As we get deeper into this story and the establishment of the Guadalajara cartel, Félix just becomes more and more interesting as a character. This episode offers up some good chances for Diego Luna to sink his teeth into the material in an understated but compelling way.
Félix’s vision for a cartel of unified plazas across the country has gotten off the ground, and the money is rolling in. But even as everyone in the ecosystem starts reaping the rewards, greed and ego quickly lead to resentment and posturing. In particular, the DFS (the federal secret police) offering the cartel protection start to feud with Félix’s nephews Benjamín and Ramón, who run the Tijuana plaza. Though Félix is eager to project the public image of a respected tycoon, he’s forced to put out fires between his own people. And over at the DEA, Kiki has spotted the signs that the Mexican weed industry is organizing. Now he just has to convince any of the higher-ups to believe him and approve an investigation.
Kiki’s a smart and observant guy, and the phrase “go-getter” doesn’t even begin to describe him. So naturally, he’s frustrated at being hampered by red tape and indifference on every side. He’s put it together that the price of marijuana all across Mexico is now the same, suggesting collaboration between all the traffickers, but nobody in charge seems to care. One official brushes off his suspicions, smugly telling him, “Mexicans don’t work like that, Kiki. Organized, structure? They just—no offense.”
So I feel for him. At the same time, I understand why most of his coworkers are at their wit’s end with him. Because he’s the new guy in town, he’s only just experiencing all this corruption and obstruction, so he’s fired up to do something about it, and he sees everyone else’s apathy as laziness instead of a jaded resignation. At one point, he asks one of his colleagues, “Is it that you don’t give a shit, or it’s been so long you forgot what doing your job actually looks like?” Yeah, not winning any popularity contests there!
Félix goes in a few different directions here. Because, as the narrator points out, “he just understood the game better than anyone else,” the cartel enjoys success that no one but Félix could have imagined. He revels in his profits, buying a swanky hotel and showing up in sleek suits that are worlds away from his old police uniform. He used to work as a bodyguard for the governor of Sinaloa, and now his hotel is hosting the wedding of the governor’s son. He’s definitely flexing, and it feels good to rub elbows with people who used to be his social betters.
But not everyone involved in the cartel is content to rake in the money as they go along with Félix’s innovative system. Nava, the head of the DFS, is throwing his weight around in a pretty devastating way, and as his officers lock horns with Benjamín and Ramón, their escalating conflict threatens the stability of the whole operation. Much of Félix’s role within the cartel involves playing referee between a lot of dangerous men with fragile egos, and he has to calculate when to placate and when to lay down the law.
One thing I really like about Luna’s performance is seeing the seismic activity rippling beneath Félix’s calm exterior. While everyone around him gets heated, he generally keeps his eyes on the prize, remembering that their obscene profits depend on everyone playing nice with each other. So he keeps an even keel when Nava shows up at the hotel making threats and poking at his sore spots, and when it becomes clear that, no matter how immense his wealth, some people will always view him as a small fry from Sinaloa. He knows how to demand respect when he needs to, but this is always a strategic move, not an impulsive response to an insult. No, when people come along and make insinuations about him, he keeps his cool, seething only under the surface. During his meeting with Nava, it’s not until Nava leaves that Félix breaks.
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