AGENT OF CHANGE
DEA battles Mexican drug cartel in new ‘Narcos’ season
T V producers and writers love their drug cartels, as the Emmystrewn legacy of “Breaking Bad” and its pale imitators testify.
There’s lots of sweaty, roll-around-in-prop-vomit acting, lots more violence than network television will allow and the satisfaction of doing something visceral and relevant after years of churning out procedurals such as “NCIS.”
But no one portrays the labyrinthine world of the modern drug cartel in all of insidious complexity as well as the Netflix “Nar
cos” franchise. Its explosive firstseason, anchored by a titanic performance by Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar, was set in the exotic jungles and majestic mountains of Colombia and featured two real-life American DEA agents, Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Pena (Pedro Pascal), as his naive nemeses. For “Narcos: Mexico,” the series’ fourth season, the action moves to Mexico in the years between 1980-85, when the DEA was tangled up in red tape and Nancy Reagan was photographed riding horses while holding up a “Just Say No” sign, sure to end the war on drugs.
Enter Fresnobased, real-life agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena (Michael Pena). He’s desirable to his bosses because his Mexican heritage allows him to blend. That’s not enough for Kiki. He’s champing at the bit to see some action — and actu- ally do his job, unlike the sedentary desk jockeys on duty — and accepts a post in Guadalajara when he’s passed over for a promotion in the US. That office, sleepy with complacency, is ripe for a shake-up, and Kiki is ready to make his colleagues resent him for his dedication. Turns out the feckless Mexican cartel is ripe for its own takeover. Sinaloan drug trafficker Miguel Felix Gallardo (Diego Luna) is another young upstart. Where Kiki’s intent is true, Gallardo’s in nothing but sinister. He wants to produce “enough weed to supply the American market for years.” With his wayward retinue of henchmen, he figures out how to grow an especially potent crop in the desert, and a few episodes later, has governors, the Jalisco police and the Federal Security Directorate eating out of his hand while raking in millions per week.
In a voiceover provided by Scoot McNairy, who appears later in the series, it’s clear the DEA is oblivious to Gallardo’s activities. When Kiki infiltrates the desert pot field, posing as a day picker, he finally has the evidence he needs to tell his cautious superiors to wake up. Is it too late? “Narcos: Mexico” will keep you guessing — and watching.
With his fierce dark eyes and focused intensity, Pena is an ex- cellent choice to play the intrepid Kiki, whose trajectory kicks off the modern-day drug war between Mexico and the US. As Gallardo, the slightly built Mexican actor Diego Luna has an entirely different vibe than the imposing Moura — he talks and walks softly but moves easily within Mexico’s underworld, making deals and quickly assessing who his true allies are. When putting together his team, he selects a young man named Joaquin. Informed by his posse that they already have too many men on board with that name, Gallardo asks him, “What else do they call you?” “Chapo,” he says. Yes, El Chapo (Joaquin Guzman), who’s currently on trial in Brooklyn, is played as a young man by Alejandro Edda and has a cameo in “Narcos: Mexico.” Not even “Breaking Bad” could top that.