Joel Fry-days / Other Doctor Lives: Twenty Twelve: Series 2, Episode 5 – “Catastrophisation” (2012)

Look, I’m not ashamed to admit that my interest in Twenty Twelve shoots up dramatically when Joel Fry is in the episode. No disrespect to David Tennant, whose narration is always enjoyable, but I’m 100% in this for Fry/Karl from here until the end of the series.

We’ve done a time jump—it’s now four weeks out from the Games, assorted characters have different hairstyles, and last-minute concerns are being addressed. Ian and Graham attend planning meetings on security and “catastrophisation,” headed up by high-ranking members of the Metropolitan police and recently joined by an American delegation there to iron out security arrangements for Michelle Obama. After previous bids fell apart, Kay is now scrambling to find a permanent use for the Olympic Stadium after the Games, and Siobhan and her team are tasked with rebranding an information packet to assist with public transit during the Olympics.

Shoutout to Ian as he tries to lead a distracted commission through a busy breakfast meeting. He tells them, “I just wanted to get ahead of the game a bit, or should I say ahead of the Games?”, after which he pauses and glances around the table, then awkwardly continues with his agenda when nobody acknowledges the joke. He has his hands full with the catastrophisation committee as well. Not only are they trying to reassure the Americans that all security issues are under control, they’re also dealing with a rash of incidents involving starter pistols that have been doctored to fire live rounds. And Graham’s presence at important meetings has never been all that helpful.

Several episodes ago, Kay and Fi were fighting over the future of the Stadium from a sustainability vs. legacy perspective, but now it’s the hot potato that no one wants. Kay is scraping the bottom of the barrel, variously courting a rinky-dink football club and a dog track. When she informs one man, “Sustainability isn’t actually about easy solutions, it’s not about being popular,” he replies, right on cue, “Oh, you might be all right then.”

Some nice David Tennant narration lines today. Here are my favorites:

• “Aware of the crucial importance of the occasion, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Crane has come up with what amounts to nothing short of a statistical breakdown.”
• “When Walthamston Greyhound Racing Track finally closed in 2008, it was the final straw for lifelong Irishman Brian McLoughlin” – I just love that character description!

Our character of the week is Barney Lumsden, played by Alex Beckett. He’s another member of Siobhan’s PR team, her “information architect.” I hadn’t realized it, but he actually appeared back at the start of the show too, with the launch of the Olympics website. I’m highlighting Barney today because he’s on my shit list for his treatment of Karl.

The dynamic with Siobhan’s team is much the same as it was in episode 3. They’re in two scenes instead of one this time, but we follow similar comedic beats: the team pitches their ideas to Siobhan, riffing as they go, until they hit upon something she likes. Barney explains the problem with the information packet, saying, “What we found is, with words, you get too many of them, what happens is, you get like this blehhhh.” Meanwhile, Siobhan reassures them that the whole point is coming up with a catchy enough title that people don’t feel the need to actually read the packet. She likens it to airplane safety instructions: “They’ve got shit like buckles and, I dunno, whistles and stuff. And they’re having a good time, everything’s cool. I don’t need to listen to this—I’m good.”

Karl’s dynamic within the team is the same as well. Barney and Coco, the third member of the team, energetically riff, complimenting each other’s ideas and feeding off each other, while for the most part Karl just quietly repeats key words and tacks on the odd “yeah.” Because every time he does timidly put forth an idea of his own? Barney immediately dismisses in a faux-nice way that feels condescending. Here, when Karl offers a different spin on one of their branding ideas, Barney turns to him and says, “Yeah, that doesn’t actually mean anything?” (He always shoots Karl down with this lilting “statement in the tone of a question” voice.)

This is Karl’s second episode, and I’m not saying I’ve reached the “I’ve only had Arlo for a day-and-a-half” stage, but I have a lot of affection for this guy. Joel Fry’s performance is endearing and quietly funny and the way Barney treats Karl is already making me mad. While it’s true that his ideas aren’t always good, Barney and Coco’s aren’t either—they just have the good fortune to be the sort of bad ideas that Siobhan loves. But Barney never critiques anything Coco suggests, only Karl and always Karl. This man can’t add a single thing to the conversation without Barney telling him it doesn’t work. Contrast that with Siobhan, who actually is a semi-helpful manager during this pitch session. She recognizes ideas she likes, and when she hears things that are off the mark, she steers them in a better direction: that’s too many words, that’s too short, that’s too serious. In this scene, she encourages creativity by using the wrong idea as a jumping-off point to find something better. But whenever Karl tries to speak, Barney stops the idea in its tracks so there’s nowhere for it to go.

Which leads me to an important point: critiquing Karl isn’t Barney’s job! Barney’s not his boss, Siobhan is, and Siobhan doesn’t talk to any member of her team, including Karl, like that. I can’t tell if Karl’s actually an anxious person or if he’s just had it drummed into him because Barney jumps down his throat every time he plucks up the courage to open his mouth. Also, I imagine the show’s not intending this, but I don’t ignore the fact that Karl is the only Black person in the room—the only recurring BIPOC in the show, in fact—and it’s a bad look for Barney to incessantly nitpick his Black coworker. Just let my man talk, good grief!

Narcos: Mexico: Season 2, Episode 3 – “Ruben Zuno Arce” (2020)

This is an important episode, as we see different elements of the plot starting to affect one another. We also see hints of Félix’s weaknesses beyond his business concerns. Forward movement happens on all the major plots.

Walt’s team sets their sights on their next target, and their operation has now gotten them on Félix’s radar. In between juggling inter-plaza squabbles, Félix tries to shore up protection for the cartel against the Americans. Elsewhere, Amado reluctantly helps Acosta in his efforts to end an old feud once and for all.

I’ve said before that Amado and Acosta make an interesting onscreen pair, and in this episode, Acosta puts Amado through it. It’s not just that they’re made to remove a guy from his hospital bedroom and beat him for information, and it’s not just that Acosta is pulling Amado into an armed standoff. It’s that Amado is expected to do all these things without Acosta telling him anything. When Amado first pushes him for context at the hospital, Acosta completely ignores it, instead replying, “Just watch my back.” Later in the episode, Acosta tells him, “Enough with the questions,” and Amado explodes, “Then give me some answers!”

The next move is made in the escalating tensions between Tijuana and Sinaloa. At his sister’s urging, Benjamín takes their grievances to Félix in the hopes of securing a better position for their family. After Benjamín thanks Enedina for her suggestions, she replies pointedly, “I’ve got lots of good ideas.” She’s been a good addition this season. As we saw with Isabella in season 1, there are women in this ecosystem who have the intelligence, ambition, and ruthlessness needed for the cartel, but they’re being shut out from being major players. It can be a bit “you could be a great drug trafficker, but sexism is holding you back!”, but I like it when stories show flawed or amoral characters experiencing bigotry. After all, it’s not something that only happens to the blameless.

As per the title, Walt’s team is now after Ruben Zuno Arce. He’s Félix’s friend who introduced him to his uncle in government in season 1, and even though he isn’t that important in and of himself, he’s a very tangible link to some of the big fish the DEA hope to catch, including Félix as well as a number of government officials. If they can get Zuno in their pocket, they stand to open all manner of doors.

Félix is definitely rattled by what he’s hearing of this American operation, but he’s doing his best to convey strength within that, coldly telling his bought-and-paid-for DFS leader to take care of this for him and standing firm against suggestions that he go into hiding. Knowing that the DEA is still on the warpath would be bad news for him under any circumstances, but he’s especially focused on his plans to make an important move with Colombia and doesn’t want anything to get in the way of that.

It's while he’s dealing with all this that he gets Benjamín’s call about the Sinaloans. In what might be Félix’s motto for keeping the cartel together, he tells his nephew, “Jealousy hurts business. Money is lost. This comes to an end, today.” You can feel how done he is in this conversation—if everyone would just put their personal shit aside, they could all get on with raking in money hand over fist, but no one seems to care about that but him.

Another bold move Félix makes to protect the cartel comes when he confronts his government partner directly. Much like his interactions with Cali always seem to back him into a corner, his interactions with the government are frequently a balancing act of dominance and submission. Félix is very assertive in this episode, reminding Mr. X, “You’re going nowhere without my money,” as he insists that the government do their part to keep the DEA away. At the same time, though, he has to keep his cool and not rise to the bait of Mr. X’s insults. Mr. X tells him to lay low, saying, “Run off. Scurry into the hole rats like you crawled out of.” Some of this, yes, is about Félix being a criminal, but it also has a strong classist undercurrent. Félix isn’t just a “rat” because he’s a drug trafficker; his government partner wants to remind him that, no matter how much money he earns, he’ll always be trash simply because of where he comes from. When Félix asks Mr. X what he knows about ancient Rome, borrowing an analogy from the previous episode, he immediately sneers, “I guarantee [I know] more than you.” And even though Félix knows how powerful he is and how much he’s accomplished, he needs to respond evenly, “I’m sure you do.” It’s fascinating to watch how he navigates this rage-inducing dynamic—the way Diego Luna plays it, it’s as if we the audience can see the reaction that Félix isn’t showing to the person who’s insulting him. I’m not sure how he manages that, but it’s really effective.

Y tu Luna también: Narcos: Mexico: Season 2, Episode 2 – “Alea lacta Est” (2020)

My first time watching Narcos: Mexico, I remember I really enjoyed season 1, and of course Diego Luna’s performance was excellent, but season 2 was when things kicked it up a notch. This is a great episode, even as we’re still laying the groundwork for what’s to come.

Félix travels to meet with an opium trafficker from eastern Mexico, but Juan Nepomuceno Guerra’s “let’s get to know each other” approach tests the narco’s business-minded patience. When Amado learns that Acosta has gone awol in Juarez, the search for his boss takes him across the border. In Tijuana, Benjamín tries to hold the line despite increasing disrespect from their partners in Sinaloa and Enedina urging the family to make a deal in the States for themselves. And Walt’s team have abducted Sergio Verdin, ex-DFS and one of the chief men who tortured Kiki, but trying to interrogate a skilled interrogator proves difficult.

There are a good number of moving parts in this episode, and each element works well. Last season, we saw Amado clashing a little with Acosta in Juarez but ultimately coming to respect the old trafficker. In this episode, Acosta is causing headaches for him, disappearing without a word and grinding their plaza to a halt. When he finds out Acosta has gone to Texas, Amado is both annoyed and wary as he crosses the border to try and retrieve his boss. These two are always an interesting pair, because Amado often presents as smooth in a low-key way and just a little intimidating, but Acosta is completely immune to him. When he introduces Amado to his gringa girlfriend Mimi, Acosta refers to his all-black wardrobe explaining, “He’s always dressed like this. Dressed like a crow.”

Benjamín has been not-so-quietly seething for a while over the Sinaloans. They came into the cartel on the growing side, back when they were trafficking marijuana, and because they’re now running cocaine, a plaza that isn’t on the border might feel surplus to requirements. But they have a home connection to Félix, so they stick around, using Tijuana’s warehouses and trucks for their share of the product. The way Benjamín sees it, they should either grovel for the privilege of sharing Tijuana’s stuff, or they should get the hell out. Needless to say, the Sinaloans don’t see it that way. Tensions escalate in this episode, and all the while, Enedina is doing her best Lady Macbeth, encouraging him to make direct arrangements with American dealers behind Félix’s back.

Over with Walt’s crew, they’ve bitten off much more than they can chew. Walt explains in voiceover, “We [Americans] wrote the fucking book on interrogation,” and now trying to interrogate Verdin, who was trained by the CIA, is more than they bargained for. These scenes are so well done—it’s almost embarrassing to watch Walt just fecklessly punching Verdin and saying, “Give me the name,” over and over. He tires himself out long before Verdin breaks, leaving their captive with most of the chips in this situation. Kidnapping the doctor who administered adrenaline to Kiki was one thing. This is a whole different ball game.

Félix goes to meet Juan Nepomuceno Guerra as a man on a mission. He’s someone who almost always has an agenda or a strategy, and he’s thrown off when he encounters someone who seems impervious to that. Don Juan assures him that, while they will get to the business talk eventually, “First, we must talk life.” What Félix envisioned as a focused meeting turns into an all-day affair, complete with a big family party and Don Juan showing him the bridge he takes to traffic opium. Félix doesn’t push too hard, quickly realizing that won’t get him what he wants, but his body language makes it evident that he’s on edge the whole time. Diego Luna does a nice job of continually showing us where Félix’s head is, even as he’s hanging more in the background of a scene.

Félix has always been good at tailoring his approach to give people what they want, but Don Juan is a tough nut for him to crack. Fundamentally, he doesn’t particularly want anything Félix has to offer. Opium is a comparatively safe, reliable product that he grows himself and has control over, and he already has all the money he needs. He’s an older man who doesn’t really get caught up in Félix’s vision of the future. But Félix has a big idea that hinges on Don Juan’s partnership. So how can he convince him?

Throughout much of the episode, Luna’s performance is very understated as Félix hangs back, observing things and trying to figure out how to put his plan into action. But near the end, he has a big spotlight moment as he gives his final pitch to Don Juan. It’s a little reminiscent of Félix’s scene with Pablo Escobar in season 1, where we see him strip back the logic and the numbers and really get real with someone. We see the frequently unflappable man show his passion—it’s a wonderful scene, and Luna is incredible in it.