‘The Life You Wanted’ Recap & Ending Explained: Is Pietro Dead?

Italian shows on Netflix were never such a hit. Only a few weeks ago, Netflix released The Brigands, which failed to receive good reviews because of the haphazard screenplay. However, their venture into comedy was quite a success thanks to a brilliant show named Framed, an oddball comedy set in Sicily. Following the trope of Latin telenovelas, the brand-new Italian show The Life You Wanted, directed by Ivan Cotroneo, is about a fully transitioned woman dealing with her past, which could mess up her current relationships.

Spoilers Ahead

Why did Marina come to meet Gloria?

Gloria was a renowned photographer and one of the curators of a local museum who was used to running the place with the help of her assistant Eva. Gloria was assigned male at birth who had transitioned from Alessandro to a woman a couple of years ago. A heavily pregnant Marina showed up in front of Gloria, meeting her for the first time in fifteen years, and the latter was shocked to find the woman at her doorstep with her children, Andrea and Arianna. Initially, it was assumed both were friends, but as the series progressed, it became hard not to ignore that they were romantically involved when Gloria was a male. 

What was Marina and Gloria’s past?

Marina and Gloria were together for few years when the latter was then Alessandro, who was slowly beginning to come out. Both lived together as roommates and slowly went on to become lovers. They eventually broke up as Marina realized Alessandro would be transitioning into a woman. As a man as well, she was not attracted to women except for Marina. Both knew they never had any future together, which led to them breaking up and Marina moving away without saying a proper goodbye. 

Who were the fathers of her children?

Marina had gotten pregnant with Gloria’s child who was then Alessandro, and Andrea was her son, who was now fifteen years old. Marina kept him away from Gloria for obvious reasons, and she eventually got married to Sergio. Sergio raised Andrea as his own, and Marina later gave birth to their second child, Arianna. Marina and Sergio separated, but he chose to be a big part of his children’s lives. She later got involved with a control freak named Pietro, who was the father of her third child. 

Was Marina suffering from a terminal disease?

Marina forced her way into Gloria’s life, who was not very keen on having her old lover and her children. Gloria, however, sensed there was something off about Marina’s sudden reappearance in her life. She must have had an agenda to bring her children along, while Gloria was content with her single life but was not sure how to handle the situation. She also offered money to Marina in the hope they could leave her alone. However, Marina’s children were not happy with the way Gloria was behaving, and they were also not sure why their mother wanted to be with her. Gloria soon learned Andrea was her son, while Sergio, on the other hand, was after Marina, whose only goal was to make sure Andre and Arianna were safe. Meanwhile Pietro was being possessive of a pregnant Marina and her children. Marina was hiding many important details, and Gloria was having a tough time deciphering the intent of her visit. 

Who got Marina back to the hospital?

As Pietro was trying to get in touch with Marina, he met with Gloria. From her brief conversation with Marina, Gloria was quick to assume Pietro was bad news, and she had to keep Andrea away from this man. Sergio was in town as he followed Marina and his kids and joined Gloria to confront Pietro. Gloria and Sergio were able to drive Pietro away, but he was still at large and was a threat to Marina. 

Meanwhile, Marina goes into labor, and she wants Gloria to be by her side. Marina probably wanted her ex-lover to tap into her parent’s instincts. The plan was to get Gloria closer to the child, and as an extension, she would find a way to get along with Andre. Marina gave birth to a boy, and the family was ecstatic until the doctor informed Gloria of the bad news.

Why did Marina run away?

Gloria was informed about Marina’s brain tumor and the possibility of carrying out chemotherapy for it. She confronts Marina about the same with Sergio in the room. Both were concerned about her and wondered if she got him in touch with Gloria so that Andrea and her could bond, and the boy wouldn’t be left with only one parent. Marina spoke about her illness, but she chose to run away from the hospital in the hope of dying far away from her family without causing any pain to her children. It was Gloria who convinced her to come back and opt for the surgery and other treatments. Meanwhile, Gloria moved Sergio and the children to her other property to make sure Pietro did not come looking for any of them. 

Why did Marina meet Pietro?

Since everyone around Marina was aware of her terminal illness, she had to share the same information with Pietro as well. Since he was the father of her newborn son, Salvatore, she assumed it was his right to know she might not live long. Pietro was excited to meet her, but that did not last long after him learning about her illness. Pietro, being himself, did not trust her words and threw her off the terrace of the hospital building, killing her instantly. The whole point of getting rid of her in a fit of anger was demonstrating his volatile behavior and the fact that he would never come to trust her words. Sadly, Marina had to save her son Salvatore at the cost of her life, and Pietro escaped unhurt for the time being.

Where did Gloria move Marina’s family?

Marina’s death came as a shock to everyone, especially to Gloria and Sergio. While the police and the doctor dubbed the death a suicide, Gloria refused to believe Marina would take such a step. The police, however, found out Marina had spoken to Pietro, and Gloria also sensed his role in her ex-lover’s death.  Worrying that Pietro might come after Salvatore and the rest of Marina’s family, Gloria moved them to her sister’s place in the countryside. Gloria wanted to make sure to keep Marina’s kids safe. Sergio, too, was protective of the children, especially Andrea. 

Why did Sergio lie to Gloria?

Sergio had a talk with Gloria about her growing bond with Andrea, her biological son. Even though Marina had wanted Andrea and Gloria to be around each other and develop a friendship, Sergio lied to her and claimed his ex-wife’s last wish was to keep the son away from his biological father. Sergio was attached to Andrea, whom he had raised as his own, which was what made it hard for him to witness Gloria and her son developing a bond. Sergio wanted to keep them apart purposefully, and Gloria was quick to understand that the man was being petty and that the week she spent protecting him and the children meant nothing to him. 

Who informed Pietro about his baby?

Pietro had reached the hospital looking for the address of Gloria to locate Salvatore. He had no regret for killing Marina and had no fear of the law. The hospital refused to share any details because of the confidentiality laws. However, he was helped by Carmine, a nurse at the hospital and Eva’s abusive boyfriend.

Eva worked for Gloria, and her boss disliked Carmine to the point that she had beaten the man for harming her employee. Ever since, the animosity has only increased, and out of spite, he shared the current address of Gloria. As an abusive boyfriend, Carmine had no regrets about harming his lover and was showcasing his power by breaking the rules of the hospital he worked for. Thanks to him, Pietro located Gloria and Sergio. Sergio was harmed in his attack, yet the man could not find the child thanks to Gloria’s presence of mind. Gloria, despite not being on good terms with Andrea and Sergio, wanted them to remain safe because they were all she had left. 

How Did Gloria save Marina’s baby?

Soon after the attack on Sergio, Gloria was by his side and helped him heal. This was the time Sergio revealed Marina’s real intention was to make Andrea and his biological father bond. Sergio felt ashamed to have tried to separate the two. Since he’d witnessed the extent to which Gloria went to save Marina’s child, it made him come clean about his act as well. On the other hand, a distracted Andrea was kidnapped by Pietro from Gloria’s property, and he was again physically abused by the man. The reason Andrea was not trusting of Gloria was because of his experience dealing with Pietro while his mother was around. Andrea had grown to love his adopted father, Sergio, yet the breakup had a severe impact on him. His disdain for Gloria came from the way Pietro treated him and his mother; who instead of confronting him, Marina ran away with the children looking for Gloria. Andrea, however, was not strong enough to take down Pietro and was stuck until the man’s demand to give him Salvatore was fulfilled.

Gloria took it upon herself to tackle Pietro and left with Salvatore, hoping things would work on their own. Sadly, Sergio followed her and informed the police about Pietro’s meeting spot. By now, the police had established Pietro’s role in killing Marina and the extortion demand he was making. Gloria did not have a plan to save Andrea or Salvatore, yet she took the gamble and headed towards her meeting with Pietro. Sergio, on the other hand, wanted to help Gloria and was not keen on sending her off without proper police protection. Pietro was a dangerous man, and right in the middle of the town, a scuffle erupted between Sergio and the killer himself. Sergio wanted to help Gloria because she took charge of the safeguarding of the family, while Sergio realized it was his time to save Salvatore and Andrea, along with Marina’s ex-lover. 

In no time, Pietro was killed, and all of them were saved. Sergio killed him because the man was going after people he loved. Even though the entire fight sequence was a bit outlandish, the positive outcome of the scuffle helps the story to end on a high. This was a classic struggle between the good (Sergio) and bad (Pietro), incidentally connected through Marina. Gloria was the one who saved the infant Salvatore and made sure things would fall into place, only without Marina around. 

The miniseries ended with the family coming back together as one, with Gloria and Sergio confessing their love for each other. This had to be the most bizarre love story, as they were both Marina’s ex-partners. Well, the Italian and Spanish shows are known to explore such taboo topics, and this pairing made the relationship between all of them all the more complicated and weirder. The children, however, were happy at the turn of events, and Andrea had slowly come to accept Gloria as his parent. With Sergio and Gloria coming together, the children now had a happy family to look up to.