Teresa Mendoza is a badass with a soft heart and intelligence that rivals her competitors, but that doesn't mean she's infallible.

Teresa finally realized how jumping to a rash conclusion led to the unnecessary war between her and Marcel Dumas on Queen of the South Season 4 Episode 6.

Thankfully, the battle with Dumas appears to have ended.

But the war is far from over.

Birdie's death was both tragic and senseless. It wasn't much more than pure, dumb luck that led her to be the associate of Teresa's to be murdered.

As the bartender with no ties to the drug side of the business, Birdie was an easy target with little protection.

Considering that Bobby was Marcel's right-hand man in the business, this really didn't feel like the eye for an eye that LaFayette had endorsed.

Birdie had given away her lucky chip to Teresa, and within 24 hours she was lying on a slab in the morgue.

Coincidence? Most likely, but Pote obviously believes in other powers at work in the universe.

Religion intrigues me because there are so many different beliefs in the world, and although people frequently scoff at someone else's as ridiculous, they believe in their own without question.

It was fascinating the way Pote shared his boyhood memories of his aunt with Teresa.

She told me that Santeria was created when the slave masters would force their slaves to practice Christianity, so the slaves banded together and created their own secret religion so they could keep their own faith. Mi tia survived life in Culiacán, she survived cancer. Dumas men fired at me at point blank range. A bullet went right through my jacket and didn’t even touch me.
Pote

Permalink: She told me that Santeria was created when the slave masters would force their slaves to...

Was Pote escaping Dumas' assassins a coincidence? Perhaps. Or did he garner some of that protection he was hoping to gift to Teresa?

But the person who will really need the type of luck that comes from supernatural forces is Javier.

What on earth was the man thinking? Boaz butchers people for fun and Javier knows it!

Javier: My cousin killed his own brother like it was nothing just to seize power. Imagine what he would do if he knew about Amelia.
Teresa: Boaz is my associate but you’re with me now.
Javier: Gracias. I don’t know how to thank you, Patrona.

Permalink: Gracias. I don’t know how to thank you, Patrona.

I almost fee; sorry for Boaz because when he spoke of Amelia on Queen of the South Season 4 Episode 5, it was clear he considered her the love of his life.

Teresa has offered a certain amount of protection and is willing to keep her mouth shut, but it's inevitable that Boaz will eventually learn that his beloved cousin is sleeping with his fiancée.

I don't even want to think about what Boaz will do when the truth comes out. Javier is much too pretty to die that way.

Speaking of dying, Tony seems determined to walk into a bullet despite Teresa's incredible efforts to keep him safe.

What your father had to do, what everyone in this life is forced to do…look at me…you can never come back from. Whoever you thought you were, that dies. You don’t want this.
Teresa [to Tony]

Permalink: What your father had to do, what everyone in this life is forced to do…look at me…you can...

Tony has this romanticized notion of following in his father's footsteps as a cartel soldier even though both of his parents were killed.

The moment Pote opened up to Kelly Anne about having killed Tony's father, I knew the boy was listening.

Chico was stealing from his employer. When working for a drug kingpin, that kind of crime doesn't get you sent to jail. It leads to your violent death, and Chico knew that.

I hope that Tony figures out a way to come to terms with this in a way that doesn't involve putting a bullet in Teresa's main protector because I'd rather see Tony dead than Pote.

Heck, I'd rather see most characters go down rather than lose Pote!

Despite all of the death and bloodshed, it was good to see Teresa own up to her mistake and make amends with Marcel.

It was even better to have them realize that LaFayette is their real enemy.

Teresa: There’s only one person who profits off of us at war.
Marcel: The judge.
Teresa: The only way for people like him to stay in power is to keep people like us at each other’s throats.
Marcel: Slavemaster mentality. Ain’t a new thing around here.

Permalink: Slavemaster mentality. Ain’t a new thing around here.

Every time LaFayette condescendingly calls Teresa "good girl" or insults her Mexican heritage I begin to wish he'd end up decomposing in the trunk of his own car like Rene.

Her money may get us a shiny, new correctional facility much faster than we thought, where she’ll have her own private room if she survives that long.
Lafayette

Permalink: Her money may get us a shiny, new correctional facility much faster than we thought, where...

But then I think of a better fate for the good judge, like having him rotting away in his own shiny, new prison while Teresa and Dumas continue to rule New Orleans.

Teresa's most significant vulnerability at this moment is Eddie.

Eddie is hot and nice and generally gives good advice.

If the train is taking you to somewhere you don’t want to go, to someone you don’t want to be, get off the train.
Eddie

Permalink: If the train is taking you to somewhere you don’t want to go, to someone you don’t want to...

But he seemingly has no idea that he's sleeping with a drug queenpin and I'm not certain that Teresa's protection won't simply end up sending a red flag to her enemies.