Editor’s note: Spoilers ahead.
The best telenovelas are both wildly entertaining and unabashedly unrealistic. Emphasis on the unabashedly. They’re stuffed with overwrought performances, gaudy music, and especially bizarre plot points that often include a mix of forbidden romance, unveiled parentage, vengeful murders, rare illnesses, descents into madness, and more.
Luis Parrales is an assistant editor at The Atlantic. He was previously an associate editor for arts and culture at The Dispatch.
