(Review updated after Season 3).
A dramatized history of the Mexican drug cartel.
Essentially Seasons 4+ of Narcos. Time-wise, however, it initially precedes Season 1, hence it being a new, standalone series. It does tie in nicely with Narcos, especially once the links to the Columbian cartels are made. DEA agent Kiki Camerena, the main 'good guy' in Season 1, was also mentioned in Season 1, Episode 1 of Narcos, so this series backfills a story only briefly mentioned in Narcos.
An excellent series, and a worthy addition to the Narcos stable. Quite interesting and intriguing - a good mix of history, drama, action and intrigue. Well-drawn and developed characters - even the bad guys have character depth, to the point that you're entirely engaged by their character.
A great study in how power corrupts - you can see how some of the main characters in the cartel go from innocent small-time crooks to power-hungry, blood-thirsty thugs. Also shows how this contributes to the unravelling of the empire.
Diego Luna is excellent as Gallardo and the performances are first-rate. As with Narcos, the fact that the dialogue is largely in Spanish adds a huge amount of authenticity to proceedings.
Does take a while to become really engaging though. For the first four or so episodes it seems fairly tame compared to Narcos, largely due to being about marijuana rather than cocaine, and due to Gallardo not being a well-known, larger-than-life figure like Pablo Escobar. However, from Episode 5 or so the action, intrigue and machinations rachet up a few notches.
The writing is also initially less tight than in Narcos, resulting in some contrived scenes. In addition, if you remember what was said about Kiki Camerena in Narcos, you know how this is going to play out for him. This limits some of the intrigue in Season 1.
After the excellent set-up in Season 1, Season 2 is a great follow-up. Not quite as well-paced as S1, as it tackles several sub-plots simultaneously and sometimes gets bogged down in one or two. It seems to progress in fits and starts. However, it is very intriguing and compelling and the occasional lack of momentum is not that noticeable.
Season 3 is where the series hits its stride. By now the focus has shifted to a different set of characters, characters who were present in previous seasons but were largely secondary. In particular we have Amado who was always one of my favourite supporting characters in the previous seasons and here turns out to be quite the likeable villain. José María Yazpik gives an excellent performance as Amado and contributes greatly to the success of Season 3.
In addition to higher character engagement levels the writing here is also tighter, with some great intrigue and machinations in the war between the cartels and between them and the DEA.
This season also sees the Mexican chronology catch up with the Colombian one, effectively joining the two series together.
In keeping with this convergence, Season 3 is superb and is of the same quality as the original Narcos.
Season 1: 9/10. Season 2: 8/10. Season 3: 10/10.
A dramatized history of the Mexican drug cartel.
Essentially Seasons 4+ of Narcos. Time-wise, however, it initially precedes Season 1, hence it being a new, standalone series. It does tie in nicely with Narcos, especially once the links to the Columbian cartels are made. DEA agent Kiki Camerena, the main 'good guy' in Season 1, was also mentioned in Season 1, Episode 1 of Narcos, so this series backfills a story only briefly mentioned in Narcos.
An excellent series, and a worthy addition to the Narcos stable. Quite interesting and intriguing - a good mix of history, drama, action and intrigue. Well-drawn and developed characters - even the bad guys have character depth, to the point that you're entirely engaged by their character.
A great study in how power corrupts - you can see how some of the main characters in the cartel go from innocent small-time crooks to power-hungry, blood-thirsty thugs. Also shows how this contributes to the unravelling of the empire.
Diego Luna is excellent as Gallardo and the performances are first-rate. As with Narcos, the fact that the dialogue is largely in Spanish adds a huge amount of authenticity to proceedings.
Does take a while to become really engaging though. For the first four or so episodes it seems fairly tame compared to Narcos, largely due to being about marijuana rather than cocaine, and due to Gallardo not being a well-known, larger-than-life figure like Pablo Escobar. However, from Episode 5 or so the action, intrigue and machinations rachet up a few notches.
The writing is also initially less tight than in Narcos, resulting in some contrived scenes. In addition, if you remember what was said about Kiki Camerena in Narcos, you know how this is going to play out for him. This limits some of the intrigue in Season 1.
After the excellent set-up in Season 1, Season 2 is a great follow-up. Not quite as well-paced as S1, as it tackles several sub-plots simultaneously and sometimes gets bogged down in one or two. It seems to progress in fits and starts. However, it is very intriguing and compelling and the occasional lack of momentum is not that noticeable.
Season 3 is where the series hits its stride. By now the focus has shifted to a different set of characters, characters who were present in previous seasons but were largely secondary. In particular we have Amado who was always one of my favourite supporting characters in the previous seasons and here turns out to be quite the likeable villain. José María Yazpik gives an excellent performance as Amado and contributes greatly to the success of Season 3.
In addition to higher character engagement levels the writing here is also tighter, with some great intrigue and machinations in the war between the cartels and between them and the DEA.
This season also sees the Mexican chronology catch up with the Colombian one, effectively joining the two series together.
In keeping with this convergence, Season 3 is superb and is of the same quality as the original Narcos.
Season 1: 9/10. Season 2: 8/10. Season 3: 10/10.