Season 1 is wonderful. Season 2 has many problems.

moonracer0120

La Reina season 1 had a secret sauce. It took a naive young woman and turned her into the most powerful female drug lord in the world. Nothing could stop her or this telenovela - not lousy video quality, not soap opera-like directing, not even bad secondary actors. Nothing. It was that good. Season 2 unfortunately falls short. I can see why Kate de Castillo was so reluctant to return the the series.

In season 2 I see a lot of unnecessary bells and whistles. While video and filming is more atmospheric and sets are much more lavish, they don't make up for the shortcomings. Suddenly, Epifanio Vargas is surrounded by political advisors who appear to be Mexico's WASPy blue bloods - the ones that look like they drink gin and tonics and wouldn't look out of place summering at a Kennedy mansion in Massachusetts. Por que? Epifanio is a drug lord. He would be as comfortable with these upper crust snobs as El Chapo and just as contemptuous.

I am also seeing tiresome old tropes from American television. Namely, the scene where one of Aljarafe's granddaughters, Paloma, is hiding from a psychopathic boyfriend. For some reason the predation and sexual victimization of women is a popular theme that shows up in every other American drama. I find it really offensive and it was the reason why I started watching La Reina del Sur in the first place - to get away from directors who pass off the cruel sexual victimization of women as "entertainment". Hollywood does not depict children or men being sexually assaulted anywhere nearly as often - most likely because it's too horrible for the audience to watch. So why is the brutal victimization of women so much fun to watch? It's pure misogyny. Do the producers even know their telenovela fanbase (hint: it's not macho middle-aged men that enjoy watching women being victimized). I skipped the Game of Thrones series on HBO after reading several chapters of the first novel.

I re-started my Netflix account specifically to watch La Reina. If all Netflix wants to do is show women being hunted like animals - a female victimization formula much beloved by American directors and producers, I am quitting La Reina. Sexual victimization is unbelievably horrific and cruel to women just as it is to men and children. Telemundo needs to realize that season 1 rose to fame because they did something special - and it wasn't just creating an anti-hero. It worked because the audience got to see a female underdog develop sharp teeth and bite back. Teresa Mendoza transforms from a small-time female money changer to a powerful drug lord who calls the shots. This is the winning theme. Women don't want to watch other women being horribly, violently, sexually assaulted. It is not "entertainment" for us.

Telemundo needs to stop listening to Netflix. They won the jackpot with the original La Reina NOT Netflix. Take back the reins and hand it back to the original directors, writers, and producers. Just re-create what they did in season 1. Don't let Netflix, a big budget, a lack of imagination, and canned, old, repetitive, tiresome Hollywood film conventions ruin what was a wonderful series. It's obvious that with the rise in popularity of K-dramas that Hollywood no longer knows what viewing audiences want. Take a cue from that and stop the misogyny in dramas.

score 5/10

moonracer0120 4 December 2019

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw5299378/