The eighth and final season of the hit Spanish series, “Elite,” is now available for fans of this LGBTQ show to stream on Netflix. Like all of the seasons in this juicy teen drama, it is filled with good-looking people behaving badly. The school setting, Las Encinas, is merely a gathering place for this season’s senior class who pledge in the first episode to “do what they want” until they leave school.
That, apparently, involves plenty of partying and sex, not to mention extra-curriculars like blackmail, extortion, jealousy, betrayal, and manipulation. There is, of course, a murder that rocks the students. A nude corpse is discovered at an outdoor party in the opening sequence. Whose body it is, how it got there, and who committed the crime is revealed over the course of the season’s eight episodes.
There are other pressing issues at hand, some of which are carrying over from Season 7. The most pertinent involves the death of Raúl (Álex Pastrana). Dalmar (Iván Mendes) has a video implicating Carmen (Maribel Verdú), whose daughter Chloe (Mirela Balic) is a classmate of Raúl’s girlfriend, Sara (Carmen Arrufat). Given that Dalmar, an immigrant, is facing deportation, he tries to blackmail Carmen (and Chloe).
New this season are siblings Héctor (Nuno Gallego) and Emilia (Ane Rot), who appear to be straight out of “Cruel Intentions.” Richer than God — their family owns almost everything and everyone in Spain — they are the president and vice president of the school’s Alumni association, and they use their influence to create an elite club (among the elite) that is practically a cult.
Emilia set her eyes on the social climbing Chloe as a possible pledge, while Héctor is fond of Joel (Fernando Lindez), a poor student whose long-distance relationship with classmate Iván (André Lamoglia) is on the rocks. When Iván returns to Las Encinas from abroad, a love triangle develops. Héctor gives Joel initiation tests for joining Alumni, while the wealthy Iván tries to respect Joel’s desire to be financially independent. Watching Joel shuttling back and forth between Héctor and Iván generates considerable gay drama.
Meanwhile, trans student Nico (Ander Puig) catches feelings for Sara, but she is still mourning Raúl (although he abused her) and is wary of a relationship. Nico is also worried about his cousin Eric (Gleb Abrosimov), who has emotional and addiction issues. Eric’s relationship with Chloe is up and down. Nico feels a bit sidelined this season, which is a shame given the opportunity to depict the trans teen experience. It is one of the flaws of this overstuffed series.
Instead, “Elite” focuses on the wealthy club owner, Isadora (Valentina Zenere), who finds herself — gasp — broke. As such, her relationship with Luis (Alejandro Albarracín), the cop she helped arrest her father, has become complicated. Luis expects kindness from Isadora in exchange for law-breaking favors.
Also returning is Omar (Omar Ayuso), the gay Muslim who was a student in Season 1 and is now living with Joel and Dalmar. He takes a job at Isadora’s club, and a key storyline has Omar being beaten up one night. It prompts many of the students to rally in support of Omar, while also demonstrating the racism, classism, and possible homophobia directed towards him.
“Elite” is all about how everyone uses the power they have to exploit others. For those who have nothing — Joel, Dalmar, Omar, and even to an extent, Isadora — they must make unholy alliances in the hope of getting ahead. In contrast, Héctor, Emilia, Carmen, and Luis delight in using others as their playthings. It’s all very juicy as the series involves one character sabotaging Isadora’s club, other characters performing sex work, and other characters getting arrested. Such is the show’s knotty plotting.
The pleasure of the series, of course, is seeing how the poor characters help each other, and the rich ones sacrifice their integrity. “Elite” is not providing any new commentary on privilege by showing how the wealthy are untrustworthy and think more with money than with empathy or compassion.
But no one is tuning into “Elite” to “learn” anything — just as the kids barely attend any classes at Las Encinas. The show may feature topical themes like immigration, racism, and inequality, but the reality of those issues, as well as the depiction of its LGBTQ content, seem designed for building soapy storylines.
Much of the fun of watching the series is seeing the fabulous clothes (Maribel Verdú as Carmen and Valentina Zenere as Isadora get the best outfits); “attending” the outrageous parties (where something horrible always happens); and keeping track of who is coupling up with whom (having a scorecard handy is useful).
Héctor and Emi are canny additions this season because they are attractive and mischievous. Watching the naked Héctor come on to Joel in the school locker room is wonderfully inappropriate, as is a masturbation session he initiates by sticking his hand down Joel’s pants. But the frisson between these attractive teens creates much of the show’s erotic energy and will have viewers binging to see more.
While the murder investigation does take over the narrative in the last few episodes, it allows the characters to show their true colors. Allegiances are formed, hearts are broken, and there are more manipulations — several of which are illegal — as characters try to save themselves or seek justifiable revenge. It is all best left for fans to discover.
That said, it is sad to see the series end because it has been such a fun, sexy, and addictive ride.
“Elite Season 8” | Streams on Netflix July 26
