Та, кто казалась самой доброй, сделала неожиданное признание.

to seem

Breakdown of Та, кто казалась самой доброй, сделала неожиданное признание.

• сделать: to make
• неожиданный: unexpected
• тот, кто: the one who

Questions & Answers about Та, кто казалась самой доброй, сделала неожиданное признание.

What is та doing here?

Та is the feminine singular form of тот and here it means the one or she who. In this sentence, та, кто... is the subject of the main clause.

So the structure is:

Та, кто казалась самой доброй = the one who seemed the kindest

Because the person is female, Russian uses the feminine form та.

Why does the sentence use та, кто... instead of та, которая...?

Та, кто... is a very common way to say the one who... when talking about a person.

• кто is the usual relative word for people in this kind of structure.
• которая is also possible in some contexts, but it feels a bit more specific or heavier stylistically.

So та, кто... is a natural, idiomatic way to refer to a person: that woman / the one who...

Why are there commas around кто казалась самой доброй?

Because кто казалась самой доброй is a relative clause inserted inside the main sentence.

The basic frame is:

Та ... сделала неожиданное признание.

The middle part tells us which та we mean, so it is set off with commas:

Та, кто казалась самой доброй, сделала...

This is very normal Russian punctuation for this kind of clause.