Narcos seasons 1-3

After a trip to Cuba I wanted to learn more about that part of the world and this gradually drew me to Colombia and the Netflix series, Narcos, which explores the hunt for its country's drug lord Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel. Minor spoilers ahead for all three seasons.

The series starts wasting no time at all as we're introduced to a charismatic Escobar in the early stages of his career as he operates in the countryside of Columbia while navigating military checkpoints through bribery and threats. Escobar is played by Brazilian actor Wagner Moura who leads a very talented cast, which also includes Boyd Holbrook and Pedro Pascal as the DEA agents trying to hunt the man who is flooding America with drugs.

The first season of Narcos is thrilling to watch as it jumps through the 1970s and '80s covering a lot of ground and history, but it also manages to the keep the show engaging and straightforward without overcomplicating the details. This fortunate run continues in the second season as we're introduced to even more characters, including the Cali Cartel family, but it is the third season where the series shifts gears.

It should be common knowledge that many of the people involved in this story as no longer alive today and, following a conclusion of sorts in season two, season three takes the difficult challenge for this series as it changes focus to a new set of characters on both sides of the law with a few old faces alongside. This part of the series could have lasted for two seasons as plenty happens in the show but we only get one season, which is still no bad thing. Unlike Game of Thrones for example, Narcos doesn't have the expensive episode and then the quiet one giving the show a sense of unpredictability which is one of its greatest features. Sure the series does take some artistic liberties but it is no less exciting and has had me researching into the shows event to learn more afterwards.

If I had to fault the show for anything, it would be its characterisation of the DEA leads played by Holbrook and Pascal. We get glimpses into Holbrook's damaged persona as he risks his marriage in the pursuit of Escobar but beyond that his character serves little more than as a narration device for the first two seasons before being unceremoniously dropped out of the picture in season three. The same also goes for Pascal, who is also great, but it would have given the show a more human/emotional angle to have learnt more about the two leads particularly in the final season.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed my time watching this series and would highly recommend it. The Netflix stamp can be a kiss of death and is often the sign of something to stay away from but the team who made this series truly put a lot of hard work and passion which is exactly what was missing from the last few seasons of Game of Thrones. Sorry but it's true!