Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Narcos: Mexico’ follows the story of the rise and fall of Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo. An ex-cop from Sinaloa, he rises up the ranks to become the leader of the biggest cartel in Mexico. The first season focuses on his rise and how he expands his empire. It ends with the death of a DEA agent, Kiki Camarena, who had been onto Gallardo’s operations. After some deals and betrayals, Felix gets the matter settled, but that’s not the end of it.
Agent Walt Breslin, the narrator of the series for both seasons, arrives in Mexico with a team that is tasked to track down every person involved with Camarena’s torture and murder. Both Breslin and Gallardo have to face a number of challenges within their organizations as well as threats outside. The season takes the viewers through an exciting journey that tests the mettle of the heroes as well as the villains. In the end, it is all about the survival of the fittest. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Plot Summary
After the murder of Kiki Camarena and the arrest of Rafa and Don Neto, Felix settles down on his throne. In the last season, the Federation came to the brink of breaking up, and he would have lost everything had he not made the right deal at the right time. But all of his efforts were self-serving, and even though he secured his position, he left a lot of disgruntled people, many of whom worked for him. There are backstabbers at every end, and Felix has to be ready for the attack. The way he handles things, he doesn’t have to wait for too long before things start to go south.
One thing after another comes undone and Felix gets tied up in plugging the holes that threaten to drown his boat. The DEA starts gaining ground on him. Agent Walt Breslin is on a mission to make Felix pay, and he is ready to go to any lengths to get that done.
The Ending
The sheer number of challenges that Felix Gallardo faces in the second season of Mexico will make anyone explode with pressure. It begins with the problem in cash flow which has all the plazas in a state of unrest. When Pacho knocks him down, Felix decides that it is about time he shows the Colombians who the boss is. He comes up with a plan that will not only unite all the plazas in Mexico but also leave no option for the Colombians but bow down to him. To his credit, it was a great plan, but the things Felix had done in the past won’t leave him be so easily.
The betrayal comes as a serious blow for Felix because in trying to hide his true intention from Pacho, he takes up an impossible task. Everyone thinks he’ll fail, but he perseveres. When the government slips out of his hands, he finds a way to reinstate his hold. He gets the fighting plazas in line and makes everyone happy. Up until the finale, when everything comes crashing down like the building in Mexico City when the earthquake hit it.
So, what went wrong? How did the most powerful narco in Mexico go down without even a fight? Well, just as his empire didn’t get made in one day, the path to its destruction also took some time and effort.
Who betrayed Felix?
To every Caesar, his Brutus. The story of every criminal kingpin comes to an end when he is betrayed by someone. Felix Gallardo could have kept himself going, making deal after deal, but his reign abruptly comes to an end where there is no one to negotiate with. Who brought him to his knees? The real answer would be: himself. He had been very insensitive about his dealings with the plaza. He always looked towards “the future”, and forgot to look towards his own people, all of whom were getting hurt by his actions. But because he was making them money, they stayed.
He didn’t use the same negotiation skills while handling the feud between Tijuana and Sinaloa, which led to the death of Cochiloco. This, in turn, made Palma furious, and he thought about breaking off from the Federation. On the other hand, there was Amado. His uncle, Don Neto, had to pay the price for Felix’s mistakes and he was set up so Felix could save himself. Still, Amado stayed to work for him, and Felix was left speechless at his loyalty. He should have thought some more about it.
He started trusting Amado more, but never kept tabs on him. He sent him to bring back Acosta, with whom Amado formed a strong bond. When Acosta was killed as well, though not exactly by Felix, Amado knew that it had to be him to bring him down. All he needed was to wait for the right time.
He could have let Breslin and his team destroy the 70-ton shipment. It would have definitely gotten Felix a bullet in his head. But he didn’t, because it wouldn’t have been good for business. A sudden departure of the boss would have led to a gang war between the plazas. Things were still unstable between Tijuana and Sinaloa, and any change at this time could have led to the complete fall of all narco business in Mexico.
Felix was used to making risky and hasty decisions. All Amado needed was to wait for him to slip up once. And it happened with the execution of Palma’s wife and kids. Felix thought this would scare everyone, but this fear brought everyone together. Amado needed everyone united to throw out Felix, and this was it.
Amado got in touch with Pacho, who had taken a liking to him the first time they met. A deal was struck, and Felix was removed from every equation. With no one to protect him and no one to look out for him, all cops had to do was to show up at his door with handcuffs. No more deals for Felix Gallardo. He’s done for.
Read More: Is Narcos Mexico a True Story?
