HOTEL COCAINE Post-Mortem: Danny Pino on the Death That Marks an Important ‘Turning Point’ in Season 1

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Sunday, July 21 episode of HOTEL COCAINE.]

After Nestor (Yul Vazquez) found out—via Román (Danny Pino)—that the deal he was making with help from Congressman Landon (Nick Barkla) was helping to enrich Fidel Castro, things blew up, quite literally, on the Sunday, July 21 episode of HOTEL COCAINE.

Initially, there was a tense confrontation between Nestor and Landon before an event to benefit Landon’s campaign to become governor. Landon threatened to have Nestor arrested, while also insisting he would use the profits from the cocaine deal to become president—and take down Castro with that power. Nestor reluctantly agreed to keep the deal going.

But, in actuality, Nestor was biding his time: He had Landon’s car blown up after the event.

“Well, Landon does go out with a bang, as it were,” Pino acknowledges to Give Me My Remote. “The understanding that even somebody who was running for governor, somebody so high-profile, is vulnerable—that is sobering, in and of itself. I remember when I read the script, it took me [a beat] to be able to contextualize what that would mean, not only for the Mutiny [hotel], because this happens at the Mutiny, but also for Román, for his family, for the ties that Valeria has with Landon’s family. [And for Román] not being in the loop with Nestor, as to what decisions were being made.” 

And given the high-profile death—and the extreme manner in which it was done—“I think that it raises the level of anxiety and the tension,” Pino previews. “Román knows that [DEA Agent] Zulio [who witnessed the explosion] is going to be intimately aware of the workings of what is going on. And him being a DEA agent, and him having ties back to Landon, and sort of that political structure, it just makes everybody vulnerable—more vulnerable even.” 

“It’s a moment within the arc of our season that is yet another crescendo,” he continues. “It’s a moment of revelation. It’s a turning point, of sorts. And it shows the extreme level of violence that Nestor is capable of.”

HOTEL COCAINE, Sundays, MGM+

RELATED:

• HOTEL COCAINE: Danny Pino Explores the Complexities of Portraying Roman Compte

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest  TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page or our Instagram.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.