There in “The Paddies,” El Chapo endures his own personal hell. Insomnia, the frigid conditions, and the physical and psychological abuse push the limits of his sanity. Cut off from the rest of the world, he escapes into the only place that he can: his thoughts. He remembers how, at the age of 16, he met the town’s boss, Pedro Avilés, and began growing his first poppies. Dazzled by Avilés’ luxurious world of money, women, and power, El Chapo decides to join his ranks, though not before facing his father, a violent alcoholic who was convinced that his son would never amount to anything. Now, locked up in Almoloya, he refuses to let his will be broken and instead grows stronger than ever, absolutely determined to achieve what he’s always dreamed of: being the baddest big shot of them all, the most powerful drug lord in the world, the Capo of Capos that the Mexican government and media had already portrayed him as, the man he swore he’d become on that distant day when he challenged his father.