Brazil '70: The Third Star Season 1, Episode 1 Ending Explained

The highly anticipated premiere episode of Netflix's scripted sports miniseries Brazil '70: The Third Star sets up a tense, emotionally charged look into the legendary 1970 Brazilian World Cup squad.

Rather than focusing purely on the magic of the pitch, the opening episode masterfully contrasts footballing brilliance with intense internal anxiety and the brutal backdrop of Brazil's military dictatorship (the Médici regime).

1. The Climax: The Reign of João Saldanha and the Dictator's Interference

The overarching conflict of Episode 1 anchors entirely on the chaotic lead-up to the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. We are introduced to the radical, journalist-turned-coach João Saldanha (Rodrigo Santoro), who famously managed the qualifying campaign.

Saldanha’s communist political leanings and stubborn demeanor place him on a direct collision course with both the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBD) and the military government.

• The Selection Ultimatium: President Emílio Garrastazu Médici demands that the popular forward Dadá Maravilha be selected for the final squad. Saldanha fiercely rejects the political overreach, dropping his iconic real-life line to the press: "The President chooses his ministers, I choose my team."

• The Pitch Turmoil: At the same time, the episode explores the heavy psychological weight on a young Pelé (Lucas Agrícola) and Tostão (Ravel Andrade). Pelé is struggling under the suffocating pressure of an entire country demanding perfection, while Tostão is battling a severe, career-threatening eye injury (a detached retina) sustained right before the tournament.

2. The Ending Twist: The Coup in the Coaching Staff

The climax of the episode tracks the immediate explosion of this political and sporting powder keg. Realizing that Saldanha's rebellious nature is a liability to the regime's propaganda machine, the powers that be orchestrate a sudden backroom coup.

[ Saldanha Defies President ] ──> [ Internal CBD Pressure Explodes ] ──> [ Mário Zagallo is Appointed ]

Just weeks before the team is set to depart for Mexico, Saldanha is abruptly sacked. The episode closes with the frantic, overnight appointment of Mário Zagallo (Bruno Mazzeo)—a revered veteran of the 1958 and 1962 World Cup-winning teams.

• Zagallo's Nightmare: Zagallo inherited a deeply fractured locker room. The players are divided by personal loyalty to Saldanha, paralyzed by the immense fear of failing their country, and physically exhausted from the intense altitude training regimens.

• The Final Image: The premiere cuts to black on an intense close-up of Mário Zagallo stepping into the locker room for the first time as head coach. Looking out at Pelé, Gérson, and Carlos Alberto, he realizes he hasn't just been given the most coveted job in football—he has been handed a high-stakes political time bomb where anything less than the "Third Star" means complete disaster.

The Takeaway: The ending of Episode 1 establishes that Brazil '70 is far more than a standard sports biopic. It frames the squad's journey not as an easy march to glory, but as a grueling psychological prison where the icons of the game had to carry the fractured identity, fears, and political weight of an entire nation on their shoulders.