What I’m Watching: Narcos (Season Premiere)

Narcos: Season 3, Episode 1 “The Kingpin Strategy” (B+)

This show has a lot to live up to now that the protagonist from its first two seasons is no longer around, and this premiere was very much a reboot. I don’t think anyone is too broken up about the departure of Boyd Holbrook’s Steve, though I do think his narrating was a bit better than Javier’s. This episode very clearly defined the Cali cartel as an altogether different beast from Pablo and his crew, just as cutthroat but far more discreet in the follow-up to their horrific acts. Seeing a man ripped in half was deeply disturbing, and knowing that these guys had a plan to make sure that no one ever found is body is more quietly terrifying than Pablo leaving it for the whole country to see since it’s not even possible to know the scope of what they’ve been up to. There are a few familiar players still on the ground in Colombia, like Eric Lange’s Bill, and a handful of new ones, portrayed by recognizable actors I’ve come to know well from other shows. Edward James Olmos of “Battlestar Galactica” fame doesn’t seem like he’ll be back again since Javier was away from his work and that’s where he comes in, and we didn’t see much of Kerry Bishé from “Scrubs” and “Virtuality” as Christina. The duo of Nicholas Gonzalez from “The Flash” and Shea Wigham from “Boardwalk Empire” saw their operation tank very quickly with their covert photographer found out immediately, and I’m not yet sure exactly what role Miguel Angel Silvestre from “Sense8” will play. I’m definitely intrigued, and equally eager and nervous to see where this season will go.