Upamanyu Biswas
Created by Leticia López Margalli, ‘We Were Kings’ is a Mexican series revolving around three friends – Javo, Mike, and Santos – who grew up in a barrio in Mexico City. The three navigate a challenging existence on both sides of the law while trying to maintain their friendship and their way of life. However, when Santos finds out that his mother, Malena, is in a relationship with Mike, it sets off a chain of events that threatens to upend their lives and seed chaos among the tight-knit friends.
The Netflix crime drama is an exploration of forbidden desires through unconventional love, interpersonal connections, and the complexities of friendship. Family plays an integral part in the narrative, offering a unique glimpse into the lives of each character and the ties that keep them grounded in their environment. Despite the show’s heightened aspects, its tale of brotherly bonds on the streets of a barrio is sure to prompt questions regarding its origin.
We Were Kings Explores a Morally Gray Situation Through Fractured Bonds
Originally titled ‘Los Reyes de Oriente,’ ‘We Were Kings’ is a fictional story penned by Leticia López Margalli. The show centers on the relationship between Javo and Mike, who are blood brothers, and their friend, Santos, who they grew up with. While the narrative begins with the three having a deep understanding and affection for one another, things quickly turn into a messy affair after Santos learns about his mother’s romantic relationship with Mike. It creates friction between the trio and also forces them into situations where the lines of morality are blurred in their desperation to act and solve their problems.
Poverty is an underlying theme within the story as the three friends take up a more pragmatic approach to life and seek their happiness through familial bonds and their relationships with loved ones. Unlike Mike and Santos, who pursue a career in law enforcement, Javo finds himself on the other side of the law, working with his uncle in the business of stealing expensive cars. Their contrasting occupations present a more authentic picture of the world they inhabit and how it influences their choices. Later, it also becomes a point of contention as the circumstances engulfing the trio spiral out of control.
At its heart, ‘We Were Kings’ is about imperfect characters dealing with things in an imperfect and often ugly manner. It offers a more nuanced tale where no one is beyond reproach or redemption. Although a rivalry springs up between Mike and Santos, the show never attempts to paint one person over the other, instead allowing the viewer to make that judgment. There are inadequacies and strengths baked into each character. Those elements get amplified by a hundred times as they navigate their lives through a particularly difficult period. Therefore, while the series often treads well-versed tropes, it still provides a valid picture of humanity and what drives people to make hard decisions.
We Were Kings is an Escalation of Guilt, Regret, and Violence
Family dramas generally have a tendency to begin their narrative with a seemingly petty incident that grows into a much bigger inciting event as the story moves along. Such is the case with ‘We Were Kings,’ as a secret affair between Mike and Malena spirals into a much darker and unmendable rift between Javo, his brother, Mike, and Santos. In many ways, the show is an examination of escalation and how it devastates the close relationships between characters. To that end, there are shades of Netflix’s ‘The Accident‘ in the series’ thematic elements and its examination of familial bonds.
The spiraling chaos between the characters not only affects the stability of their bonds but also leaves them engulfed in a cycle of guilt and regret that makes them prone to even worse choices. When remorse is not enough, some others choose to resort to violence to make their intentions known. This constant struggle between aggression and withdrawal creates a compelling picture of how different people react to a situation differently, but not always in the way others expect. Not everything fits into a perfect box in this intertwined story about love, crime, family, and friendship, but that is its strength as it presents a messy but grounded story about human inadequacies.
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