What does “já era” mean in Brazilian Portuguese?

Já era is two small words that write something off: “it’s over,” “forget it,” “that’s toast.” Literally “it already was,” it shoves the thing into the past tense of existing — a phone that hit the floor, a plan that fell through, a team that just conceded the third goal. And it is frozen: whatever the subject, singular or plural, it stays já era.

There is a person-shaped use — se o professor vir isso, eu já era, “if the teacher sees this, I’m done for” — and a nostalgic one, já era, “that’s ancient history.” In this phone-brand showdown the commentary runs on it: Samsung está apanhando (“Samsung is taking a beating”) … já era, já era — right before the twist, o quê? Samsung ganhou?