Diksha Sundriyal
Spanish shows have formed a niche in Netflix original contents. They continue to receive an overwhelming response from the audience, which is why the streaming service has become more and more focused on the stories it wants to import from Spain. Spanish language dramas took the world by storm with the success of ‘Narcos’. The recent success of ‘Money Heist’ has proved that there is a massively untapped potential in this market. Combine this with the craze of teen dramas and you have a perfect concoction to catch hold of the viewers’ fancy. ‘Elite’ is that potion right now. Brewing a mystery that is full of twists and turns, it gained the reputation for surpassing all expectations by delivering a mind-blowing twist in its first season. The show returned for a second run and didn’t let the fans down by any measure. If you haven’t yet caught up with it, head over to Netflix.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Summary of the Plot
The first season of ‘Elite’ended with a startling revelation. After turning over all the pages in Marina’s story, we come to know that the ones suspected for attacking her never came close to it. Polo, who had had no communication with her throughout the season, was the one to kill her. However, he is saved by Carla and Christian, while Nano is arrested for the crime. The second season begins with another mystery. After another lavish party, one of the students has gone missing.
Meanwhile, the story flashes back to the time after the summer and we meet the characters, hardened by their experiences. Christian feels guilty for having abandoned Nano. He spent the summer with Carla, but all the riches couldn’t bring a respite to his conscience. He visits Nano at the prison, who rebukes him for knowing the truth and still collaborating with the enemy. Samuel spent the summer working various jobs to gather enough bail money for his brother. Guzman was at his grandparent’s house, recuperating from Marina’s death. He rekindled his relationship with Lu, who supported him every step of the way. Polo turned towards medication to help himself with the guilty conscience and the paranoia of getting caught.
Nadia returns to school with a renewed determination to stay on top of the class. Her father had put some conditions if she wanted to go back. But she makes it clear that she won’t be held back by any restrictions. Omar, too, has begun to realise the importance of accepting himself before expecting that from his parents. The reunion brings back all the emotions and old grudges are brought to the surface.
To add to the drama, new faces are introduced to Las Encinas. Valerio is Lu’s half-brother. He is shuttled back and forth from his mother to father and has a complicated relationship with Lu. Rebeca’s mother becomes the new owner of Guzman’s house, which his parents had sold after their financial downfall due to the events of the previous season. They are very rich, but Rebeca is not accepted at school due to the stories surrounding her mother’s source of income. Another queen bee, Cayetana, enters the school. She has a massive Instagram following and reportedly lives alone in her lavish house. Behind her extravagance lies a secret that she has tried very hard to keep under wraps. At first, Lu considers her a competition, but after some time, they become very good friends. Samuel finds an ally in Rebeca and receives help from his mother in securing a better paying job. But more money means more danger, and it takes a bit of time for him to realise that he is completely out of his depth in this profession. His efforts to uncover the truth behind Marina’s death continue.
The Red Herrings
Much like its first season, the second instalment of ‘Elite’ follows a fragmented narrative structure to spin a new mystery. From the very first scene, we know that someone has disappeared, which might as well mean another murder, and it takes one whole episode to reveal the identity of the victim. This time Samuel is the centre of the investigation. Since we know that he had vowed to bring justice for both Marina as well as his brother, we get the hint that he might have discovered the truth. His disappearance is just the result of him flying too close to the sun. Again, the story moves back and forth in such a way that every time we think we have figured out the identity of the culprit, a new chapter is added to the story. But then, from the previous season, we have already learnt that the truth is a lot stranger than fiction, and the one whom no one notices is the one who can easily get away with anything. This is why, we keep an eye out for each character and every subplot, staying constantly on the vigil for the smallest of hints to solve the case. And again, we are proved wrong.
Guzman’s Grudge
One of the strongest suits of ‘Elite’ is its ability to give the audience a number of suspects and then revealing that they had all been red herrings. In the first season, all the people we thought could have killed Marina had almost nothing to do with her death. With Samuel’s disappearance, this trick is repeated. The first and most obvious suspect is Guzman. Ever since Marina’s death, his behaviour has seen a sharp spike in violence and impatience. He has tried to drown his sorrow in alcohol and drugs, and even though Lu has constantly been by his side, he hasn’t healed one bit. He is instantly agitated with Samuel’s presence and comes close to killing him a number of times. Moreover, his strained relationship with Nadia has also kept him on his toes. So, when Samuel goes missing, it is very easy to put the blame on him. And because he is the obvious suspect, we are willing to overlook him.
Carla and Polo
Another person capable of harming Samuel is the one who killed Marina. Polo has been wrestling with his torment and came close to confessing as well, but Carla pulled him back just in time. Christian’s guilt became so overwhelming after some time that he decided to surrender. But before he could reach the police station, he was conveniently hit by a car in the middle of the road and broke all his bones. Carla’s father sympathised with him and quickly arranged for his treatment in Switzerland. With him out of the picture, it seemed like things were finally under control. But it only made Samuel more suspicious and he decided to actively pursue Carla. He tried to rope in her romantically and succeeded to some point. Carla allowed him to do so, knowing full well what his intentions were. Despite knowing what they were getting into, they both develop affections for each other. He finally comes to know the truth but is unable to get a confession out of her. He relays his findings to Guzman, who doesn’t believe him at first. But circumstances change after the party.
Rebeca’s Mother
While Guzman and Carla (or her father) have the best motives to harm Samuel, another plotline appears halfway into the show. Samuel receives a job offer from Rebeca’s mother and starts making deliveries for her. She turns out to be a crime boss and has a number of enemies who want to harm her, even if by hurting her pawns. The tension with another gang puts Samuel at the centre of their attention. While they don’t have anything to do with what is going on in school, they turn out to be the most logical choice. We had seen something similar with Marina’s death. What if the same thing happened to Samuel? The moment this thought crosses our mind, we know that it is no more a viable option. The showrunners of ‘Elite’ know that every possible outcome will already be anticipated by the audience, which takes away the element of surprise. The thing that viewers will never expect is the one that the writers choose to incorporate in their story.
Elite Season 2 Ending: What Happened to Samuel?
After tons of speculation and passing blame from one person to another, it turns out that Samuel is the one responsible for his own disappearance. None of the suspects had done him any lasting harm, but all of their stories converged to serve a bigger picture. After confronting Carla about her, Polo and Christian’s involvement in Marina’s death, he succeeds in recording a section where she threatens him with a fate similar to Christian’s. Samuel presents this recording to both, Guzman and the cops. Guzman is infuriated but Samuel succeeds in infusing some doubt in his mind. The cops, on the other hand, completely dismiss his theory because they don’t have enough evidence. Furthermore, Nano disappears after he is released on bail, which makes the cops surer of his guilt. Guzman confronts Ander, who refuses Samuel’s theory despite knowing full well what happened. After the party, he sees Ander and Polo talking in a corner, which makes him sure that they have been hiding the truth from him. He texts Samuel and asks him to meet later at his grandparents’ place.
On the way, Samuel is followed by the goons who want their revenge on Rebeca’s mother. Somehow, he escapes them and hides at Guzman’s place. There they hatch a plan to kill two birds with one stone. Knowing that the goons will continue to attack him if he goes back, Samuel decides to go into hiding for some time. Guzman’s grandparents’ place is isolated and no one comes there. This makes it a perfect hiding spot. Another purpose that his disappearance is supposed to serve is to let the culprits stew in it. His relationship with Carla allowed him to get to know her personally. Even though she puts on a tough exterior, he knows that she too is eaten away by the guilt, but is stopped from taking any action because her own father is involved in this. When he receives her messages, which are full of concern, he becomes sure of her affection. She is already in the grip of paranoia and he wants to tighten that hold.
He asks Guzman to increase the pressure on her, to let her think that he is dead and it is all because of her. If anything can break her, it is herself, and one blow after another makes Carla give up in the end. A role reversal takes place between her and Polo. He had been the scared one at the beginning of the series, but now, he is more in control of his senses, especially since he shared his worries with Ander. Carla, on the other hand, has begun to lose it. Finally, she tells Polo that she can’t take it anymore and confesses everything to the cops. Polo is arrested, but on interrogation, he doesn’t give up. In the absence of the murder weapon and any other conclusive evidence for that matter, they are unable to hold him for too long. Now we begin to wonder since Carla has confessed, she must also have told the cops about the trophy. Why haven’t they found it yet?
The answer comes in the form of Cayetana. A girl who was caught up in her own issues of mingling with the rich crowd, who had nothing to do with Marina or Samuel is the one who becomes a pivotal player in the game. She had been interested in Polo since the beginning, and when she failed to forge a connection with him, she allows him into her secret. He comes up with the plan of a fundraiser to help her pay the bills, and it almost succeeds. But then, Lu comes to know about her deceptions and outs her in front of the whole party.
Dejected and humiliated, Cayetana prepares to leave the school and the town with her mother, but then Polo comes to the rescue. Not only does he help her come back to school, but he also helps them financially. If she didn’t already have a reason to be loyal to him, she feels like she owes him everything now. When Carla tells Polo that they are done, he tells everything to Cayetana. Seeing the opportunity to be of some use to him, she retrieves the trophy before the cops can get their hands on it. Knowing that there is nothing they can hold against him; Polo turns the investigation back towards Nano and comes back to the school.
Elite Season 3: What to Expect?
The first season had been a murder mystery. The second season followed the quest to expose the truth. The third season of ‘Elite’ is expected to take this journey one step further and address the question: will justice be served? The truth is out. Even though there is no evidence against him, now everyone knows that Polo killed Marina. The dynamics of the group have changed drastically. While Guzman and Samuel had been at each other’s throats since the beginning, they are now one another’s strongest allies. The loss of the girl they loved has united them and it will be them against Polo in the next season.
Carla and Samuel have developed a close bond and that might come into play in the next season. Because she confessed and put him in danger, Polo might want to retaliate on her. This will only push her more towards Samuel. Ander and Guzman’s friendship has been wounded, and he will try to fix it. He had been trying to get Polo to confess but failed miserably at it. With Polo and Guzman against each other, Ander will back Guzman not only to save their friendship but also to find some redemption.
Lu and Valerio’s relationship is another tricky plotline that might receive more screen time. Out of spite for Guzman and Nadia, Lu had released their video, due to which she is now in Guzman’s bad books. But if there is one thing we know about Lu, it is this. She might be a rich snob, and she might not treat the poor kids with the respect they deserve. But she is not so bad when it comes to her own friends. Even when Guzman’s parents had lost everything, she continued to support him and was with him till the end of the line. Even though she is not in a relationship with him anymore, she will not side with Polo either. She never really liked him, and after discovering that he is a murderer, there is a very small chance that she will want anything to do with him. But she is not completely out of harm’s way.
Cayetana harbours a grudge against her, and with Polo by her side, she might find a way to avenge herself. Lu and Valerio’s relationship might become public, which will completely ruin her. But that is all in the background. The most important thing to look out for in the next season will be the next victim. Who will die next? Will it be someone who has not yet received centre stage in the drama? There is a high probability that it might be either Polo or Cayetana. But ‘Elite’ has managed to be unpredictable so far. We’ll have to wait some more to find out what they have in store for the future. Our only request is to bring back Christian.
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