Hotel Cocaine Season 1 Episode 5 Review: We’re at War

The war between Nestor and the Columbians hits too close to home for comfort on Hotel Cocaine Season 1 Episode 5, ” We’re at War.”

The first half of the season is spent building up the anticipation of what’s to come from Yolanda and the Columbians, and now the season’s pace has increased tenfold.

The stakes for Nestor and Roman reach new heights, Zulio makes a daring move against the Columbians, and Janice continues to prove why she’s one of the best aspects of the series.

Caught in the Middle

With Valeria’s newfound impromptu sneaking sessions landing her in the middle of a shootout, all bets are off the table on what could come in the remaining episodes.

We only see Roman fully immerse himself in Nestor’s actions because Yolanda attempted to gun down Marisol, Valeria, and him. So, there’s no telling the lengths he’ll go to get his revenge after potentially losing Valeria, even though it wasn’t in Yolanda’s plan to begin with.

While her proposal that Nestor join their ranks after killing Jeronimo seems abysmal at first, in hindsight, it might’ve been the safest route for Roman and his family. But it’s easy to see that taking the easy way out is no longer on Roman’s list of goals.

Roman to Nestor: “Can I make a suggestion? Every one of your stash houses shuts down and moves to a new location. Communications on a need-to-know basis only and offer a $100,000 reward for information on a Mexican woman with Columbian ties.”

Once the threat against his family was deemed credible in his eyes, all bets went off the table.

Despite the increased tension her actions have caused, it’s almost fitting of Valeria’s character to have taken such a drastic turn after her recent behavior change. With Andrew lifting the veil of secrecy around Nestor’s day job, her curiosity is getting the better of her, leading her to make decisions she wouldn’t usually make.

A clear indication that Valeria isn’t using the common sense she was blessed with is her snooping through Nestor’s home for cocaine immediately after finding out he’s the drug king of the area, all in the hopes this boy will like her.

The Problem Solver

Week by week, Janice has cemented herself as an integral character of the series. Besides busting her tail in many different aspects to ensure the Mutiny Club is held intact, she’s also the missing piece to most of Roman and Burton’s problems. 

Not only does she go out of her way and put her own life on the line, but she does it spontaneously and with no hesitation. Her loyalty to Roman and Burton is unmatched, and while I love seeing it play out on screen, I hope we get to see a different side of her emerge before the end of the season.

There needs to be more character-building for Janice in the same way we’re getting with the men. We’re privy to a partial look into how she came to be Roman’s right-hand man at the club, but we’ve been given no further information outside of that. 

I don’t want Phil to return and harm Janice in any way, but there needs to be more conflict centered around her that doesn’t directly result from Roman or Burton.

Right now, it’s as if she’s only being used to further the storyline for two men rather than given any screen time for anything of substance related to her character. 

For a majority of the characters, we get some sense of trajectory for their storylines, but with Janice, it’s hard to pinpoint where we could see her end up. 

A New Enemy Identified

Ray Dorado being outed as an integral player in getting the Columbians to America isn’t too much of a shock. Still, it’s a much-needed revelation that comes at perfect timing.

Rather than keep the audience guessing, presenting this new information against Dorado allows us to analyze the situation more in-depth.

It also clarifies that he’s been lying to Burton all along. Thanks to Janice, he all but admits that the people he’s in business with are the ones who put the hit on Constance, and his veiled threats against the congressman confirm that he’s an even bigger player than previously thought.

Dorado’s revelation also sets up the potential for all of these different storylines to correlate directly by the end of the season. Burton will undoubtedly continue pushing until he finds a way to take him down, potentially putting him in the crosshairs of Nestor and Roman’s war with Yolanda and the Columbians.

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Hotel Cocaine airs Sundays at 9/8c on MGM+.

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