# El Dragón: Return of a Warrior (2019)

> A Tokyo businessman returns to Mexico to battle rivals for his grandfather's cartel throne.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/79608

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 82
- Episode runtime: 56 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, crime, action
- Created by: Arturo Pérez-Reverte
- Network: Univision
- Cast: Sebastián Rulli, Renata Notni, Roberto Mateos, Irina Baeva, Sofía Castro, Jean Paul Leroux, Manuel Balbi, Juan Pablo Gil
- TMDB rating: 6.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9281190/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: melodramatic, intense, sinister, romantic

## What critics say

Audience reception is mixed, with viewers rating the telenovela's cartel melodrama as solid but unremarkable across both seasons.

## Synopsis

El Dragón: Return of a Warrior (2019-2020) is a United States-produced Spanish-language crime telenovela created by Arturo Pérez-Reverte and broadcast on Univision. Sebastián Rulli plays Miguel Garza, a Tokyo businessman who returns to his native Mexico to claim the succession of his grandfather's cartel. Around him, Renata Notni as Adela Cruz, Roberto Mateos as Epigmenio Moncada, and Irina Baeva as Jimena Ortiz embody the rival factions, shifting alliances, and romantic entanglements that fill each episode. The engine of the series is Miguel's need to prove himself to a criminal family that distrusts him, while rivals maneuver to seize the empire during his absence and in his presence. Across two seasons and 82 episodes of roughly fifty-six minutes each, the story unfolds as one continuing serialized saga of betrayals, violent confrontations, and romance rather than a case-of-the-week format. Set in contemporary Mexico, the drama moves between opulent mansions, business boardrooms, and the dangerous streets of cartel territory. Its tone is melodramatic and intense, with a heightened soap sensibility layered over brutal criminal stakes. Fans of Narcos: Mexico, Griselda, and La Reina del Sur will find resonance in its cartel power politics and telenovela theatrics.

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