First Posting - La Reina del Sur

Episode 1 Impressions and Analysis:

My first time watching La Reina del Sur was honestly more invigorating than speeding around a race track. I wrote down in my notes while watching: "They are able to dictate your heart rate with just music and acting, they don't even need words!" Which is only on of the many factors that sets telenovelas apart from anything else. I also wrote down at minute seven: "Professor, I am hooked for good." What really stood out to me though was the acting skills that the main characters display. Their acting has a strong impact on you that forces you to emote so much more than most other things you watch on TV. Yes, it can be corny and maybe over done sometimes, but I still am impressed with the talent of Kate del Castillo and others.

In terms of the production quality, I noticed how many different angles they show of the same scene, which adds important context. You can tell the production budget is rather high. In fact, according to wikipedia, Telemundo had a $10 million budget that is second to only El Señor de los Cielos.

The first episode was so captivating because of all of the flashbacks that felt so real. Multiple times I forgot about the actual situation at hand – that being Teresa running for her life – because each flashback scene was so good. I also took note of the first mini cliff hanger, that we talked about in class, a little after the midpoint of the episode. Finally, as expected, the episode ended on a major cliff hanger and if it weren't already 2 a.m. by that point, I would've for sure watched episode two.