“The Slave Isaura” is a soap opera that asks viewers to sit through 167 episodes of plantation life in the mid-19th century. It is slow, repetitive, and often dull. But it also does something rare for television: it takes slavery seriously. The show follows Isaura, a young woman born to a slave mother and a tenant farmer, who is raised by the wife of the plantation’s owner. That setup is simple. The execution is not.
The Setup
Isaura is born in 1835 on the farm of Commander Almeida. Her mother, Juliana, is a slave. Her father, Miguel, is the tenant farmer who runs the estate. Juliana dies shortly after giving birth because she refuses to sleep with the Commander, who whips her to death in revenge. Isaura is then raised and educated by Gertrudes, the Commander’s wife, who has always wanted a daughter. Despite her education and her pale skin, Isaura remains a slave because of her mother’s status.
That contradiction is the engine of the series. Isaura is taught to read, write, and behave like a lady, but she is never allowed to forget that she is property. The show spends episode after episode circling this tension, showing Isaura trying to navigate a world that constantly reminds her of her place.
The Cast
The show’s cast is large, and the source material lists a dozen named actors. Bianca Rinaldi plays Isaura, splitting the role between her younger self and her older self as Elvira Vaz. Leopoldo Pacheco plays Leôncio Almeida, the Commander. Theo Becker plays Álvaro Mendonça, and Mayara Magri plays Tomásia. Jackson Antunes plays Miguel, Patrícia França plays Rosa, Deo Garcez plays André, Maria Ribeiro plays Malvina, Paulo Figueiredo plays Coronel Sebastião Cunha, Miriam Mehler plays Gioconda, Ewerton de Castro plays Belchior, and Jonas Mello plays Seu Chico.
The performances vary widely. Some actors lean into melodrama, while others play it straight. The show’s director, Tiago Santiago, and co-creator, Anamaria Nunes, keep the tone consistent across the sprawling run, though the pacing drags in the middle stretch.
What Works
The show’s strengths are its historical specificity and its willingness to show the violence of slavery. The Commander’s cruelty is not abstract. It is physical, and the show does not shy away from depicting the beatings and the punishments. This is a show about power, and it understands that power is expressed through violence.
The relationship between Isaura and Gertrudes is also compelling. Gertrudes raises Isaura out of love, but her love is complicated by her own desire for social status. She wants a daughter, but she also wants a servant. The show tracks this tension over the course of the series, and it pays off in the final episodes.
What Doesn’t Work
The show is also painfully slow. A single storyline can stretch across multiple episodes, and the filler scenes between plot points are tedious. The show relies heavily on melodrama, with characters screaming and crying over small slights. The pacing is uneven, and some episodes feel like padding.
The show’s resolution also feels rushed. After 167 episodes, the finale tries to tie up years of plot threads in a matter of hours. Some storylines get short shrift, and the show’s attempt to resolve everything neatly feels unsatisfying.
Comparing the Two Leads
| Character | Role | Relationship to Isaura |
|---|---|---|
| Leôncio Almeida | Commander | The man who owns the plantation and Isaura’s mother |
| Gertrudes | Commander’s wife | Raises Isaura as her own daughter |
Leôncio Almeida is the antagonist of the show. He is cruel, violent, and entitled. His relationship with Isaura is defined by his ownership of her. Gertrudes is the show’s moral center. She loves Isaura, but her love is limited by the system she lives in. Their dynamic is the heart of the series.
Final Word
“The Slave Isaura” is a flawed but important work of television. It takes on a difficult subject with care, and it shows the brutality of slavery without flinching. The show’s weaknesses—its slow pace and its melodramatic excess—are real, but they do not outweigh its strengths.
The show deserves credit for telling a story about slavery that is neither sentimental nor sanitized. It is a long, sometimes frustrating watch, but it is also a necessary one.
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