While Narcos proves that it can pivot beyond its initial focus, following the DEA from one Colombian cartel to another, its spin-off proves that the format doesn’t need to be limited to a single country. Narcos: Mexico rolls back the clock and looks at events that were unfolding in Mexico around the same time as the original series, and I am all about the gangster-drama energy that it brings.
In the late ‘70s, former police officer Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo teams up with Rafa Caro Quintero, a botanical whiz who’s engineered a new, more profitable strain of marijuana. Félix maximizes revenue by getting a number of smaller cartels across Mexico to band together, then sets his sights on the even more lucrative business of trafficking Colombian cocaine. As the DEA struggles against government corruption to chase the Guadalajara cartel, Félix builds an empire in which everyone has a slice of the pie but needs him to get it.
While I enjoy Narcos, it only infrequently reaches the heights I’d been hoping for going into the series, but Narcos: Mexico really delivers for me. I’m not sure how much of that is tighter plotting/more engaging characters vs. me just getting into the groove of how the franchise operates. Either way, I find Narcos: Mexico taut and thrilling. There are a lot of players to follow in multiple plazas, not to mention the beleaguered DEA agents, police officers on the take, dirty politicians, and a meddling CIA agent, but I’m able to keep track of the various rivalries and power plays well.
One of the things the show does best is explore how the only criminals here aren’t the narcos. Nearly every aspect of Mexican government and law enforcement is involved to some extent, which is partly how Félix manages to become so indispensable, and the U.S. contributes in different ways to the very drug war it’s fighting. This is a theme that was first put forward by Narcos, but Narcos: Mexico sharpens it, laying it out in a really dramatically-compelling way.
On the DEA side this time around, we follow Michael Peña’s determined Kiki Camarena, while Scoot McNairy (Gordon from Halt and Catch Fire) shows up as the hell-or-high-water Walt Breslin in season 2 after initially only providing narration. In the cartel, we have Joaquín Cosio (who plays Pop on Gentefied) as good-old-boy Don Neto, and while I’m not familiar with Tenoch Huerta, he’s excellent as the emotional, impulsive Rafa. We also get some brief crossover appearances from a handful of Narcos characters, and José María Yazpik, whose Mexican smuggler Amado first showed up in a guest appearance on Narcos, takes a much larger role here.
But the star of the show is Diego Luna in his fantastic performance as Félix. Not gonna lie – part of my greater love for this series over original-recipe Narcos is probably down to the fact that the actor I was most excited to see in it has such a meaty role. On Narcos, Pedro Pascal plays Agent Peña for all he’s worth, but Félix is much more complex and fascinating. Luna is simply electric to watch onscreen, often softly unassuming and yet still such a commanding presence.
Warnings
Graphic violence, sexual content, drinking/smoking/drug use, language, and strong thematic elements.
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