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* AntiVillain: Silvio appears to be a loving husband and father who works as a mule on the side. It’s possible he’s been coerced into doing it.
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* TrophyWife: Averted. Fausto Alarcon defies a lot of drug lord stereotypes and has a wife who, while certainly attractive, appears to be about the same age as he is and old enough to be the mother of teenage boys meaning she’s probably their birth mother and they’ve been married a long time.
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* FamilyValuesVillain: Despite being the BigBad of the movie what little we see of Fausto Alarcon he seems to be a devoted husband and father.
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* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: Fausto Alarcon quickly deduces that Alejandro is not there to arrest him or negotiate. His only request is not to do it in front of his boys. Unfortunately for him Alejandro uses his ExactWords and kills his wife and son in front of him. Alarcon is clearly horrified by this and just calmly awaits his turn.]]
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** Matt points out that as long as 20% of Americans are using drugs there will always be people fighting to supply them and stabilizing the market is better than a power vacuum.
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* MohsScaleOfViolenceHardness: Rates at a relatively high level 8. Mutilated and decapitated bodies are shown in full, along with violent shooting and stabbing deaths. [[spoiler: Alejandro kills an entire family at a dinner table, and Kate almost gets violently choked to death by Ted.]]
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Not So Different has been renamed, and it needs to be dewicked/moved


* HannibalLecture: [[spoiler:Fausto Alarcon tries one on Alejandro, giving him a NotSoDifferent speech about some of the tactics employed by the authorities that the cartels later adopted for themselves. Alejandro is having none of it and shoots Alarcon's wife and kids, then him.]]

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* HannibalLecture: [[spoiler:Fausto Alarcon tries one on Alejandro, giving him a NotSoDifferent speech NotSoDifferentRemark about some of the tactics employed by the authorities that the cartels later adopted for themselves. Alejandro is having none of it and shoots Alarcon's wife and kids, then him.]]
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A sequel, ''Film/SicarioDayOfTheSoldado'', followed in 2018.

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A sequel, ''Film/SicarioDayOfTheSoldado'', followed in 2018.
2018 with a new director (Stefano Sollima). Prior to its release, a third film was announced to be in development; its name was announced as ''Sicario: Capos'' in early 2021.

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* CurbstompBattle: The shootout in the border crossing between the CIA convoy and cartel gunmen [[RealityEnsues ends quickly and decisively in the CIA's favor, with no casualties whatsoever.]]

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* CurbstompBattle: The shootout in the border crossing between the CIA convoy and cartel gunmen [[RealityEnsues ends quickly and decisively in the CIA's favor, with no casualties whatsoever.]]



* RealityEnsues:
** Kate's a badass, but is overpowered in two fights. In the first, [[spoiler:she's very drunk and knocked off balance. In the second, even after she gives a good punch to Matt, she's just been shot twice in the chest (saved by a bulletproof vest, but still winded and likely heavily bruised, if not with cracked ribs) and after the first hit, the larger and uninjured Matt easily gets her in a disabling grapple.]]
** A bulletproof vest can stop the ''killing wound'' of a bullet, but not the impact and the force behind it. When Kate gets shot in her vest by [[spoiler: Alejandro]], she has no actual injuries but is still visibly gasping and winded and can barely stand up.
** The shootout in the bridge finishes immediately in the CIA's favor. The CIA guys never let their guard down during the whole ride, and upon spotting the cartel hitmen, they simply storm out and cut them down.
** [[spoiler: Fausto Alarcon]] asks [[spoiler: Alejandro]] to spare his family. He doesn't, because [[spoiler: Alejandro]] is a sicario, not a cop.
** However badly she despises the man, Kate cannot shoot Alejandro in the back. That would be murder, first-degree, and she can't claim self-defense in doing so.
** [[spoiler:Alarcon]], faced with [[spoiler:Alejandro]] pointing a gun at both him and his family, tries to (in a very high-handed way) use the logic he uses to justify his lifestyle to himself on a man whose life he ruined and family he had murdered.

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* RealityEnsues:
** Kate's a badass, but is overpowered in two fights. In the first, [[spoiler:she's very drunk and knocked off balance. In the second, even after she gives a good punch to Matt, she's just been shot twice in the chest (saved by a bulletproof vest, but still winded and likely heavily bruised, if not with cracked ribs) and after the first hit, the larger and uninjured Matt easily gets her in a disabling grapple.]]
** A bulletproof vest can stop the ''killing wound'' of a bullet, but not the impact and the force behind it. When Kate gets shot in her vest by [[spoiler: Alejandro]], she has no actual injuries but is still visibly gasping and winded and can barely stand up.
** The shootout in the bridge finishes immediately in the CIA's favor. The CIA guys never let their guard down during the whole ride, and upon spotting the cartel hitmen, they simply storm out and cut them down.
** [[spoiler: Fausto Alarcon]] asks [[spoiler: Alejandro]] to spare his family. He doesn't, because [[spoiler: Alejandro]] is a sicario, not a cop.
** However badly she despises the man, Kate cannot shoot Alejandro in the back. That would be murder, first-degree, and she can't claim self-defense in doing so.
** [[spoiler:Alarcon]], faced with [[spoiler:Alejandro]] pointing a gun at both him and his family, tries to (in a very high-handed way) use the logic he uses to justify his lifestyle to himself on a man whose life he ruined and family he had murdered.


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* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Kate's a badass, but is overpowered in two fights. In the first, [[spoiler:she's very drunk and knocked off balance. In the second, even after she gives a good punch to Matt, she's just been shot twice in the chest (saved by a bulletproof vest, but still winded and likely heavily bruised, if not with cracked ribs) and after the first hit, the larger and uninjured Matt easily gets her in a disabling grapple.]]
** A bulletproof vest can stop the ''killing wound'' of a bullet, but not the impact and the force behind it. When Kate gets shot in her vest by [[spoiler: Alejandro]], she has no actual injuries but is still visibly gasping and winded and can barely stand up.
** The shootout in the bridge finishes immediately in the CIA's favor. The CIA guys never let their guard down during the whole ride, and upon spotting the cartel hitmen, they simply storm out and cut them down.
** [[spoiler: Fausto Alarcon]] asks [[spoiler: Alejandro]] to spare his family. He doesn't, because [[spoiler: Alejandro]] is a sicario, not a cop.
** However badly she despises the man, Kate cannot shoot Alejandro in the back. That would be murder, first-degree, and she can't claim self-defense in doing so.
** [[spoiler:Alarcon]], faced with [[spoiler:Alejandro]] pointing a gun at both him and his family, tries to (in a very high-handed way) use the logic he uses to justify his lifestyle to himself on a man whose life he ruined and family he had murdered.
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* CycleOfRevenge: [[DefiedTrope Defied]]; Alejandro [[spoiler: kills Fausto's wife and children before he kills him.]]
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Dewicked trope


** Kate's a badass ActionGirl, but is overpowered in two fights. In the first, [[spoiler:she's very drunk and knocked off balance. In the second, even after she gives a good punch to Matt, she's just been shot twice in the chest (saved by a bulletproof vest, but still winded and likely heavily bruised, if not with cracked ribs) and after the first hit, the larger and uninjured Matt easily gets her in a disabling grapple.]]

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** Kate's a badass ActionGirl, badass, but is overpowered in two fights. In the first, [[spoiler:she's very drunk and knocked off balance. In the second, even after she gives a good punch to Matt, she's just been shot twice in the chest (saved by a bulletproof vest, but still winded and likely heavily bruised, if not with cracked ribs) and after the first hit, the larger and uninjured Matt easily gets her in a disabling grapple.]]

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Added an example.


* SpiritualSuccessor: Arguably this to ''Film/{{Traffic}}''. Both movies are about the War on Drugs, take place near the border, have multiple intersecting storylines, exist in a CrapsackWorld, end with no real resolution to the questions raised, have extensive bilingual dialogue and feature Benicio Del Toro.

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* SpiritualSuccessor: SpiritualSuccessor:
**
Arguably this to ''Film/{{Traffic}}''. Both movies are about the War on Drugs, take place near the border, have multiple intersecting storylines, exist in a CrapsackWorld, end with no real resolution to the questions raised, have extensive bilingual dialogue and feature Benicio Del Toro.Toro.
** Also to John le Carré's ''The Mission Song'', in which a skilled but naïve protagonist is exploited by brutal and amoral people in the service of Realpolitik.

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The film tells the story of Kate Macer (Blunt), an idealistic FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams agent, who is enlisted by government official Matt Graver (Brolin) to aid in a joint task force -- which includes his mysterious partner, Alejandro Gillick (del Toro) -- in tracking down an anonymous drug lord. Kate, wishing to avenge the deaths of two of her fellow officers that that the drug lord was apparently responsible for, jumps at the call, but as the task force digs deeper into the cartels, their methods become more and more questionable, and Kate begins to wonder whose side the task force is really on -- and whether she has gotten in over her head.

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The film tells the story of Kate Macer (Blunt), an idealistic FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams agent, who is enlisted by government official Matt Graver (Brolin) to aid in a joint task force -- which includes his mysterious partner, Alejandro Gillick (del Toro) -- in tracking down an anonymous drug lord. lord.

Kate, wishing to avenge the deaths of two of her fellow officers that that the drug lord was apparently responsible for, jumps at the call, but as the task force digs deeper into the cartels, their methods become more and more questionable, and Kate begins to wonder whose side the task force is really on -- and whether she has gotten in over her head.
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* SpiritualSuccessor: Arguably this to ''Film/{{Traffic}}''. Both movies are about the War on Drugs, take place near the border, have multiple intersecting storylines, exist in a CrapsackWorld, end with no real resolution to the questions raised, and feature Benicio Del Toro.

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* SpiritualSuccessor: Arguably this to ''Film/{{Traffic}}''. Both movies are about the War on Drugs, take place near the border, have multiple intersecting storylines, exist in a CrapsackWorld, end with no real resolution to the questions raised, have extensive bilingual dialogue and feature Benicio Del Toro.

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* WhamShot:
** When Kate sees the pink-and-blue armband on[[spoiler: Ted's keychain.]]
** When Alejandro lets off three shots at the dinner table, then in one zoomed out shot, we see [[spoiler: he's killed Fausto's family.]]

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* WhamShot:
**
WhamShot: When Kate sees the pink-and-blue armband on[[spoiler: Ted's on [[spoiler:Ted's keychain.]]
** When Alejandro lets off three shots at the dinner table, then in one zoomed out shot, we see [[spoiler: he's killed Fausto's family.
]]

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* NothingIsScarier: [[spoiler:The tunnel and Alejandro's slow search of the mansion for Fausto.]]

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* NothingIsScarier: NothingIsScarier:
** We don't see what Alejandro does to make Guillermo talk; the camera instead cuts to a push-in shot of the drain in the room with choking noises in the background.
**
[[spoiler:The tunnel and Alejandro's sequence.]]
** [[spoiler:Alejandro's
slow search of the mansion for Fausto.]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:'''Sicario''' ''nmf /si.'ka.rjo/''. (asesino a sueldo) assassin or hired killer; hitman.]]

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[[caption-width-right:350:'''Sicario''' ''nmf /si.'ka.rjo/''. rjo/'' (asesino a sueldo) sueldo)\\
assassin or hired killer; hitman.]]
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The film tells the story of Kate Macer (Blunt), an idealistic FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams agent, who is enlisted by government official Matt Graver (Brolin) to aid in a joint task force -- which includes his mysterious partner, Alejandro Gillick (del Toro) -- in tracking down an anonymous drug lord. Kate, wishing to avenge the deaths of two of her fellow officers that that the drug lord was apparently responsible for, jumps at the call, but as the task force digs deeper into the cartels, their methods become more and more questionable, and Kate begins to wonder whose side the task force is really on - and whether she has gotten in over her head.

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The film tells the story of Kate Macer (Blunt), an idealistic FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams agent, who is enlisted by government official Matt Graver (Brolin) to aid in a joint task force -- which includes his mysterious partner, Alejandro Gillick (del Toro) -- in tracking down an anonymous drug lord. Kate, wishing to avenge the deaths of two of her fellow officers that that the drug lord was apparently responsible for, jumps at the call, but as the task force digs deeper into the cartels, their methods become more and more questionable, and Kate begins to wonder whose side the task force is really on - -- and whether she has gotten in over her head.
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''Sicario'' is a 2015 American thriller film directed by Creator/DenisVilleneuve from a screenplay written by Taylor Sheridan.

The film stars Creator/EmilyBlunt, Creator/BenicioDelToro, Creator/JoshBrolin, and Creator/VictorGarber. It tells the story of Kate Macer (Blunt), an idealistic FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams agent, who is enlisted by government official Matt Graver (Brolin) to aid in a joint task force -- which includes his mysterious partner, Alejandro Gillick (del Toro) -- in tracking down an anonymous drug lord. Kate, wishing to avenge the deaths of two of her fellow officers that that the drug lord was apparently responsible for, jumps at the call, but as the task force digs deeper into the cartels, their methods become more and more questionable, and Kate begins to wonder whose side the task force is really on - and whether she has gotten in over her head.

A sequel, ''Film/SicarioDayOfTheSoldado'', premiered on June 29, 2018 with some members of the cast (Benicio del Toro as Alejandro Gillick, Josh Brolin as Matt Graver and Jeffrey Donovan as Steve Forsing) being brought back.

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''Sicario'' is a 2015 American thriller film directed by Creator/DenisVilleneuve from a screenplay written by Taylor Sheridan. It stars Creator/EmilyBlunt, Creator/BenicioDelToro, Creator/JoshBrolin, and Creator/VictorGarber.

The film stars Creator/EmilyBlunt, Creator/BenicioDelToro, Creator/JoshBrolin, and Creator/VictorGarber. It tells the story of Kate Macer (Blunt), an idealistic FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams agent, who is enlisted by government official Matt Graver (Brolin) to aid in a joint task force -- which includes his mysterious partner, Alejandro Gillick (del Toro) -- in tracking down an anonymous drug lord. Kate, wishing to avenge the deaths of two of her fellow officers that that the drug lord was apparently responsible for, jumps at the call, but as the task force digs deeper into the cartels, their methods become more and more questionable, and Kate begins to wonder whose side the task force is really on - and whether she has gotten in over her head.

A sequel, ''Film/SicarioDayOfTheSoldado'', premiered on June 29, 2018 with some members of the cast (Benicio del Toro as Alejandro Gillick, Josh Brolin as Matt Graver and Jeffrey Donovan as Steve Forsing) being brought back.
followed in 2018.
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The film stars Creator/EmilyBlunt, Creator/BenicioDelToro, Creator/JoshBrolin, and Creator/VictorGarber. It tells the story of Kate Macer (Blunt), an idealistic FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams agent, who is enlisted by government official Matt Graver (Brolin) to aid in a joint task force - which includes his mysterious partner, Alejandro Gillick (del Toro) - in tracking down an anonymous drug lord. Kate, wishing to avenge the deaths of two of her fellow officers that that the drug lord was apparently responsible for, jumps at the call, but as the task force digs deeper into the cartels, their methods become more and more questionable, and Kate begins to wonder whose side the task force is really on - and whether she has gotten in over her head.

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The film stars Creator/EmilyBlunt, Creator/BenicioDelToro, Creator/JoshBrolin, and Creator/VictorGarber. It tells the story of Kate Macer (Blunt), an idealistic FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams agent, who is enlisted by government official Matt Graver (Brolin) to aid in a joint task force - -- which includes his mysterious partner, Alejandro Gillick (del Toro) - -- in tracking down an anonymous drug lord. Kate, wishing to avenge the deaths of two of her fellow officers that that the drug lord was apparently responsible for, jumps at the call, but as the task force digs deeper into the cartels, their methods become more and more questionable, and Kate begins to wonder whose side the task force is really on - and whether she has gotten in over her head.
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* MoleInCharge: [[Spoiler: The objective is to put Alejandro in charge of a cartel and thus restore the drugs trade to a measure of control.]]

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* MoleInCharge: [[Spoiler: [[spoiler: The objective is to put Alejandro in charge of a cartel and thus restore the drugs trade to a measure of control.]]
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* MoleInCharge: [[Spoiler: The objective is to put Alejandro in charge of a cartel and thus restore the drugs trade to a measure of control.]]
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* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Following the opening SWAT raid, one of Kate's agents asks her what his response to the district attorney should be for his statement. Her reply is "The truth". Establishing her as a ByTheBookCop and someone who inspires loyalty in those under her command.
** Matt is shown in flip flops and very casual wear amongst a conference table full of suited and square FBI agents. His confident tone and how the meeting defers to him means he is definitely not law enforcement.


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* TheReveal: [[spoiler: The CIA's plan is to put Alejandro as head of a cartel and establish a measure of control in the drug trade. The sheer demand and size of the drugs trade mean the war on drugs can never really end.]]
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* DisproportionateRetribution: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Matt when he explains that his plan is to "dramatically overreact" against the cartel. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in that this is how law enforcement agencies ''always'' react when their officers are killed, which two were in the shed explosion at the beginning of the film, to deter future targeting of police.

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* DisproportionateRetribution: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Matt when he explains that his plan is to "dramatically overreact" against the cartel. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in that this is how law enforcement agencies ''always'' react when their officers are killed, which and in this case two were in the shed explosion at the beginning of the film, to deter future targeting of police.
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* TheNotLoveInterest: Kate for Alejandro. He frequently checks in on her over the course of the movie, saves her life when she's [[spoiler:nearly choked to death by Ted]], and mentions later that [[ReplacementGoldfish she reminds him of his daughter.]] [[spoiler:This doesn't stop him [[ShootTheDog threatening her life if she refuses to sign the affadavit,]] however, demonstrating just how far over the line he's gone in his pursuit of revenge.]]
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* SunshineNoir: It takes place mostly in bright sun or at least broad daylight in desert environments at the U.S./Mexican border, and yet it's as bleak and complex as many good FilmNoir examples.

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* SunshineNoir: It takes place mostly in bright sun or at least broad daylight in arid desert environments at the U.S./Mexican border, border (except for the last quarter or so, particularly the tunnel sequence, which takes place on a dark night), and yet it's as bleak and complex as many good FilmNoir examples.
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* SunshineNoir: It takes place mostly in bright sun or at least broad daylight in desert environments at the U.S./Mexican border, and yet it's as bleak and complex as many good FilmNoir examples.
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* EmergingFromTheShadows: Inverted in a memorable scene, where a group of Deltas with nightvision goggles silhouetted against the fading dusk march into the darkness. Their silhouettes slowly lower as they walk forwards, until they disappear into the darkness.
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* BunnyEarsLawyer: Matt Graver immediately stands out because of his sandals, casual clothing and equally casual attitude. He acts more like a teenage slacker than a veteran federal employee. Turns out he's a [[ruthlessly effective CIA officer, as capable a killer as the Delta operators. Graver reveals his true nature to Kate at the tunnel raid, easily overpowering her and explaining his morally ambiguous plan for 'stabilizing' the War on Drugs]].

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* BunnyEarsLawyer: Matt Graver immediately stands out because of his sandals, casual clothing and equally casual attitude. He acts more like a teenage slacker than a veteran federal employee. Turns out he's a [[ruthlessly [[spoiler:ruthlessly effective CIA officer, as capable a killer as the Delta operators. Graver reveals his true nature to Kate at the tunnel raid, easily overpowering her and explaining his morally ambiguous plan for 'stabilizing' the War on Drugs]].
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* Bunny Ears Lawyer: Matt Graver immediately stands out because of his sandals, casual clothing and equally casual attitude. He acts more like a teenage slacker than a veteran federal employee. Turns out he's a [[ruthlessly effective CIA officer, as capable a killer as the Delta operators. Graver reveals his true nature to Kate at the tunnel raid, easily overpowering her and explaining his morally ambiguous plan for 'stabilizing' the War on Drugs]].

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* Bunny Ears Lawyer: BunnyEarsLawyer: Matt Graver immediately stands out because of his sandals, casual clothing and equally casual attitude. He acts more like a teenage slacker than a veteran federal employee. Turns out he's a [[ruthlessly effective CIA officer, as capable a killer as the Delta operators. Graver reveals his true nature to Kate at the tunnel raid, easily overpowering her and explaining his morally ambiguous plan for 'stabilizing' the War on Drugs]].

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