Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Series / QueenOfSwords

Go To

1%%
2%%
3%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
4%%
5%%
6
7[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qos_imagelogo.jpg]]
8In 1817, a young Spanish aristocrat, Tessa Alvarado (Tessie Santiago), returns to Spanish California after the death of her father and finds her home in ruins, her father's manservants reduced to stealing. The town where she was born is run by a militaristic governor who abuses his power, resulting in the miscarriage of justice and the poor living conditions of his subjects. Upset about the state of her birth place and the murder of her father, Tessa's path is revealed to her in a mysterious dream where her father comes to her and talks of his murder, his hidden gold, and of his "Avenging Angel". She will take up arms to protect the people from the town's governor and to avenge her father's death. Tessa will do this in disguise behind a mask, becoming that "Avenging Angel", The Queen of Swords.
9
10As the Queen of Swords, Tessa becomes a vision of hope for the people who live in her long oppressed town. She is helped by her long time friend and servant, Marta (Paulina Gálvez), a gypsy employed to look after her when she was sent, at the age of 7, by her father to stay with her uncle and three cousins in Madrid. Marta has great knowledge of the tarot. The Queen of Swords name comes from one of Marta's tarot cards.
11
12Tessa's biggest enemy in the town is Colonel Luis Montoya (Valentine Pelka), the corrupt and tyrannical governor. Montoya is ruthless and cares little for human life other than his own. He believes in executions without fair trials, enslaves the poor people of the town, and blackmails the powerful Dons.
13
14Montoya is aided by his right hand man, Captain Marcus Grisham (Anthony Lemke), an American deserter who escaped execution for killing his commanding officer during the War of 1812. His own self interests test his loyalty to Montoya on a number of occasions and the mission of ridding Montoya of the troublesome Queen of Swords, which his soldiers have a hard time accomplishing due in part to the inaccurate single shot weapons. Grisham is helped by Vera (Elsa Pataky), the unfaithful trophy wife of Don Hidalgo (Tacho González), working as a spy for him.
15
16The Queen occasionally crosses paths with Dr. Robert Helm (Peter Wingfield), an English doctor employed by Montoya who believes in saving lives rather than taking them after his experiences as an officer in the Napoleonic Wars. He has little patience for Tessa, believing her to be a spoiled member of the nobility, and less for the Queen of Swords, despising her because of her use of violence. Helm's relationship with The Queen intensifies throughout the series as events throw them together in life threatening situations.
17
18''Queen of Swords'' aired for eight episodes before being canceled. All 22 episodes are currently available on DVD, but only in France. It was later released in totality online for streaming on [[https://tubitv.com/series/300008659/queen-of-swords Tubi]].
19
20----
21!The series contains examples of:
22
23%%zce* ActionGirl: Tessa. In her alter ego as the Queen of Swords, she is a DashingHispanic.
24* ArtisticLicenseMusic: When Montoya plays the violin in the first episode, he just draws the bow across the strings in no particular rhythm, and doesn't even bother moving his fingers.
25* BadHabits: The Queen dresses as a nun in "Honor Thy Father".
26* BattleButler: While not quite [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Alfred]] levels of badass, Marta is a pretty good fighter for "just" a servant. In "The Witness", she singlehandedly fights off Mary Rose's {{Mooks}} until their boss personally steps in.
27* CallingCard: A literal card, the Queen of Swords tarot card.
28* ClipShow: "End of Days", with the standard-issue LockedInARoom framing device.
29* ContractOnTheHitman: In "Duel With a Stranger", Montoya hires a swordsman to kill the Queen, planning to have Grisham then murder the swordsman so he won't have to pay him.
30* CoolHorse: Chico, the Queen's dashing white stallion.
31* CoolMask: Tessa wears a very elegant black lace mask (even if it is otherwise a DominoMask) made from her mother's favorite shawl.
32* CostumeCopycat: In "The Counterfeit Queen", a villainess copies the Queen's costume to frame her for crimes she did not commit.
33* DangerousDeserter: Captain Grisham is an American deserter from the War of 1812. However, the truly dangerous deserter is Krane from "The Hanged Man"; the man they tried to hang in Grisham's place.
34* DeathByOriginStory: Tessa's father is murdered in the first episode. It is his death that causes Tessa to don the mask and take up the identity of the Queen of Swords.
35* DeadpanSnarker: Montoya, at times.
36-->'''Captain Grisham:''' We lost them.
37-->'''Montoya:''' You will note the complete lack of surprise on my face.
38* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: If the setting and description doesn't make you immediately think "DistaffCounterpart / GenderFlip of Franchise/{{Zorro}}" you probably don't even know who Zorro ''is''.
39** In fact, Sony ''sued'' the producers of ''Queen of Swords'' due to its similarities with Zorro. (Sony lost on account of the character being in the [[PublicDomainCharacter public domain]].)
40* FeudalOverlord: Colonel Montoya, the evil governor and ultimate political power in the province. Several episodes have the local Dons threatening to report him to the King (or at least the Viceroy), but [[StatusQuoIsGod it never lasts]].
41* AHandfulForAnEye: Grisham does it to the Queen during the fight in the mine in "Fever".
42* HighDiveEscape: In "Death to the Queen", the injured and cornered Queen escapes from Captain Grisham by diving off a cliff into the ocean.
43* HorsebackHeroism: Many episodes contain a dramatic scene of the Queen charging to the rescue on her CoolHorse Chico.
44* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Approximately OnceAnEpisode, the Queen rides away while soldiers fire after her, missing every shot.
45* ManOfWealthAndTaste: As befits his position as the wealthiest and most powerful man in the province, Colonel Montoya is easily the most stylish and best dressed of the male characters.
46* TheManTheyCouldntHang: Krane from "The Hanged Man". The US Army attempted to hang him Grisham's place. He survived, but his neck was broken and cocked at a strange angle.
47* MurderByMistake: The plot of "Vengeance". An assassin takes a shot at Dr. Helm but hits the Don standing next to him.
48* NoEscapeButDown: In "Death to the Queen", the cornered Queen escapes from Captain Grisham by diving off the cliff into the ocean.
49* OfCorsetsSexy: The Queen's costume includes a corset which accentuates her figure. TheVamp Vera has many scenes of her lounging around in her corset as she waits for her lover to arrive.
50* PirateGirl: Mary Rose is an ex-pirate who has retired to rake up ranching. Kidnapping her son is a bad mistake.
51* PowderTrail: Used to collapse the mine on top of the Queen in "Death to the Queen." Krane and his gang later attempt this on Montoya and his convoy in "The Hanged Man", but Grisham throws himself atop the fuse at the last second.
52* RearingHorse: The Queen's [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]] moments are often announced by her appearing on her rearing WhiteStallion Chico.
53* ScaryBlackMan: Lamorena, TheDragon to Krane in "The Hanged Man".
54* SecretKeeper: Marta is the only one who knows that Tessa is secretly the Queen, and helps to cover for her.
55* SheFu: The Queen mixed a large amount of acrobatics into her fight scenes (which was probably very helpful given her situation).
56* ShirtlessScene:
57** Grisham gets several, [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/queen_of_swords_-_fever_episode_3_part_1_flv_snapshot_06_08_2014_07_20_02_40_13_5191.jpg one of which is used in the opening credits.]]
58** Dr. Helm in his BathtubScene in "The Dragon."
59* ShootTheRope: Or "slash the rope," to similar effect. In the first episode [[HorsebackHeroism charges the gallows on Chico]] just as the stool is being kicked out from under the victim. She slashes the rope with the sword as he drops, allowing him to drop harmlessly to the ground.
60* StabTheScorpion: Done in "The Serpent" by [[spoiler:Doctor Helm]]. In this case, he deliberately meant to scare Tessa, as a challenge to her casual ([[ThouShaltNotKill by his standards]]) attitude toward killing.
61* TheStarscream: Captain Grisham is constantly plotting to dispose of Colonel Montoya and take his place.
62* StealthHiBye: The Queen is an expert at this. Dr. Helm will frequently turn around during his conversations with the Queen only to find she has left while his back was turned.
63* SwordFight: OnceAnEpisode (at least).
64* SympatheticAdulterer: Tessa's closest "society" friend Vera shamelessly sleeps around whenever her husband's not looking - usually with [[TheDragon Captain Grisham]]. The show rarely comes close to condemning any of this.
65* TakingOverTheTown: Krane and his gang do this in "The Hanged Man", imprisoning all the men in town so they can loot the town without resistance.
66* ThatOldTimePrescription: In one episode, almost everybody in the village gets sick. Dr. Helm doses them with a practically magical healing elixir, which he later reveals is made from willow bark.
67* TrainingThePeacefulVillagers: In "The Hanged Man", following the {{tak|ing over the town}}eover, the Queen has to train the Dons' wives to fight back.
68* WaistcoatOfStyle: Montoya has several, as befits AManOfWealthAndTaste.
69* WeaponSpecialization: Besides her rapier, the Queen's other major weapon is a whip that she wields with considerable skill.
70* WhiteStallion: The Queen's CoolHorse is a white stallion named Chico.
71* WickedCultured: Colonel Montoya. He is educated, extremely well-dressed, has fine taste in food and wine, and plays the violin like a virtuoso.

Top