Queen of the South this week intensifies the tension as Brenda and Theresa try to buy their freedom. Last week saw the two women learning about the coordinates in the book. “Quinientos Mil” has James getting the Jimenez man out of the DEA safe house and the book’s first location found in Mexico.
The election is not going well for Epifanio and Camila gathers her Colombian contacts for a meeting. It looks like Cesar may have been taken out of the equation. Camila kidnaps her own daughter to keep Epifanio from grabbing her first.
James and his men locate the man they will rescue as Theresa and Brenda open the entrance to a tunnel. They find a lot of dead bodies and react accordingly. The two stumble out of the tunnel and after vomiting are caught by two men from the house nearby.
At the DEA safe house, the men attack and kill everyone but the man they came to rescue. Camila soothes the nerves of the Columbian’s by explaining her plans. She will take over her business and freeze Epifanio out. Whether he is elected governor or not, she says, there will be peace between the Jimenez and Vargas cartels.
Theresa and Brenda are taken captive and questioned by the local drug dealer. He wants to know where they learned of the tunnel and who else knows about it.
During their questioning, the man reveals he knows who owns the car they arrived in. It is Brenda’s cousin’s vehicle. He is looking after Tony and keeping him safe. Threats are made, and the dealer says that the car’s owner will be killed.
The women manage to broker a deal. Rather than the haggled price (Brenda insisted that they ask for $500,000 dollars) Theresa asks for $250,000 for their silence. The local dealer agrees and lets the women loose.
He pays them the money but as they start to leave, Brenda panics and asks if her cousin, and her son, will be safe. The dealer realizes he has leverage over the two and says so. Grabbing Brenda, he orders Theresa to stop.
She runs.
There is a prolonged car chase and the men shoot at Theresa while attempting to run her off the road. After a long chase, crashes and Theresa is caught.
The pace of Queen of the South picked up this week. A higher body count ensued after the attack on the safe house and although it was short, the shoot out was handled very well.
This penultimate episode proved that Brenda is the weakest link in this partnership. Not because of a lack of intelligence, but because of her concern for Tony. It was the worry for her son that allowed the deal to fall apart.
Epifanio may still win the governorship but he will lose his hold on Camila. Although his wife may have won the war for control Camila has lost her daughter as a result. Isabella was not happy at being taken away in front of her friends.
It will be interesting to see if Brenda manages to survive their “extortion” attempt. With Parra revealing the existence of Tony, they have lost their leverage. Clearly Theresa is safe but Brenda may have signed her own death warrant.
There is one episode left in season one of Queen of the South. It is safe to assume that next week’s finale will also end in a cliffhanger.
The series airs Thursdays on USA. Next week is the season one finale and as season two has already been approved, it should be a no-brainer. Tune in and see what you have to look forward to next year.
CAST:
- Alice Braga – Theresa Mendoza
- Joaquim de Almeida – Epifanio Vargas
- Veronica Falcón – Camila Vargas
- Justina Machado – Brenda Parra
- Peter Gadiot – James Valdez
- Gerardo Taracena – Cesar “Batman” Guemes
- Blair Bomar – Kim Brown
- Sandy Valles – Isabella
Mikes Film Talk 