If you haven't yet watched 'Narcos', or indeed 'Narcos: Mexico', then there's a good chance a lot of this is going to fly over your head like a plane full of cocaine.
'Narcos: Mexico', which is effectively a spin-off of the original series, moves the action from Colombia to - you guessed it - Mexico and follows the unbelievably true story of Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, who created the Guadalajara Cartel and with it the modern drug trade in Mexico.
Played by Diego Luna, the first season focused on how Gallardo and Rafael Quintero combined the various cartels across Mexico using a plaza system for shipping and distributing, all while the DEA - played by Michael Pena and Matt Letscher - looked on helplessly as it exploded across Mexico.
DO I NEED TO HAVE WATCHED ALL THE SEASONS OF 'NARCOS' TO GET WHAT'S GOING ON?
No, not really.
'Narcos' was three seasons that were pretty self-contained as a story, beginning with Pablo Escobar's rise and eventual death, and the Cali Cartel's rise in his absence. The third season went right up to the early '90s, whereas 'Narcos: Mexico' kicks things off in the middle of the Dirty War in the '70s, and goes right through to 1985. That said, 'Narcos: Mexico' is basically a spinoff series so think of it as the second season in and you're on the right track.
SO, WHERE DOES SEASON 2 PICK UP?
Well, if you watched to the end of the last season, you'll know that Michael Pena's character - DEA agent Kiki Camarena - died a pretty awful death at the hands of the cartel. Again, 'Narcos: Mexico' cleaves pretty close to the actual case files of what happened, so obviously Camarena's death lit a fire under the DEA and that's when the unseen narrator, played by Scott McNairy, turns up.
Scott McNairy as DEA Agent Walt BreslinThe final scene sees McNairy's character - DEA agent Walt Breslin - distributing photo-fits of the cartel to his agent and kicks off what was known as Operation Leyenda. The real-life operation was described as the largest homicide investigation the DEA ever mounted, and from that point forward, made DEA agents near untouchable.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE DEA GOES TO WAR AGAINST THE MEXICAN CARTELS
Yeah, pretty much.
Operation Leyenda resulted in some major corruption scandals in Mexico, not the least of which saw Gallardo - Diego Luna's character - arrested in 1989 and charged by both the Mexican and the US government. Gallardo was specifically indicted for the murder of Kiki Camarena, and has been in prison since then. He's now in a medium-security prison, 73 years of age, and blind in one eye.
WHEN DOES EL CHAPO COME INTO IT?
It's hard to know, quite honestly.
While El Chapo was a minor character in the first season, he'll undoubtedly become more of a key player as the second season progresses. Gallardo's imprisonment forced him to break up the cartel as it was easier for the various factions to avoid capture and criminal charges separately than together. This is really when El Chapo rose to power, both due to his violent nature and his ability to take opportunity of the chaos.
Of course, infighting and violence came with this arrangement and pretty much paralysed Mexico in the process. The cartels continued to run drugs and funnel money all while the DEA continued its cycle of arrests and endless investigations, all of it barely making a dent in the drug trade.
IT'S JUST BASICALLY A CYCLE, THEN?
If you're talking about the War on Drugs or 'Narcos: Mexico', you're right on both counts. It is an endless cycle, and while the end of the first season might have seemed like things were kicking into action, the fact is that El Chapo is only now just going on trial for his crimes, drugs are still being mass-produced in places like Mexico and Colombia and being smuggled into the US, and nothing - except for the hairstyles and fashion - has changed.
Diego Luna as Miguel Angel Felix GallardoShowrunner Eric Newman discussed this point with THR, explaining that "(we've) now seen that with agents Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Pena (Pedro Pascal) in seasons one and two, Pena alone in season three, Kiki Camarena (Michael Pena) in 'Narcos: Mexico', and now a new guy (Scott McNairy), who is basically going to come down and probably get nothing done and the cycle will continue."
WHO'S JOINING THE CAST
As mentioned, Scott McNairy will be playing the lead role of DEA Agent Walt Breslin. Diego Luna is confirmed to return as Felix Gallardo as well, and that about covers casting news. Remember that Scott McNairy's character was never named or even identified until the final episode of the first season, so it could be the case that another well-known actor might in fact be appearing in the second season - only to be revealed when the series actually drops.
As mentioned, El Chapo is probably going to play a big part in the second season and Alejandro Edda - who plays El Chapo - actually sat in the public gallery during El Chapo's trial in New York this past month.
WHEN DOES IT DROP ON NETFLIX?
Hard to say, quite honestly. The second season of 'Narcos: Mexico' was only renewed in December of last year and considering the scale and size of it, it's probably filming right now as you're reading this. Netflix haven't released any date as of yet, but our guess is that it'll most likely be land some time around November or December of 2019.
