Drug Wars

Pedro Pascal on drugs, redemption and the Latin culture

- Hannah Choo

THIS IS THE SEASON WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. Now that Pablo Escobar is dead, the dynamics have changed. The Cali Cartel takes the role of the villain in season three of Narcos and taking up the case is Javier Peña, a returning character played by Pedro Pascal, whom we met on set in Bogota, Colombia.

So Steve Murphy’s gone, and so is Pablo Escobar?

I know, no one’s going to watch any more. (laughs)

It’s your chance to be the new hero.

The interesting thing is I didn’t think of Murphy or Peña as heroes, nor that Pablo was the only villain. This season, the structure opens up for perspective. The story is different in life than in history. It’s less predictable because we know less about the Cali Cartel. They had such a lower profile, so what they were able to do was much more insidious. We are in trouble if we became too clear about our ideas of heroism and villainy. It’s not the kind of world we want to live in.

What happens after that strange cliffhanger at the end of season two?