Menu
Sign in now
The following contains spoilers for Griselda, now streaming on Netflix.
When depicting the drug trade of the real world over the last few decades, Netflix has dominated the market. Whether it's a series of true-crime documentaries or the popular but fictionalized Narcos TV series, the streaming service has covered the adventures and sins of quite a few traffickers across the Americas. Most notably, the Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar.
Now, Netflix is telling the story of Griselda Blanco, starring Modern Family icon Sofia Vergara. Aptly titled Griselda, it focuses on Griselda fleeing Colombia and then building a cocaine empire in Miami in the 1980s. Over the course of the six-episode miniseries, the story reinterprets the real-life events of Blanco's life for dramatic effect. Unfortunately, some of those changes do negatively impact the series' ending.
Echo star Vincent D'Onofrio talks about Wilson Fisk's future in the MCU and his character's toxic relationship with Maya Lopez.
Griselda claws tooth and nail to build her empire in the male-dominated Miami. In time, she employs Cuban immigrants as her army, taking out rivals and stymieing the cocaine flow from Miami's main supplier, the Ochoas. This leads to her eventually forging a tenuous alliance with Rafa, who is this show's version of Marvel's Kingpin. Unfortunately, as Griselda becomes thirsty for more power, and a lot more corrupted due to the respect and fear she garnered, her actions result in children being killed or deprived of their parents.
Netflix does sanitize this aspect of the real-life Griselda Blanco's history. More specifically, Netflix tries to make Griselda a compassionate mother who's standing up in a drug world. She succeeds as she corners the market with her South and Central American connections, becoming a multi-millionaire in the crime-thriller. However, as she gets older, Griselda loses her bearings and lets her sons fall into the trade, which alienates her new husband, Dario. The finale, "Adios, Miami" finds her going on a drug bender with Marta Ochoa.
Sadly, Marta overdoses, leaving Griselda panicked that the Ochoas will hold her responsible and hunt her down to avenge their cousin. She flees with another of her enforcers, Rivi. Griselda steals Marta's huge drug stash as well, realizing her time in Miami has come to an end. The Ochoas won't trust her, especially after she leaves Marta's corpse in the hot tub. To make matters worse, a frustrated Dario runs away to Colombia with the son he had with her, Michael. This breaks Griselda, who finally understands the cost of doing business -- a theme modern drug shows like Snowfall explored.
Vincent D'Onofrio has some good news for the fans left bewildered by Kingpin's survival after the Hawkeye finale.
Griselda takes her three sons -- Uber, Dixon and Ozzy -- from her marriage with Alberto, the husband she killed and fled Colombia in the premiere, "Lady Comes to Town." They head to California to hide out, hoping Rivi can sell the drugs and earn cash as they had no time in Miami to take money out the bank. As hopeful as she is, Griselda can tell her world is crumbling down, with a big part of her feeling like it's her karma.
To add insult to injury, Rivi calls and lets her know that Rafa found them and is coming. Griselda sends her sons off to dinner and ends up hatching a plan of her own. She turns herself into the LA police, knowing it'll stop Rafa from getting to her. This way, she can plant her own story, work a deal and ensure her children remain safe. The kicker is that Rivi ends up getting arrested after the Miami office has him framed for child abduction. It doesn't help that he robs a bank for coins to call Griselda.
Rivi squeals about all her criminal activity once he gets caught. June -- the head of the Miami task force charged with bringing Griselda in -- throws Griselda's deal out the window, knowing Rivi is spilling the beans on everything. It's another heartbreaking moment for Griselda because she bought into Rivi's soulful connection. It's implied she may have loved him as well, but once more, she ends up feeling betrayed. June doesn't care, however, as she has both of them in the palm of her hands.
Echo Season 1 repurposes an arc from Netflix's three seasons of Daredevil, but makes it way better by adding a major character's arc more depth.
Rivi is later revealed to be a mastermind. He sullies the case and has all his evidence thrown out by having phone sex from prison with an assistant from the District Attorney's office. This reduces Griselda's sentence to just seven years, but as fate would have it, her freedom is still doomed. When the date of her release draws near, June visits and lets Griselda know her three sons have been assassinated off-screen.
It's hinted this is the Ochoa cartel, who wanted to feast on Griselda's optimism. As for Michael, he went into hiding after Griselda had Dario murdered. Griselda hoped his brothers would care for him, but the older Michael went on the run, sensing he would be next. No matter what she did, Griselda couldn't find a way back to any of her sons, which was the big plan she orchestrated from jail. The series ends with a liberated Griselda on the beach in her jumpsuit, imagining her sons having a happy time.
Griselda had these visions all series long, but forgot about that simple dream of just roving the US and being away from toxic lovers. Little did she know her new dream of being free would end up being a blight, effectively ruining the very thing she had worked for all along. In the end, all the 'Cocaine Godmother' can do is blame herself for pushing her boys down a path of no return, due to her selfishness.
Shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders are now canon in the MCU, but should they be?
The final scene shows Griselda on the shore, soaking in the sand and sun in delirium. The text quickly fades in over the screen, stating she was gunned down outside a butcher's shop in Colombia in 2012. It's quite underwhelming, leaving fans hungry for one more episode to properly capstone the narrative. It softens Griselda's story too much as a forlorn mother, rather than as a crime boss who sowed her own destiny.
For all its humanizing of Pablo Escobar as a family man, even Narcos didn't shy away from his gruesome death during a law enforcement raid. Further compounding the issue is that Griselda Blanco's real-life murder was reflective of the assassination style she made famous: the motorcycle drive-by. Instead, the series avoids this master tactic of hers and the role it would play in her last seconds alive. There's no emotive arc about her trying to find Michael, which would have truly shown her suffering. It would also have added credence to a theme present in the series: her belief that death would release her from her guilt and culpability.
This sort of balanced finale wouldn't have stained her character or detracted from the duality of her personality. On the contrary, it would have fully reiterated what June kept telling her: every dog has their day. The renowned Griselda would never be able to escape hers. Ultimately, it's a harsh reality that is part and parcel of the character's legacy as a drug lord. Her brutal downfall, would have helped make the exaggerated, revisionist history of her Netflix series a bit more palatable.
All six episodes of Griselda are now available on Netflix.
Your comment has not been saved
Fleeing from Medellín to Miami, Griselda Blanco creates one of the most ruthless cartels in history.
The crime thriller genre is incredibly popular with audiences and the 2010s created some truly compelling films that fall within this category.
A lesser-known Star Wars film explained why the Ewoks had traps set up to fight the Empire in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
Some highly acclaimed A24 movies, such as We Live in Time and The Witch, are not as good as critics—and, at times, audiences—have suggested.
The director's commentary track for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King provided further insight into Arwen's choice to become mortal.
While some Disney characters may deserve criticism, characters like Vanellope and Princess Ariel don't deserve the hate.
John Cazale, the actor most known for his portrayal of Fredo Corleone, holds an incredible record that is sure to stand the test of time.
