had a firearm and therefore he had to shoot him down.
How Do Sinistro And His Friends Rebel Against The Government?
Knowing that his brother was innocent and that false blame was being put on him, Sinistro decides to take action to prove his innocence. Sinistro’s friends make videos about Kevin’s death and spread them on social media platforms, but they get very few views. It brings out the shallowness of society and its interest in inconsequential things as matters of importance. When their initial videos do not bear any fruit, they start making outrageous videos against the police, and this time they manage to gain millions of views. Sinistro, being an artist, revolts in a way that is unconventional. He throws red paint on a police van, signifying the blood of the black people that the police had on their hands in Brazil. Sinistro’s actions draw the attention of the cops, and Rato asks him to lay low, as he does not want to risk going to jail. Sinistro and his gang decide to arrange a campaign for Kevin so that they can raise money by selling paintings to arrange a memorial.
The police, however, find Rato’s den and arrest him for going against the ideals of the government and creating art against them. The entire community of artists in the neighborhood protests so that Rato is released. They screamed out loud that they were artists and not criminals to arrest. However, they finally manage to bring Rato out of jail by bailing him out with the money that they had gathered for Kevin’s memorial. Sinistro and his friends decide to make art in the middle of the street that highlights the injustices of the police against Black communities. The protests of the civilians are not handled effectively by the police officials, and a huge riot breaks out in which the civilians are beaten up. The media point their fingers at the protestors, showing the police in a good light. Sinistro and his gang finally decide to conduct the memorial in the middle of the town by creating graffiti and art about the innocent children who had lost their lives to unjust law enforcement, stressing the significance of Black lives. The resentment of Sinistro against government officials is brought out through an open display of his paintings. When Sinistro comes to know about Digao’s involvement in his brother’s murder, he paints his face all over the city with a pistol in his hand, exposing him and signifying that he was the one who had taken an innocent child’s life. Sinistro believed that even though Digao was a Black man himself, he was not on their side and was blinded by his power and position.
How Does Rita Seek Justice?
Rita’s way of seeking justice for Kevin is a bit different as compared to Sinistro’s. In the mourning parade, she is seen venting her sorrow over losing her son and telling others that her son was not a criminal, as declared by the state. She also says that when he died, the only weapon that he had in his hand was a flower for his mother. She questions the governor of Rio de Janeiro about the safety of the civilians. There is a march that she arranges for the civilians to call out the misdeeds of the policemen. She is seen distributing t-shirts with Kevin’s face printed on them so that people can become more aware of the incident and support her cause. Rita seeks the attention of the media to let them know that Kevin was innocent so that they stop painting a false image of him.
On her quest to find the killer, she does not initially garner much support from her neighbors. Mari, who had witnessed and recorded the murder, initially decided not to testify because her phone had been snatched by the police and she was told that her son would be sought after if she opened her mouth. Osorio, another witness, was also afraid to mess with the police. When he eventually agrees to testify against the two policemen, he found out that someone had burned down his orchard. The police officials also show no interest in helping Rita solve the case, and then the case suddenly gets dismissed. Rita’s overenthusiasm for solving the case also results in her losing her job. Rita later sees a ray of hope when her lawyer informs her that the case has again been opened because they found out that a false arrest-resistance report had been submitted by Diago and Lopes. Rita also seeks Digao’s address from the lawyer and goes to his place to look him in the eye and confront her son’s murderer. On reaching there, Rita was shocked to find out that another boy of her elder son’s age was involved in the case.
How Does Rodrigo Try To Save His Son?
Rodrigo, a minister of internal affairs and an ex-policeman, had given his all to try and save his son Digao from the case. Lopes, the other officer with Digao, blackmailed Rodrigo into getting a promotion in exchange for his silence. He also keeps another corrupt officer, Borges, in his pockets to ensure that the case can be dismissed midway. It is later revealed that Borges burned Osio’s orchard to scare him and keep his mouth shut about the case. When Mari was about to testify against Digao, Borges tried to scare her so that she would stay out of the matter. Mari, however, does not keep quiet about the incident and also brings up Borges’ name in the case, saying that he was the one who had taken away her phone, the final evidence from her. Borges later threatens Rodrigo and tells him that if he were to go down, he would take Rodrigo and Digao along with him. Rodrigo tried supporting his son to the very end, but he was not completely an immoral man. The situation had forced him to turn immoral. He also tried explaining to his son the graveness of the situation so that he could tell good from bad in the future and never commit another similar crime. Rodrigo had tried his best to save his son, despite all the threats and the risk of losing his political position.
What Does Edna Do To Let Go Of Her Guilt?
Ever since she has seen the video, Edna has tried her best to make Digao understand his fault. Digao told his mother that Lopes was the one who was instigating him to pull the trigger. Later, Edna visits Uncle Valdomiro from her former community to seek information on Rita and her case. Valdomiro tells her about the conditions of the family after losing the younger son. He also informs her about Osorio’s burned orchard. She confronts her son and asks if he has set fire to the orchard to scare him. She later sends Osorio some money out of guilt and also arranges for a job for Sinistro in a publishing house. Edna had initially tried to destroy Mari’s cell phone to ensure that her son was safe, but her conscience prevented her from going in the wrong direction. She later confesses to Digao that she was the one who destroyed the phone to get rid of all the evidence against him.
What Happens In the End?
In the last 3 years, policemen in Brazil have killed 2215 children and adolescents, of whom 69% were Black. Love Is For The Strong represents the angst of the mothers who lost their children to the crimes committed by the law. Rita thought that the state was entirely responsible for the loss of her son and other children. She directly questions Rodrigo about the responsibility that he would take for the crime that his son had committed. It is evident that Rodrigo is to be fired by the secretary for having covered his son’s fault. Digao realizes that his mistake has gotten his parents into a lot of trouble. He is exposed to Sinistro through the paintings all over the city. He had painted pictures of Rodrigo in his police uniform, holding a gun, to expose his crime to the others. This causes Digao to realize that it was time for him to surrender, and he gives away all the secrets and tells the police that he is at fault. After Digao is temporarily arrested, Rita and Sinistro seem to gain a sense of extreme relief. The arrest is symbolic of the freedom that the poor people gained against the federal forces. Kevin is finally declared innocent and not involved in any drug-related cases. This is exactly what Rita had been fighting for, even more than getting his son’s murderers punished. We can feel the sense of relief that Rita and Sinistro attain when we see them floating freely in the water and remembering Kevin and how much he loved surfing.
Final Words
Love Is For The Strong brings out the anger of the common people against the flawed federal system. The atrocities against Black citizens are on the rise all across the world, and this series has been dedicated to the mothers who have lost their innocent kids to racism. The story of the series has been well-knit, and all the motives of the characters are made very clear in the series. Love Is For The Strong primarily shows the difference in ideologies and rift between two mothers, both trying to protect their own sons. There is a depiction of two sides of the coin! One side has complete power, while the other side has to struggle to attain basic justice. The unfair treatment that the common people receive at the hands of their governments has been efficiently tried to be depicted here.
