This show is carried by:
Excellent acting - the only poorly acted roles are the American ones leading a viewer to believe, given the otherwise flawless direction, this was intentional.
Perfect pacing - the show is neither slow nor a string of meaningless action scenes. The comparison with Narcos is inevitable, in terms of pacing these shows are entirely different beasts, because they cover different timescales. I found the pacing as good as or better than it was in Narcos. The directors found a way to tell more story, across fewer characters but broader community.
Carefully crafted dialogue - that spans the entirety of the show. Character development is rich and concise. There is no wasted interaction or frivolous screen time.
Narcos was excellent but this series was simultaneously more and less brutal. The directors are masterful in their application of offscreen story telling. What you do not see is often worse than what you do. A welcome change in a sea of gratuitously violent hollywood offerings - yours truly, a John Wick fan.
This series evokes a deep emotional response. The hopelessness, both knowing and unwitting, of Somos' characters is pervasive but there is not a single line of lament throughout the series.
The ending is masterful. It is not the one you want, but it is the conclusion the story demands.
The show becomes more predictable as is glides towards its crescendo. This intentional unravelling is truly devastating. On reflection we are forced to reckon with a situation many of us probably feel far removed from.
This series brings home the violent, inhumane repercussions of drug and human trafficking. You will both lose and find your humanity in around 6 hours. The impact will linger.
Any attempted "rehabilitation" of trafficking economy criminals should involve mandatory repeat Somos screenings. I cannot think of a more effective or poignant way to illustrate the evils of this scourge.
