Queen of the South: Why Teresa Mendoza is an Anti-Hero to Pay Attention to
A great anti-hero is more than just a character who does bad things. Great ones commit heinous acts because of what they’ll lose if they don’t, and, honestly, watching someone with less-than-the-worst of intentions lowering their moral standards can be compelling.
Walter White started selling drugs because he was ill and wanted to provide for his family on Breaking Bad. Sons of Anarchy’s Jax Teller wanted to move his motorcycle club away from criminal activity. Viewers of both shows know things went off the rails in a major way.
Now, we can add another name to the list of anti-heroes worth our full attention: Teresa Mendoza from Queen of the South. Even better, she joins a small group, which includes Omar Little and Patty Hewes, of great anti-heroes who are not white men.
USA drama Queen of the South begins with Teresa, played by Alice Braga, having lost the love of her life, hiding from former cartel boss turned corrupt government Epifanio Vargas and under the thumb of his wife and fellow cartel boss Camilla Vargas.
It was a clear-cut underdog story until Teresa began seeing a vision of herself with a stone-cold face, impeccable white suit, and a harsh tone. She appears to guide Teresa when she’s in horrific situations to push her to do what’s necessary.
Even in the dire circumstances Teresa finds herself in, this vision is very different from the woman living in the present. At the start, she’s a young woman in love with a bad guy. Aware of the world of criminals, Teresa is just happy to be secure in her relationship and going too far into the more vicious parts of criminality.
The idea is to show us who Teresa could become – and more to the accurately probably will be. Her appearance pushes the story into darker territory by making its lead a drug-queenpin-in-the-making and, as a result, a potentially compelling anti-hero.
The USA drama delivers on that potential by always keeping what Teresa can lose in plain view. Each step she takes towards that vision of a future is made with Teresa seeing the people she is fighting for. Herself included.
As she dives deeper into the world of drug trafficking and murder, the show uses the character’s personality and those in her life to remind the viewers, and Teresa, what drives the character.
Brenda, Teresa’s friend played by One Day at a Time star Justina Machado, drives that point home at the beginning of the series. Much of Teresa’s drive during the first season is to keep Brenda and her son safe while trying to prove herself to Camilla. What the character represents is Teresa’s greater goal. It’s about more than just survival.
Making it about more than her own survival allows Teresa to push herself. Even if she’s a more vicious criminal in the end.
In addition to characters like Brenda, a fascinating moral journey is created through the argument that there’s a better way to run a cartel. The idea is to show that the way Camilla, and the other cartel bosses, run their empires is bad while Teresa has a better way.
A touching example is the character of Pote, who began the series trying to kill Teresa and is now her sole confidant. There’s a poignant scene towards the end of the first season where he explains that he will help Teresa because she’s treated better than Epifanio ever did.
They’ve been bonded together ever since. Their friendship is touching, but Pote’s devotion to Teresa in the face of his career working in cartels could be seen as the show saying Teresa may be onto something.
After deciding to go off on her own and leave Camilla behind, Teresa makes the argument that she’s the better option herself.
Putting the hints and opinions of other aside, she advocates for herself by telling her criminal connections to go into business with her because she knows a better way to run the business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6AFT7E6NVk
What makes the begrudging drug runner on the rise fascinating is how complex her moral dilemma is. Teresa crosses over from wanting her own survival to wanting her business to survive. A desire to keep what she has built is a far cry from doing what’s necessary to survive.
The next step in her moral journey is coming to grips with actually wanting to run a cartel and not just get out of danger with her life. She may still have enemies, but Teresa is not in hiding but trying to continue building her criminal empire. Teresa is moving closer to making her vision of her potential self a reality.
Yes, in the third season, which premiered June 21, Teresa is being targeted by Camilla. But, the truth is she had many opportunities to get out. Not just the chances Teresa deemed too risky, but the real opportunity the DEA provided her to get out from under Camilla during the second season.
Queen of the South mixes the obvious things Teresa stands to lose – her life, friends, and freedom – and the necessary shifting of morals as she makes her way higher up the criminal ladder. And, that’s why it’s fantastic viewing.
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What do you think of Teresa Mendoza? Are you caught up on Queen of the South? Let us know in the comments!
Queen of the South airs Thursdays at 9/8c on USA.
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Alamin Yohannes
Alamin is an aspiring writer, social media editor, and television enthusiast. While he has been a TV fan since the days of Martin, Living Single, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the introduction of Netflix and a rewatch of Grey's Anatomy kick things into high gear. One of his life goals is to find a Cul-de-Sac crew of his own and he'll never stop hoping for "Happy Endings" to return. Alamin may not love every television show, but he'll definitely catch any new show out. You can also usually find him talking about whatever he's currently watching on Twitter.
2 comments
Teresa Mendoza is the badass we all needed to see. The fact she wears her natural, unchanged looked is what makes the movie even more sensational. Her part is perfect. She is Teresa. They did a great job of choosing her to play the character and she nailed it and better.
a very poor and unconvincing show with beyond laughable bluffs in its dealings.
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