Narcos: Mexico season 2

Narcos: Mexico season one was a great move for the series as it looked beyond Columbia and explored Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo's rise to power with what would lead to America's bloody war on drugs that continues to this day. Just like the original series, the show was packed with colourful characters, a sharp screenplay that pushed the story forward and tremendous performances from the entire cast. It was simply a great first season and one I could easily recommend and so I quickly jumped in to season two but this wasn't quite everything I had hoped for. 

Season one ended with the violent death of Enrique Camarena (Michael Peña) when Félix's (Diego Luna) hands were forced by some powerful friends he wanted to keep on good terms with in order to expand his business. The death of the DEA agent saw Scoot McNairy's rugged agent, Walt Breslin, arrive on the scene right at the end with a team to uncover why Enrique died and hunt down those responsible. As someone unfamiliar with what really happened, I didn't see Camarena's death coming and it was shocking to see a character who Peña had charismatically brought to the screen to then be murdered. Season two picks off with Félix rubbing shoulders with Mexico's government, maintaining business with the Cali cartel and trying to balance his new empire, that includes such infamous members as Amado Carrillo Fuentes and Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán.

I couldn't wait to get back into this show and for the most part it was everything I had hoped for as it explores what went down with the Guadalajara Cartel and their relationship with Columbia. Granted, the show was missing Camarena now, and Don Neto, Jaime and Rafa were largely absent who I had enjoyed watching last season but this season's focus of on the amusing relationship between Amado and Pablo, Félix's intriguing work with corrupt Mexican government officials, El Chapo's attempts to beat Félix's at his own game and Walt's pursuit to avenge Camarena were more than enough to keep this season entertaining. Visually this season was flawless as I've come to expect from this series, even though I do prefer the lush forests of Columbia, and the cast are all amazing but there was something off that bothered me towards the end. 

The Narcos series has always acknowledged that the events depicted have been altered for dramatic effect, which can be mean changing dates, condensing events and fictionalising certain aspects if it means creating a good story. However, I noticed that towards the end of this season the show was setting several episodes around key dates that featured the year because it was integral to the story but within several episodes we had jumped three or four years. 

Combining this with reduced narration, it was disappointing that the show was going from seeing x character at the the height of their power to complete ruin in the following episode when in reality the story was very different. This meant certain bits of the narrative just didn't flow as well as previous seasons managed to do. After doing a bit of reading it seems this season pushed the envelope on this technique more than any other from Narcos which didn't spoil the show but it did dampen my overall experience. The same can also be said of Scoot McNairy's Walt, a fictionalised character with a tacked-on backstory, who wasn't all that engaging and who felt more like a plot device. Thankfully Luna's performance and the rest of the supporting cast kept the story on track even if there were still a few odd plot conveniences.

Narcos: Mexico season two is unfortunately marred by the desire to bend reality for the stake of its story but these bumps aren't enough to jeopardise an otherwise hugely engrossing second outing south of the border. I do have my nitpicks but there are still plenty of great moments that kept me hooked and fans will find more than enough to be kept entertained, and ready for whenever we'll get season three.