Netflix dropped all 10 episodes of the second season ofNarcoson September 2.
There are two recaps per page, so feel free to dig in and read along while you watch.
On with the recaps!
Credit: Juan Pablo Gutierrez/Netflix
Episode 1: Free at Last
“Okay, here we go again.”
But how did he escape, you might ask?
The goal is to stop Pablo from moving around Medellin and bringing his empire back into the game.
You see, his empire has been split in his absence.
The Medellin Cartel is really just a number of smaller gangs, and those gangs are in flux.
Clearly, season 2 will be about the growing need to capture Pablo Escobar.
Buckle up, season 2 ofNarcosis here.
It’s another PR move, another interview that makes him a hero to many people in Colombia.
Only Limon’s friend Maritza is safe, and only because Limon keeps her hidden from La Quica.
This time though, Escobar isn’t just going to accept the slight victory.
He’s going to retaliate.
It turns out that’s kind of his modus operandi.
It’s a last ditch effort, but it could work.
When Pablo is informed that Carrillo is back in Medellin, the look on his face is pure terror.
Heknowsthis man is a threat, and maybe the only thing that can stop Pablo’s reign.
Tata knows too; all she wants to do is flee before her husband is killed.
Narcoshas been good at balancing all of its different tones to start this season.
These are kids, and yet Carrillo has no sympathy.
While flying to Bogaton, Gato and his sidekick refuse to give up any information on Pablo.
So Carrillo pushes them both out of the helicopter and watches them plummet to their death.
The drug war and hunt for Pablo Escobar is taking its toll.
In the meantime, Pablo is retaliating, bringing in Valeria to interview a young spotter who survived.
It all sounds like a game, but the consequences, as this episode proves, are very real.
So, Pablo turns to writing a letter that he has Fernando send to newspapers all across the country.
None of them publish the letter.
Pablo is losing the attention and favor of the people, and he’s not happy about it.
That state of mind is important to this episode.
For perhaps the first time this season it really feels like Pablo Escobar isthisclose to being caught.
Essentially, Pablo’s operation is in disarray.
That’s important because this is an integral episode to the plotting of this season.
Basically, Limon convinces Maritza that if they turn Pablo Escobar in, they can both be free.
They organize a takedown and everything is looking good.
That is, until therealplan is actually executed.
First, Murphy and Pena are left behind because of bureaucracy, which doesn’t make them too happy.
A car bomb goes off and a truck blocks the men from escaping.
He’s left for Pablo.
The drug kingpin stands over him, gives him back his bullet, and then shoots him dead.
Now, everything has changed.
This was his plan all along, to work himself and Maritza into Pablo’s favor.
Don Berna has brought Pena to meet with Judy and the Castanos brothers.
You know what they say: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
It’s a typical placeholder episode.
That means it’s a necessary episode, if not exactly the most exciting of the season so far.
When Gaviria asks Colonel Martinez to take the job, he refuses.
For Pablo, home life is good.
With Carrillo taken care of, he’s feeling free, and business is picking back up.
So, they send word back to Miami and wait for his arrival.
Something fishy is being set up here, but we’ll have to wait for answers.
So, he turns to the one option he knows will come through: Don Berna.
Berna shows up with his muscle and together they take down a few sicarios and snag Velasco.
Berna takes Velasco back to his compound and tortures him, but the man doesn’t give up much.
The only information Don Berna gets is the addresses of three accountants on Pablo Escobar’s payroll.
It’s something, I guess.
Still, the relationship between Pena and Berna is cemented.
None of this comes without a price though.
No need to be subtle,Narcos.
It’s signed “Los Pepes.”
“Who the hell are Los Pepes?”
I think we’re about to find out.
Episode 6: Los Pepes
“Los Pepes” begins by looking at the past.
So, we start by seeing Pablo having a race with Gustavo.
It’s a jovial if competitive affair, largely because Pablo has an ego the size of Colombia.
They’re sending a message, and it’s starting to get under Pablo’s skin.
Thankfully, Pena manages to talk Los Pepes down at a checkpoint run by Martinez’s son.
He gets there just in time, as the scene is only moments away from turning into a bloodbath.
That disdain leads to a vicious attack, and another wonderfully shot, violent scene.
Pablo’s men manage to set off a bomb at the wedding of Rodriguez’s daughter.
It’s an attack that the Cali cartel considers to be crossing the line.
They vow to hit back with no mercy.
Of course, they have to find Pablo first.
Tata and the kids barely make it out alive, but Tata’s brother Carlos isn’t so lucky.
He’s in a tough spot.
He’s backed into a corner and literally burning money to keep his family warm.
But, we know that Pablo usually finds his way out of that corner.
We’re at the halfway point of the season, and things are about toreallyheat up.
A traditional, everyday family is getting ready for work and school in the morning.
There are all the typical cues: untied shoes, hurried breakfasts, and worries about money.
This scene, however, is necessary.
It gives us a peek outside of that narrow focus.
Colombia is reeling, and innocent citizens are living in constant fear.
That’s because Los Pepes and Pablo Escobar are continually upping the violence of their attacks.
“Deutschland 93” is all about the escalation of violence.
It’s about establishing just how volatile the situation in Colombia really is.
Do they deserve to be punished for Pablo’s crimes?
And then there’s Pablo.
Two-hundred and twenty pounds of C-4 goes off near the Presidential Palace.
He’s keeping his family safe while destroying countless others.
This is the reality for the people of Colombia.
Episode 8: Exit El Patron
Narcosworks within a pretty familiar pattern.
There’s an ebb and flow to the season that becomes obvious as the season rolls on.
It’s like clockwork, but unless you’re a horologist, clockwork isn’t exactly exciting.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t some intriguing aspects to the episode.
All that killing while his family is safely in protective custody, too.
There’s no more expansion, only regression.
Pacho and the Cali Cartel take over in Miami, and the Lion is killed.
The police arrest Blackieandhe hands over information to Pena and Murphy that leads to the capture of La Quica.
Pablo is on the outside now, fighting for his life while everything around him crumbles.
All is not lost for Pablo just yet though.
But Pablo is too savvy.
Escobar remains alive though, with only Limon by his side.
It’s not much.
Escobar is slowly losing his control and influence.
With only two episodes left in the season, surely another confrontation is right around the corner.
The question is: Will it be Pablo’s final violent confrontation?
Alas, “Nuestra Finca” is the more quiet, contemplative episode.
Much like the trajectory of season 1, the second season ofNarcosis spinning its wheels in its later episodes.
It’s been one month and 14 days since there’s been any news whatsoever about Pablo Escobar.
The DEA and the Search Bloc are sitting still, with nothing new to work on.
That is until a chasm definitively develops within Los Pepes.
They’re not a collective anymore.
So, they take the next logical step: They attempt to kill Judy Moncada.
The bombing ends up killing her driver instead of her, but the message is sent.
That sends Judy Moncada straight to Pena.
She wants a deal.
Judy never makes it to the interview though, but not for the reasons we might assume.
You see, there are complex political motivations at play here.
Like I said, lots of complex motivations here, and lots of backdoor politicking.
Along with Limon, Pablo is hiding out at his father’s secluded farmhouse in the country.
He was perhaps always destined to bePablo Escobar.
Now, he drives away from the comfort of the farmhouse, back to Medellin and an uncertain future.
Episode 10: Al Fin Cayo!
The dream is no longer alive.
That dream: President Pablo Escobar.
It’s the lowest we’ve seen Pablo Escobar.
Little does he know, it won’t be the lowest he gets before this episode ends.
“Al Fin Cayo!”
is all about winding down the story of Pablo Escobar.
Back in Medellin, Colonel Pinzon’s son believes he’s finally found Escobar.
He’s picked up a signal coming from Casablanca.
So, Gaviria orders Pinzon to set up a temporary home base there for snag Escobar.
For a short time however, they’re safe.
The search for Pablo is back on.
Narcoshas sometimes spent too much time on scenes where Pablo Escobar doesn’t get caught.
But that all changes in “Al Fin Cayo!”
because we canfeelthat this is it.
This is the moment where Pablo’s reign finally ends.
The DEA and Search Bloc swarm the place immediately.
As Pablo tries to escape across the rooftops of Medellin, Murphy shoots him twice in the back.
“Long live Colombia,” he screams.
If only justice was that simple.
You see, Pablo Escobar may be dead, but that doesn’t solve Colombia’s drug trafficking issues.
So, the story doesn’t end with Pablo.
There’s a twist though.
The hearing has been called off.
The story isn’t over because the war on drugs isn’t over.
Season 3 can’t come soon enough.
