The Big Picture

Sofía Vergara delivers a captivating and transformative performance in Griselda, showcasing significant emotional range. The supporting cast, particularly the male characters in Griselda’s life, deliver strong performances that anchor the series. The series’ ending feels underwhelming and fails to explore the later stages of Blanco’s life.

A common refrain in Hollywood tends to hover around any significant transformation by an actor for an upcoming project. Whether it’s by way of drastic fluctuation in size, the use of prosthetics to change facial structure, or even a mere lack of any cosmetic enhancement, a film or TV show that renders an actor “unrecognizable” is something to be leaned into, embraced to tell us that this role is unlike anything played before. In the case of Netflix’s upcoming crime drama miniseries Griselda, which sees Sofía Vergara stepping into the role of infamous drug queenpin Griselda Blanco, calling its lead “unrecognizable” wouldn’t be inaccurate — but the lengths to which Vergara goes in her performance are worth noting even above the occasionally distracting prosthetic work. As we witness Griselda’s ascent — or descent, depending on your perspective — in the cocaine underworld, her downfall seems all but inevitable. That said, Vergara is the surprising component that makes her character’s ruination captivating to watch, even when some of the series’ other elements don’t always coalesce around her as strongly as they could.

Griselda Fleeing from Medellín to Miami, Griselda Blanco creates one of the most ruthless cartels in history. Release Date January 25, 2024 Creator Eric Newman, Carlo Bernard, Ingrid Escajeda, Doug Miro Cast Sofia Vergara , Alberto Guerra , Juliana Aidén Martinez , Martin Rodriguez , Jose Velazquez , Orlando Pineda Main Genre Crime Seasons 1 Streaming Service(s) Netflix

Sofía Vergara Is a Standout in ‘Griselda’

It would have been easy to head into watching Griselda with a healthy dose of skepticism, despite the various parties bringing this series to life. Among creators Eric Newman, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard, and Ingrid Escajeda are some names you might very well recognize from their work on series like Narcos and its Mexico spinoff, which were critically acclaimed in their own right. This creative team undoubtedly has the pedigree necessary to tell these types of narratives mired in the realm of illegal trade and driven by the ambition for wealth. The biggest question swirling around Griselda, however, was whether the series’ star would be up to the task of portraying someone whose darkest qualities are spilled like seeping black ink across the screen. Vergara already has an inherent advantage over any other depictions, especially as the first Colombian actress to portray Blanco. However, relevant background aside, there’s still the monumental task of depicting her evolution throughout these six episodes, all of which were provided for review. As a character in this telling of events, Griselda experiences a significant emotional journey as well as a rise to power, from being the silent brains behind her drug lord husband’s operation to becoming the “Godmother of Cocaine.” Long before the latter happens, she flees from her native Colombia to Miami (along with her three sons and little more than a kilo of cocaine in her suitcase), in hopes of a fresh start and a clean break from her second husband Alberto (Alberto Ammann). But leaving the past behind is a much harder task when you’ve also got deadly enemies intent on tracking you down.

Griselda begins with an intriguing quote from Pablo Escobar — “The only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco” — but the series only uses this as a jumping-off point to signal the male-dominated sphere we’re about to step into. Many times throughout the story, Griselda is the only woman in the entire room, and just as frequently written off by men who already control the Miami drug trade as an irritating bitch who doesn’t know her place. She’s the outlier in this particular industry, but rather than allow herself to be defined by her rivals, she doubles down, surrounding herself with people who can help her shape herself into even more of a fearsome presence — like Arturo (Christian Tappan), her husband’s former money man, as well as Carla (Karol G), a longtime friend and sex worker who assists Griselda with her drug smuggling efforts.

While the prosthetics Vergara wields to bear a resemblance to the real queenpin are initially intrusive, they do succeed more as the series goes on, giving her a look that feels indisputably predatory. Her leonine features — undoubtedly centered around her widened nose — become hypnotic, especially in the series’ later episodes after Griselda has ruthlessly eliminated the competition. There are scenes where she all but prowls through a dimly lit ’80s nightclub, her keen gaze assessing every possible threat — but awareness can just as easily tip the scales into full-blown paranoia. The dangers of this environment are palpably felt at nearly every turn, and the more power that Griselda can claw and scrape her way toward, the harder it becomes for her to maintain a grip on all of it at once. Eventually, as her allies begin to question just how far she’s willing to go to maintain her seat at the top, Griselda’s persecution complex turns inward, and she starts questioning the loyalty of those who have supported her since the beginning. However, this is also the moment when Vergara becomes utterly riveting to watch. Arguably the series’ best episode is its penultimate one, “Paradise Lost,” directed by Andrés Baiz (who helms the entire show) and written by Miro, Escajeda, and Giovanna Sarquis. Centered around a birthday party Griselda is throwing for her third husband, it’s also the biggest showcase of Vergara’s talents, as Griselda’s drug-fueled psychosis threatens to fracture every meaningful relationship she’s forged beyond repair.

Strong Supporting Performances Anchor ‘Griselda’s Cast

While Vergara is an increasing force of nature to watch in Griselda, partly due to the natural escalations that her character’s arc reaches, many of the show’s supporting characters are strong presences on their own. Even when the story itself can be found lacking in varying places, more than one actor makes the setting feel simultaneously dangerous and gripping. Griselda’s ruthless hitman Rivi (Martin Rodriguez) is himself a man of shifting loyalties who carries out orders with clear cunning, while Rodriguez quite often veers into a seductive presence on-screen, to the point where it seems as if Rivi’s ties to Griselda are born of a much deeper feeling than financial benefit. As Griselda’s aforementioned third husband and former bodyguard Darío, Alberto Guerra is firing on all emotional cylinders in this show, encapsulating a romantic soulfulness that renders his devotion to his wife heartwrenching when their relationship starts to take a more tragic turn.

That said, Griselda seems more invested in circling its lead, while many of the show’s other female characters don’t earn the same treatment. The series boasts no shortage of women, but only a handful of them even earn the designation of a name or distinct character traits and mostly take a backseat in the larger plot. Vanessa Ferlito’s Carmen shares a unique past with Griselda as the former wife of a drug lord herself — and who warns Griselda against getting sucked back into that world in one of the show’s earliest moments of significant foreshadowing. But even Carmen largely disappears after a point, only popping up sporadically when the story calls for her to have a presence.

Meanwhile, the show’s weak attempts at narrative parallel happen through Juliana Aidén Martinez as Detective June Hawkins, the underestimated woman on the opposite side of the law who is as rudderless in her career as Griselda is tenacious. Naturally, it’s June who has more of a role to play in Miami-Dade PD’s ongoing investigation into Griselda’s activities, becoming a part of the CENTAC task force that emerges when the cocaine epidemic reaches a deadly zenith. But the show doesn’t emphasize any grand showdown between the two women, or even hint at a more climactic confrontation. At the end of the day, this is ultimately Griselda’s world, and the rest of the characters are just living in it.

‘Griselda’ Stutters Out With an Underwhelming Ending
Image via Netflix

On the heels of Griselda’s bombshell fifth episode, the finale proves somewhat lackluster and rushed by comparison, as if the creative team realized they only had so much time left to satisfactorily tie up every loose end. While the show has always been billed as a miniseries, this is one story that would have absolutely benefited from one or two more episodes to reach its conclusion. Those who are more familiar with the real Griselda Blanco know that there’s plenty of narrative wealth to mine from her later years, even after her arrest by the DEA and subsequent compassionate release leading to her deportation — but the show itself only seems to want to go so far into her story.

A scene in the finale, in which one character lists off a sequence of recent deaths to another, feels more akin to ticking off necessary narrative boxes rather than a moment that should bear significant emotional weight. It also contributes to Griselda ultimately concluding with a whimper, rather than a bang, especially when juxtaposed against so many of the preceding episodes. Despite its occasional shortcomings, however, the Netflix series offers a fascinating look into a figure both controversial and intriguing — and is ruled over by Vergara, in perhaps the last role anyone ever expected her to play.

Griselda REVIEWSofía Vergara stuns as an infamous drug queenpin in Netflix’s Griselda, a crime drama series that only somewhat matches her presence. Release Date January 25, 2024 Creator Eric Newman, Carlo Bernard, Ingrid Escajeda, Doug Miro Cast Sofia Vergara , Alberto Guerra , Juliana Aidén Martinez , Martin Rodriguez , Jose Velazquez , Orlando Pineda Main Genre Crime Seasons 1 Streaming Service(s) Netflix ProsSofía Vergara transforms herself into the ruthless Griselda Blanco, offering significant emotional range in the Netflix bilingual crime series. The show’s supporting cast is anchored by strong performances, especially from the men in Griselda’s life. The series’ penultimate episode is a clear standout in its performances, direction, and writing. ConsThe show seems less interested in spotlighting any female characters outside its lead. The series’ ending feels underwhelming and doesn’t delve enough into the later stages of Blanco’s life.

Griselda is available to stream starting January 25 on Netflix.

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