What makes Narcos such a special show is its interchangeability.
Given the long and bloody history of the drug trafficking industry in the Western hemisphere over the course of the last fifty years, Netflix and the producers of the show have endless options available to them when it comes to crafting their next storyline.
Now, while the same can be said about other anthology series, Narcos’ ability to rotate characters and locales at any moment’s notice is only heightened by the interconnectivity of its entire structure, something that is evidenced by Wagner Moura’s appearance as Pablo Escobar in the first season.
Those characteristics of flexibility and unpredictability are further emphasized this season following the introduction of Scoot McNairy’s DEA agent Walt Breslin. The narrator of the first season, Breslin’s identity was revealed in the final scene of season one, providing one of the better television cliffhangers in recent memory, as McNairy has built a reputation as one of the finest actors working today, especially when it comes to television (McNairy has starred on hit series such as Fargo, Godless, Halt and Catch Fire, and True Detective — not to mention a role in the Academy Award-nominated hit Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood).
The Breslin/McNairy mic-drop in the season one finale certainly sets the tone for the following ten episodes, as season two is infused with a ticking-time-bomb nature from the moment it begins, largely driven by Breslin’s desire to avenge the death of Kiki Camerena, the gruesomely murderer DEA agent played by Michael Pena in season one.
Unsurprisingly, McNairy absolutely brings it as Breslin, providing the perfect foil to Diego Luna’s increasingly powerful yet unstable cartel leader Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo.
The rise and fall of Gallardo proves to be far more gripping than that of Escobar’s because A) his story and the ultimate ending to it is not as widely-known as Escobar’s, allowing for more surprise along the way, and B) due to both the geographical and temporal location, it hits closer to home than perhaps any previous seasons of the series.
Similar to the fall of Julius Caesar — one of the season’s most prevalent themes — the collapse of Gallardo’s empire and his grip on the pulse of Mexico is of Roman proportions, the only difference being that Gallardo is someone who should have seen it coming.
Season two of ‘Narcos: Mexico’ hits Netflix on Thursday, February 13. In addition to Luna and McNairy, ‘Narcos: Mexico’ stars Teresa Ruiz as Isabella Bautista, Alejandro Edda as Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Andrés Londoño as Enrique Clavel, Alex Knight as Kenny Moss, Mayra Hermosillo as Enedina Arellano Felix, Sosie Bacon as Mimi Webb Miller, and more.
Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter @eric_ital for movie and soccer takes or contact him eric@brobible.com
