It DELIVERS

dickiepena

La Reina del Sur is a top notch production!

The story is told by a talented ensemble cast of actors, brilliantly lead by Kate del Castillo who portrays, Teresa Mendoza, La Reina del Sur.

In a narrative that spans 12 years, and beautiful international settings, we see Teresa transform from a woman terrified by circumstances out of her control, to a confident and ruthless drug smuggler.

A phone call telling her that her lover is dead, sets her on the run for her life in Mexico. Unable to reach her friend's in time, she finds their lifeless bodies. As she starts her fight for survival, we meet Señor Vargas, an unscrupulous man with political ambitions, which are incredibly corrupt.

I liked that this novela focused more on Teresa's circumstances that lead to her life as a crime boss. She's encouraged to become a prostitute, faces racism, jealousy, friendships, a few romances, and even prison.

Tragedies aid Teresa's embrace and transformation of a life of crime. More notably are the tragic death of her friend Fatima. Fatima and her son are killed because Teresa didn't know her enemies would use those she lives as pawns.

Teresa also befriend's the eccentric Patricia, and she is pansexual, careless, live in the moment, spoiled heiress, and the opposite side of the Teressa coin. Sometimes, the character was a little too over the top, but I really liked her too.

Most unexpected, was Teresa's friendship with a Russian smuggler. Oleg grows to respect and care for Teresa, and they form a loyal bond. The sexual tension that builds through the series has a very satisfying, if not romantic resolution.

As a smuggler, Teresa finds herself under investigation, and what I found refreshing in this series when compared to a standard American series is that the cops were committed unethical quite frequently.

About 3/4 of the way through the series, you see police and agents planning and doing illegal things to set their traps. It really illustrates how we're all human, but good and bad are arbitrary terms based on our worldviews.

I felt the series had a very satisfying ending. The length of 63 episodes was long enough to spread out over a few weeks, and still get a couple binge watching days in.

This series is beautifully cast, well acted, well paced, and well layered.

score 9/10

dickiepena 1 December 2018

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4488039/