Queen of the South airs on the USA network tonight with an all new Thursday, June 23, season 1 premiere called, “Piloto,” and we’ve got your Queen of the South recap down below! On this evening’s episode, in the premiere, the Mexican drug cartel comes after Teresa, (Alice Braga) forcing her on the run.
Queen of the South tells the powerful story of Teresa Mendoza, a woman who is forced to run and seek refuge in America after her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico.
On tonight’s episode per the USA synopsis “on the series premiere of QUEEN OF THE SOUTH the Mexican drug cartel comes after Teresa Mendoza with a vengeance and she is forced to run and do whatever it takes to survive. Teresa’s fate is sealed in the dangerous narco world forever and she has to prove her worth to Camila. Meanwhile, Epifanio gets closer in his hunt.”
Tonight’s episode looks like it is going to be great and you won’t want to miss it, so be sure to tune in for our live coverage of USA Network’s Queen of the South recap at 10:00 PM EST! While you wait for our Queen of the South recap hit the comments and let us know how excited you are for Queen of the South tonight.
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#QueenOfTheSouth starts with Teresa talking about being born poor in Mexico as she exits a helicopter. She says rich is better and she runs the biggest drug empire in the Western Hemisphere. She’s proof of the American dream. She says don’t judge.
She says the trick is to stay alive long enough to enjoy it. She is shot and says it’s been coming her way since Sinaloa. We see her in Mexico, younger, changing money for tourists and says Guero, a guy from Texas was her drug of choice.
Another guy comes up and manhandles her – it’s her boss who she works for and Guero beats the crap out of him for touching her. Teresa says it’s the sweetest thing anyone has done for her. He says since she’s out of a job, she should come with him.
We see them going into a night club and she says Brenda, Chino and Guero became her friends. Brenda gives her a bump of coke in the bathroom. She goes out to the dance floor and dances with another guy while Guero dances with another woman.
He comes and grabs her away and Teresa says he protected her and she didn’t care that he was a drug runner. Later, they kiss and he undresses her in the parking lot. She says he was like heroin as he does her on a car in the parking lot.
Teresa meets the Don
Guero takes her to a cartel party and she says on Christmas, he took her to meet his godfather, Don Epifanio. Guero leaves her for a moment to go see the Don. Epifanio tells his right hand man Cesar about his political aspirations and that he has to distance himself from the business.
He says he will begin to hand over day to day operations to him but is concerned because the guy is a bit wild. Guero comes in and is warmly welcomed. He looks out the window and sees Teresa. Epifanio goes to take a call form Camila who say she won’t host his party.
She tells him to come upstairs now. Brenda takes Teresa upstairs but Teresa says stop it – don’t touch anything. Brenda goes into the bathroom. Epifanio argues with Camila and Teresa hears them arguing. She says she built this empire and won’t walk away.
He insists he’ll be governor of Sinaloa and she says no, she helped build this empire and now he wants rid of it. She says she’s not a governor’s wife. Epifanio says this is about legitimacy and says the business will still run but without them at the helm.
He says once he’s elected, they’ll be more powerful. She asks how long and he says one or two years in office. Camila says he’s asking her to stop doing the only thing she’s good at. She says she got him out of the mess he was in and if not for her, he’d be a dirt poor farmer still.
She tells him they’re expanding into Texas and she’ll take it and he can have his election without her. She says he’ll provide her with product she needs and he can think of it as alimony. She says Maria is packing for her and Epifanio says she’ll be back. She says wrong and hands him her ring.
She calls him farmer and says he still uses the wrong fork. Epifanio sees Teresa and says it’s Camila’s fault, not hers. He tells her to enjoy the party and he’ll be down soon. Teresa thanks him and goes. Brenda gushes about the fancy toilet.
Teresa and Guero move up in the world
Teresa says Guero moved up the ranks fast and they were happy. We see she now lives in a fancy house and is in ritzy clothes. She talks to Brenda on the phone but then ends the call when she sees Guero is home and looks like he’s in bad shape.
He tells her there were Federales at the airstrip and they opened up on them. He says the Cessna is gone and he wants her to be prepared. Flashback to Guero giving her a phone and says if this phone rings, I’m dead. He has prepped her a go bag with cash and a passport.
He says this notebook can be traded for your life and says take it to Epifanio only, not Batman (aka Cesar). Teresa says this excited her and she thinks he really loves her. Teresa checks out the gun from the bag and says teach me how to use this.
Guero wakes to Teresa wishing him happy anniversary. She has balloons all over their room and he says how did she get all this in here without him knowing. He says he’s supposed to sleep with one eye open in his job and she says that sounds like a drug runner.
They joke around and he flips her over and gives her another lesson in never letting her guard down. He kisses her and he asks what’s wrong. She says she never had a first anniversary of anything before and says she always mistrusted people.
Guero says he doesn’t care about the past and the present belongs to them. She smiles. He tells her he loves her and she replies in Spanish. They kiss again. Teresa soaks in the tub, smoking a joint and watching Scarface. She says she was living in a dream too good to last.
Murder and mayhem break out – Guero is killed
Teresa hears a phone ring and sees it’s not from her regular phone. She runs to find the ringing phone downstairs in their mansion. It’s in a drawer. She answers. A man says, you don’t know me but Guero is dead. He says get out of the house now.
She takes her bag and runs. She calls Brenda and says get Tony and run and says they might be coming for Chino. Brenda sees men come in and curses. He has headphones on and is snorting coke and doesn’t hear her. She takes Tony and hides in the closet.
Teresa says she’s on the way and says don’t make a sound. Two men come in the house and greet him acting like things are cool. They snort some coke and they ask how long have he and Guero been running their own coke on the boss’s dime
One grabs up a meat cleaver and tells Chino he can die fast or slow. He says he didn’t do it. Teresa tells Brenda – go now. Chino tells them he’s in debt. He offers to cut them in. Tony and Brenda climb down the balcony.
Chino lies and says Brenda is gone to her mother’s. They cut off some of his fingers. Teresa tells Brenda you can’t look, just run but she looks. She sees them shoot Chino in the head. She runs but they saw her. Teresa loads them in the car.
Teresa runs down one guy and then drives away amid a hail of gunfire. Brenda is sobbing and says they probably already know about the safe house. She snorts some coke and Teresa speeds along. Teresa lies to Tony and says his dad will meet them.
Teresa says Guero told them she could go to Epifanio. Some SUVs pull up and men with guns get out and open fire on their SUV. Teresa drives in reverse and crashes into a truck. Brenda and Tony get out and run. Teresa runs as the SUV and truck blow up.
Teresa runs for her life
She goes door to door begging for help. No one will open their door. Someone finally opens up and she runs through a graffiti-splattered door. Teresa runs through a parking garage all alone. She says she thought she was out of the cold with Guero but was wrong.
She slips along a street in the dark and then to an apartment building. She unlocks a door with the key Guero gave her. She’s in the safe house and sits down breathing heavily. She pulls off her shoes and shirt and pants for air.
She’s freaking out. Teresa gets another shirt and grabs her go bag out of the closet. She pulls out the passport and snorts a bit of coke from a bag. Teresa starts crying and then sobs hard. She looks at the notebook that Guero left her.
Teresa opens it and flips through the pages. She hears a noise and someone comes down. It’s men with guns. She stares at them. One puts up his gun and asks what she’s reading. He takes it from her and says she must be tired from running.
She tells Gato she knows nothing and asks where he is. Gato tells Pote she’s asking about Guero. Gato says Guero was skimming from Batman and says her man is dead – he gets in her face. She calls him a son of a bitch and he slaps her hard.
Pote tries to stop Gato who is ready to rape her. Gato says she was going to die anyway so it’s a waste. He pulls her pants off and she stares at Pote who walks away. Gato rapes her. Teresa says when you think your life is over and hit bottom, she saw herself not Jesus.
It’s her from the future looking spiffy. Her future self says, go on honey you know what to do. She gets her gun from the bag and shoots him. Then Pote comes in and she holds the gun on him, saying don’t move. She grabs up her stuff while holding the gun on him. She backs up the stairs and leaves at a run.
Teresa makes a deal with Don Epifanio
Teresa calls Don Epifanio and he comes for her. He’s alone. She hides out at first then comes to sit with him. She asks if Guero is really dead. He says he is. She gave him the notebook but says she never read it. He says he has to make an example when people steal.
He says they know that she didn’t know anything, but letting a woman escape is a shame. Epifanio says he can’t get involved. She says Guero told her she could trade the book for her life. Epi kisses her head and says sorry. He walks out with the notebook.
Teresa stares as his men follow. She goes to stand in front of his car and Epifanio gets back out. She says she has no one else and he has to help her. She puts a gun to her head and says say no and I do this. She says if she’s already dead, she’ll do it herself.
She says she will haunt the living shit out of him and says how will that look for a governor. He asks if she has a passport and she says yes. He asks if she has money. She says yes. Epifanio says all right and holds out his hand for her gun.
She hands it over and he says let’s go. They drive her out into the desert. He touches her arm tenderly on the drive. Her future self says think of something fast – something has changed – as the Don gets a call. She spots a gun under his jacket left on the seat.
Back on the road, she looks at Epifanio and then points the gun at him. She says, stop the car. He asks what she’s doing and she says let me out. The Don says she’s safe but she insists. She shoots the driver when he won’t stop the car. They drive off the road and crash.
Teresa gets her revenge
Teresa comes to and it’s light. She crawls out of the car whimpering – the SUV is flipped over on its top. She crawls out dragging her leg with the gun still in her hand. Epifanio is alive and asks for her help. He says if you leave me now, you’ll die.
He says help me, and I’ll protect you. Teresa gets closer and he says come on. She comes closer and he holds out his hand. She grabs her bag and the notebook. She limps back and looks at him then walks away and leaves him in bad shape.
Teresa limps through the desert and struggles with her injured leg. She comes upon a tire shop down the road. The old man looks at her warily. She gets some water from the fountain and then throws it up. He pours her some tequila and drops in a small scorpion.
The clear liquid turns amber and he soaks a cloth in it then treats the wound on her leg. She moans in pain. He pours her a shot of tequila and tells her drink it fast. She does. She limps into the bathroom to clean up and hears car doors slamming.
She hides the notebook in the bathroom and two men come in and grab her. They shove her into a van and drive her away. She comes to being carried through a drug workhouse. The man lies her down and locks her into a chain link cage.
A face from her past
Teresa looks around. She’s in a drug warehouse. She works on the ropes tied on her wrists after she finds a piece of metal. She gets loose then explores further. She breaks a glass mirror after putting her sleeve over her hand.
A woman comes to see her and notices the mirror is broken. She takes the sliver of glass gently from her hand then sits across from her. She asks for Teresa’s hand. It’s Camila – Epifanio’s wife. She says the gas station she stumbled onto was on her mule route.
She says her husband Epifanio called her several times saying he was looking for a girl and that he had been in an accident. Camila asks where she knows her from and Teresa says the Christmas party at her house – with Guero.
Teresa says Guero is dead and Camila asks why she was out there and says did my husband chase you into the desert then asks why he went to such lengths? Teresa doesn’t answer. Camila says take her downstairs and Teresa asks where she is.
Camila says Dallas, Texas then says welcome to America. She walks out. Future Teresa tells her past self you’re going to love American.
THE END!
