WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Season 3 of Narcos: Mexico, now streaming on Netflix.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Narcos: Mexico is how many cartel bosses have risen up as the plaza civil war heats up. In 1994, Tijuana, Sinaloa and Juárez went to war with each other for dominance in the drug trade, which created an even more testosterone-driven fraternity. However, as Season 3 details this drama, it totally squanders its feminist cartel boss arc concerning Enedina Arellano Félix (Mayra Hermosillo).
Last season ended with Enedina, aka Dina, flexing her female power and getting rid of the opposition, including her friend, Isabella. Dina wanted to make it clear, as one of the Tijuana heads, the only woman who could run any alliance would be her.
This set up an enticing Season 3 as she and her brothers, Benjamin and Ramón, grew drunk with power, ensuring Sinaloa and Juárez couldn't overtake them. Tijuana's atop the chain, controlling the border and imposing taxes, but sadly, she hands the reins to Benjamin, only for the man to go on the run when the DEA starts tracking his family down.
With Sinaloa trying to assassinate him, as Benjamin hides out and the younger Ramón marshals troops on the ground, Dina's positioned as leader once more, with one episode even being titled after her nickname in the real world: "La Jefa" or the boss. But we don't get to see her really doing much apart from asking Ramón to pull off some hits after Sinaloa killed her brother-in-law, Claudio, and shot at the rest of the family.
It seems like she's going to become aggressive a la Queen of the South, which had Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), a poor Mexican woman, become a magnate by building a very ruthless empire. She cut the throats of enemies and friends alike, proving to be one of TV's most intriguing characters and a puppet master on the chessboard, which further highlights how disappointing Dina ends up being. Now, the show dramatizes a lot and adds layers of fiction, so we could have seen Dina being a more shrewd businesswoman and working with Ramón more. Sadly, as her rivals crumble under DEA pressure and the Mexican government's fluid justice system, Dina just never ascends to the role of kingpin. By name she is, but via actions, she's totally flat, which is compounded as the series ends.
When the heat's off Benjamin and he returns to take power, you can tell a subjugated Dina doesn't want to hand it back. Even Ramón knows she's the one who should be leading, and as she hears Benjamin barking dumb orders, she remains quiet. Docile isn't in her nature so when he seeks her approval, she should have been more assertive. The show misses the chance to subtly frame a battle for the throne, painting sibling turmoil, which would end in the real world with the brothers getting arrested years later while Dina's presently out and running her corner.
Creative liberty was taken with Amado, suggesting the dead Juárez boss is still alive somewhere, so Dina is a missed opportunity. Strong female characters have resonated in pop culture, after all, such as Daenerys in Game of Thrones, so by not making her the shot-caller, Narcos: Mexico fails to add more woman power to an overly macho story, ruining threads for a spinoff someday.
See how Dina doesn't get her due in Season 3 of Narcos: Mexico, now streaming on Netflix.