Be Reel - Narcos

Over the summer, I started to watch the Netflix original series Narcos. The show is based in Colombia during the drug war against Pablo Escobar and other cartels. It is based on true stories of two real life DEA Agents that worked to take down these cartels. I am a pretty big fan of the show, and I finished the first two seasons very quickly right before the third came out and then finished the third pretty quickly because I was so hooked.

There are a lot of things I liked about the Narcos and really not much I can say negatively about it. One thing that I personally liked about this show is that it is pretty informative and entertaining at the same time. For example, the show is filled with times where one of the characters narrates and gives facts about the cartels, the DEA, and a lot more that was happening during this time. Another thing I really liked about the show is that the creators chose to show both sides of the drug war. They showed a lot of things that were happening with the DEA, the Colombian government, and the police in Medellin, where Escobar's cartel was located. This gives viewers a good understanding of how hard it really was to take down and deal with these cartels, and all the problems that can take place. On the flip side, the creators showed Pablo Escobar himself and followed him throughout the drug war. This gives the viewers an understanding of everything that he was dealing with, including his family life, how he escaped after almost being found many times, and also the way he contributed to his community. As terrible as it sounds, at times I felt empathy towards Escobar because of the way he was portrayed in the show. This was because they show him not only as a notorious, violent drug lord, but a family man and a man who wanted to take care of his community. For example, there are times in the show where he goes out into public and gives away a lot of money to citizens of Colombia, and they show him interacting with them.

The only thing that was hard for me and most likely others who watched the show was the language barrier. Since a lot of the characters speak Spanish, there were a lot of subtitles that I had to follow along with during the show. This was an obstacle for me in my first attempt at watching the show, as I could not follow along and would get distracted while watching, so I would miss what happened. Eventually I restarted the show and was able to really get into it and follow along, and the subtitles were not a problem for me anymore.

In the end, I really enjoyed watching this show, and am excited for a fourth season. Narcos is shot in a very unique way, and is very entertaining way. I would recommend this show to anyone who can handle a good amount of violence and who can also keep up with reading subtitles while watching. Be