'Elite' Season 2: Netflix's Spanish teen drama promises to be an enticing watch as the students deal with the aftermath of Marina's death
Netflix expanded its Spanish-language originals into the young adult world when it brought us 'Elite' last year. Starring Marina Pedraza, Miguel Herran, and Jaime Lorente of 'La Casa de Papel' among other names, the first season was watched by approximately 20 million accounts, according to Netflix.
The show follows the students of a prestigious private school in Spain, Las Encinas. Three lower-class students, Samuel (Itzan Escamilla), Christian (Herran), and Nadia (Mina El Hammani) are given scholarships to attend the school, causing friction with their upper-class counterparts.
The murder-mystery in the first season followed the flashforward-style storytelling much like American television 'How to Get Away With Murder' and 'Big Little Lies'. To recap, Samuel falls for Pedraza's Marina, who then begins a relationship with Samuel's brother, Nano (Lorente).
It wasn't until the last minute of the first episode that viewers learn that the victim was Marina and that Polo (Álvaro Rico), Marina's brother Guzman's best friend, was the culprit. His actions are covered up by his girlfriend Carla (Ester Expósito) and Christian leading to Nano getting arrested for the crime.
Season two follows the same flashforward-style format, only this time a student is missing. Our review is based on the first two episodes that were provided by Netflix. In the present, the show picks up after Marina's funeral and we are shown how everyone is coping.
Christian is filled with unbearable guilt for his role in Nano's arrest. Carla is mostly worried about whether Christian would break, trying to keep him occupied so that he doesn't confess the trio's role in Marina's death.
Among all of the students, it is Guzman (Miguel Bernardeau) who is understandably taking it the worst, having lost his sister. He is unable to move on like his parents are trying to do and he is angry at Samuel for showing up at the school again. After all, if Samuel hadn't shown up, Marina wouldn't have met Nano and died.
Three new students join the school this year. There is Rebeca (Claudia Salas) who has moved into Guzman's and Marina's home after the family moved out. She immediately takes to Samuel and Nadia, even encouraging Nadia to metaphorically and literally let her hair down and enjoy teenage life.
There is Lu's (Guzman's girlfriend, played by Danna Paola) brother, Valerio (Jorge Lopez), a flamboyant, hard-partying boy who is trying to get over a broken relationship with drugs. Third, and most mysterious of the lot, is Cayetana (Georgina Amorós) who shares every part of her day regularly on Instagram. Behind the camera, however, Cayetana has a lot to hide.
The second season of 'Elite' is just as shocking as its first, if not more. A lot happens in the first two episodes alone and viewers would tend to be grateful that all the episodes of the season have been released at once.
The fast-paced storytelling with impressive dialogues is sure to keep fans glued to the screens. In the first season, the storytelling was focused on letting viewers know the characters individually, the second season is focused on how these characters interact with one another.
We see Guzman relying more on his friends, Polo and Ander (Arón Piper), to help forget his pain and we see Samuel interacting more with the other upper-class students in the absence of Marina. The divide between the students because of the difference in socioeconomic backgrounds is also explored further this season.
The most interesting part though is that of Nadia and her exploration of freedom. Nadia is the daughter of Palestinian refugees, and in the first season, we see how restrictive and orthodox her parents are. But in the second season, Nadia tries a new way to be a part of this world she was introduced to in the last season. And yes, the tension between Guzman and Nadia is just as present, if not more riveting than ever.
New relationships, new friends and certainly new enemies. Those and a new mystery that will keep you binge-watching till the last episode is what 'Elite' promises with its second season. While it can be called a teen drama, 'Elite' is a thrilling watch for Netflix's older subscribers too.
All episodes of season two of 'Elite' have been released on September 6, 2019 on Netflix.
