Synopsis of 3×02: Seth and Richie seek help from Santanico Pandemonim, only to discover she’s the target of the Xibalban leader, an ancient queen who has taken on a familiar form. Meanwhile, Freddie and Ximena follow a trail of massacres to a deadly confrontation with Brasa.
After an opening episode focusing only on Seth and Richie, “La Reina” gives season three a chance to expand out to the supporting cast, and also takes a deeper look into Kate’s transformation into Amaru. Initially it’s unclear whether or not there is any more Kate left inside of the body, but by the end of the episode it seems likely that she’s still alive and therefore there’s potential for hope in seeing her come back.
The opening sequence shows Kate being taken into a psych ward pumped full of drugs by the doctors as she’s bitten her own wrist and written Amaru in bloody writing on the wall. She was found five months ago and quickly makes her escape after killing her doctor. Her abilities do not look like culebra abilities at all, but it seems like she’s immune to anything the culebras might have on hand as Richie’s abilities don’t work on her.
Brasa is there to pick her up after she escapes and has been dutifully working at her side. After hearing of Santanico and how the culebras worship her like a goddess she is immediately territorial and seeks to kill Santanico. This perfectly coincides with the Geckos needing Santanico, as she is the only person that the culebras can all rally behind. Throughout the episode we also see Brasa burning followers of Santanico alive, with Freddie and Ximena hot on his trail.
As a side note, I really enjoy Freddie and Ximena’s dynamic together, she’s got a strong bearing on who she is and her rapport with Freddie is becoming really interesting. She had a close call with Brasa, but Freddie managed to bust in and save her life before Brasa could kill her as well. The two agree to work together, but they might have bitten off more than they can chew when it comes to Brasa and Amaru.
Richie and Seth track Santanico down to a place called The Lodge, where she runs a fighting club. Initially it looks like another iteration of the Twister to Seth, but that’s quickly righted as Santanico seems to be a fair ruler, no longer bound by the chains of the Lords. She’s also got a new girlfriend, Manola, who is human and someone that Santanico is willing to do anything to protect.
Needing Santanico on their side, Seth gets into a fight at The Lodge in order to win her onto their side. During his fight in the cage he sees Kate in the crowds, but for him it seems like he’s unsure whether it’s her or not. Before the fight can finish a creature called an olmeca jumped into the cage and kills Seth’s opponent before calling out to Santanico.
Richie, Manola, Santanico, and Seth split up in order to find the olmeca as it runs through the building. While Seth and Santanico find the olmeca and struggle to fight it, Richie and Manola come across Amaru. Unsure of who she is, Richie approaches her calling her Kate, but it’s clear there’s something wrong. His ability doesn’t work against her, and it incapacitates him when he tries. Amaru takes off with Manola and holds her hostage against Santanico.
When Manola tries to strike against Amaru, she is killed instantly and it infuriates Santanico, who in turn kills the Olmeca. With Manola gone, she struggles with what to do with herself. Santanico agrees to join with the Geckos but she’s clearly been jostled by the loss of her girlfriend.
Elsewhere we see Amaru meet up again with Brasa, who has found Scott’s location. He gives Amaru a flier that shows Scott Fuller featured in a band called Fanglorious and we quickly learn that there’s still some Kate fighting inside of her own body.
I seriously can not wait to see Scott again, especially if he’s apart of a band called Fanglorious. It was disappointing to see them kill Manola off so quickly, especially since Richie seemed to be working to convince her to bring Santanico on board. However, I am glad at the development between Freddie and Ximena, and meeting Amaru sets the stage for the rest of the season.
English