Stream It or Skip It 'Snowfall' Season 5 on FX And Hulu, Where the '80s Coke Craze Hits Hard in Its Fifth Season 7 Shows Like 'Ozark' The Best Crime Dramas On Netflix Netflix’s Non-English Shows Paid Off Big in 2021 I love it when Narcos goes Casino mode. Remember how Martin Scorsese’s mob epic opens with a full first act explaining the ins and outs of the mafia’s Las Vegas operation in general and Ace Rothstein’s casino in particular? The Narcos franchise became a Netflix stalwart, I believe, in large part because of how well it apes that format, right down to the voiceover narration. We’re not quite at that point in Narcos Mexico Season 3 Episode 2—there’s not some new method of coke distribution to detail, or some brand-new faction whose rise needs chronicling, at least not yet. But in this episode “Como La Flor” we’re treated to a narrated who’s-who of the cartel world. And though the cast of characters is a bit dizzying to keep track of—lots of familiar faces returning, several new ones emerging—the plot is simplicity itself. On DEA Agent Walt Breslin’s side of the action, he’s planned a major sting operation, a plot to grab Amado Carrillo Fuentes’s supply of cash north of the border before it can make its way back to Mexico. The idea is to keep the raids quiet—nothing on the DEA wire, no local police involvement, and certainly no press—in order to make it look like a rival gang or stick-up crew is hitting the cash shipments. Walt’s thinking goes that eventually Amado will want to investigate for himself and cross the border, at which point they can roll him up with ease. Little does Walt know—hell, little do we know, since it’s not revealed until after the bust attempt is over and done with—is that Amado has anticipated the DEA’s next move and taken care of matters himself. After killing the owners of the lots where the cash and coke change hands, he has them completely cleared out, without using the telltale vans that Walt had based his plans around. It’s all Amado’s attempt to rectify his slain former partner Aguilar’s tendency to put too many eggs in too few baskets. Now Amado can run things in both Juárez and El Paso his way, and he’ll be a tougher quarry than Walt anticipated. Furious over watching months of work go up in smoke, Walt gets in a physical altercation with a colleague and trashes half the office before his boss, Jaime Kuykendall Matt Letscher puts him on leave for a week. He returns home to his wife Dani, whom he encourages to accept a job offer in Chicago. Something tells me, however, that he won’t get away from the border that easily. Meanwhile, in Tijuana, the Arellano Félix cartel is in a celebratory mood, as one of its leaders, Enedina Mayra Hermosillo, is getting married. Her brothers Benjamin Alfonso Dosal and Ramón Manuel Masalva throw her a massive reception, at which gangland figures, legit well, semi-legit politicians, and even pop stars mingle. Present at the edge of the festivities is reporter Andréa Nunez, this season’s narrator. Via voiceover, she gives us the lay of the land, explaining where things stand following the fall of boss Félix Gallardo and the splintering of his mega-cartel back into regional factions. Thanks to its prime position on the border, the Tijuana cartel and its leaders, the Arellano Félix siblings, are on top. Also factoring into the delicate balance of power is the Gulf cartel, now captained by Juan Abrego Flavio Medina since a stroke rendered his uncle Don Guerra Jesús Ochoa incapable of running the operation. The Gulf crew is making better money than the Sinaloans, but their relationship with Tijuana is no less tense. And though Andréa doesn’t spell it out for us, we also learn that Tijuana’s operation is being supplemented by the sons of wealthy politicians and businessmen—young guys like Alfredo Hodoyan Iván Aragón and his kid brother Alex Lorenzo Ferro, who’s given a baptism of blood when he’s cajoled into beating some poor sap who spilled a drink on Ramón’s new Jordans at an afterparty. This clique also includes the character played by real-life pop star Bad Bunny, Arturo “Kitty” Paez, who helps Ramón drown a loudmouth gangster who cracked an off-color joke about his sister during the reception. Said gangster was a part of the Sinaloa cartel, whom Andréa informs us are the lowest rung on the ladder. With no direct access to the border, they have to pay hefty taxes to the Arellano Félix outfit to move their product. This group includes returning characters Héctor “Güero” Palma Gorka Lasaosa, El Azul Fermín Martínez, and a certain fellow known as El Chapo Alejandro Edda. The murder of their minion doesn’t sit well with them, but it’s unclear what cards they can play against their more powerful rivals. There’s one more x-factor to consider an independent operator named Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Alberto Guerra. This cowboy hat–wearing narco is successful enough to a be invited into the Tijuana cartel by Benjamín and b decline the invitation without causing any trouble. And that’s where things stand as of this moment in Narcos history, courtesy of Andréa, our woman inside. It’s pretty much all set-up for the rest of the season, but hey, you need to set things up in order to knock them down. Sean T. Collins theseantcollins writes about TV for Rolling Stone, Vulture, The New York Times, and anyplace that will have him, really. He and his family live on Long Island. Watch Narcos Mexico Season 3 Episode 2 on Netflix Tags Bad Bunny Narcos Mexico Netflix

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