Would you watch Game of Thrones without Daenerys Targaryen? Or Breaking Bad without Walter White? Or House of Cards without Frank Underwood? The answer would be a certain no as some characters of television shows emerge so relatable that it becomes difficult for the audiences to show faith to a revised avatar. Yes, let’s address the elephant in the room, Netflix’s Narcos, the irreplaceable moustache twirling element Pablo Escobar.
Deftly enacted by Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, Escobar’s display is a concoction of emotions replete with anger, pathos, sensibilities and murderous instincts.
But Escobar was killed in season 2, shot down, on a rooftop in his hometown Medellin. Ardent fans perceived that the series ended with Escobar’s death, however, given the popularity of the series, the makers decided to make another spin, a new story of crime and gore, at the center being party brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez, Hawaiian-shirted psychopath Pacho and their brutal man in New York, Chepe. The thick of things has shifted from Medellin and Cali.
The Cali Cartel is the polite face of organized crime, where enemies get neutralized with lawyers rather than hitmen. One major departure from the facts, the return of the DEA agent Javier Pena. In real life, Pena was done with Colombia after taking down Escobar. The roguish officer is gunning for Cali and fighting running battle with Eric Lange’s CIA station.
Contrary to Escobar’s bang-bang style, the new kingpins are a stealthy bunch. The worldly Gilberto has no intention of sharing the same fate as Escobar, so he has set a six month deadline for his organization to cut ties with the drug trades and focus on his legitimate business.
Characters have changed, however, Narcos has maintained its previous feel. It’s a pulp entertainment which subtly glamorizes and paints goons as larger-than-life characters. Like seasons one and two, the new endeavour is also wildly addictive – a sweltering thrill ride you’ll want to stay with all the way until the end. Netflix has put a good show with this.
