Kriti Mehrotra
Although the character of Jessica is technically a supporting one throughout Netflix’s ‘Children of the Steps,’ the truth is her story is as significant as that of anyone else. This includes her friendship with young Papioca (aka Popcorn) as well as her involvement with Jesus de Silva, only for her to walk away with these relationships alone. That’s because while she did have other friends too, those who lived alongside them on the steps of the Candelária massacre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, most of them were either injured or killed.
Popcorn and Jessica Experienced Their Fair Share of Issues
While Popcorn’s past was made abundantly clear in the four-part original series, not much regarding how Jessica ended up as an orphan was explored, but it was made clear that she was a normal teenager like most of the other. Popcorn was different, though; as a young child, she was still naive and had a lot of hope that her mother would return for her one day. Her mother, Ms Angela, had actually dropped her off at an orphanage after traveling from their hometown of Sao Pulo, where she first met Douglas, Jesus, and Sete (Seven).
Papioca had no idea that Sete would soon essentially grow to care for her to such an extent he’d become her caretaker, and he was the one to name her Papioca after she admitted she had forgotten her name. Her naivete also came to light when she came to Jessica about a possible modeling gig and then again when the latter stated she had not left her behind after they were caught stealing from a clothing store. However, she gained Jessica’s true trust and respect when she stopped the photographer from taking advantage of her by creating a ruckus, bonding them in a way like never before.
All this not just highlighted the contrast of their beliefs and values but also underscored how good influences can and will cause change. After all, Papioca’s young age and unawareness of the world’s issues and injustices made her extremely trusting and lovable, whereas Jessica was closed off because she had seen things. But alas, in the end, they all went through a traumatic ordeal, with fellow orphan Jesus, who had feelings for Jessica, which were reciprocated, being their only confidant left alive and uninjured.
Popcorn and Jessica Are Fictitious, But They Represent Many Real People
Despite the fact Popcorn and Jessica, just like Douglas, Sete, and Jesus, are incredibly three-dimensional, they truth is they were created from the ground up for this original production. According to series creator Luis Lomenha, they did speak to several of the massacare’s survivors and their descendants to get a real insight into precisely what went down in the hours leading up to it, but they didn’t pick a single storyline to explore. Instead, they made characters that represented something almost all of them experienced in one way or another, all the while highlighting that while they were kids in possibly the worst of conditions, they still had hope, friendships, and love.
Luis actually told Netflix they deliberately mixed dark and light concepts “to show the interrupted dreams” of the eight children who sadly lost their lives on that fateful night before adding, “Throughout the production process, we seek to give them back the right to dream.” He also told Deadline that working with survivors to create these characters was important not just ethically but also to tell an authentic story. “We collaborated closely with some of them to understand the nuances of their experiences and, importantly, to ensure that their voices were genuinely heard,” he said. “Their insights guided us not only in the narrative but in every choice that we made, from dialogue to the portrayal of emotions.”
Read More: Jesus: Is He Based on a Real Candelária Massacre Witness?
