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.
Netflix's Narcos had a solid first season. At times, it was a bit too focused on detailing the real-life events of Pablo Escobar's rise as a drug trafficker. Whenever the voiceover kicked in to explain a bunch of behind-the-scenes information, the show lost its spark. But it was still very effective when it came to creating tension out of a very precarious situation. Because of that mastery of storytelling, it can be easy to forget that this story was something that actually happened. All of the details of the Pablo Escobar story may sound way too ridiculous all together. And yet, it's a crazy thing that happened. When the show delves into the motivations of those actions and the fear, tension and celebration that gripped Colombia throughout this period of time, it's gripping television. Narcos starts its second season feeling like the same show it was last year. The tension is high whenever Pablo is on the screen while Murphy is a more interesting character via voiceover. This produces a premiere that is very introductory. But that's to be expected. Things are only getting started with this epic saga. So, it should be compelling to see what happens next.Pablo's influence was so widespread that he was able to escape the assault on La Catedral at the end of last season. He still inspires so much fear. Even though there are hundreds of armed men storming the place, all it takes is Pablo running into the one group that is still afraid of what he may possibly do. It's just that simple. He was in the right place at the right time. That's commonplace in his story. He should have been killed so many times. And yet, he has always found a way to survive. Here, it's fairly easy for him to do so. The officer says he isn't allowed to let him pass. Pablo disagrees and then just walks on by with his men by his side. It's just that simple. Afterwards the officer needs to make sure none of his men will tell anyone about this. He's the guy who let Pablo Escobar go. That could be so damaging to his career. In that moment, he operated out of fear. Fear of what Pablo would do in order to escape. Pablo isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and kill in order to survive. This man knows it and chooses to back down. That allows Pablo to once again return to Medellin to take back control of his cartel.
Because of this, Pablo still believes he is respected or feared throughout the whole country. His absence hasn't changed public perception of him. He really wasn't that confined or imprisoned at La Catedral. But it was enough to disrupt the operating methods of the cartel and his public support throughout the whole country. Pablo truly thinks he can just return to being the head of the Medellin Cartel. Even though the President has placed police officers on every corner, he is refusing to be in hiding anymore. He's had enough of that and is ready to act once more. The people of this community are still willing to help him. He is still seen as a generous man who changed the landscape of this city. He helped the poor. He changed their lives. For that, they are incredibly grateful and will stand by him while the government tries to catch him. But his business partners aren't all lining up to work with him again. He knows that they have to be much more careful moving forward. He knows that every aspect of the business has to move because the government has everything that was left behind at La Catedral. But Pablo is still confident that everything will continue to work out for him. If not, he'll just kill everyone who stands in his way. A powerful statement for the character to make in the first episode of the season.
It's important that the fractions within the Medellin Cartel have shifted in Pablo's absence. He has killed way too many partners out of personal vendetta for everyone to remain completely loyal to him. "Free at Last" frames it as Judy Moncada being the one who stands in firm opposition. Everyone else who Pablo contacts here ultimately decides to work alongside him again. Judy doesn't. She pays for that severely too. She doesn't want to forgive Pablo for everything he has done in the past. Pablo can't accept that and decides to reign death and destruction down on her lab. It's all because of her stupid brother, Jaime. He believes they don't have to be as worried because Pablo can't go anywhere. He's trapped in the city because of the cops. Jaime believes he has the support of the other gang leaders. He's grossly mistaken though. It's not surprising that his arrogance destroys the family business. But it's so tense and exciting when Pablo himself shows up to deliver that final blow. He had his men there to handle this problem. He didn't need to be there and risk getting caught. And yet, he saw it as something he had to do in order to get everyone in line behind him again. Fear can be a powerful motivating tool. However, it's not going to work on Judy. She is now more determined than ever to kill the son of a bitch who killed her brother. Pablo should largely be concerned about the government finding him right now. But the threat from Judy could be just as severe moving forward.
Pablo's men are capable of being just as reckless and irresponsible as well. He trusts them for a reason. They have been loyal to him throughout this whole process. La Quica has been there at his side willing to do whatever Pablo asks. And yet, a significant part of this premiere focuses on La Quica being distracted by a beautiful women and almost getting caught by Peña. Again, he and his friend, Limón, are smart in how they drive Pablo around in a taxi. Sure, they get some major assistance from the loyal followers of the community. But it's still smart for Pablo to hide in the trunk while Limón is just driving around an unsuspecting passage. Of course, it's a plan that could go wrong very quickly. The women in the back seat, Maritza, isn't suppose to look and know who the secret passenger is. But she does. She's horrified that Limón would associate himself with Pablo Escobar. But that's not the threat Limón and La Quica need to be worried about. Someone at the whore house told Peña and Murphy that they would be there. It creates a pretty exciting moment as Peña gives chase to someone who could led him directly to Pablo. However, he gets away somehow. Once again, Peña is close but not able to catch his man. At times, that's a frustrating and repetitive detail of this story. Pablo always seems just out of reach to the feds.
Of course, Peña and Murphy need to work as a team in order to make a difference in this fight against the cartels. They are united when they go to La Catedral and comb through the evidence the Colombian government left behind. It's a light-hearted scene that shows just how strong that partnership has become. But Murphy still remains a problematic character. He's essentially a white savior. He comes to Colombia from the United States hoping to stop this horrifying drag trade. Pablo is the man everyone is after. Murphy will stop at nothing to get him - including destroying his own marriage in the process. And yet, that aspect of the character's life has never been all that important or interesting. Yes, it was great that Connie felt personally motivated to travel to Colombia to do something about drug trafficking as well. But that never materialized in a story that had purpose. Murphy is effective when he's in the field hunting down the narcos. He's actually pretty boring when he focuses on his home life. So, it's weird that he gets pulled from the main mission just because Connie comes to the sudden realization that maybe she shouldn't be raising a child in this environment. Murphy lashes out at two guys in the bathroom after failing to stop her from returning to Miami. That could have interesting consequences in the next episode. But hopefully, it doesn't distract too much from the story that is actually working.
Some more thoughts:
- "Free at Last" was written by Adam Fierro and directed by Gerardo Naranjo.
- Pablo has frequently been able to escape harsh punishment for his crimes because of being able to negotiate with the Colombian government. That's why he was in La Catedral and not an American prison in the first place. But now, President Gaviria refuses to listen to him anymore. Pablo can no longer avoid the harsh punishment that is awaiting him.
- Part of Murphy's story feels like the show actively writing Connie out. They realize that she wasn't that important to the narrative stakes. But they felt they needed to spend some time with her to explain her absence because she is a main character. It would really be problematic if she remains a visible component of the season. The audience really doesn't need to see what she's up to Miami.
- It's not that surprising that Limón and La Quica get away. The premiere wouldn't have spent so much time setting up the taxi system for Pablo if it wasn't going to be an important part of his story this season. Limón is a crucial element of it.
- Pablo's wife, Tata, makes him promise that he will never leave or abandon his family ever again. It's a promise he makes during sex. But it will also provide quite the narrative symmetry when he ultimately has to break such a promise later on in the season.
- The use of archival footage of these events has purpose. It forces the audience to remember that this is something that actually happened. Plus, drug trafficking is still a major problem throughout the entire world. But it also takes the viewer out of the experience of the show because we visually see a difference between Wagner Moura playing Pablo Escobar and the actual Pablo Escobar.
As noted in previous reviews from this series, every episodic review was written without having seen any succeeding episodes. Similarly, it would be much appreciated if in the comments, the conversation would only revolve around the show up to this point in its run.
