Un Bandido Honrado is a 2019 Colombian comedic narconovela (two words that I never thought I would be using together, but life surprises you every day) created by Juan Manuel Cáceres that follows Emilio de Jesus Ortega on his journey to become a better person after living a life of crime for decades. The catalyst? An experience with St. Jude Thaddeus, who is Emilio's favorite saint, and the saint of lost causes and desperate situations. This is ironic since the detective who built the case against Emilio told him that he was incapable of change once he got out of jail, a "lost cause". Based on the show's first two episodes, Un Bandido Honrado seems more like a satire of melodramas than an actual melodrama. That's not to say it doesn't have the drama, because I assure you: it does! Just in the pilot, we have an affair, a near-death experience (enter St. Jude), and a thrilling fight scene. I love that Emilio's wife, Milena, isn't truly a ditzy side character, even though she does act like one sometimes. There's obviously some tension between her and Natalia, Emilio's lawyer/mistress (even though Milena doesn't know about the mistress part yet . . . such drama!), and I can't wait to see how that escalates. Another aspect of the show I'm intrigued to see play out is to what extent Emilio will be able to stay on the straight and narrow; the show is 63 episodes long, so there's bound to be some backsliding afoot! I also want to see what typical telenovela tropes, if any, play out in significance during the show. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
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