Narcos - General Discussion

[Anela]

I watched the first four episodes, the Saturday before last, and finished the series today. I love it, and wish there were a few more episodes. I'd put this off because of the whole "gritty gangster drama" thing, but put it on when I was stuck at home, and kept hearing about it. I'd heard the name Pablo Escobar before, but didn't know much about him or what was happening at the time - I was in my late teens when he was killed.  

 

I don't see Escobar as a sympathetic character. They occasionally show him to appear to actually care about someone outside of his own family, so I can see why someone might think they were writing him that way, but I was just thinking as I was watching, that he was a really cold, utterly shameless b@stard. I couldn't believe that he was complaining about being a victim - I can't believe what he got away with in the first place! 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

That poor kid. He was so bright eyed that he couldn't see he was going to be sacrificed and unknowingly kill hundreds of people.

I didn't feel for Gacha or his son being killed. Better that his kid be killed before he became a rapist. As it is, he was already a murderer and a disgusting pig. I did crack up when Gacha grabbed his rocket launcher.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Poison is beyond cold. He was not only willing to kill a woman who just lost her husband and a baby who can't even talk, but he just told his friend that he will kill him whenever Pablo asks him to. Pablo is lucky to have such a loyal assassin, but damn.

Valeria didn't just plant the idea to kidnap Diana. She all but asked Pablo to do it for her.

How long before the sister gets beat up for sleeping with Pablo's guy?

[RustbeltWriter]

I'm glad Netflix made this series. I read Killing Pablo years ago and the story of the Colombian drug trade in the 1980's is fascinating. It's incredible that the story has such scope, from the amount of money being made to lengths the narcos will go to (blowing up airliners, bribing politicians). It's crazy to think how much power ended up in the hands of this lunatic.

[Ororo Monroe]

I was kind of underwhelmed by this. I think the problem is I binge watched it and at some point I got really tired of the actor playing Escobar's glowering stare downs and declarations of "Plata o Plomo" (mustache twirl) and the voiceover and the threat of violence that went along with every sex scene between VV and Pablo, the...just the everything. Maybe if I watched this as it unfolded over 10 weeks as opposed to watching all of this in a 72-hour period I would have liked it better. And I did feel a little...had, as it were that they're stretching this out to two seasons instead of wrapping up the story in one season and maybe dedicating the next season to a different narco. Eh. I don't know.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Two Golden Globe nominations!

Best TV Series, Drama


Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama - Wagner Moura

[thuganomics85]

Awesome!  I know the Globes can be goofy at times, but I do appreciate them noticing some shows others don't.  Glad for the show itself, but I'm especially happy for Wagner Moura, who was brilliant in this series.

[ShellsandCheese]

The best thing about this episode was hands down the newly elected President pointing out how much cocaine Americans consumed. HA. Demand always drives supply (with a few exceptions). I just cannot believe that it's damn near 2016 and our government still won't admit that the war on drugs has been an epic failure.

[myname2use4now]

This is going to sound nuts, but Jaime reminded me of a lighter, male version of Kiera Knightley.

[BetterButter]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Emmy nominations:

Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series - Leo Trombetta
Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music

[SophiaPehawkins]

Just finished this series in one day. I thought it was great and Wagner Moura wonderfully played Pablo as a ruthless character. Spanish is my first language and I was impressed that he learned it for this role. On a couple of occasions his Portugueseness was evident, but otherwise sounded authentic. At least to my ears.

I more concerned with the Javier/Murphy storyline. So they're strongly hinting that he set him up, but why? I can't find a reason for it.

[Chaos Theory]

On January 24, 2016 at 5:25 PM, myname2use4now said:

This is going to sound nuts, but Jaime reminded me of a lighter, male version of Kiera Knightley.

Actually I thought he was Anton Yelchin when I first saw him. 

[Guest]

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In the aftermath of a massive military effort to take Pablo into custody, the family reunites while enemies worry. Steve and Connie fight about safety.

 

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Tata gets impatient with life on the run. Pablo responds to President Gaviria's reward offer. Steve and Javier meet their new boss.

 

 

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President Gaviria has a new job for an old colleague. The Search Bloc's new tactics shake up Pablo, but also unsettle Steve and Javier.

 

 

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The Cali cartel discusses moving in on Pablo's territory. Limón proposes a plan to Maritza. Tata gets a gun for protection.

 

 

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The Search Bloc gets a new leader. Javier loses faith in the system. Pablo brings Tata's brother Carlos down from Miami to cheer her up.

 

 

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The newly-formed Los Pepes want to destroy Pablo and his empire. Tata's brother urges her to leave and seek safety with her children.

 

 

[Guest]

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As the danger intensifies for the Escobars, Pablo sends his family to another country. Gaviria weighs the opportunity to use them as leverage.

 

 

[Guest]

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Colombia begins to turn on Escobar after his latest terrorist attack. Tata receives help from an unlikely ally. Quica gets increasingly anxious.

 

 

[Guest]

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Pablo is reunited with an estranged family member. Judy Moncada's life is put in danger. The DEA and CIA clash over how to handle Los Pepes.

 

 

[Guest]

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Javier deals with the repercussions from Judy's interview. Tata tries to convince Pablo to surrender for the sake of his children.

 

 

[pivot]

Still can't believe Wagner Moura didn't get an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Escobar.

[Jade Foxx]

WHY IS NO ONE WATCHING WITH ME??

[pivot]

I am watching it and can't believe no one has commented yet. I am on episode 4. Holy shit this season is great so far.

[Jade Foxx]

HOLY SHIT is right ? I'm on episode five. 

[Jade Foxx]

Trying to reconcile how one of the most psychopathic murdering terrorists of the 20th century was also a loving husband and father who walked around in a shirt, plain white tennies, and mom jeans. 

RIP Carillo and half the Colombian PD...

Edited September 3, 2016 by Jade Foxx

[Bcharmer]

Just started. Watched the first eposide last night. So happy it's back!

[pivot]

Pablo's fucking mother. I don't see how his wife forgives her. Mom got Tata's brother killed. 

[snowwhyte]

Well, that was depressing. I spent most of the series just hoping that Maritza would make it through. For her to go out like that made me very angry. You know bad things are going to happen in Narcos and whenever they introduce a nice, semi-innocent character it's just a question of waiting to see what horrible thing will happen to them and when.

[pivot]

One of the media reviews claimed that Narcos season 2 humanize Escobar too much. I am not sure that any amount of family scenes is going to humanize the guy that blew up an airplane and then organized an ambush against the Bloc Squad. 

That was a shocker. 

[snowwhyte]

I think people are probably going to watch it all and then start posting.

[snowwhyte]

I think Pablo just has an incredible ability to compartmentalize and rationalize his behavior. His ability to still see himself as the hero of his own story and a loving family man who is forced to do hard things actually makes it seem so much worse to me. It's so much easier when our villains don't have any shades of grey. People who are capable of the things he did should not also be able to form loving bonds with people. How can he show so much love and kindness for his own family and yet have such a disregard for the lives of others?

[snowwhyte]

i can't stand Pablo's mother or his wife. They are both fully aware of the things he's done to provide their lifestyle but don't care. I was glad when the brother got killed but was hoping Tata would slap her mother-in-law . She was to blame for his death.

[pivot]

I think his wife is worse. She knew damn well what Pablo was doing and even encouraged it and then turned around and whined about how the government wasn't protecting her children. 

[snowwhyte]

For a finale this was pretty boring until the last 15 minutes. Still, it was satisfying to see him finally killed. I also enjoyed seeing his mother surrounded by people cheering the news of his death. Seeing the interview of his real mother defending him and saying he was a good man he was strange.  She seemed delusional.

[pivot]

Yeah, that was really depressing. I just hope someone is around to check on the baby so she doesn't starve to death in the middle of nowhere.

[pivot]

Now, I hope that ending means they are planning on doing season 3 on getting the Cali cartel. 

Yeah, real life Mama Escabor clearly was delusional. 

Now, I'd love to know what ended up happening with Tata and the kids but don't really want to google for fear I'll find out what happens with the Cali cartel. Even though I knew Pablo died at the hands of the government, I didn't know a lot of the details which is what made this show so interesting.

[Constantinople]

Mama Corleone would have never made that mistake.  She stayed in the family compound when her son told her to stay in the family compound.

[Jade Foxx]

8 hours ago, snowwhyte said:

I think Pablo just has an incredible ability to compartmentalize and rationalize his behavior. His ability to still see himself as the hero of his own story and a loving family man who is forced to do hard things actually makes it seem so much worse to me. It's so much easier when our villains don't have any shades of grey. People who are capable of the things he did should not also be able to form loving bonds with people. How can he show so much love and kindness for his own family and yet have such a disregard for the lives of others?

You hit all the nails. Which makes him even more monstrous, that he could rationalize/compartmentalize that seamlessly. I mean, not a SHRED of empathy for any other human besides his family? What section of the DSM is this??

[benteen]

Three episodes in.  Really enjoying it so far.

[Jade Foxx]

5 hours ago, pivot said:

Yeah, that was really depressing. I just hope someone is around to check on the baby so she doesn't starve to death in the middle of nowhere.

Maritza. Another victim of the violent ripple effect of Pablo. 

Am I to infer from this ep that Pablo has daddy issues? I think his mom did a great job creating her little sociopath.

I hate her and TaTa. 

[Jade Foxx]

MAN, THAT WAS SATISFYING. 

Momma Escobar was a loon through and through. "He didn't do the bad things people say he did," juxtaposed with the history reels of all the horror he inflicted on humanity.  And HAHA on TaTa. How many members of Escobar's family are still alive?

Superficial notes:

Pablo chillin on the park bench looking like Colombian Ted Kazsinsky. 

The actor who plays Murphy looked a little too much like Young Jeff Dahmer for my taste. ?

Satisfying two seasons! 

Edited September 4, 2016 by Jade Foxx

[itsadryheat]

Eight Episodes In. I thought Season 1 was wild, Season is 2 knocking me out! Was thinking to my self how Pablo can remain so calm while creating all this chaos and not get sick. Then a scene appears where he had passed out-stress related. And a little more insight into Pablo's mom & wife. Can see where Pablo gets the entitlement from.

[thuganomics85]

Just got started!  Last season was one of the most pleasant surprises of that year, and I'm hoping the same thing will happen this time.  Pablo is such as evil, scary man, but Wagner Moura is still giving one of the best performances on television, in my opinion.  Every time Pablo is on screen, he's just so magnetic and I can never take my eyes off of him.  Just perfection from Moura.

Thankfully, I'm still enjoying Javier and Murphy too.  It especially felt like they were more humorous this time.  Even Murphy's admittedly over-the-top voice narration was actually entertaining this go around, since even Murphy seem like he couldn't believe half the stuff he was saying; especially about Pablo somehow escaping the prison.  Not surprised though that Connie left for Miami and he's now beating the crap out of a bunch of businessmen who were buying and selling the drugs he is trying to stop.

Interesting that it's this Judy Moncada that is currently being set-up to be a thorn in Pablo's side.  Killing her husband could have ended up being a mistake.  Of course, he just killed her brother (?) now, so she is currently way behind in the family killing department.

The President just dropped a $1.4 million bounty on Pablo's ass!  Game on!  

[numbnut]

Nothing to see here.

Edited September 4, 2016 by numbnut
My bad.

[pivot]

Very satisfying. Hope there is a season 3.

Edited September 4, 2016 by pivot

[LDHW]

10 hours ago, pivot said:

I think his wife is worse. She knew damn well what Pablo was doing and even encouraged it and then turned around and whined about how the government wasn't protecting her children. 

Word!  

I watched "Sins of My Father" and was livid.  She needs to be held accountable for her actions or lack thereof.  Karma...I'm counting on you!!  It kills me that she sought asylum while Pablo's "enemies" were fighting the good fight.  Lest we forget all the purely innocent victims that didn't have the luxury of escaping. 

FYI--While ""Narcos" is awesome, watch "Pablo Escobar el Patron del mar".  It's nearly 80 episodes with subtitles but the acting is superb.  It's thorough and chock full of evil doings that boggle the mind.  I've also watched many documentaries and two that stick out in my mind to watch are..."Facing Escobar" and NGC's "King of Coke".  Yep, I'm obsessed!

[thuganomics85]

Episode opens with Pablo singing to classical music in the shower, while a bunch of prostitutes get murdered by his order.  And it ends with him dancing with his wife to classical music, while a bunch of police officers get murdered on his orders.  If that's not Pablo in a nutshell, I don't know what is.

Really though, that Colonel was an idiot to take the "break down the door" approach, instead of stealthier one.  That approach can work for some, but someone like Pablo?  You have to think that he would have back-up plans.  Really, he's someone who even has back-up plans for his back-up plans.  But I'm guessing it was mainly that the Colonel hated having to do something based off the Americans intel, and wanted to maintain some kind of control.  Too bad it ended up being for nothing.

Looks like the Americans are forming a new group, and have stacked the deck with awesome character actors.  Both Richard T. Jones and Patrick St. Esprit are back, and we've also got Eric Lange as some kind of CIA spook, and best of all, Brett Cullen!  Brett Cullen is great in everything!  I also recognized Javier and Murphy's boss, but I can't place her at the moment.

This Attorney General seems to be shaking things up a bit.  I do like amongst all the chaos and violence, Pablo also keeps trying more legal approaches with Fernando and him negotiating.  He really does try to cover all bases. 

Glad that the woman in the taxi from the last episode seems to have escaped.  I hope she stays far away from all of this.