A Mouth Full Of Flies
Episode 2 of Somos Season 1 begins with an ominous sign of things to come. Anselmo lies with his eyes gouged out, dead by the side of the road. For the residents inside Allende, they’re none the wiser to what’s going on. At least for now anyway. Erika hears back from her husband Julian, who confirms that he’s stuck in the city for at least another month. He’s actually a lawyer as it turns out, although Armando has told his friends he’s actually in construction. For now though, it’s just Armando and Erika. Remember Beto from last episode? Well, he’s actually gone missing. No one has heard from him and Ana ends up ringing the emergency services to report him missing. Darkness is definitely descending over the town and it doesn’t look like it’ll be long before we find out the extent of this devastation. They say animals can sense something before humans and that much seems to be true at the stables too. Isidro notices the horses are incredibly skittish, perhaps partly due to Anselmo’s untimely demise. It doesn’t help that Benjamin stumbles in after a drunken night out and forgets about them. This causes him to receive a swift slap across the face for his troubles. Paquito remains dead set on finding work, heading up to Silverio’s to enquire about a job. Although they don’t have anything, he’s encouraged to show up the following week. Well, that’s easier said than done when police officers stop him by the side of the road and arrest him. Those same officers we saw last episode, no less. Paquito is thrown into a holding cell alongside several other men. His description ironically matches that of another man who’s currently deep in cartel work. At the forefront of this is Hector, whom we’ve seen frequent the brothel and pay his way alongside trophy wife Cindy. Anyway, his brother Gilberto is given a special task by Hector to cross the border with a truck full of gear. Thanks to Paquito’s arrest, he manages to get past without any hassle. Paquito is driven away by the police, who eventually take him into jail. There’s no trial, and instead he’s simply guilty until proven innocent. It doesn’t take long though before the other inmates beat him down and leave him a bloody mess. Commander Enano is the one in charge here and he immediately forces Paquito into Block C.
The Episode Review
Things do not look good for Paquito. This unfortunate case of wrong place at the wrong time comes back to bite him hard during this episode, as the crooked cops apprehend him and throw the kid behind bars. The reports of crooked authorities have been well documented over the years but it’s no less devastating to see it play out before out eyes here. Alongside this are the various other subplots too, which continue to tick over and deliver compelling drama. Erika and Armando’s subplots are a nice touch, while Benjamin and his father have an intriguing dynamic too which is likely to become more strained as the season progresses. So far this has been a very slow burn but an engaging one nonetheless. The slow trickle of doom as the cartel worm their way into this community is definitely eye-opening and shows how devastating it can be. The character-driven subplots work so well to fit into this larger whole, with the war on drugs slowly seeping into Allende, twisting and contorting what appears to be a quiet and peaceful town. For now, things are left wide open for the rest of the season but quite what this show has in store for us next, remains to be seen.
