Narcos: Season Two

This second season of the Netflix series wraps up the narrative arc on the rise and fall of Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura). It begins in 1992 when Escobar, having escaped from prison, reunites with his wife (Paulina Gaitán) and reasserts his authority in the cartel. But as Escobar struggles to elude recapture, old loyalties fray and powerful rivals arise to threaten him. Escobar's story is again juxtaposed with that of DEA agent Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook), a major player in the operation to bring him down, although the direct intervention of the CIA adds tension within the American ranks as well. As in the first season, the strength of the series is the genuinely chilling performance by Moura as Escobar, who can turn on a dime from chummy to murderous. By contrast, Murphy remains a fairly colorless figure, and Holbrook brings little to the role. Fortunately, there are several vivid supporting turns, including Cristina Umaña as a former leader in the Medellín Cartel determined to avenge Pablo's murder of her husband, and Leynar Gómez as Limón, a low-life taxi driver Escobar hires to confuse his pursuers, who is with the drug lord when the authorities finally track him down. Presenting all 10 episodes from the 2016 second season, extras include an episode commentary, a “making-of” featurette, and deleted scenes. Recommended. (F. Swietek)