Somos
Episode 6 of Somos Season 1 starts this finale with the cartel driving up to the prison. The inmates, including Paquito, are handed weapons and sent out to join the ranks. This catches us up with the moments at the beginning of episode 1 as the guys burn down the brothel. Meanwhile, Julian makes it back in town. He greets Erika and prepares to see Armando. Well, Armando is out with Nancy and Tom. As they drive through town, they come to a grinding halt when they notice the caravan of cartel members all armed to the teeth. Visibly spooked, the kids contemplate whether to just go home. Benjamin tries to settle in with Silverio but he’s worried. Cesar and the gang could come after him but equally as devastating is the possibility of them heading up to the ranch to find Isildro. Before the cartel do that, they stock up on food courtesy of Mrs Chayo. She hands over all the food she has for them, as the group ride out once more. The brothel is their next stop, where Nayeli is saved by the owner claiming she’s on her period. Given the frantic nature of these thugs and what they plan to do, Neyali and the owner decide to leave and go back to the US. Specifically, they intend to go to Bakersfield where Neyali originally grew up. While the cartel make their move up at the estate, the firemen arrive and answer a call about a fire. Realizing the cartel are there, they try to back out slowly. Unfortunately one of the men outside recognizes Chema from his angry rant at the bar. He forces the man to step outside and he shoots him in cold blood without a moment’s hesitation. Benjamin tries to leave too but unfortunately he’s stopped by the cartel too, which has now fractured into several different groups. They’re dead set on exacting revenge on everyone who has wronged them. It’s a horrific scene as this massacre ensues, especially as day turns to night and Paquito is forced to start moving the dead around. Among the deceased are Nancy and Tom who didn’t make it. Armando however, is still unaccounted for. Earlier on in the episode we saw him outrun the cartel, narrowly avoiding a volley of bullets. Grabbing a phone from the deceased, Paquito rings Aracely to check up on her. She’s okay, as it turns out, and he contemplates whether to join her. As Paquito starts running away from the ranch, he’s shot in the back and killed. With Armando still missing, Julian heads out in the night to try and find him. Of course, the cartel aren’t done yet. At the Linares Ranch they shoot anything that moves as this last stand isn’t so much a stand but a massacre. The only saving grace n all this is that Armando returns home unscathed. So too does Julian, as this family are reunited. Neyali and the brothel owner trek across the stream and begin hiking away from Allende. As they do, the two orphans we saw at the start of the episode are used as collateral to move couple of cartel members through the checkpoints and away from Allende. As the kids are told to sit on a bench, the pick-up drives away, leaving them all alone. Thankfully a kind old man sees them and agrees to take them.
The Episode Review
Somos bows out with a sombre and shocking episode of devastation as the cartel exact their revenge. The focus being on the residents provides a unique perspective rarely seen in a show like this and although there are glimpses of the DEA and the cartel at work, it’s very much the everyday joe that this series is interested in. Somos has been brought to life based on real-life testimonies, and for those unaware the Allende Massacre was a horrific moment in Mexican history. The story is pretty accurate in terms of the DEA infiltration and the operation gone wrong. The leak is ultimately what sets the wheels into motion for this bloody and sombre chapter to ensue. While there’s no conclusion per-se in the conventional sense, the series does finish with a harsh reminder of just how ruthless the cartel is and that they’ll stop at nothing to get what they want I’ve said it before but the way this show just nonchalantly kills people off is one of its greatest assets and really adds a knife-edge tension to every single scene. For now, Somos bows out with an excellent finale, one that rounds out all the big plot points and leaves a sobering taste of just how badly this community was rocked by the intervention of the cartel.
