Spoilers for Elite Season 1 & 2
We were all gathered at the back of the school, gathered in the same place where students every afternoon for the buses that would take them home. Except, now, we were no longer students. And the bus that we were waiting for would take us to graduation. In that moment, crowded together in identical gowns, there was not much pomp or circumstance. Instead, there was only hope and dread and the rustling polyester. It was a moment unimaginably anticlimactic, for who would even imagine this moment? We were already trying to move on, already imagining the stage, the parents, the triumph. Beyond the barrier of high school, there seemed an unlimited freedom. We were there, almost, stuck on the very precipice. The moment before the leap.
The third season of Elite similarly awaits the future. In addition to the ordinary stresses of applying to colleges and passing exams, our favorite high school students are also struggling to plan a life far away from Marina’s murder. It is a hard thing to do, especially when all the secrets have been revealed but justice has not followed. Samuel and Guzmán may be working together now, but their combined efforts are just as ineffective as their individual attempts. Polo, as seen in the season two cliffhanger, has returned to the hallways of Las Encinas. Seemingly, he is flaunting his guilt right in front of them. Behind the scenes though, he just wants to leave it all behind. But the past clings to everyone, clouding their expectations of the future. Samuel and Guzmán aren’t looking forward. They can’t bring themselves to. Even the sight of Polo at college admissions booths is enough to enrage Guzmán. The future is terrifying because it is an escape, one that allows Polo to move on to Oxford and a bright uncluttered life. Samuel and Guzmán’s imminent graduation becomes less about creating something new for themselves and more about making sure that someone else cannot do so. Is that justice then, taking Polo’s future just as he took Marina’s?
This question makes this season of Elite stand out from the rest. The first season ultimately functioned as a stylish whodunit, allowing the audience to speculate among a variety of strangers. Two years later, though, those strangers have become intimately familiar, friends to us and friends among themselves. It makes it harder to truly blame anyone. Everyone has their own tragedy, their own screw-ups and failures and frustrations. Everyone does their share of hurting and being hurt. Elite points the finger of blame not at the young people, but at the adults and their institutions. In a rather prescient move, the show accuses the police and the criminal justice system. After all, how did this all begin? With a collapsed school and the rich construction manager who got away with it. Repeatedly, these teenagers have been failed by a corrupt system that favors only the wealthy and well-connected. The system is ultimately ineffective because it was built to punish certain people, not to handle the real complicated question of justice. Achieving justice requires understanding. It requires a human gaze. And through three seasons that is what Elite does best. This is a show that asks us to take the time to understand, even when we would rather retreat into ease of stereotype and prejudice. The third season, thus, feels like a reward. It is the culmination of the journey that we’ve been following and the beginning of another. Endings are never as clean as we would want them to be, for there are many things we would rather not leave behind. Elite takes this moment of in-between, of not-there-yet and doesn’t move on. It stays there a while contemplating before looking ahead.
Unlike other shows that revolve around teenage drama, this one never mistakes its characters for miniature adults. Youth, free and full of potential, infuses Elite. Its why we care. Because there is still so much they can do, so much they can change. Each character’s growth feels like a repudiation of those anarchic, failing systems. The criminal justice system would pigeonhole each person into one version of themselves. But the characters of Elite all demonstrate that true transformation is possible. Enemies can become friends. Friends can become family. And even though we may only be able to follow them up to a certain point, we can rest easy in the belief that these characters have more change ahead.
Off-Script:
- Now, it’s time for spoilers and let’s be honest, rampant shipping.
- To be even more honest, the new characters this season (Yeray and Malick) felt more like plot devices than actual people. Both were seemingly introduced to pump up the romantic tension. In my opinion, the show hasn’t really been able to write an intriguing love triangle since season one. Watching Polo, Carla, and Christian navigate the tangled web of feelings between them is infinitely more interesting than watching Yeray repeatedly fail to recognize Carla’s disinterest. In the end both Yeray and Malick were reduced to being checkbooks for the other characters.
- Elite also tries to recreate some of the season one’s magic by creating the threesome of Valerio, Cayetana, and Polo. I think I find this problematic for a few reasons. For one, its muddles Valerio’s storyline for the season. He begins season three trying to recover from a toxic, misunderstood love. Then, he jumps right into another one? I would have rather seen Valerio grow as an individual by trying to find less self-destructive behaviors. For another, this time it really felt like the show was using Polo’s bisexuality instead of exploring it. This impression mostly stems from the fact that it is Cayetana pushing for the threesome, not Polo. His sexuality is just a convenient way for Cayetana to pursue her feelings for Valerio. This also undermines the emotion that we are supposed to have as Cayetana bids farewell to Polo. I was just never really sure if she loved Polo for who he was instead of what he represented.
- As for the other ships, I am saddest for Guzman and Nadia. They really did not get enough screen time. Still the chemistry between the two actors is off the charts in the few scenes they did get.
- My favorite relationship of the season was actually Lu and Nadia. Lu has consistently surprised me as a character. In season 1, she was ridiculously entitled, yet she also was willing to study hard for the grades she did get. When she is finally stripped of that entitlement, we get to see determination and creativity and even compassion that is at the core of this character. Lu has always done everything in her power to support those she loved. It is only in this season, that we get to see her loved in return. Also, Lu in a tuxedo is everything I’ve ever wanted from her character.
- Favorite party of the season: The Black-Out party reveals were just so, so fun.