‘Queen of the South’ Season One Finale: Cicatriz – Scar (Review)

After last week’s episode, where Brenda stupidly brought up the subject of her son, “Cicatriz”  moves the future Queen of the South closer to her evolution from chrysalis to butterfly.  The season finale threw many things into the mix, including the shocking revelation that Guero is still alive.

He is also, apparently, either an undercover agent for the DEA or he has turned into an informant  for the US agency.

Theresa is questioned by her old would-be rapist, Gato,  who now has a huge scar on this face after she shot him.  Camila gathers her new employees for a meeting. Epifanio is now the Governor and after speaking with Mendoza, threatens action against his wife for stealing his men.

Gato  intends on taking up where he left off and Theresa takes him out permanently this time. Pote (Hemky Madera) , who tried to stop Gato (James Martinez) from raping Theresa the first time becomes a reluctant  ally.

Epifanio uses his newly acquired military forces to attack Camila’s new business associates, killing one and capturing another. The men’s “families” and soldiers are murdered as retaliation for Camila breaking away from him.

Theresa forces Pote to drive her to get Brenda from El Limpiador. She calls Camila after learning about Epifanio’s move against her. Mendoza tells Mrs. Vargas to meet her at the Higueras farm. After the call Pote decides to help Theresa.

James comes to grab Camila and get her out of Mexico. Instead he goes with her to meet Theresa at the farm. Isabella and Camila have a big falling out and the girl is sent back to Epifanio.

Cesar, who was marked for death,  manages to kill his guard and escape.

At the farm, Pote helps Theresa overpower the men guarding Brenda.  She finds her friend tied up in the garage, dead.  El Limpiador returns to find his men dead and Theresa shoots him to death.  She then buries Brenda.

Epifanio murders Xander, one of his former head’s that  he had kidnapped, in the back of his car just before a press conference. He tells his campaign manager that he needs a new tie.

Camila arrives with James. The two women talk and Theresa reveals that she no longer works for Camila and that she has a list of demands.  As the two women talk someone in a ghillie suit is taking their picture.

At an office in the US, a DEA agent  lays down the picture of Theresa and asks,  “who is she?” The person looking at the photograph is Mendoza’ former boyfriend Guero.

The season finale of Queen of the South increased Theresa’s body count significantly. She now has three notches on her gun and  a new right hand man in Pote.

Mendoza has made her move, with the aid of Guero’s book and a pistol, and will clearly start working with Camila instead of for her. Epifanio has declared war on his wife and will not be very pleased to learn that Theresa has escaped again.

It will be interesting to see if Camila’s prediction about Cesar, aka Batman comes true. Will her husband turn on his right hand man and sacrifice him?

The biggest shocker in the finale was Guero sitting in an office alive and not dead.

Brenda’s death, while upsetting, was pretty much on the cards from the first episode.  The woman may have had a certain amount of business smarts and cunning, but she also suffered from an innate naivety that got her killed in the end.

Theresa is now set to begin her rise as the new queen of the Dallas cartel and next season should show a significantly different Mendoza.  Braga was good as the lead character and the rest of the cast managed to shine as well.

Kudos to the show’s creators M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller for a splendid adaptation of the telenovela original.  Queen of the South will return in 2017.

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

Guest starring Jon-Michael Ecker as El Guero