Need a 'Queen of the South' Season 4 Recap? Here's How Javier Jiménez Died

After the Season 4 finale of Queen of the South back in August 2019, it was announced that Season 5 would serve as the series’s final season. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming was postponed, and the crime drama was off the air for almost two years before its Season 5 premiere on April 7. For four seasons, USA’s Queen of the South has followed Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), as she rose from a poor woman to a wealthy one who built a massive drug empire.  

In Season 4, viewers saw Teresa expand her drug territory into New Orleans with quite a few setbacks along the way. Fans were used to watching Teresa struggle, but with the cartel leader growing more and more cold-blooded with every violent act and tragedy, it appeared that Season 4 was on an entirely different level than any other. Season 4's finale left viewers on a puzzling cliffhanger, to be answered in Season 5.

One of the biggest scenes during the finale was the death of Javier Jiménez (Alfonso Herrera). While many fans wonder if another character will die in the new season, others are trying to remember how exactly he died. After all, it's been two years. Keep reading to refresh your memory on how Javier was killed off of Queen of the South. 

In Season 4, Javier ends up being at odds with Teresa and is keeping secrets from her. The Season 4 finale sees Judge Lafayette (David Andrews) calls Teresa to tell her that he has kidnapped Oksana Volkova (Vera Cherny). Now he’s demanding Javier in exchange for Oksana’s life. Teresa doesn’t want to give Javier to the judge, but it has to be done. Lafayette wants to punish Javier for killing Rene Bardot (James Austin Kerr) in a drunken rage after getting provoked by his taunting. 

Lafayette’s henchmen lead a bruised and bloodied Javier to the trunk of a car, and once he climbs in, they pour gasoline on the vehicle and douse Javier’s clothes as well. As Randall Green (Cory Hart) goes to ignite the gasoline, Javier lunges with his cuffs and grabs Randall from behind, who drops the lighter, and sets the gasoline on fire. Now they’re both engulfed in flames, and Javier pulls Randall into the trunk where they both burn to death. 

Javier goes out in a blaze of glory, avenging Emilia (Sofía Lama) and taking one for the team! In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-showrunner of Queen of the South Ben Lobato talks about how Javier dies and shared, “We wrestled so much this season with knowing that Javier was going to die. But we really wanted to find a way to redeem him. The reality is, when you peel back the layer on Javier, what he did he did for love."

Ben adds, "So we gave him this wonderful moment where he tells Teresa that she has to do what she has to do, which is his moment of surrender that makes him heroic. And because Javier is who he is, we want him to die a heroic death. And if he’s going to hell, he will just have to take Randall with him.”

Hopefully, by the end of the series finale, fans will have all their questions answered. Season 5 of Queen of the South is sure to be filled with lots of twists and turns as Teresa battles to protect her empire one last time.

Queen of the South airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST on USA.