'Elite' season 2: Secrets come to light and unlikely alliances are formed as the drama ends in a nerve-wracking finale
Spoiler alert for season 2
When Season 2 of Netflix's 'Elite' began, the characters we met last season were each dealing with the aftermath of Marina's murder. Christian is overcome by guilt as his friend Nano was arrested for killing Marina but he had helped Carla cover up the fact that Polo was the real murderer; Christian's departure lead both Nano and Samuel to suspect that Carla does have something to do with the murder and Samuel sets out to do whatever is necessary to find out the real culprit; Guzman is still with Lu, but overcome by grief, he turns to drugs to numb the pain; Omar and Ander's relationship starts to have troubles and this leads to something blooming between Ander and Polo. Samuel goes after Carla, to figure out her role in Marina's murder and the two begin a dangerous game.
We also find out that Samuel is the one who has disappeared at the beginning of the season. In addition, three new characters have joined the school -- Valerio, Lu's half-brother, Rebeca, who moves into Marina's family home and becomes friends with Samuel and Nadia, and Cayetana, who posts nearly everything about her life on Instagram, only we find out later that the photos of her perfect life are more lies than exaggeration.
As expected, through Season 2 we learn more about the characters we already met. Season 1 was about establishing who they were, but season 2 digs deeper into their psyches and how they interact with people of different classes. After all, 'Elite' may be known for its murder mystery and its seductive relationships, but what the show is really about is the class structure and how deep classism is rooted in society, especially in teenagers who live on their parents' money or lack thereof.
In season 2, 'Elite' takes its comparisons to 'Cruel Intentions' seriously, with a forbidden relationship blooming between Lu and Valerio. It would seem Lu has everyone eating out of the palm of her hand, but her cruelty exceeds whatever is good about her this time around, and Guzman and even Valerio have had enough of her by the end. Nadia's and Guzman's relationship goes to higher levels, but as Guzman said in season 1, the two being from different religious, cultural, and economic backgrounds mean they can never hope for a future together. One of Lu's awful actions is her leaking a video of Guzman and Nadia sleeping together. Nadia feels ashamed by the video that has been leaked and terrifyingly confesses to her parents. Her father, however, says that they will never know what the video is and that he accepts her as the girl she is.
As soon as everyone learns about Samuel's disappearance, accusations start flying around. Only Guzman does not seem to be bothered by Samuel's disappearance and even suggests that he may be dead. But since the beginning of the season, Samuel has been playing the long game. He has been around these people for a while now, he knows what they are capable of, he knows how they operate. Not only does he try to get into Carla's head (and even develop feelings for her), he manages to get an unexpected ally onto his side - Marina's brother, Guzman. By the season finale, Guzman finds out about Polo from Samuel and even believes him, helping him stage Samuel's disappearance for the final part of Samuel's game.
While their relationship started out as a manipulative attempt to draw each other out, Carla ended up actually caring about Samuel - and this leads to the fall of the ice queen. Wracked with guilt over Samuel's disappearance, she finally confesses to the police, leading Polo to think that his life is over.
The truth about the real killer may have come to light - courtesy of Samuel not just learning the game of the elite, but also owning it and the real struggle will come in the next season when enemies-turned-friends and friends-turned-adversaries could work together. Polo may have had all his older friends turning their backs on him, but he has found an ally in Cayetana. What is with this dude's girlfriends always committing crimes to keep his ass out of jail?
At a time when most tactics employed by suspense thrillers are overused and predictable, 'Elite' does a magnificent job of upping the ante in season 2 through misdirections and brilliant editing. What makes the season stand out, however, is the deep dive into the characters we already know. The series shows that anyone is capable of misdeeds, given the right motivation. But it is the guilt of the many characters in season 2, that builds to a crescendo by the finale, that truly nails the brilliance.
All episodes of Season 2 of 'Elite' are now streaming on Netflix.