Smother-In-Law is a Brazilian sitcom revolving around a family stuck in the pandemic. Isadir tries to disrupt the lives of her son and daughter-in-Law as she starts living with them. The series is currently available on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
The series starts with Isadir (Rodrigo Sant’anna), the infamous, self-proclaimed smother-in-law, moving in with her son, Carlos (Rafael Zulu) and his wife Alice (Lidi Lisboa). She was supposed to live with them just for a few weeks and move out once the lockdown ends. But once she settles in their mansion, she refuses to move out.
While this does not seem like a big deal, there’s a rather major issue, Isadir does not like Alice. The two have a rivalry. Isadir believes that her son deserves someone down-to-earth.
Stuck together in the same house, both Isadir and Alice go back and forth as other members witness their crossfire. Each episode consists of a different incident taken from the lives of the family.
It begins with Isadir renting her house to her best friend’s son, Cezinha. Alice is upset by this, as it gives Isadir another reason to not move out. She gets in a fight with Carlos. To patch things up with her, Carlos takes the entire family on vacation, leaving Isadir alone at home.
Isadir learns that Cezinha has broken up with his boyfriend and wants to move out. She decides to throw him a birthday party, hoping it’ll help him patch things up. Everything is going well, but Carlos and Alice come back home to pick up some stuff that they had forgotten behind.
They see the party going on at their house and are upset by it. The episode ends with Cezinha patching things up with his boyfriend and is no longer moving out, giving Iskadir another reason to stay there.
The next few episodes follow a similar theme as the eccentric Isadir tries new things but ends up creating more problems for Carlos and Alice. She tries tutoring but her student ends up being a robber. He tries to rob everyone at the house but is caught by the police at the last moment.
Isadir is next seen trying to celebrate Mother’s Day with Alice’s posh mom but things go south after they have one too many drinks. Isadir then tries to earn some cash by selling Alice’s designer clothes but it is later learned that Alice was planning to donate them.
Isadir’s absurd gigs continue and a tired Alice suggests Isadir try dating, hoping it’ll give her and Carlos some space. But it does not go as planned because Isadir creates a fake profile and poses as Alice. This increases the rift between the two.
If you have any doubts about the ending, here’s a complete breakdown.
Smother-In-Law ending explained in detail:
An allergic fight
The day starts as usual at the mansion. The family is seen bickering and talking in the kitchen. There’s a knock at the door; Isadir goes to check who it is and finds that Davi has left her a dog. There’s a minor issue- Alice is allergic to pets.
Isadir refuses to accept the dog but ends up taking it in once she realizes that she has no other option. She hides the dog in the washroom. Alice is having allergic reactions but is unaware that there’s a dog at her house.
Alice had to go out for a meeting and Isadir takes this opportunity to take the dog out. She decides to drop him at the adoption centre. But after reaching there, she backs out and takes the dog back home.
She hides the dog in the box, but it escapes. Alice is back at home and her allergies are driving her crazy. This leads to a quarrel between her and Isadir. They enter the living room and find the dog sitting on Alice’s brand-new chair. He had completely torn its fabric. Alice is distraught.
The ultimatum
That happens to be the last straw for Alice. She gives Carlos an ultimatum and asks him to choose between her and Isadir. She ends up leaving the house and temporarily shifting into a flat. Isadir is very happy with it and starts decorating the home.
Carlos tries to bring Alice back and promises that Isadir will leave the house. Isadir overhears this and thinks that if she tries to set Carlos with someone else, he’ll forget about Alice.
She brings his ex to his house, who is now a physical trainer. Carlos is shocked to see her there. Coincidentally Alice arrives at the scene and is very mad. She storms out but accidentally drops her health card.
Isadir scans the health card and finds out that Alice is pregnant. She panics and tells everyone. She formulates a plan with Carlos to bring Alice back.
The happily ever after
Alice borrows Cezinha’s limo and rushes to where Alice is living. They park the car in front of her balcony. Isadir uses a megaphone to apologize to Alice, attracting quite some attention. The apology is rather funny and sincere.
Alice ends up cracking and returns back. She officially announces her pregnancy to the family and everyone is happy. The audience learns that their maid is pregnant too with their help’s child. They tell everyone that they’ll be going on maternal leave.
Isadir worries about who’ll take care of the child now. This is followed by a rare emotional moment. But it has to be cut short when the police arrive at their house.
Apparently, someone had reported the limo for disturbance. After checking it, they found drugs in the car, along with Isadir’s license. They put her in handcuffs and take her to jail. The series ends with Isadir in the back of a police car, talking with the officers.
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