Silvia, Rafael, and their son Nuno pick up Eduardo after his three-year prison sentence in the first episode of Turn of the Tide Season 3. He comes back with one clear goal: to get back at them. They meet up with Carlinhos again at their old garage hideout, where he has moved Uncle Joe’s things. The group is happy that Eduardo is free, but there is still tension between him and Silvia. Eduardo starts putting together an investigation board about Brazilian drug dealers after everyone has left.
Rafael thinks about how prison changes people, making them tough and paranoid. These are traits that now define Eduardo, who won’t let go of old grudges.
Eduardo has a hard time getting back into the community because many people don’t want to be around him because of what he did in the past. But he gets a lead when a family member of one of the victims tells him to talk to the Harbour Security Director. As he follows this lead, posters show that Mariana Frias, Detective Frias’ daughter, has been missing since the end of Season 2.
Silvia and Rafael, on the other hand, have been trying to build a stable life by running a tour business with a boat they bought on credit. Rafael also coaches a local youth baseball team, and he gets angry when a good player can’t take advantage of an opportunity on the mainland because they can’t afford it. Silvia is getting more and more angry with her mother and Rafael for not being able to babysit.
Carlos is now a singer on a cruise ship going to Brazil, but he is stuck performing for picky passengers. He wants to leave, but his boss talks him into staying for another year.
Detective Paula Frias is still desperately looking for Mariana. A scary voicemail from her daughter says that someone broke into their apartment and begs for help. This recording is the only thing Frias has to go on. She won’t follow normal advice, even though a man named Pedro is helping her. Francisco tells her to back off because her aggressive methods have led to many complaints. It also comes out that she is still suspended and has been pretending to be a working officer.
Bruna has also taken over Grandma Rosa’s theater and turned it into a bar that shows old movies. Sadly, business isn’t going well. She turns down possible buyers, but she is barely able to stay afloat. This makes her father, Banha, angry. Eduardo goes to see her after she didn’t respond to his letters from prison. He means it when he says he’s sorry, and his charm makes her think about giving him another chance.
One night, Rafael tells Eduardo that he feels overwhelmed by all of his duties. When he sees Eduardo’s investigation board, he becomes interested and quickly joins him. They start keeping an eye on suspects together and call themselves the “Night Vigilantes.”
Their investigation leads them to a priest who often comes to Brazil on a cruise ship with a silver suitcase. The Harbour Security Director lets him skip security. After watching him go about his business, the group hires Carlos, who checks the suitcase and finds a gold monstrance inside.
Things get complicated when Silvia’s mother falls for a pyramid scheme and ends up owing money to her neighbors. Silvia thinks about selling their boat because she needs a way out. Rafael asks Silvia to marry him at the same time, but she says no because she doesn’t want to get married.
The Night Vigilantes move forward with their plan to steal the monstrance, sell it, and use the money to find drug dealers. Silvia says she will help, but only if some of the money goes to helping other people in need as well.
Eduardo and Rafael make a scene at a café on the day of the robbery, and Silvia switches the suitcase. But it turns out that the gold monstrance is really made of plastic. Rafael is really shocked when he finds out that the communion wafers are really made of cocaine. This proves that the priest was involved in drug smuggling.
That night, the group goes to the Harbour Security Director’s house to talk to him. He finally admits that a lawyer named Lessa took Ofelia’s drugs three years ago. Rafael spray-paints “Night Vigilantes” on the property before he leaves.
Later, the police arrest the director for stealing things. Banha wonders if he was betrayed, but the director says no. Francisco, on the other hand, thinks Banha is involved and stops him from getting involved any more.
Silvia wants to use the money from cocaine sales to help the community, but Eduardo is afraid of making the same mistakes again. Rafael is in the middle of it all and is happy that the Night Vigilantes’ story is getting more attention.
Eduardo has PTSD from his time in prison and is having trouble finding work. Rafael says that more cruise ships and damage to the environment have hurt fishing in the area. Rafael reminds Eduardo that he is stubborn by telling him about how Eduardo lost a similar boat when his father sold it to pay for their move to the United States.
Rafael comes to the conclusion that the Azores are like a prison where freedom is not possible. The episode ends on a tense note when Eduardo is suddenly attacked and knocked out.
Look over
Season 3 comes back with a darker tone and a strong sense of urgency. The first scene, which is set to “The House of the Rising Sun,” makes it clear right away that Eduardo is tough and sets the story on a more intense path.
This episode does a good job of moving the story along while also developing the characters. Rafael, who had a smaller role in the last season, is now having his own internal struggle as he tries to balance his family duties with his need for excitement. Detective Frias’ story adds emotional depth by echoing a high-stakes search with few clues.
The pacing is great because the episode doesn’t spend a lot of time explaining things and instead shows important things through action. The story keeps going, from the robbery to the surprise cocaine twist and the introduction of new threats. It also reinforces what makes the series interesting.
The premiere sets up the season well by mixing tension, character drama, and sharp storytelling that keeps viewers interested.