Reflection:
Sophie:
After watching the assigned episodes of Narcos, I've noticed how the roles of the hero, the villain, the donor, the helper, and the princess changes through out each episode, in which each character plays a different role. For example, in S1 E7, Pablo is the villain. However, in S2 E6, Pablo becomes the hero of the episode. I've also noticed how the villain for each episode demonstrates Propp's second narrateme: Interdiction, where the villain would always cause some kind of destruction to warn the hero. The villain also seems to always be threatening the hero with a family member. My favorite part was hearing the narration of the show from different perspectives. The shift of narration would enhance the hero and the donor's actions. It allows the audience to know the thoughts and feelings of all the other characters. Propp's narratemes are pretty similar to the Chinese dramas I usually watch. The hero and the villain always have a shift or a new position for each episode. Overall, I think Narcos was pretty intense and shocking in its plot and narrative structure.
Emma:
Narcos exploits the audacious actions happening between criminals and government authorities and gray area of morality for entertainment. Each episode presents some new, heinous act which shocks the viewers and gives a desire for seeking justice to make up for it. For example, in S1 E7, Pablo kills hostages as they desperately beg and plead for their lives. Similarly in S2 E6, Pablo's home is shot up by a rival cartel and in S3 E6, Miguel's home and the party he attends is ambushed as well. These parts are bloody and full of drama, which the viewers just eat up! Throughout all of the violence, we go through a constant back and forth of right and wrong performed by either a cartel member or a DEA agent. It comes to the point where their intentions or justifications seem to be their redeeming qualities. For instance, Pablo's paranoia-driven war orders like killing all the witnesses to la Avianca even including Natalie and her babbling little baby in S1 E7 are despicable and it is easy to dislike him until the viewers stumble upon the gentle moments with him and his family in scenes such as his tearful goodbye with his son in the same episode. Each episode maintains the chaos for shock value and the existential debate of morality for meaningful purpose in order to keep the audience pleased.