Congratulations you have found this show, and let me tell you it is a dang good show. Despite the premise being basically Zorro except only a girl this time, the Queen of swords is still very original in her own special ways. The show starts off with the daughter of a rich don in Spain, named Teresa ( played by the gorgeous Tessie Santiago) finding out her father has been mysteriously killed in a colony in California called Santa Helena, in order to find out what happened to her father, she goes there and discovers he was killed by the militaristic governor named Montaya who taxes the people so much that he makes the rich poor, and the poor starving, also he does basically every other evil thing in the book. In order to bring justice to her father and Santa Helena, Tessa dawns a mask, a sword and becomes the vigilante called the Queen of swords. The show really does have quite the cast, and each character is given time to flesh out. Tessa's arc is quite interesting, she starts as a idealistic seeker of justice, and the more she fights evil, the more she is forced to kill and be more aggressive in her tactics. Colonel Montoya, is not your average cookie cutter villain, he is given dimension and menace, thanks to his amazing actor valentine pelka. His captain of the guards, Grisham, is a very slimy, cruel villain who you still cant help but like, especially as he attempts to always betray Montoya for his own ends. Vera ( played by the gorgeous Elsa patakay aka Chris hemsworths wife) is the wife of a don, who is quite unfaithful and is shown to be quite the manipulator. And the cynical Doctor helm is portrayed as a man who hates violence, but also has a mysterious military past. Each character is played very well, and are all very interesting, as the fantastic theme song "Behind the Mask," implies all the characters have secrets to hide, which are explored over 22 episodes. . All of the characters have extremely entertaining interactions with each other, mostly because of the very compelling dialogue.
Montoya talking to grisham after one of his betrayals. " I don't blame you grisham, you are an animal after all, but you are my animal, and I hold your leash. But if you ever try to bite me, I will take that leash and strangle you with it".
The show does use elements of mysticism in some episodes such as Teresa's servant Martha having the ability to predict events through tarot card reading.
The one complaint I have is the awful camera they used to film it, making it look kind of cheap, shoppy and blurry, or that could just be my copy of the DVD. Despite that, the cinematography is beautiful, because they filmed it in a desert in Spain. Also the action is incredible, the horse back riding, the sword fights, the explosions, all very top notch. The time period is brought to life through the extravagant parties and beautiful costumes, especially those sexy bare shoulder dresses the women wear, I swear every dress Tessa wears makes her more sexier every time. The queen is done quite well and is very believable as a crime fighter, since she had received sword training since she was 7, she is also never depicted as being physically stronger than her opponents, winning by being more skilled, using the element of surprise and when the odds are too great, just running away to fight another day. And when shes Tessa, she uses her very provocative feminine wiles to gain info, or when shes convincing the bad guys she is not the queen of swords. She is a great role model for girls, and ive got to say that any guys watching her in this show wont be disappointed either. Yes the show has its cheesy moments, following the cartoon logic that no one recognizes her as the queen, but compared to other shows likes this ( even the original zorro show) the cheesy moments are quite tamed, and you can get really into the story. Despite being a good show, it was cancelled mostly due to several lawsuits regarding the character being too similar to Zorro ( I don't know where they got that idea) and the cost of filming it in Spain led to it being cancelled and unresolved. This is a damn shame since the show really deserved a solid conclusion to the queens story, never the less the show is episodic, and each individual episode is enjoyable on its own. The minute I found out this show was available on DVD, I was compelled to buy the complete series from Spain, which required me to also buy a non region DVD player. This show is truly spectacular, it has compelling dialogue, amazing action, gorgeous women, and very good stories, I urge you to give this show a shot to steal your heart.
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