'Narcos: Mexico' Season 2 Episode 1 sees Walt Breslin and team of mercenaries slowly unleash hell on the cartel
The familiar notes of ‘Tuyo’ make the heart race, anticipating much, but with the assurance that it will never disappoint.
The ‘Narcos’ series is an excellent example of both well-written drama and larger-than-life execution of a true story. The same holds true for its companion series ‘Narcos: Mexico’. The first season saw the rise of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (Diego Luna) and the formation of the Guadalajara cartel in Mexico in the early 80s.
It also saw the investigations, capture, torture and finally the murder of American DEA agent Kiki Camarena in what can effectively be called the role of a lifetime for Michael Peña.
Season two of ‘Narcos: Mexico’ begins where the first one ended -- a covert American task force entering Mexico to investigate the death of Camarena and in the process, disrupt and decimate the Guadalajara cartel. Episode one, "Salva El Tigre" (Spanish for “Save the Tiger”), begins with a surge of adrenaline as DEA agent Walt Breslin (Scoot McNairy, who also is the narrator of the story) and his team kidnaps a Dr. Delgado, who viewers will recall was present during the torture of Kiki Camarena.
It’s evident from the get-go that this season is meant to be fast and explosive in all the ways that the first season was calm and slow. The DEA agents act like mercenaries, El Padrino (Luna) is more aggressive (even if he has the same nervous and worried expression on his face all the time), and all members of the cartel hatch their own schemes in the race to the top.
Breslin’s plan is as simple as his motto. The plan being, start at the bottom and move up the chain, one player at a time; the motto -- “You f*ck with the DEA, nowhere is safe”. The main bit comes as part of the plan to capture the man who tortured Camarena. Only, it was a plan easier said than done. The target, after all, was a government intelligence officer.
At the same time, Felix is celebrating his birthday with a grand party, and the party has a special guest from Cali in Columbia: Hélmer ‘Pacho’ Herrera (Alberto Ammann).
As Pacho and Felix discuss business -- the former’s cartel owes the latter, a hefty sum -- Breslin and the rag-tag band of mercenaries made up of DEA agents, Mexican cops and even Mexican judicial police begin their chase. What was planned to be a bloodless, silent operation, turned into a bloodbath.
Even at Felix's end, Pacho dismissed his demands for the money he was owed. He claimed it was the Mexicans who were to be blamed for the increased DEA troubles for everyone. After all, Camarena's murder was likely to have repercussions. Post the meeting, Felix promised to own the Cali cartel in the next six months. Knowing Felix, that's not something anyone can shrug off.
‘Narcos: Mexico’ season two is available on Netflix.