*Episode premise spoilers, which include a couple spoilers from episode 7.*
I feel like I’ve been saying, “This is a great episode for Diego Luna,” for most of this season, but it just keeps being true. It’s a strong episode all around, with some dramatic resolutions to major plots, and when you add Luna’s spectacular performance to the mix, it makes for some damn good television.
In the last episode, Walt met with Acosta and tried to convince him to inform on Félix. But Acosta, as usual, goes his own way, instead giving a tell-all interview to an American newspaper. While he prepares to weather the inevitable storm to come and Amado works to get the new planes ready in time for the monster shipment from Colombia, Félix is occupied with the presidential election. His political allies have made it clear that not just his career and wealth are contingent on their victory, but his freedom as well.
Giving the finger to both Félix and the DEA, spilling cartel dirt to the media and thinking this is a viable path to retirement, is just such an Acosta move. And I find it weirdly touching how concerned the reporter is about him. As he puts everything on the record, the reporter checks in with -+him, pointing out how dangerous this will be for him. In true Acosta fashion, the old trafficker simply says, “Next question.” (Also, it’s depressing that the DEA can’t muster even a scrap of this reporter’s human consideration toward their targets.) And afterwards, it’s interesting to watch the tension build for everyone but Acosta as they wait for the retaliation.
Amado is an interesting character. I wouldn’t say he’s loyal to Félix, because it’s not precisely loyalty. Rather, he’s very diligent. He knows where his bread is buttered, he knows where the danger is, and he’s methodical about doing what needs to be done to stay on Félix’s good side. Even though he thinks it’s nuts that Félix let the Colombians back him into accepting 70 tons of cocaine in a single shipment, he’s damned if he’s going to be the reason the gambit falls through. In any other circumstance, he’d probably be trying to get Acosta to take the target on his back more seriously, but in this episode, he’s meticulously going over each and every plane, ensuring everything is in working order.
Félix’s big plan for the election is as ingenious as it is underhanded. Basically, his idea is to create a dummy computer program to put out poll data. He knows the real votes won’t match his figures, but he knows that this election is a psychological game—if would-be Cardenas voters hear that he’s getting trounced by the PRI in the early results, they’ll get disheartened and won’t come to the polls. And when they stay home, the PRI will then get the votes they need to win outright. As Walt rather condescendingly points out in the narration, “It’s called voter suppression,” although at least he acknowledges that it’s a concept the U.S. is exceedingly familiar with.
At any rate, this is a huge swing for Félix, way out of his wheelhouse. On election day, the fake program he had built needs to stand up to scrutiny from the press, along with Cardenas and his people. Not to mention, Mr. X proved back in season 1 that he’s not exactly God’s strongest soldier when the heat is on. He will absolutely screw things up and then make it Félix’s problem.
I have to repeat, Luna is just fantastic here. Félix currently has two juggernauts breathing down his neck, the PRI and the Colombians, and he knows he can’t afford to slip up with either. Everything he holds is threatened, and his very life is on the line. He spends the whole day rubbing elbows with politicians who desperately need him but resent him for it, and he has to field multiple huge deals at once.
There’s a scene where things are really hitting the fan, and Luna plays Félix’s reaction to the crisis wonderfully. He’s not ready to be counted out, not yet—in the direst moments, he’s still frantically brainstorming—but you can all but physically see his head imploding onscreen as he grapples with the thought that he may not get out of this one. So, so good!
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