Many would consider Pablo Escobar, King of Cocaine, as the most prolific drug kingpin of the modern era. The slightest whisper of the name brings about files full of urban legends on the man some may even call a legend. In the height of his reign, his cartel supplied a staggering 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the United States bringing in a little over $21.9 billion in personal income. Many Columbian residents thought of Escobar as a great man as he distributed a lot of his wealth the slums and barrios of Columbia.

The Netflix original series Narcos, starring Wagner Moura as the drug lord himself, depicts the journey of Pablo Escobar as he travels up the ladder from nothing to everything. The story is told largely from the point of views of Escobar and Steve Murphy, a U.S. DEA agent played by Boyd Holbrook. This narration of the story depicts the war from both sides as the tension escalates.

The majority of the premiere episode is devoted to the establishment of the drug business as it begins in Chile’s coastline was said to be the best location for the manufacturing and transporting of coke to the United States. The first episode continues with Escobar’s business already in motion and finishes with him thinking beyond the borders of Columbia.

The exposition of the first episode of the series explains the start of an empire and does so in an almost cliché way as it utilizes an omniscient narration and embraces the war on drugs.

Overall, Narcos provided a great understanding of the drug trade and how it manifested from the slums of Columbia to the Coastal States of the U.S. Wagner Moura and Steve Murphy as the antagonists and narrators of the show worked out fairly well as they are able to balance both sides of good and evil in this drugged up drama. The way they watched each other’s every move from both sides of the spectrum is definitely intriguing.

For those now wanting more from the series, season two has now become available on Netflix for the masses to view.