Episode Guide
Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 High: Confessions of an Ibiza Drug Mule is an interesting but rather shallow account of what happened to one half of the infamous “Peru Two.” For those unaware, the documentary focuses on Irish girl Michaella McCollum, who was arrested after attempting to smuggle £1.5 million worth of Cocaine out of Lima, Peru. Split across five episodes, the series recounts from Michaella’s own mouth what happened before, during and after her arrest, complete with details on her partygoing demeanour, care-free attitude and headscratchingly dumb decisions along the way. Look, we all make mistakes but deciding to smuggle copious amounts of drugs out of South America for a measly £5000 – not to mention being oblivious as to where Lima even is – might just take the cake. This decision however, spirals into a nightmare in what ultimately descends into a long Banged Up Abroad episode. If you’ve seen that documentary series, this will feel very similar, although the later chapters actually do a pretty good job fleshing everything out and seeing the perspective of the Peruvian officials, including Juan Mendoza, the judge who sentenced Michaella to time behind bars. There are a couple of eyebrow-raising segments though, including a comically evil “Drug Cartel Lawyer” who chirps on from time to time to give his two-cents to what’s happening. The biggest problem with this documentary though is the lack of depth to the story. The narrative itself is rather straightforward, and not anything you wouldn’t have gathered already by reading a Wikipedia page or a newspaper article. There are golden nuggets of information here, screaming out to be explored further too but they never are. At one point, Michaella admits that she went to Ibiza to escape her life in Ireland and didn’t want to go home. Why? What’s she running from? What’s in Ireland that’s so bad? These sort of niggling issues crop up right the way through the series, and it’s a shame too because there’s definitely scope to really explore Michaella’s family life in more detail and dive into her real reasoning for partying and losing control in Ibiza. Speaking of reasoning, we also don’t hear from Melissa at all, the woman Michaella was arrested alongside, which is a bit disappointing as seeing her perspective may have helped flesh this out a bit. However, through it all you can’t help but shake your head at the incredulous actions of this young girl. If there’s ever an advertisement for why you should pay attention in school, this is it. While it’s great to see Michaella make a turn in her life and come out of this stronger, it’s also a cautionary tale against naivety and the allure of money. While some may think money can buy happiness, achieving it in the wrong way can also buy you a one way ticket to prison.
