“The enemy of my enemy is my friend until he becomes my enemy again.”
It’s time to meet the Cali Cartel, a.k.a.
the “Gentlemen of Cali.”
Credit: Juan Pablo Gutierrez/Netflix
2, Miguel Rodriguez; and his brother, cartel CEO Gilberto Rodriguez.
Before we even get to Gilberto’s reveal, the party has plenty of significant developments.
First, Andres' not-so-secret camera (which is pretending to be a button) draws Jorge’s attention.
Such a deal will include minimal prison sentences and the ability to hold on to their illegal funds.
“We have six months to make as much money as possible,” he declares to rousing applause.
Salazar is also on the tapes, but his only crime is being a bad husband.
Another bloodbath complicates them."
Pena isn’t ecstatic to hear that the plan is for the brothers and company to surrender.
“And those fing guys walk?”
If that’s the case, then he’s not sure why he’s even there.
“Always helps to have a hero on board,” quips Stechner.
Bad news: The photos are of the lieutenants meeting with Andres.
Cali knows all, especially since they basically own the phone company.
As a token of respect, Pacho brings a bottle of liquor to Salazar’s table.
They will drink together, but first, Pacho must get his dance on with his gentleman friend.
David (Broad Cityscene-stealer Arturo Castro) screwed up big time.
With Pena promoted and Murphy gone, we meet our new on-the-ground DEA officers.
Still unable to track down her husband, Maria returns to her hotel to find Navegante waiting.
Respect for being upfront about the fact that you murdered her husband; most people wouldn’t do that.
The two factions engage in a shootout that leaves only Chepe and one of his men standing.
That’s going to be pretty, pretty high profile.
On David’s suggestion, a reluctant Jorge is sent to confront the inspector with the information.
This leads the inspector to officially declare the incident an accident.
Pena is tracking Franklin, and after spotting Christina, he puts a legally questionable tap on her phone.
Despite seemingly landing on common ground, Pena and Stechner engage in a feisty back-and-forth.
A baffled Stechner replies, “The drug war?
Oh c’mon man, we lost it.”
Upon their arrival in Cali, Chris and Dan are greeted by Captain Calderon from the local police.
Ongoing negotiations with the government over their surrender have sent Miguel and Gilberto into hiding.
Jorge assigns Enrique to keep an eye on the agents.
Pacho has made it to Mexico with his brother to meet with Carrillo, a.k.a.
“Lord of the Skies.”
“I made a place for myself,” he says.
His brother insists he should just enjoy his billions (I often do the same).
Not knowing that her husband is dead, Maria is faced with quite the dilemma.
Meanwhile, Salazar’s mom is pissed at Maria and wants vengeance against the Rodriguez brothers.
Maria decides to accept the apartment on the condition that Miguel get her son back from his evil grandmother.
When she begins to undress, he stops her and tells her to settle in.
What a classy guybesides the whole “drug kingpin who killed her husband” thing.
Calderon suggests they go back to Bogota to get a warrant.
Much to his displeasure, it turns out they already have a warrant.
Reluctantly, Calderon requests backup.
Even though Dan thinks this is a waste of time, the team goes in.
The agents, on the other hand, are being sent back to Cali.
While waiting for their plane, Dan tells Chris about his time spent in Chile.
Why bring this up?
Because he detected a Chilean accent from Pallomariand if the accountant is from Chile, he can be extradited.
They blow off their flight and go back to stake out Pallomari’s office.
Eventually, the agents trail Cordova and Pallomari to a house, where they spot Gilberto.
When they arrive at the location and key in Calderon, he looks more than a tad nervous.
He has three wives, and they all get along.
Armed with more friends than enemies, Gilberto is determined not to “die on some sty rooftop.”
Burn on, Pablo.
Well, Pena is all of those things, except for lucky, apparently.
Bursting inside, they come up completely empty.
3 answers the door, Gilberto is upstairs, thus giving him the chance to hide.
To a killer like Navegante, this is very confusing.
Thankfully, Navegante sneaks up and grabs the old lady, giving Jorge the chance to snatch the boy.
He opens them up to find Gilberto holding a gun.
“I’m a man of peace,” argues the kingpin after he drops the weapon.
This leads to a high-speed chase through the streets of Cali.
The dirty cops catch up and pull over the truck, but psychit’s the wrong one.
The real truck arrives at the airport, where they’re greeted by more police.
Despite the less-than-ideal circumstances, the kingpin is convinced the arrest won’t stand.
He wants to know how this could have happened.
Pena doesn’t exactly receive a hero’s welcome following Gilberto’s incarceration.
“Men like me would give our lives to arrest a man like him,” says Martinez.
“But now, you’re all alone.”
In his narration, he declares, “Gilberto’s arrest proved that these guys could be caught.”
These guys are in big trouble."
The “Lord of the Skies” respects the decision.
Jorge believes their inside man and wonders instead if they found Gilberto because Pallomari was driven there by Cordova.
“You think Miguel will let this slide?”
“Not a fing chance.”
He attempts to convince his “brother” to throw Calderon under the bus.
“It’s either him or us,” he insists.
Despite Jorge providing a small defense of Calderon, Miguel wants an eye kept on the officer.
When she gets up to leave, he reveals his true identity.
She’s still not interested…for now.
“You’re running out of time,” he says, urging her to convince Franklin to help.
He’s quickly pulled away by a call from David, who says Miguel has called a meeting.
Jorge’s immediate attempts to get ahold of Cordova are unsuccessful.
With Miguel nowhere in sight, David welcomes Jorge and takes him for a walk through the property.
Against his will, Calderon soon joins them.
David is into it; Jorge is not.
The house tour moves to another room, where a beaten Cordova is being held.
They caught him making a run for it with his family.
With the dirty work done, Miguel finally shows up to rally/scare the troops.
“My brother is in prison because we were weak,” he declares.
“These are the consequences.”
He really doesn’t have a choice in the matter.
That’s how Javier Pena describes the Cali Cartel after the takedown of Gilberto Rodriguez.
While the North Valley prepares to make their move, Jorge is doing his own moving and shaking.
Of course, nothing is ever that easy onNarcos.
As Chris and Dan debate whether to trust Jorge, Pena tracks down Franklin.
They follow him to a restaurant, and once they spot him, the foot chase is on.
Franklin nearly escapes, but Pena catches up to him in a crowded market square.
The cops swarm and arrest him, bringing him to a plane for extradition.
With that done, Pena calls Christina and tells her about the arrest.
None of that goes as planned.
Starkman tells Pena that his deal won’t hold up and that Franklin will be free in no time.
Like I said, nothing is ever easy onNarcos.
As Pena’s plan falls through, so too does Jorge’s.
They’re not going to stand idly by while North Valley tries to move in on their turf.
Miguel takes the lead and calls for war, and everyone else seems prepared to follow suit.
That may sound snarky, but it’s true.
It’s an endless cycle.
In a way though, that endless cycle contributes to the thematic underpinnings of the show.
The DEA only recently arrested Gilberto Rodriguez, which was a huge win.
But now they’re right back at it, trying to capture Miguel.
There’s no end in sight.
Despite the repetition, this may be the best episode of the season.
Of course, the episode isn’t strictly focused on the hunt for Miguel.
In fact, an all-out war is underway.
Whatever plans the Cali Cartel may have, they mean nothing if Miguel goes down.
The team goes from feeling empowered and determined to uncertain about their role.
When they can’t find Miguel anywhere, they begin to question the entire operation.
He somehow stifles his scream, and the DEA doesn’t have him yet.
Once again, the Cali Cartel’s hired bureaucrats have stifled the DEA’s plans.
The war is heating up, and the DEA seems to have no way of stopping it.
The nooses are tightening, and that means the action is really picking up.
The episode’s cold open is one of the shorter and more effective ones this season.
Navegante, fresh off his kidnapping of Christina, pulls his car into the middle of the dark jungle.
The soldiers walk all night, bringing Christina to a camp and putting her in a makeshift cell.
Then the credits roll, letting us steep in that uncertainty.
Now though, the lead suspect is Enrique.
So, Jorge gets a call to bring him in.
While Miguel suspects Enrique, it’s clear that David isn’t even close to trusting Jorge.
As if the leak isn’t enough, Miguel is also dealing with his brother behind bars.
The two are consistently butting heads over the direction of the cartel.
Thankfully for Pena, Don Berna loves killing communists, and he has private militia at his disposal.
While Pena wades into the jungle in the night, Jorge is scrambling.
When Jorge shows up though, it’s Enrique who’s strung up, beaten, and bloodied.
Enrique isn’t so lucky.
Franklin is dead, stabbed in prison in a truly brutal, gory scene.
The architect of this hit?
Nicolas, Gilberto’s son.
More importantly, does Pena have any other cards to play in his attempt to take down the cartel?
With only two episodes left in the season, the answers should be coming at a furious pace.
He dispatches a truck full of body parts with a note that simply says “call me.”
I guess severed limbs tend to put people in their place.
Of course, such strict orders only motivate Pena.
Jorge gives them the planned route of escape, and it looks like everything is in place.
As is often the case withNarcos, the raid in this episode is wonderfully filmed.
That grounding begins with Jorge heading home to his wife and helping her prepare for the worst.
They pack a set of bags and then he shows her how to use a gun.
Chris, Danny, and a bunch of Colombian soldiers wait in the tall grass outside the apartment.
They see Jorge emerge and wait by Miguel’s car, only to get called back inside moments later.
While Danny heads off to rescue Jorge’s wife and daughters, Chris and the soldiers head inside.
Miguel has a plastic bag secured over Jorge’s head, attempting to suffocate him.
That move ends up saving Jorge’s life, as he’s not quite dead yet.
For once, it’s looking like the “good” guys might finally win.
He finally sees his government as the violent, meddling body it is, and he’s completely shaken.
Episode grade: A-
Every victory onNarcosis really just a precursor to disappointment.
New bad guys pop up, or the old ones are let off easy.
As the season finale gets underway, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Sure, they may all be in jail, but that’s exactly what they wanted.
That realization sets another race against the clock in motion.
Pena needs to find Guillermo Pallomari, the chief accountant for the Cali Cartel.
The trouble is, the Cali Cartel knows this and is looking for him too.
And Jorge is wrapped up in all of this.
Just when he thought he was out, he’s pulled back in.
Pena needs him so that find Pallomari, and despite his wife’s objections, he agrees.
He’s there to kill Pallomari and anyone else who stands in his way.
As I stated at the top of the recap though, there’s no real winning here.
The endless “War on Drugs” and the lives it ruins.
Jorge and his family may be safe, but what’s become of their lives?
Living within the protection program is “its own kind of prison,” as Pena says.
So Pena goes the route of the rebel.
He resigns from the DEA and retreats to a simpler life with his father.
Isn’t that what they always say?
Isn’t there always a new danger and some new set of bad guys to fight?
