SummaryBased on the Arturo Pérez-Reverte novel "La Reina Del Sur," the drama (also adapted for television for Telemundo in 2011) focuses on Teresa Mendoz (Alice Braga) who must go on the run after her drug-dealing boyfriend is murdered in Mexico.
SummaryBased on the Arturo Pérez-Reverte novel "La Reina Del Sur," the drama (also adapted for television for Telemundo in 2011) focuses on Teresa Mendoz (Alice Braga) who must go on the run after her drug-dealing boyfriend is murdered in Mexico.
A series that grants a measure of grace to a morally challenged female character, Teresa, whose loyalty to Camila is fertilized not by blind trust or fear, but survival and vengeance. These new episodes elevate these ingredients far more than the first season ever did, and the plot and performances are immediately much more compelling because of this new emphasis.
Queen of the South, based on the first three episodes, knows how to dawdle a little without ever slowing to a crawl. The action scenes are gripping, the language can be rough within the expanding confines of ad-supported basic cable and the glimpses of the flesh are fairly bold at times.
Good serie... good characters, good story, good actors. And even the "star" been a drug dealer there is no apology for the criminals' lifestyle. They are aware that if they continue on this path they will either die or end up in jail.
It’s not just the references that fly fast and furious. Queen Of The South also trades heavily in tropes, like various strong-and-silent types, the handsome devil too clever for his own good (Jon Ecker as El Güero), a woman scorned (Veronica Falcón as a rival cartel leader), and the avuncular criminal mastermind (guest star Joaquim De Almeida).
What Queen needs to decide is if it wants to tell the complicated origin story of a drug lord, Breaking Bad-style, or if it’s fine being a shallow-but-entertaining thriller. Right now, it’s trying to be both, and, as the first episode shows, straddling the line can be a one-way ticket to ruin.
The pilot of Queen of the South, whose 13-episode first season begins on Thursday, flops back and forth between straightforward, violent action and melodramatic excess, and doesn’t do a very interesting or exciting job with either.
The queenpin's past as a minor drug-trade figure's girlfriend is compressed in the pilot to the point that it's nearly impossible to avoid stereotypes. Since that's the opposite of what occurred in telenovela adaptations like the CW's Jane the Virgin and ABC's earlier Ugly Betty, Queen of the South starts off looking like a step backward, a show that instead of building a bridge between cultures--we have our Breaking Bad, why shouldn't they?--chooses instead a wall.
Worth a shot if you enjoyed Breaking bad, all things Narcos, Ozark, etc, but by NO means necessary is it on the same level. Some folks have really gotten carried in hyping this show. I am early on Season three at this point and I have to say that Season One would have scored a solid 8 with me, with Season 2 dropping in the 5-6 range and Season 3 appears to be maintaining mediocrity at best. Some of the more prominent actors in this show just are not very good, starting with James and Guero. They are stale, boring, lack range and though their characters are meant to be feared and respected, the actors don't carry it off. The lead actress is solid, as are the various drug lords, but there are so many plot holes and insanely ridiculous story lines to take it seriously. It is REALLY hard to dig a show that puts its lead into so many "she's about to be murdered" scenes only to have something miraculous, better put, stupendously stupid save her hide. The closing episodes of Season 2, especially the finale especially flawed. Does it entertain? Yes Is it Breaking bad with a female lead? No flipping way. Breaking Bad's attention to detail, story telling and realistic story lines/plot twist were second to none, Queen of the South starts off with a bang but has quickly morphed into very late Season "24" kind of predictability and stupidity.