Speaking of friends and foes…your boy Dre is really on one right now. He’s another one that can’t see the forest for the trees. He’s so worried about making sure that everyone knows he’s in control, that in fact, he has no control or authority at all. He’s so insecure about Diego that he constantly has to flex and say how tight he runs his organization. Think back to season 1, when Ghost had a similar situation with Lobos. Ghost always managed to make Lobos feel as though he was in charge, which he was, but he did it without kowtowing and never looked weak. Can we say the same about Dre? He has a problem with managing up. Another subtlety that shouldn’t get overlooked is Dre’s inability to comprehend any Spanish. It would be great if he was fluent, but just knowing some key phrases would be helpful. That dynamic helped Ghost in his dealings with Lobos and his primeras. Dre has been around Spanish speaking people for at least three seasons now. Get it together man!
Dre has a problem brewing with “Spanky” and “2-Bit.” We talked about that in our last couple recaps. With Kanan playing on “2-Bit’s” fragility it’s only a matter of time before Dre’s middle management starts becoming a real problem. Pancho doesn’t like that Cristobal’s been promoted to #2 and Arturo seems like a very shaky primera, now that he’s the leader of the Toros Locos under false pretenses. Dre is learning, the hard way, what it truly means to be a leader.
Diego and Dre have such a tense relationship. You can see it every time they are in the same room. Diego dressing down Dre in front of his men yet again doesn’t sit well with the young pup, but he’s got to figure out a new way to handle all of this. The cracks are starting to show.
As a quick aside, a few of you have mentioned that Dre knows exactly what he’s doing and he’s playing Kanan with the whole “2Bit” being upset thing…let’s say that is the case. Then that would mean Kanan making it to season six is unlikely. This proposed scenario would mean a battle is coming and one of them has to die. It’s a possibility, but that’s giving Dre a lot of agency and temerity and I just don’t buy it. Is he leaps and bounds smarter and more aware than Ghost?
Also, given the moves Kanan made this episode, purchasing weight with Tommy and getting back into the picture on the drug front suggest otherwise. Kanan has been planning to take over since he was in jail back in season one. He knows how all of the various systems work and who the connects are. Killing Dre is the tie that binds him, Tommy and Ghost. Once that’s done and Ghost has no “skin in the game” what’s next?