Queen of the South Season 2 Episode 5 Review: El Nacimiento de Bolivia
Christine Orlando
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Have I mentioned yet how much I’m enjoying Queen of the South season 2?
Teresa was very quiet during much of Queen of the South season 1; she was all about observing the people around her and determining the best course of action to achieve her survival.
But this season, the stakes are higher, the pace faster, and every installment ratchets up the suspense.
There isn’t one minute that I’d want to miss.
Consider the hunt for El Santo which could be renamed Teresa’s Bolivian nightmare on Queen of the South Season 2 Episode 5.
Actually, the trip to Bolivia turned out to be a horror show for pretty much everyone involved, including Leo.
I liked Leo immediately, and I also enjoyed Teresa’s reaction when she realized that Guero’s contact was also his ex-girlfriend. Apparently, Guero is a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of a guy.
As the search for the elusive narco-cult leader dragged on, it became clear the James was the one who had Teresa’s back, and Guero noticed.
Guero: I see the way he looks at you.
Teresa: He saved my life, okay? That's it.
Granted, Guero was the first to stop La Capitana and her soldiers and offer the $100,000 to stop Teresa from overdosing on cocaine, but it wasn’t his money, so that may have been an easy decision for him.
James was willing to toss the entire deal aside and get the heck out of Bolivia when he thought things had gone sideways and Teresa could end up dead.
Even Leo could see that Guero wasn’t the great love she once thought he was.
We deserve better than him, Teresa.
Leo
So true, but there was a deal to get done, and Teresa wasn’t backing down from finding El Santo.
When she walked into that dentist office, it looked like something out of a nightmare with bloody teeth lying in piles.
Teresa showed her determination and nerves of steel just by being willing to sit in that examination chair.
I loved that the dentist could tell that Teresa was poor and from Mexico just by looking at her teeth. As much as I despise going to the dentist, I did find his observations fascinating…
And the thought of who last sat in that chair and lost all of those teeth was horrifying.
I am a very good dentist, top of my class, by the majority of my time is not spent fixing teeth but pulling them so that those who were meant to be forgotten can no longer be identified.
Dentista
Here's a question...are the teeth pulled out before or after someone is dead?
You know what, never mind. I don't think I want to know.
Teresa was willing to do whatever it took to make sure this deal happened because Camila needed the product desperately and they were running out of options.
Also, Teresa believed that if this operation was successful, it was the one thing that would save Guero’s life.
As this Queen of the South quote shows, she was wrong:
Camila: Do what you have to do, then take care of Guero. Just keep Teresa out of it.
James: Agreed.
When they were all lined up next to the pool, tied to chairs, I couldn’t help but think how much easier it would be if Guero ended up being a casualty of La Capitana.
But that didn’t happen, or at least if it did we don’t know about it yet.
I felt horribly for Leo, but out of the foursome, it made sense that she was the first to get shot. With her last words, she was looking out for Teresa.
Let Teresa go. Let her go or she'll end up like me.
How sad is it that the Guero’s former girlfriend seems to care more about Teresa than Guero himself?
But who was it that dove into the pool to save Teresa? James would be my first guess, but then how does she end up in, what I’m assuming is a Bolivian jail, chained up in the dark.
If that’s not a nightmare, I don’t know what is.
Well, I guess El Puna experienced a nightmare of his own.
Epifanio sending cocaine to Camila’s new attorney felt juvenile, but if the DEA had gotten wind of it, I suppose that one package would have served its purpose.
It would have meant Camila had one less powerful ally.
But Camila Vargas knows what it means to fight fear with brutality, and she doesn’t play games.
Each week, I enjoy Pote even more. Yes, he’s a merciless enforcer, but he’s also loyal to Camila and protective of Teresa. And if the opening scene from Queen of the South Season 2 Episode 1 tells us anything, he ends up being Teresa right-hand man.
I want you to know that killing you is an honor for me. That's why I chose to kill you the way you killed La Mancha. That's what I call killing with class, with elegance. The end of your days, my friend.
Pote
Even when he kills his mentor, he tries to do it with a sense of honor. I also appreciated that he paid the prostitute extra, knowing he was about to murder her next client.
When Camila Vargas says she wants somebody’s head, she doesn’t mean metaphorically, and Epifanio got a surprise gift in the mail, along with the signed divorce papers from his wife.
Camila: I take it you got your mask.
Epifanio: If this is some kind of threat?
Camila: No, it's a declaration.
Epifaino: Of war? You declared it once before and I'm still standing. One dead soldier changes nothing.
Camila: It's a declaration of independence, and one more thing, my Love. Next time you want to send me a personal message, leave our lawyers out of it.
Unfortunately, Camila needs the drugs from Bolivia to ensure her independence and with that operation looking bleak, and King George setting a 72-hour clock, is there any chance she’ll get what she needs?
All I know is that I’m counting the hours until Queen of the South season 2 episode 6.
Want more? You can watch Queen of the South online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
