Narcos
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It’s not everyday you get to watch the power of a United States intelligence agency unfold, nor the sudden exponential growth of wealth which comes with smuggling drugs. Narcos provides for both. The Netflix series, following Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s rise and fall, depicts a world in which violence and money rule all, and any remnant of the law is killed off at the point of a gun. Although one might expect such a show to be quite straightforward – the bad guy in Pablo Escobar, the good guy in the US agents trying to capture him – the series paints quite a complex picture in which both parties cross moral lines, leaving the audience questioning everything they understood about love, politics, and the United States as a force for good.
Narcos focuses upon two American DEA agents, Peña and Murphy, in their relentless search for Pablo Escobar and his network. Murphy arrives in Colombia a law-abiding, justice-oriented officer, totally innocent compared to the world he’s just entered. Peña, having lived in Colombia for some time now, is very aware of the corruption that pervades even the Colombian police, and takes his own backroutes to find his own justice. The two polar-opposite characters clash with each other within an environment of constant danger, where trust (which both characters severely lack) is crucial to survive. The show does not forget Escobar and his family, however, portraying a very different world from what one might imagine a crime-ridden family looks like. In separate story-lines following Pablo’s family, Narcos makes us feel empathy towards the Escobars, showing a normal(ish) family that loves one and looks out for each other. The dichotomy between Pablo’s peaceful private life and his violent ‘work’ strikes fear into our hearts as the latter begins to pour into the former. Morality disappears as the DEA agents stop at nothing to target the entire Escobar family, distorting what could easily have become a classic hero-villain story.
For the history buffs, anyone who has studied Colombian history in the 80s and 90s will know the show certainly over-dramatises scenes as well as characters. This being said, Narcos follows the major events of Escobar’s life reasonably faithfully. Escobar’s brief political career, including being elected to Colombia’s parliament and subsequently resigning from it after his criminal history is revealed, are both present in the series. The bombing of Avianca Flight 203 and the M19 Palace of Justice siege display very clearly the extent to which money really can buy immense power: a very relevant message in light of recent events. Furthermore, the two DEA agents Peña and Murphy are real people, the two characters being based on their lives.
Although Narcos takes certain artistic liberties, as an introduction to Colombia and US operations in South America in the 80s and 90s, Narcos is a good place to start. I would recommend going further than the series, but the good news is 3 seasons certainly leaves plenty of time for an interest to spark.