What I’m Watching: Narcos

Narcos: Season 3, Episode 8 “Convivir” (B+)

This show is a masterful thriller, in this episode taking two intense events and playing them out at the same time to maximize suspense and intensity. For every minor win the good guys on this show get, there’s a major setback that proves utterly devastating, making everything that led up to it feel worthless. Jorge’s situation is not good, and it’s a wonder that he managed to survive this episode. Getting called in to stay for dinner with Miguel ruined the previous operation, making it inevitable that Enrique would be a suspect. Recording David talking to his henchmen while he was in Enrique’s home was smart, and he kept his cool when he saw Enrique being tortured, stepping in to plant the pager on him because he knew that, at that point, Enrique was a dead man anyway. This has earned him a temporary stay of execution, but he’s obviously upset enough that he broke down to his wife. I’d hope that Feistl and Van Ness can get him out, but I’m not optimistic. As Nicolas gets more and more into the family business, Gilberto is losing his control, unhappy with the public displays of violence that are weakening the possibility for them to surrender in any form like the one originally negotiated. Pena’s connection to Don Berna made the rescue of the captured Christina relatively simple, and she wasn’t shy about reminding him just how many farmers, as she put it, had to be executed just so that she could be brought to make her husband talk. The murder of Franklin in custody was a crippling blow, and unless Jorge can help produce Pallomari, who is sure not to talk if captured, taking down the Cali cartel is going to be near-impossible from this financial direction.