Narcos, the newest Netflix original series, released recently and I decided I'd give it a try because I needed a new show to watch. I wasn't sure what to expect, but upon starting the first episode, I was greeted with a message (shown below) stating that this show is a work of realistic fiction. I knew this
meant I would research the characters afterwards to get a better idea of the real life inspiration. The next screen is a night background with a quote defining magical realism, the text at the end states, too strange to believe, in a red font, implying this story contains elements of that. The first shot is very wide, showing the whole city, with an airplane flying in, and a man talking over it. Less than a minute into the episode, the
director has already established the genre, setting, and likely a main character, I really enjoy this deliberate approach to the introduction, it really adds a layer of immersion. The man talking then introduces the premise, he talks about only the rich having phones, as a camera cuts to a large amount of money, as well as a man talking on the phone next to a stack of drugs, as the narrator mentions narcos having phones, leading me to believe that a narco is a drug dealer, and showing me that the story revolves around these men. He then mentions the U.S government tracking these phones, and he says "helping us track them", which leads me to believe the man talking likely works for the DEA. Some plot is mentioned as it cuts to a man holding a baby, he introduces himself as Steve Murphy, he was the man talking over the first minute or so, he is almost certainly a main character. Jumping ahead aways, the police are called, and a shootout ensues at a local bar, resulting in several dead "dealers". This leads into the opening credits as the show is officially introduced. to avoid any spoilers, I'll keep this relatively concise, basically, cockroach is introduced, along with Pablo Escobar and a few others, the main plot is revealed, and the episode ends with a cliff hanger. I really enjoyed this first episode, it caught me off guard, but the excellent writing and strong acting really immersed me in the story, I will definitely watch more. The direction of the episode was geared towards storytelling, with lots of character introduction, but really, this episode was very plot heavy, and meant to make the viewer watch more. The show was rather dark and the lighting really showed that, with excellent indoor scenes such as the one below where the shadows are very prominent, and the framing showcases the main characters. I would give this pilot episode an 8 out of ten for the excellent writing, acting, camera work, and story telling. There is definitely room for improvement, but Narcos has a great base, and a very bright future.
