‘Elite’ - Season 5 Review
The drama continues in season 5 of “Elite.” Patrick develops an interest in the new guy at school, Iván. Iván is the son of a famous soccer player, Cruz, who neglects his parental responsibilities and hosts parties at his house every night.
Patrick insists that Iván is a “closet case” as he constantly dodges Patrick’s flirting and maintains a “macho” demeanor. This turns out to be true as Iván later realizes he’s attracted to both Patrick and his sister, Ari.
Meanwhile, Phillipe deals with the backlash of his rape victim’s confession. The students proceed to demonetize him, deeming the prince unfit to attend Las Encinas.
Despite their fallout, Cayetana comes to his defense, claiming there is a light inside him that he is doing his best to find.
The two seek therapy as a couple. After the therapist suggests that Phillipe is an alcoholic and should try to limit his drinking, he abruptly leaves the session and the impairment in his and Cayetana’s relationship remains.
Isadora and Phillipe become entangled in a new romance. The influencer uses her status to clear the prince’s name and paint him as a positive figure. Little does he know, Isadora struggles with drug use, creating a deadly concoction with his alcohol abuse.
The story focuses on new characters as well as old as Omar and Samuel’s friendship appears to be on the rocks.
Omar expresses pity for Bilal, a homeless gang member who robs the belongings of others to make ends meet. Samuel shares his distaste for Bilal, especially after his laptop is stolen. However, Omar defends him, causing the two to drift further apart.
Samuel also grows closer to Principal Benjamin, much to Omar’s dismay.
Omar and Bilal find the body of Armando, who was shot and killed by a flare gun fired by Guzman in the last season. Samuel and Rebeka finally reveal this secret to Omar after he calls them to report his findings.
Together, after much hesitation, they call the police.
Benjamin becomes a target of the police as they investigate the murder of Armando. He asks his daughter Mencia to hide a SIM card containing information linking him to other crimes.
Benjamin makes a deal with Samuel, promising to take care of him if he takes fall for the murder. However, Benjamin falls back on his word and Samuel’s bail is paid by Cruz instead.
Iván still has trouble deciding where his affection lies. He sleeps with Patrick, expressing his interest in him, but continues to pursue Ari. This leads Patrick to exact revenge by sleeping with Iván’s father.
More trouble ensues as Isadora is raped after a drug-fueled night with peers.
Cayetana is fired for trying to steal files to use against Benjamin in Samuel’s defense.
Despite Samuel’s protests, Rebekah and Omar steal the SIM card.
Benjamin offers Samuel entry into Oxford University, with all expenses taken care of, in exchange for the card. Upon refusal, Benjamin pushes Samuel causing a possibly fatal head injury.
He attempts to convince Patrick to help cover up his crime, but all his children, along with Omar and Rebeka, turn against him and he is arrested. The season ends with viewers speculating whether or not Samuel died.
“Elite” is never short of toxic characters. With the loss of many original characters, the series definitely had to introduce new individuals that would retain its charm
Isadora is essentially a villain turned victim.
She accuses Cayetana of lying about Phillipe being a rapist, denying that she was ever a victim. I simply viewed her as an annoying replacement for Phillipe after he failed to treat the open wounds of his relationship with Cayetana.
However, Isadora became more of a pity case when her drug addiction was revealed. She is last seen reporting her rapists to the police.
Although this incident was tragic and frankly disgusting, it unfortunately wasn’t enough to flesh out her character. I felt sorry for Isadora, but still did not feel as if I knew the kind of person she truly was.
Cayetana disappointed me this season. Despite knowing of Phillipe’s misdeeds and almost becoming one of his victims herself, she defended his actions.
In addition, she continued to express interest in him. Cayetana was somewhat obsessed with Phillipe and it seems likely that they will reconcile in the future season.
It’s safe to say that Patrick got a taste of his own medicine in this season. After toying with Ander and Omar in season 4, Iván enacted an unknown justice in making Patrick the victim in a new game of cat and mouse.
On the other hand, Iván is a perfect example of a “bisexual disaster.” In the beginning, he constantly denied being attracted to Patrick, despite the suspicions of others.
He expressed sexual interest in Rebeka and a romantic interest in Ari. However, that did not stop Iván from removing Patrick from his circle and drawing him back in any time his presence benefited him.
Iván later comes to terms with his sexuality and the ending scene hints that he and Patrick will be together in the next season.
However, considering both of the character’s tendency for trouble and struggles with identity, it is hard to believe this relationship will prove to be a positive experience for either of them.
Overall, this season was full of highs and lows. The ending of each episode left me eager to discover what would happen the next. “Elite” never ceases to surprise its audience. That being said, I’m excited to see the drama in store for season 6.
Rating: 4/5
Jah-Preece Landrum is a junior majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, email him at jahpreecelandrum@gmail.com.
