The Gift of Deceit Review
Director: Gabriela Amaral Almeida, Mauro Mendonça Filho and Daniela Carvalho
Date Created: 2026-10-28 19:21
1.5
The Gift of Deceit Review: Directed by Gabriela Amaral Almeida, Mauro Mendonça Filho and Daniela Carvalho, the Netflix Brazilian drama series Dom de Iludir features Marieta Severo as Lúcia Rossetti, Alice Wegmann as Maíra Rossetti, and Nanda Costta as Irina. The ensemble also includes José de Abreu, Felipe Camargo, Luciana Paes, Laila Garin, Rui Ricardo Diaz, Heloísa Jorge, and Allan Souza Lima. The series has 10 episodes, each lasting approximately 40 to 50 minutes.
The Gift of Deceit Review
Netflix’s The Gift of Deceit centres on Maíra, a young woman in a toxic relationship with her mother, Lúcia. The lady is rich and an art collector who tries to take care of her daughter; however, the method used by Lúcia makes her daughter feel suffocated rather than protected. When Lúcia falls sick due to a mysterious condition, Irina comes into their life as a spiritual healer with the capacity to help them. However, Irina has her own ulterior motives. She belongs to a gangster’s family that transforms the story into a dangerous one than expected at first. As Maíra gets involved with Irina, it becomes hard for her to distinguish between affection and manipulation.
The most disappointing aspect of the Netflix Brazilian series The Gift of Deceit was the fact that even though the show had the chance to make an incredibly disturbing family drama, it constantly opted to go for the loudest approach to storytelling. There is something captivating about a mother who thinks she is defending her daughter while slowly taking away her freedom. It is easy to feel empathy for Maiara, and her desire to run away from Lúcia’s grasp provides the emotional basis for the story. But the writers never let emotions flow freely without introducing yet another confrontation.
One of the most fascinating characters in the Netflix series The Gift of Deceit is Lúcia, whose actions make sense in many ways. She is bossy, controlling, and highly annoying, especially when she considers Maíra incapable of taking care of herself and making her own decisions. It was hard to empathise with Lúcia in such situations since her fear of losing her daughter is used as an opportunity to keep everything under her control. The writers want us to ask ourselves whether love turns into a trap in the end, and Lúcia perfectly represents a character full of internal contradictions. Sometimes the writers take it too far and force the character to do something just to create a problem.
Marieta Severo plays the part of an unbearable mother well in Lúcia, who underneath it all feels like a desperate person trying to take over every little thing. This character is vulnerable despite Marieta Severo’s hard-to-argue performance. Alice Wegmann shows Maíra in a very convincing way, with understandable feelings of frustration and stress that the character feels while struggling between her personal life and the burden of hurting her mother. Some of the best scenes in the whole series happen between these two actresses, since there is an obvious connection between their characters which is stronger than the complex web of plots around them.
And then there’s Irina, whose entrance alters the course of events altogether. With Nanda Costta as the actress, she provides a captivating blend of seductive allure and threat, and thus it makes sense why Maíra is attracted to her. Yet, the attraction that Irina shares with Maíra is one based on lies. Unlike a mere healer who has found herself in the midst of trouble, Irina hails from a lineage that has been fooling others for financial gain for quite some time now. Her father, Bóris, especially proves to be a creepy figure due to his control over his daughters.
I would have liked the bond between Maíra and Irina to be examined with more depth. This connection brings up the interesting issue of whether real love could come out of such an initial lie. Irina’s motives offer the opportunity to examine a character whose innocence lies somewhere in between. However, the story does not take into consideration the psychological ramifications of such huge steps. The writers try to make the relationship more complex by using another shocking event. Nanda Costa utilises her part very well; nevertheless, I think that the script could give Irina more leeway to evolve despite the contradictions she is facing.
Another plot line that causes me to lose interest in the Netflix’s The Gift of Deceit series is the criminal plot line. The art collection, the manipulations attempted on rich individuals, and the greedy nature of the family all come together to form an intriguing mystery at first. But it seems like the show cares more about how to up the ante than how to achieve its own ends. Characters do stupid things, there are revelations, and things get more and more extreme, but the tension never quite matches what is going on. I often found myself much more invested in the results of the characters’ stupidity than in the surprises.
Indeed, there is some amusement value in the scenes and in how persistent the show is at keeping its characters in conflict. There is sufficient chemistry among the actors to make the confrontation entertaining, and the differences in the status of the rich Lúcia, the necessity for Maíra to be independent, and the scheming character of Irina provide a number of potentially interesting elements for the plot. However, a story does not become any more fascinating just because all the characters are constantly making everything more complicated.
What bothers me about 2026 The Gift of Deceit series is that it has an interesting topic right in the middle of the story. It recognises the complexity of the concepts of protection and control, the impact of anger on actions, and how being in love does not necessarily imply being trustworthy. These issues could have used some more time and nuance. Instead, the series is weighed down by a plot that seems too stuffed with events and twists rather than realistic character development.
Netflix The Gift of Deceit Review: Summing Up
Overall, The Gift of Deceit is a bit of a letdown for me. There are many interesting aspects, such as the complex mother-daughter dynamic and the morally complex love affair that give plenty of room for investment, and there are moments when the acting makes up for the subpar writing. Nevertheless, too many predictable plot twists, overstated drama and underdeveloped characters stop the show from becoming an engaging psychological thriller. It’s easy to see how this series could be entertaining for people who don’t mind telenovela drama without apologies, but there’s no breathing space left in it.
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