'ZeroZeroZero' Episode 1 uses multiple narratives to introduce Mexican, Italian organized crime with cocaine
Spoilers ahead for 'ZeroZeroZero' Episode 1
The first episode of this Amazon show begins somewhere in Italy where an old man --- who we later learn is Don Minu (Adriano Chiaramida), boss of the 'Ndrangheta (Italian crime syndicate) and head of the La Piana family -- tells us why he doesn't trust anybody or anything. Not love, not his heart, not his wife, not his son, and definitely not his mother. He has a huge influence over the Italian crime syndicate and that becomes clear when he meets with men from different families to discuss the next consignment. So what happens when this man's grandson -- Stefano La Piana (Giuseppe De Domenico), also a younger member of the 'Ndrangheta -- plans to betray him for revenge?
Stefano begins to plan the end of his grandfather's reign, and he starts with one of the loyal men who worked for Don Minu. He takes all the money that the man has and burns it in a bonfire. He kills this man and then feeds him to a pig, all the while planning further, dreaming of taking over the leadership of 'Ndrangheta from his grandfather. Considering his grandfather is a man who survives on wits and is already weary of everything, it is going to be quite difficult and near impossible to bring him down. Don Minu always has a backup plan and from what we have seen so far, he seems to be ready for any situation despite claiming to be almost blind now. Would such discerning eyes miss details about his own grandson? That is left to be explored in the later episodes.
In the meantime, a huge consignment of cocaine has to be transported locally in Mexico for safekeeping because the Italians ('Ndrangheta) who are supposed to buy out the consignment are yet to pay up. The Special Forces team of the Mexican Army is aware of this deal and is tracking the movements of this middleman but somehow he is spooked. So even as they are tracking down every movement of the man who is supposed to lead them to the huge consignment that has been stored, he catches wind of the where they are placed and tries an escape.
This ends up in gunfight at a market crowded with civilians and a young schoolgirl is shot. Manuel Contreras aka Vampiro, who was one of the men following the drug dealer tries to save her but it is of no help. They do catch the man though and as he gets tortured in a bunker somewhere, Vampiro drowns out the sounds of violence by listening to a sermon about God. His introduction and his actions somehow make him seem like the good guy initially but we learn otherwise. The Special forces team commanded by Varas (Noé Hernández) get information about the venue where all the big guys -- the sellers (Mexican mafia) and the dealmakers (Lynwood family) -- have planned a meet.
The meet is scheduled to take place between the Leyra Brothers -- Jacinto (Flavio Medina) and Enrique (Victor Hugo Martin) -- Emma Lynwood (Andrea Riseborough) and her father Edward Lynwood (Gabriel Byrne) at a restaurant in Monterrey, Mexico. The Mexican Special Forces team is mainly after the Leyra brothers so a team is deployed.
This team also includes Vampiro and it turns out he is a dirty official who leaks information to the sellers' security detail. He foils the attempts of his commander to capture or kill the Leyra brothers while they are on site. One of the fellow officers who happened to be a part of the mission notices this, and it makes Vampiro nervous. Yet, he continues to find ways to be a hindrance to the team. In the ensuing gunfight, Edward is shot and as he falls down, things come to a standstill. Then we are taken a few days back, and this time, the story unfolds from Edward's perspective and is a run-up to the fateful night of when he was shot and we, during this time, learn more about him, Emma and also his son Chris.
The narration style used in this episode is quite interesting as we see an event unfold from one perspective first. Then, we see another run down to the same event, but from a different character's perspective and the episode ends with the event. The use of multiperspective narration is not new, but to have the plot meet in between, and not have it build-up towards the end as it moves forth in parallel is well done. Especially the transition between the different characters' plotlines is seamless.
Stream episodes of 'ZeroZeroZero' on Amazon Prime Video from March 6.