Season 2 of “Wrong Side of the Tracks,” a Netflix original, had all kinds of necessary ingredients to be a riveting thriller, such as a central protagonist with strong principles, Tirso Abantos, who fought for justice for his sexually assaulted granddaughter Irene, and a menacing antagonist who prowled the neighborhood like an elegant gentleman while hiding a rapist and a crafty criminal beneath his mask. We’re talking about Guillermo Salgado, also known as the Ghost, who was a successful real estate entrepreneur and also a supplier of firearms and drugs to the neighborhood thugs and dealers. But gradually, the law became aware of his horrible crimes, and the diligent inspector Amanda dedicated herself to finding him and bringing him to justice, which she eventually was able to accomplish. Let’s talk about how Salgado’s rise to the top of the underworld hierarchy led to his downfall.
The entire first season of “Wrong Side of the Tracks” led us to believe Sandro was the main villain and the cause of all the wrongdoing in Entrevias. Even though we thought he was the one who abused Irene, Amanda eventually disproved this, revealing that he was merely a local gangster and was never the target of her attention. Instead, she had been investigating the Phantom or the Ghost, who had been fostering all of the local goons in order to spread corruption throughout the neighborhood. She had never seen this Phantom guy and was not even given a description of his appearance. The Phantom’s sophisticated network allowed him to be invisible in the eyes of the law.
But finally, “Wrong Side of the Tracks” season 2 revealed the Ghost, who was Guillermo Salgado, a real estate investor. He is shown to be the one who instructed Yeyo regarding his interactions with Nata and Nelson. With his sophisticated appearance and calm demeanor, Guillermo Salgado could never be mistaken for a dangerous criminal, but in reality, he was. Instead of forming a roving gang like Sandro did, Guillermo Salgado was a cunning monster who preferred to remain undetectable. And for that, he kept silencing anyone who had ever crossed his path, such as by shooting Ezequiel or attacking the journalist. Salgado was even responsible for the rape of Irene and other young girls. So, yeah, he wasn’t simply an unscrupulous businessman looking to seize the property; he was also a horrible pervert who enjoyed ruining the lives of young girls.
Initially, we see him approaching Jimena, an ambitious real estate agent and pitching her his business idea to purchase the Entrevias neighborhood and make changes to it. It is clear that a clever player like Salgado did his homework, which enabled him to understand that Jimena had consistently been committed to her work and desired professional success. Salgado used her as the fall guy since she was willing to work for less pay for a bigger project and opportunity. Once Jimena fell for his trap, he started brainwashing the neighborhood’s residents by gathering them with the help of Jimena because she was well-known in the area as Tirso’s daughter and was useful for persuading the locals to sell their properties. He persuaded the residents that the neighborhood would be in better shape if they were willing to sell him their land so that he could make improvements. He was so good at manipulating people that even a stubborn man like Tirso was almost convinced to sell his hardware store to him. However, it was later discovered that Salgado had purchased a number of locations in the neighborhood that had been utilized as drug dens. In fact, Salgado was the one building up these drug dens and providing the dealers with firearms, cash, and drug supplies.
In order to get people angry and eventually agree to sell their houses to him for a low price, he planned to create bribery, street fights, and a high population of addicts in the area. But sadly for Salgado, Amanda learned his real identity before he ever bought the entire area. Jimena, who was familiar with the locations where Salgado struck his bargains, could identify the same locations on Amanda’s map. Amanda learned who the Ghost really was. Yet, restraining him wasn’t so easy. Even though Jimena helped Amanda compile all the proof on paper, she ultimately gave in to Salgado, who was holding Jimena and her daughter hostage. In that instant, Amanda understood that a strong, evil guy like Salgado could not be brought to justice by the rules of the law. If he were ever caught, his servants would supply him with the assistance that would eventually lead to his release. He would then return to the game, lurking around like a criminal and attacking the young girls, leaving them with the trauma to endure for the rest of their lives. Hence, putting all objections aside, Amanda shot Salgado dead while Tirso had him at gunpoint.
Salgado’s depraved game of assaults and propagating corruption came to an end as he passed away. But the question still remains whether Salgado’s death means the area is free of all crimes. Well, not at all; men like Salgado were just virus breeders who had already sown the seeds of depravity all over the place. Salgado’s death means that another Salgado could steadily rise and seize the neighborhood. One of them may be Nata, who changed from a beautiful, young, brave girl to a despicable gang leader who would do everything to move up in status. She was so thoroughly deceived by the easy money and the power that we might see her in season 3 as the most dangerous gang leader in the neighborhood. Regarding sexual assault, we might readily draw the conclusion that Salgado’s death would not put an end to this vile practice of destroying the lives of young women. There were several powerful males who came to Aloha and committed the heinous act just like Salgado did. Now let’s see if, in season 3 of “Wrong Side of the Tracks,” there will be a villain as formidable as Salgado or even more powerful than him to face, and if so, Tirso will need to be heavily prepared.