I’d thought about doing another Loki-related Marvelous Wednesdays post today, but I’ve realized that whenever I see Shang-Chi is going to become Marvelous Whatever-Day-It-Is, so while we wait for that, let’s return to Narcos: Mexico and the endlessly-fascinating Félix. Today, I’m getting into spoilery thoughts on El Padrino, looking at a particular aspect of what makes Félix so compelling to watch. (The usual Narcos disclaimer – I’m talking about Félix strictly as a character on a TV show, not the actual man.)
It’s no question that Félix is usually the smartest person in whatever room he’s in. He’s got the plans, the sky-high visions as well as the contingencies-within-contingencies. He makes an obscene amount of money for a lot of people for a long time, and mch of that is down to how shrewd he is: the opportunities he sees, the alliances he forges, and the way he maneuvers through obstacles.
But for all his talents, Félix isn’t untouchable. I like that he screws up. He sometimes goes into a situation thinking he’s got it in the bag, only to find himself on the ropes almost immediately. His one-on-ones with Cali often put him on the defensive, and every dealing he has with the CIA is fraught with risk. When it comes to his own cartel, he can underestimate the obstinance of his plaza bosses, assuming they’ll follow his methodical lead when they have other, less pragmatic priorities in mind.
As such, Félix isn’t playing five-dimensional chess all the time, and even strong gambits that show a huge level of forethought aren’t a sure thing. Some of my favorite moments on the show come when Félix is backed into a corner and desperately pulls the final ace out of his sleeve, praying it’ll pay off for him.
The biggest debacle for Félix in season 1 comes when his political allies panic over Kiki and the DEA sniffing around the cartel – frantic not to be discovered, the politicians have Kiki kidnapped and tortured to find out what he knows. This only puts an even bigger target on their back, with the DEA and the Mexican police on the warpath. Félix finds himself on the run for the only time in the series, and the authorities are closing in. On his knees with a gun to his head, he plays his last card: he’s arranged to swipe the tapes of Kiki’s interrogation, the ones that name politicians connected to the cartel. Officer Calderoni can protect his bosses if he lets Félix go.
In season 2, although the Mexican police have been called off, the DEA is still digging around. Félix doesn’t want his politician friends to do something shortsighted and rash again, so he insists on handling it himself. This means appealing to the CIA for help. Félix has already had extremely-bad dealings with them, so he’s on edge as he walks into a U.S. military base for a meeting, hoping to bribe one agency to get the other off his back. Agent Stechner is “in a rush” and says he’ll only meet with Félix aboard his plane, as he’s getting ready to take off again soon. Félix knows this is a bad idea, but this is his only move and he can’t give it up, so against his better judgment, he boards the plane. Stechner immediately declares that Félix himself is a much better prize for the U.S. than whatever amount of money Félix is planning on offering him and prepares to extradite Félix then and there. He’s speaking English, which Félix doesn’t understand, throwing Félix into a panic. Shoving his briefcase into Stechner’s hands, Félix frantically repeats, “Open! Open!” And when Stechner finally does, he sees that Félix hasn’t brought him money: he’s brought maps, air-travel routes. Félix knows that one of the planes the CIA uses to smuggle arms to Central and South American rebels was recently exposed, and he’s offering up his organization to discreetly traffic guns on the CIA’s behalf.
Both of these moments are so fantastic, for two reasons. First, they show that one of Félix’s greatest assets is his ability to recognize what people want. He’s ridiculously wealthy, but he knows that sometimes information or access talks more than money. Before he makes a move, he thinks long and hard about the players involved and tries to figure out what will get them into his pocket.
But crucially, Félix doesn’t actually know if these risks are going to pay off. He can arm himself as well as he can with what he thinks will protect him, but there’s no guarantee until the plan actually bears out. You know those moments in a story when it looks like there’s no way out for the hero, and then it turns out they were five steps ahead the whole time? (Eleven-era Doctor Who is rife with these.) While they’re a nice display of smarts and foresight, I always feel a bit robbed narratively. I don’t like it when the hero’s reaction to facing their apparent end is all an act, meant to throw the baddie off the scent until the reveal that the hero’s been orchestrating everything all along. Now, Félix obviously isn’t a hero, but I find it so much more interesting that, when he’s in these dangerous situations, he’s very genuinely freaking out. I love watching this incredibly-controlled man lose his shit and try to claw back the upper hand through his shrewd strategizing and sheer force of will. Even if I can assume he’ll find a way to pull it off (until the end of his two seasons on the show, of course,) there’s a much greater tension as I watch him scramble and think, “How’s he going to get out of this one?” So good.
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A couple more good bits on Marvel folks going gaga over Tony Leung Chiu-wai (as they should.) When asked what it was like working with Leung, Simu Liu had this to say:
Like a master class in acting every single day. He is every bit as legendary as the legends say. What makes Tony so incredibly watchable is his stillness, his ability to convey such emotional colour with a single glance. For a newbie like me coming to set full of nervous energy, he really grounded me and forced me to be still and present.
Also, I just love that my job was to literally stare into Tony's eyes for hours at a time.
I also like this video from Kevin Feige, where he says Leung is “a whole different layer of movie star” and admits to being “nearly speechless” when they met. When Leung was first announced for Shang-Chi, as excited as I was for him to be making his U.S. debut at all, let alone in an MCU movie, my biggest tempering thought was, “Marvel had better not waste him.” But everyone involved in the production who talks about him recognizes just how fortunate they are to have his involvement and collaboration. I started to feel that when I saw how integral Wenwu/Leung was in the trailers, but the more MCU people discuss him, the more assured I feel in that regard.
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