Upamanyu Biswas
At the end of Netflix’s ‘Adoration,’ the identity of Elena’s killer comes out of the wash, forcing the police investigation to be taken in a new direction. However, the fallout from the young girl’s death reverberates throughout the narrative and causes a whole host of new developments for the people involved in her life. The most affected out of the group undoubtedly is Vanessa, Elena’s best friend, whose closeness with the teenager becomes a point of contention and self-discovery in the later sections of the story. She is not the only one, though, as Giorgio and Vera, Vanessa’s cousins, become embroiled in the whole affair at a deep level, causing major unrest within the household. Amidst the chaos, even more complications arise as new relationships are formed and old bonds are broken. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Adoration Season 1 Plot Recap
The story begins as Elena, a free-spirited teenager, goes missing a day before her best friend Vanessa’s birthday. A glimpse is provided into the hours before her eventual disappearance, showcasing how Elena’s bond with her boyfriend Enrico was slightly strained because of Elena’s secret affair with someone. Vanessa is the only one who cares deeply about Elena, but at home, the former’s mother disapproves of their friendship because of Elena’s reputation as an insincere girl. Elena and Vanessa have a small disagreement on the day she goes missing, and the latter makes up with her through some voice messages. At night, Elena heads out with her secret lover while her boyfriend Enrico heads off to study at Cassino. She never returns afterward or replies to her phone calls/messages.
In the aftermath, a worried Vanessa gets together with Enrico and their other friends to try and do what they can to find Elena, who they believe has run away from home. Because Elena flunked out on too many classes, they think that she ran away to avoid her punishment. However, matters get serious when Vanessa notices some cryptic comments sent from an account named EleXXX underneath Elena’s social media posts. Those messages spark renewed uncertainty in the group and mainly in Vanessa. However, the sender turns out to be Melissa, a school friend of Vanessa’s who was writing the comments to gain some attention and show her adulation for Elena. A breakthrough happens when Vanessa discovers the identity of Elena’s secret lover – Giorgio, a close friend of Enrico’s.
The new discovery brings some more clarity and answers to the situation, but it is not enough to pinpoint Elena’s whereabouts. Not long after, the terrible news arrives that Elena is dead, and her body is found on the school’s premises. Vanessa is devastated at her friend’s passing, and so is everyone who knows the young girl. Melissa’s aunt, Chiara, is put in charge of handling the homicide case and finding out who killed Elena via strangulation. The case starts off with the basic details but becomes increasingly convoluted as a whole host of hidden truths and secret agendas emerge, with no one willing to speak up and find the real culprit for the crime. Only Vanessa remains steadfast in her conviction to find her best friend’s murderer and bring them to justice no matter the cost, even family.
Adoration Season 1 Ending: Who Kills Elena? Why?
For large parts of the story, the blame for Elena’s death is put on Giorgio’s shoulder. As he is the last person to have seen Elena alive before her death, everyone assumes that he must have something to do with the whole thing. However, Giorgio maintains his innocence despite knowing things look bleak. With most of the evidence stacked against him, it seems inevitable that he is going to take the fall for Elena’s murder. Near the end, everything changes when new footage surfaces, showing that the real culprit is hiding in plain sight – Enrico. As it turns out, Elena was murdered by none other than her boyfriend, who was a controlling and abusive individual who found out about her affair with Giorgio and subsequently put an end to her life.
Earlier in the narrative, while everyone was focused on Giorgio and his part in Elena’s death, Chiara was the only one who kept insisting that the most likely culprit, according to statistics, was Elena’s lover. She turns out to be on the mark at the end because, just as she predicted, the reason for Elena’s death was a classic case of femicide and a jealous lover who had a history of violence. Enrico kept evading the law because of his good boy image, which was fabricated, and the influence of his father. He was continuously violent towards Elena, something Vanessa retrospectively realized by remembering some of the bruises her friend used to sport on her body. Thus, on the night she died, Enrico stalked her as she went out with Giorgio and strangled her to death in the school.
Why Does Vanessa Break Up With Gianmarco? Does She End Up With Arianna?
While ‘Adoration’ primarily revolves around Elena’s murder mystery, a significant portion of the narrative is devoted to the complex relationship drama unfurling between the teenage characters. Therefore, one of the more prominent ones is the longstanding bond between Vanessa and Gianmarco. Both come from very different worlds, especially economically, with the latter being a child of wealth and influence while the other hails from more modest roots. Naturally, this sense of disparity causes Vanessa’s mother to look upon the relationship as a way to climb up the social hierarchy. However, this proves to be futile as Vanessa grows increasingly distant throughout the story and eventually breaks up with Gianmarco.
The reasons for Vanessa dumping Gianmarco have more to do with her newfound realization of her sexuality and less with him as a person. In fact, she states many times that Gianmarco is a perfectly nice guy who treats her very well. However, things begin to get more awkward as Vanessa learns that she is gay. This becomes abundantly clear as she develops feelings for a girl named Arianna, whom she meets at Giorgetti’s. The two get increasingly closer following her break up with Gianmarco and become a new pairing by the end of the show. Their relationship is likely to blossom in the future, but it also causes some pain for Vanessa. As it turns out, the young teenager had been in love with Elena all along, making the latter’s death all the more tragic. Still, she may find happiness with Arianna moving forward.
What Happens to Diana and Claudio’s Affair?
After Elena’s death, most of the characters in the story become engaged in mourning their friend’s passing. However, Diana remains detached from the whole thing as she spirals down a promiscuous path of her own. Instead of mourning Elena’s loss, she becomes engaged in attracting as much attention as she can from the opposite gender to feel the adulation and validation that other girls seem to garner naturally. Her decisions lead her down a variety of self-imploding paths, often to do with picking men with questionable moral fiber. One of those people is Jacopo, an online acquaintance she makes through her social media profile. It ends quite abruptly at the beach, but Elena falls in with another morally dubious lover, a forty-year-old man named Claudio.
The age disparity between the two lovers brings up a whole host of problematic questions surrounding ethics and criminality. However, Diana seems to care for none of it as she strings him along, seemingly enjoying the attention she can draw from guys, especially the older ones. In reality, Diana is in love with Giorgio. However, after he rejects her so blatantly at Vanessa’s birthday party, stating that dating her would be like dating his sister, Diana seems to spiral out of control completely. Fortunately, her mother steps in to end her fling with Claudio, showing up at his home and threatening him to stop seeing her daughter, which he does. However, Diana will likely have to reflect on her behavior and take accountability for her own, which she consistently fails to do.
Do Christian and Vera End Up Together?
Another relationship that blossoms as the story progresses is the bond between Christian and Vera. The former openly showcases his attraction for her, but Vera remains distant throughout, mostly because she does not want to cause any friction in his relationship with Teresa. However, matters come to a head during Vanessa’s birthday party when an inebriated Vera has sex with Christian in the bathroom. Following this event, the two constantly brush paths with one another and reluctantly grow closer. In fact, their relationship gets so serious that it goes from a casual sexual relationship to one involving genuine feelings of love.
It puts Christian in a difficult position as he has to reveal the truth to Teresa and make a clean break before he can further pursue his relationship with Vera. Once he does, he freely starts making his bond with Vera more official. Although the two do not technically call themselves a couple by the end, they seem on the right path to achieve it in the near future. Moreover, Christian showcases himself as genuinely sincere towards Vera and is there for her whenever she needs him. It shows that he is not simply doing it to live up to his “playboy” moniker but out of honesty. At the same time, Vera manages to achieve some semblance of stability in her life, mending her broken bonds with her family. Therefore, her relationship with Christian is the final icing on the cake for her recovery.
Is Enrico Arrested? What Does it Mean For Giorgio?
The final moments of ‘Adoration’ focus on Enrico’s arrest by the police. After a series of trials and tribulations, the culprit behind Elena’s murder is finally put in custody, all thanks to his mother. She finds out about Enrico’s whereabouts the night Elena died, which he lied about in his testimony. Actually, he was never in Cassino studying for his exam. Instead, he was following Elena as she was eloping with Giorgio. When Enrico’s mom learns the truth, she becomes stunned that her son has done such a monstrous thing and kept himself hidden without showing remorse for his actions. Subsequently, she shows up at the police station and hands over the evidence detailing Enrico’s whereabouts on Elena’s murder night, which means that the investigation finally has the right person in custody.
Although it is not depicted, Giorgio is likely to benefit the most from Enrico’s arrest. For much of the story, the former became the main suspect in Elena’s death, which caused him to take flak for a crime he never committed. However, with Enrico apprehended, his name is likely to be cleared swiftly, meaning that he will be allowed to return home and reunite with his mother and sister, who need him desperately. It also signifies a new beginning for him as he can finally draw a line in the sand and close this particular chapter of his life and how it nearly cost him everything. However, it still does not change the fact that despite being cleared of any guilt, Giorgio still holds on to painful memories of Elena. Her death is unlikely to fade away from her loved one’s lives anytime soon.
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