As we enter the mid-term season of mid-to-late-October, many students on and off campus will be desperately craving that one show or movie to distract themselves from the weighty day-to-day activities of university study.
Narcos, a crime drama which started streaming on Netflix in late August, presents the perfect drug for the stressed-out student’s schedule. With just 10 episodes running anywhere from 43 to 57 minutes, the fast-paced dramatization of cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar’s rise to power is ideal for a weekend of binge-watching.
Filmed in various locations across Colombia, the show’s theme—Escobar’s consolidation of power and wealth in his home nation—is told through two storylines.
One revolves around Escobar himself, detailing both his ruthless business side and his doting family life. While Brazilian actor Wagner Moura puts in a top-notch performance as the intimidating drug lord, he is not a native Spanish speaker. As such, his quiet, mumbling portrayal of Escobar was both historically inaccurate and frustrating for many Spanish-speaking viewers.
The other half of the show’s plot follows American Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent Steve Murphy’s violent conquest of the Colombian cartels. While surprisingly more fast-paced and action-filled than the Escobar subplot, the “American cowboy” routine played out by Boyd Holbrook (The Host) tires pretty quickly. The only shining moments of the American subplot come through Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones), whose portrayal of a Cuban-American DEA agent corrupted by Colombia’s various vices is both hilarious and—when appropriate—deeply emotional.
The scenery is easily the best aspect of this Netflix original. You can find gratuitous violence and largely unnecessary sex scenes all over the streaming service, but can you find any with a lush Colombian jungle background, or taking place in a fascist campaign bus? In Narcos, you can.
As a drama, the show’s storyline leaves a lot to be desired—Pablo Escobar’s drug cartel sees members inexplicably drop out for multiple episodes at a time, while the American DEA angle is every cliché about American global policing in a nutshell. But, if you can look beyond that and the vast amount of mediocre portrayals amongst the show’s stock characters, there is plenty of real value to be had.
The soundtrack is fantastic—Rodrigo Amarante’s “Tuyo” serves as a great theme song—and the show follows a tangible historical timeline, with everything from political assassinations to Escobar family births being factual. Add in the jaw-dropping visuals throughout its 10 episodes, and it could be a lot worse.
Give Narcos the ol’ college try. At the very least, Moura’s chilling catchphrase as the drug kingpin Escobar—plata o promo (gold or lead)—might inspire you to hit the books a little bit longer.
Rating: One enthusiastic index finger clicking “next episode” instead of turning textbook pages.
