Peña and Carrillo close in on Gacha, while Murphy tries to protect pro-extradition candidate Gaviria from a notorious assassin connected to Pablo.
The story on this season of Narcos has been a slow build of sorts. Sure, there has been plenty of action. But the narrative has also focused much more on how the various little pieces helped shape the larger picture. This story is being told in hindsight. The Steve Murphy of the future knows things about the present day action that not all the characters actually know about. He knows what's important in this story and what's not. Action has occurred throughout the episodes so far. But the gradual effect of introducing characters and building up their importance over several episodes has been a good strategy. Carrillo and César started as minor characters but have been given so much importance over the last two episodes. It's not something that works with every character though. Whenever Connie or Gustavo pop up on the screen, it's just so boring. Even someone like Murphy is only interesting because he also happens to be the narrator. Without that, he's just a bland leading man."Explosivos" keeps the trajectory of building things slowly for the first two-thirds of its running time. It commits to stories that have been introduced and are crucial to the narrative but aren't all that engaging or fascinating to watch. The idea that Murphy is labeled as a traitor simply for trying to protect his communist witness Elisa is an interesting tidbit that goes absolutely nowhere exciting. It's transparent immediately that he's fooling the two CIA agents who bugged his vehicle. It shows that Murphy is a smart and capable man. But it does nothing more than that. It continues the divide between the DEA and CIA in Colombia which will be important later. But right now, it just plays like people not wanting to listen or share their secrets for trivial reasons.
Similarly, it's not all that tense when Connie and Elisa are out on the road trying to get to safety. It should be. Connie is Murphy's wife. And yet, their dynamic hasn't been fleshed out at all. She's not an important voice in this narrative. She just simply exists. Elisa does have her value. But she isn't a character beyond that either. The two of them are simply plot constructs to derive tension as Murphy and Peña are doing their best to build a case against Pablo. They do make it past the checkpoint. But the tension is never executed in a way that makes the audience worried about their futures in this story.
And yet, "Explosivos" ends with a truly fantastic action set piece. It's one of the best moments of the show so far because it is informed by characters who are given meaningful choices to make. The heroes of this story decisively get a win here. The narcos have had so much control up to this point. It's impressive seeing just how ruthless and manipulative they are. They've made mistakes but they are still in power. Murphy, Peña and Carrillo are still just trying to make a meaningful dent in their operation. This episode gives it to them on several different fronts. It shows that these characters are capable of being smart and insightful. They listen to the advice of others but still make their own decisions. Sure, it could play like the heroes getting one crucial piece of information is what leads to other characters escaping death. But the way the story unfolds here is true to the characters in a way that informs them much better than anything else that has happened so far.
Peña got that tip on where Gacha could be found. He's a crucial piece of Pablo's operation. Taking him alive could upset the balance in this drug war. And yet, that is much easier said than done. The narcos have so much influence in the communities they surround themselves with. Even though one man betrays him, Gacha still learns about the upcoming raid by the Search Bloc. He is able to escape before they even get there. Peña and Carrillo get lucky and quickly learn where Gacha's new hideout is. It's a much more remote location - which had some pros and cons. It's more difficult to be found by law enforcement. But it's also harder to teller if government agents are circling the compound. Carrillo and his unit are able to strike in a way that forces Gacha to flee.
Gacha and his son nearly escape death. But then, they get into another battle with Peña who is equipped with a helicopter. The narcos may have the fanciest technology but that's useless if they can't actually use it in battle. Gacha loved his rocket launcher. But he only got one shot. That allowed him to escape. But he and his son were easy targets once the helicopter entered the battlefield. From that moment, it was clear that things were going to end badly for Gacha. But a decision still had to be made. Should he live or die? Carrillo wants Gacha dead to strike a blow against Pablo. But it's up to Peña to make this decision. In the heat of battle, he orders Gacha's execution. He could have taken him prisoner so that he could inform the DEA on the cartel and then rot in an American prison cell. That's the outcome he was hoping for pre-battle. But in the moment, he chose to act swiftly and violently. The Search Bloc hit and made an impact in this battle. A sign that things are about to turn in this war.
Meanwhile, Murphy is stuck back at the embassy during his best to keep presidential candidate César Gaviria alive. César and his bodyguard don't really take his security precautions seriously. They are aware of how dangerous the situation is. But they don't want the United States controlling their actions. They want to be the ones deciding what to do. It's a power struggle between two people who want the same outcome. That's why trust is able to form in the end. Because of Murphy's intel, César escapes an assassination attempt. Pablo manipulated a new recruit of his operation to carry a bomb onto the plane César was planning on being on. It was a tense situation. One that shows the passion from both sides while also signaling just how important Murphy is to the operation on the ground. He knew that something was going to happen. No one else figured that out. That was all him. He made a difference and that will be noticed in the future - by everyone on both sides.
Some more thoughts:
- "Explosivos" was written by Andy Black and directed by Andi Baíz.
- Pablo and the narcos learn that Suarez has been giving information to both sides this entire time and promptly kill him for it. It's a tad surprising that they are just finding out given the audience has known for practically the entire time.
- Gustavo and Marta's little romance is just so dull and uninteresting. Neither of them really have personalities outside of that. She exists solely to be naked while he is largely just the guy standing besides Pablo all the time.
- Just because this bomb didn't work doesn't mean Pablo and the Spaniard won't try again. They have the money and resources to do so.
- All of a sudden Gacha had a son. That was a surprise that came out of nowhere. Unsurprisingly though, he was a horrible and annoying teenage character who wanted to fuck the pretty maid and nothing more than that. If the point was to make him despicable so the audience would cheer his death, then the show definitely succeeded.
- The narration has lessened with each episode. And yet, it's still very present. Did the audience really need to be reminded that Gacha is always super-paranoid or that the Colombian cops can be bought and have lost people to this drug war?
- Also completely unnecessary was Poison killing those cops just so the narration can explain Pablo's system of making amends for their deaths.
As noted in previous reviews from this series, every episodic review was written without having seen any succeeding episodes. Similarly, it would be much appreciated if in the comments section, the conversation would only revolve around the show up to this point in its run.
