"Queen Of The South" Seasons 1-4 Overview: I've Been Poor And I've Been Rich. Rich Is Better.

"Queen Of The South" originally aired on the USA network and is currently available on NetFlix. The fifth (and final) season concluded on June 9 (so we're just waiting for it to hit the streaming service). Both "Queen Of The South" and the Telemundo series "La Reina Del Sur" (2 seasons on NetFlix) are inspired by Arturo Perez-Reverte's novel. It tells the IRL story of Sandra Avila Beltran. She was an important link between the Sinaloa and Colombian Norte del Valle drug cartels.

The series centers on a poor woman in Sinaloa Mexico named Teresa Mendoza (played by Brazilian actress Alice Braga). She gets involved with the drug cartel through her boyfriend Guero, He is murdered. Teresa does as previously instructed. She takes his secret notebook and goes on the run. Her bestie Brenda also goes on the lamb but they eventually get separated.

We know that in the end, Teresa becomes very wealthy since in a flash forward we see her emerge from a helicopter saying "I've been poor and I've been rich. Rich is better".

Teresa ends up in the US working for Camila Vargas (Veronica Falcon) who is at odds with her husband Epifanio (Joaquim de Almeida). She is running a drug cartel from Dallas. Epifanio tried to kill Teresa earlier but she escaped. He later becomes the Governor of Mexico. Both Epifanio and Camila are equally ruthless and have a love/hate relationship. And he soon has the added advantage of the Mexican military at his disposal. While professing in public to be against the drug cartels, he in reality running one. The couple share a teenage daughter who is torn between the two. Meanwhile the DEA and rival drug cartels are hot on their heels.

In the end of season 1 we get a major shock. It turns out Guero (Teresa's boyfriend) is NOT dead. He is working for the US government.

In season 2 Teresa, Guero and James (Camila's #2) head to Bolivia in search of a new cocaine dealer. They encounter a crazy drug/cult leader named El Santo. He performs some ceremony on Teresa which we'll see later in flashbacks.

Camila ends up in jail. Teresa finds out that Camilla is setting her up to take the fall for all their illegal activity. Camila is freed. She and hubby reunite to rescue daughter Isabella when she is kidnapped They kill everyone and save Isabela. Camila agrees to give up the drug business and they all board a plane for Mexico.

Their plane is intercepted by Teresa and loyal sidekick Pote (Henry Madera) with help from the DEA. They want the ransom money. Epifanio pulls a gun. Teresa shoots him dead. Now Camila vows to kill Teresa (even though she tried countless times to kill him herself).

After rescuing her from the Jimenez cartel, Teresa sends Camila into exile somewhere outside Mexico. She threatens to kill Isabela if she shows up again. Me thinks she would have been much better off killing her. That woman is very dangerous. James (Teresa's sometimes romantic interest) offs Kelly Anne (after finding out she was a mole). He then turns himself over to the CIA to protect Theresa.

Teresa and crew move to New Orleans. She masks her drug dealing as a legitimate alcohol business. Javier kills the nephew of Judge Lafayette. The judge has the police in his pocket and tells Teresa if she wants to do business in his town, she needs to pay him a "tax". Rival cartel leader Marcel Dumas is around. Initially at odds, they later join forces to fight their common enemy-- Lafayette. Teresa finds a new love-- musician Eddie (but that doesnt last long). She breaks it off for fear he'll get killed. Teresa's godson Tony (BFF's Brenda's son) is all grown up. She gits him a car so he can learn to drive. A car bomb explodes killing him and putting Theresa in a coma. She recovers relatively quickly and declares war on Lafayette. Javier is turned over to Lafayette to try to settle the score. They of course kill him but not before he take someone else with him.

In the last scene of the season, a badly injured James arrives saying "They're coming for you". And that's it until season 5.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5) "Queen Of The South" is ultra violent and have some great plot twists. The characters are ruthless. it's interesting to see two women as leaders of drug cartels (which of course are usually a male domain). Veronica Falcon is super scary as Camila. The show's main character Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga) is very compelling. We root for her even though she's involved in some nasty business. We know from previous fast forwards that she rises to the top of the drug cartel. How long will she stay there? What will happen to her in the end? I guess we'll have to wait till the fifth (and final) season to find out.