‘Queen of the South’ Shows That Even Camila Vargas Has a Soft Spot

With season two finale of Queen of the South only hours away, it’s a great time to reflect on the queen bee herself, Camila Vargas. Not only does she demand respect from dangerous criminals, but she won’t take anything less than what she wants from anyone who stands in her way. The only exception to this rule is when things come down to her only child Isabela (played by Sandy Valles). If any bad guy would like to find Camila’s achilles heal, they need not look further than her progeny.

This season, however, it was Isabela who sought the drugs and the power over her narco parents Camila and Epifanio, Governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. She even turned the tables on her captors in episode 12, by offering to help them secure an even larger amount of money for her safe return. The benefactor of the extra loot, of course, would be Isabela.

“Throughout this season, Isabela really finds out that she’s a weakness to both her parents,” Valles told HipLatina. “And as they say, like mother like daughter. She’ll be using that to her advantage. That really foreshadows Isabela’s future on Queen of the South. She’s a hustler because she learned from the best. Being around the two most powerful human beings in Mexico, how could she not have picked up a few tricks of her own? So if that’s any indication of her future, the world should get ready for another Vargas in the business.”

Veronica Falcón, who brings Camila to life on the USA Network series, says that these qualities are what makes her so relatable. She’s not surprised at all that fans are cheering for her drug lord character each week, because deep down inside she’s just a mother.

“Camila is like any mother,” Falcon said. “Above all else, she is a mother. I think that’s one of the great things about her. Camila is a criminal, we all know that but she’s also a human being. She’s moved by what moves all of us, that’s why people relate to her so much. She’s in love with a man she hates and she loves her daughter dearly. She’s made mistakes and is definitely not the perfect mom but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love her only child more than anything.”

The complicated relationship between Camila and Isabela this season was no coincidence. Showrunner Natalie Chaidez admits she enjoyed showing that dynamic, which is one that plays out with mothers and daughters every day.

“This is something that powerful women have to deal with,” she said. “We’re mothers, we’re wives. I raised two children. You have to be a tiger in the workplace and a lamb and a mother at home. So Camila, to me, embodies both parts of that. She’s powerful in the public space and having to deal with really personal relationships. I have a 22-year-old daughter. I’ve gone through the Camila and Isabela bumps, so that was something really special for me to be able to  bring to the show. I’ve been there and I love to explore a character who can be strong and smart and powerful in both arenas.

Catch the season two finale of Queen of the South Thursday, August 31st at 10pm on USA Network.