As addictive as a drug: Narcos Season 1 Review

The opening scene of the Netflix original Narcos describes it as ‘magic realism’; a real story told magically or a magic story told in a real way. And that it is.

The series, fictionalised but grounded in real events, documents the larger-than-life story of the rise and fall of drug lord Pablo Escobar and the Defence Enforcement Administration’s futile efforts to catch him and the infamous Medellín cartel.  

The so-called “King of Cocaine” demands your attention from the get-go as he flaunts his lavish lifestyle of wealth, women, drugs and the more than occasional mass murder. Switch your attention for a minute and you’re lost. With more plot strands than I care to count this series demands nothing but your full attention.

Narcos, the colloquial term for drug dealers, intertwines real archival footage with the drama of the show, giving it an authentic almost documentary feel. The use of English subtitles over spoken Spanish only adds to the intensity of the show.

The infamous Pablo Escobar's life is portrayed in this Netflix original

The show is narrated through the words of DEA agent Steve Murphy, played brilliantly by Boyd Holbrook, but it also manages to show the other side of the drug war through the eyes of Escobar.

Behind the cocaine-fuelled gun shots and violent outbursts is an astonishingly good performance from the main man himself, Wagner Moura, portraying Pablo Escobar.

The Brazilian actor is mesmerising in his role as the all controlling, all powerful drug lord demanding loyalty and, in most cases this means life or death, from his fellow drug traffickers. Yet he is capable, at times, of showing love and affection towards his wife, his mother and his children. This split personality is unnerving for the viewer as we wonder what his unpredictable mood is capable of next.

For the squeamish people out there Narcos does not shy away from violence and when it comes it comes in short, quick and gruesome outbursts leaving little to the imagination of the audience. There were times when I had to cover my eyes to avoid the graphic bloodied images caused by Pablo’s destruction.

In essence Narcos follows the typical good guys versus bad guys stereotype but, with more twists than a windy old Irish boreen, there are times when the viewer questions how good the good guys are and whether they have crossed a line in search of the bad guys.

Narcos succeeds in keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat; eagerly waiting to click ‘next episode’ to see where this real-life story will take you next. Like the drugs they flaunt throughout the show, Narcos is nothing short of addictive.