#Queen of the South: What We Loved, Hated, & Didn’t See Coming!

Queen of the South was a creative, intriguing, heart-pounding ride that, oddly enough for a show about the violent world of drug cartels, left fans smiling in the end.

Did our TV Fanatics, Whitney, Jasmine, and Christine, enjoy the series finale? Were they disappointed at the ending? And what are their thoughts on this female-driven narco series as a whole?

Read below as we dive into the end of Queen of the South…

What were your thoughts on the series finale? Did you have a favorite moment?

Whitney: Deep down inside, I am a romantic. So I absolutely loved the ending and seeing James and Teresa and Pote and Kelly Anne together again and enjoying a meal together.

Happy endings are so rare on television, and I love that these four who have been through so much together got to have that moment, even if it took a long time to get there.

It made me very happy, especially to see James and Teresa get a happily ever after together, so their little kiss at the table was everything to me.

Jasmine: I really loved it and applaud them for settling on a happier, positive ending rather than something dark and grim. They easily could’ve done that for the sake of realism, but I liked that they had their family, health, and happiness.

My favorite moment was probably the ending. Pote returning home, meeting his daughter (though it was weird that she didn’t recognize him from photos or something), and just all of them being in a family in that house that had me envious.

Christine: Yes! I loved when Pote finally made it to the beach, met his daughter, and reunited with Kelly Anne, James, and Teresa. That moment was everything I’d hoped for in the series finale.

I loved that the show seemed to listen to what the fans wanted and gave it to us. This is a narco show. They could have given us a dark, grisly ending, and everyone would have said that was justified, but it wasn’t what fans longed to see.

They gave us such a joyful end for the characters we love, and many shows don’t do that.

Did you expect Teresa to be alive, or were you shocked by the last five minutes?

Jasmine: I totally expected her to be alive, so it wasn’t a surprise so much as waiting for the big reveal.

Whitney: As soon as I saw James was the one who pulled the trigger, I wasn’t sure she was dead. And then, once I saw that I knew she had to have faked her death.

Christine: I never doubted that she was alive. I didn’t believe that James would kill her after they’d both said they loved each other.

So, yeah, I was waiting for the end to see where she was. But that certainly didn’t take anything away from the ending. I was happy to get what I had expected and happy to go along for the ride and see how they’d make it happen.

Was there anything in the series finale that disappointed you? Is there anything you’d change if you could?

Jasmine: I know they needed some conflict, but it upset me that Pote missed his daughter’s birth and first four years.

I also REALLY wanted Camila to pop up somehow and was disappointed we didn’t see her again.

Christine: Agree. I was surprised we never saw Camila Vargas again, and that disappointed me a little. She was such a huge part of the first few seasons that I thought she or her daughter, Isabela, would pop back up again and try to take revenge on Teresa.

It felt odd that Camila’s story ended where it did, and we have no idea where she is or what happened to her.

Whitney: I saw many people were disappointed about the heavy emphasis being on Pote, which I understood. Though, I didn’t mind.

I will say the lack of Teresa made perfect sense because they were waiting for the big reveal, but I was a little sad that the last episode of the series had so little of my favorite character.

Christine: I saw that too. I was fine with Pote carrying so much of the final episode. Hemky Madera did a wonderful job, as usual, so I wasn’t disappointed.

More Teresa would have been nice, but it would have ruined the big reveal, so I was happy with how it all turned out.

Whitney: I wouldn’t change anything, though, because it was a very good finale, in my opinion. And a wonderful ending piece.

Jasmine: Hemky killed it. I don’t see why anyone could ever be disappointed. It made perfect sense!

Throughout the five seasons, did you have a favorite storyline?

Jasmine: I can’t specifically pinpoint an exact storyline. But I really loved Teresa’s trajectory of becoming the queen.

I love those earlier days of her breaking away from Camila and taking over, the beginning of her starting this empire and cultivating these bonds and loyalty with all of these characters. I found all of that the most exciting.

Teresa getting powerful was more intriguing to me than her trying to keep it.

Whitney: This may be an odd choice, but the El Santo storyline always stuck with me. Not sure I would say favorite, but it’s the most memorable for me.

The episode where she, James, and Guero had to escape, and the dream sequences and just the brutality of that episode was a lot, but to me, it signified a major change in Teresa.

Christine: Kelly Anne’s entire character arc. From being an abused wife to running off with Teresa and finding her place in that world to her drug use and eventual “death.” Kelly Anne being alive shocked me, and I enjoyed everything about her character since her return, being Teresa’s attorney and her relationship with Pote. 

And I loved how she was a character who looked like she needed to be saved but over and over again, she proved that she could save herself, like when she crashed the car to get away from the guy to whom Boaz sold her.

Kelly Anne deserved her place as Teresa’s right-hand woman.

Jasmine: Whitney, they weren’t my favorite per se, but I did enjoy the cultural elements of the El Santo storyline and everything surrounding him. The spirituality in that storyline, the sequences, and the death aspects. All fascinating.

Whitney: Agreed. And “favorite” is not the right way to describe it. But when I think of the series, I always remember that storyline.

Christine: The strangeness of that storyline bothered me and fascinated me. I can’t say I loved it, but I certainly won’t forget it.

Who was the villain you hated the most throughout the series?

Christine: Boaz turned out to be a favorite because he was so brutal, yet there were times it was easy to side with him or see pieces of his humanity. It was a love/hate relationship, but I couldn’t wait to see Pote kill him in the end.

For a villain I despised, I’d have to say, General Cortez. He was just sleazy. The way he tried to put Camila in her place bugged me. I always wished that Camila would have taken him out.

Whitney: Queen of the South had some wild villains. But I think I hated Cortez the most.

Christine: And there was no reason for him to kill Kique, Boaz’s son. It was simply cruelty. I thought that Boaz would have tortured Cortez more for that before he killed him.

Jasmine: They’ve had a lot of loathsome villains for me. I detested the judge because of the socio-cultural aspect of this powerful man with his hands in everything, sort of being the ultimate villain as this powerful white man who felt above all of these other racial and cultural minorities.

I agree about Cortez, too. His brutality and misogyny irked me, whereas Boaz was just disappointing.

Christine: I had hoped that Judge Lafayette would end up behind bars in one of his own prisons, which was why I was a little disappointed that we just got his head in a box.

Whitney: Boaz was like a caricature of a villain to me. And Lafayette was terrible, but there was something about Cortez I hated most of all.

Was there a twist you didn’t see coming but enjoyed?

Christine: Kelly Anne and Pote becoming a couple. I never saw that coming but loved it once it happened. I would never have expected them to be so perfect together.

Whitney: Perhaps it’s because I binged the first season some years ago over like two days, but Guero being alive threw me back when I watched it. And even though I don’t like Guero at all, I remember thinking it was interesting to see how Teresa reconciled with that and her new life.

Christine: Yes, that surprised me too. And I wasn’t the biggest fan of Guero either, but I felt bad that Teresa had to endure his death twice. But “dying” twice seems to be a theme in this show.

Jasmine: I don’t know if it’s a twist per se, but one of my ultimate favorite things is how Teresa and Pote’s friendship developed. On paper, these two NEVER should’ve been friends, allies, or family. Like sometimes, it just hit me how close they became, and it just … who would have imagined?

Christine: Yes! In the early seasons, we could never have guessed how that friendship and loyalty would develop. I remember being surprised that Pote was willing to walk away from Camila and side with Teresa.

Their relationship became an integral part of the show. I don’t think Teresa would have gained as much power as she did without Pote by her side.

Also, Teresa turning Javier over the Lafayette. I hated it but found some satisfaction in Javier taking Det. Greene out with him. But I felt like that was the moment Teresa lost Boaz as an ally, even though he was a part of the coverup that led to that horrible moment.

On that note, was there a specific character death that hurt the most?

Whitney: Brenda comes to mind immediately. As does Tony. But I think the one that hurt me the most was George.

Christine: King George! When he first showed up in his gold lamé Speedo, I never would have guessed how much I’d love him. 

George respected Teresa from the beginning, and I hated it when Boaz killed him, even though I’d spent two or three episodes dreading that it was going to happen.

Whitney: I’d really grown to love and appreciate George over the course of the series, and boy was it sad that he didn’t get his happy ending.

Christine: Also, James “killing” Kelly Anne. At the time, I thought it was real, and it was made even more painful because Pote couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Jasmine: Oh man. Birdie was such a small character in the grand scale of things, but there was something about her death that GUTTED me.

I had a hard time with Bilal, George’s friend, getting lobotomized.

And, of course, King George had me wanting to curl up in the fetal position. It wasn’t shocking because we could see it a mile away, but I LOVED him so much. He brought so much fun and light to this show and always made me laugh and smile, and I got emotional when he died.

Whitney: Anytime one of Teresa’s “people” died, I was very upset.

Jasmine: George deserved to be on that beach house with the others. Playing Uncle George to Pote and Kelly Anne’s daughter.

Christine: Oh, the thought of that makes me so sad.

Going back to what Whitney said, I didn’t expect Brenda to die at the end of Queen of the South season 1. But from then on, I knew anyone was far game. Because of that, I thought we would lose more of our core characters by the end of this final season.

Jasmine: I agree. When I think back to how many people died, we haven’t lost that many core characters, considering the nature of the series.

Whitney: As did I, and I think that’s also why I was thrilled with the finale. There’s so much pain in real life; give us some happiness for the characters we love!

Jasmine: And some of the deaths, like Javier, had one of the most badass deaths, that it felt right. LOL

Christine: Agree about Javier. I hated that he died but appreciated the way he went out.

What made this show special for you?

Christine: What was special about QOTS was that Teresa was powerful because she was quiet, smart, and a survivor. She listened more than she spoke and thought things through before acting. 

Teresa didn’t jump to violence or rely on bravado. She garnered respect and loyalty and was loyal in return when and wherever possible. And when not possible, she tried to make amends, as she did with Marcel.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen another character on TV like Teresa Mendoza.

Whitney: Man. I watch a lot of television, and they are rarely any characters that I love and will defend no matter WHAT. But Teresa Mendoza is one of those characters for me.

And Alice Braga played the hell out of her. It’s a role that was both emotionally and physically demanding, and she killed it on every level. So for me, Teresa and her journey from Sinaloa to the beach was a wild ride that I loved being a part of.

So many ups and downs, but she never gave up. She was the true definition of a survivor.

Jasmine: I think what made this show so special to me is how feminist it is. There’s something inexplicable about the power that the women in this series wield. They’re allowed to be messy, flawed, powerful, strong, vulnerable, complicated, and basically everything you’d want from a female character.

And to take it further, the magnitude of that for Latinx women and representation. Sure, there’s something to be said about it as a drug show, but it was so much more than that.

From Teresa to Camila, Kelly Anne, and more, the women just came in all types. Femininity in all of its forms. It was a beautiful celebration of womanhood and also Latin culture. I even appreciated the cameos by Latin and Black stars and musicians and the like because it was such a cultural experience.

On network television.. that’s huge.

I love how we all essentially said the same thing. And yes, Teresa Mendoza is going down as one of the greatest characters of all time.

Whitney: I agree with both of you! I’m very grateful it got five seasons to explore everything, and the show was able to end on their own terms and truly bring the story full circle.

Do you plan to rewatch the series?

Jasmine: Ha! Unequivocally yes. I rewatched it during quarantine while introducing it to a relative, and I’m definitely going to do it again.

Whitney: I will, for sure. Knowing how it ends means you can go back now and look out for clues and things you maybe didn’t think much of that helped the storylines get to their inevitable endpoints.

Christine: I do plan to rewatch, and part of that has to do with the series finale. I got everything I wanted from this show from beginning to end, and I’d love to start it over and enjoy it all again.

If you love Queen of the South as much as we do, then check out our Queen of the South reviews for every episode.

Hit that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below to chime in with what you loved (or hated) about Queen of the South. And don’t forget, you can watch Queen of the South online here at TV Fanatic.

C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.