“All that time huntin’ him and just like that I’m looking down at Pablo f****** Escobar. For years I’ve been building this son of a b**** up in my head, what a monster he’d be. But here’s the thing. When you lay eyes on him, the devil’s a real let down. Just a man. Beard grows if he doesn’t shave. Fat, shoeless. You take a good, long look at evil, and it reminds you of one thing…” said DEA agent Steve Murphy as he looked down at Pablo Escobar in season two of Netflix’s “Narcos.”
It is no spoiler that Pablo Escobar, the world’s most notorious drug trafficker and founder of the Medellin Cartel, dies at the end of the second season. Known as either “Robin Hood,” or the “devil himself,” Escobar is one of the most controversial figures in Colombian history. In his height, Escobar grossed $420 million a week through his cocaine trafficking operations, according to Business Insider.
“Narcos” does a beautiful job of illustrating the juxtaposition between Escobar’s peak as a billionaire and his eventual collapse.
The season begins with Escobar’s escape from a jail-like compound after a failed extraction attempt by the Colombian government. After leaving the compound, Escobar is no longer the biggest player in the Colombian cocaine trafficking business. The Cali and Castagna cartels pose new threats to both Pablo’s business, security and family. The ensuing battle between the rival cartels provides the bulk of the drama throughout the season.
Season two is strongest when the inner emotions of Escobar are brought to light. This is often highlighted in moments when Escobar is doing a specific human task or is full of emotion; such as when he is laying down on soft green grass as he smokes and looks into the sky, or when he lights stacks of money in his fireplace for warmth on Christmas because he has no firewood.
However, sometimes it can be hard to understand what’s going on in “Narcos,” especially without watching the previous season or having historical knowledge of Escobar’s life.
“Narcos” will continue in 2017 with a season three that is speculated to have the Cali Cartel as the central focus.
