About

Pablo Escobar Waiting, also known as Sad Pablo Escobar, is a series of three-panel image macros featuring the character Pablo Escobar (played by Wagner Moura) from the Netflix series Narcos staring blankly in three different screen-captures from the series. The meme expresses the sadness and boredom associated with anticipation.

Origin

On September 2nd, 2016, Netflix released the second season of the series Narcos, a drama series based on the life of infamous cartel leader Pablo Escobar.^[1]

The following month, on October 8th, an anonymous Meme Generator ^[2] published a three-panel template of Escobar waiting with a forlorn look on his face in a field, a kitchen table and an empty pool. Within a year-and-a-half the template (shown below) inspired more than 950 posts.

Spread

On October 11th, Redditor ^[3] Sdreka posted image with the caption "When you bought oneplus 3 but the site says 'pending shipment'" in the /r/oneplus subreddit. The post (shown below, left) received more than 525 points (90% upvoted) and 95 comments.

The following year, on August 18th, 2017, Redditor^[4] Navin_R_Johnson79 posted a version in the /r/AdviceAnimals. The post reads, "When you watched the leaked episode and now have to wait for 10 days instead of 7." The post (shown below, center) received more than 675 points (92% upvoted) and 15 comments in less than one year.

On February 5th, 2018, Redditor^[5] Summy1XD posted the image in the /r/funny subreddit. They titled the post, "When that co-worker you always eat lunch with is sick…" The post (shown below, right) received more than 40,000 points (90%upvoted) and 510 comments in three months.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References