Essential viewing. Leave the rose-colored sunglasses at the door.
Parra does not look like the mugshot version of Escobar (he is leaner, taller), but he captures the voice . The nasal, high-pitched tone. The nervous laugh that precedes an order for assassination. The way Escobar would hug his mother tightly moments before ordering a car bomb that kills children. Parra’s performance is a masterclass in duality. One moment he is a loving father handing out cash in a soccer field; the next, he is a trembling sadist personally torturing a traitor. He does not ask for your sympathy; he demands your horrified attention. Narcos was a show about the DEA. El Patrón del Mal is a show about Colombia. pablo escobar, el patron del mal cam
And that is precisely the point. In Colombia, El Patrón del Mal is not a "crime drama." It is a history lesson. For the rest of the world, it is the definitive reminder that there is nothing cool about a kingpin. Essential viewing