If there is a type of TV that I absolutely adore, it’s international TV shows. Not only do I think it’s a great way to learn a language, but they truly stand out. Among those shows is Netflix’s Spanish drama, Elite. Elite is about a group of wealthy high school students who go to one of the most privileged schools in Spain, Las Encinas. Each season is concentrated on a particular mystery ranging from disappearances to murders. The show presents clips in non-chronological order, with each season’s finale setting out to solve everything that has occurred up until that point. The show has five seasons, and the latest season dropped a few weeks ago. Having watched seasons 4 and 5, I honestly think the show has run its course. Now, I’m going into this assuming you’ve watched the show. If not, click off, watch, and then come back!
The biggest issue I have with Elite seasons 4 and 5 is that I don’t think they were necessary. Seasons 1-3 set out to achieve something with their storytelling and succeeded, while seasons 4 and 5 feel like they should have been a spin-off rather than part of the show. It seems like they have nothing to do with what the show was about throughout the first three seasons. For a show to work, it needs to have a story. Elite seasons 1-3 had one. The decisions made by the writers within each season were crucial to the plot. There were a few missing links here and there, but for the most part, the secrets of each student had a lasting impact on what occurred.
For instance, it made a lot of sense for Marina to be the one to die in season 1, watch the events of the aftermath unfold in season 2 and have Polo die in season 3 to fully conclude everything the show was working towards. It was as if everything had come full circle. The pacing for each season was well-measured, and the mystery spoke for itself, meaning the show didn’t need random plot lines to fill time. It sure feels like what we’re getting right now is the opposite of what once made Elite such a great show. Now the mysteries just feel repetitive, and it’s as if the creators thinks that shock value is better than having an actual plot line.
The characters are the next problem I have with Elite’s most recent seasons. Well, more so the lack of certain characters. Elite premiered back in 2018, and the third season was released in 2020, so we became very familiar with the characters and cast. When most of them left after season 3, we really needed season 4 for us to care about the new cast. This is my opinion, but I didn’t find myself caring for the new cast as much as I did for the original cast. They felt poorly written, and I didn’t feel like they had great chemistry with the original cast. That’s not to say I hated every new character. It just feels like the original cast was a big part of what made the show, and now that the majority of them are gone, Elite has started to come up a bit short.
Not to mention, it seemed like the original characters kind of lost who they were when the other ones left. For example, I thought Guzman breaking up with Nadia (whom he spent THREE seasons chasing) to date Ari after having a couple of conversations with her made zero sense. Don’t even get me started on how much I disliked Ari. Also, Omar deciding to take in a random homeless boy to look after to give him something to do in season 5 after Ander left felt pointless.
That’s the problem with seasons 4 and 5. They feel pointless. With a cast with close to none of their original members left, poorly written characters, and a messy plot line, I don’t think the show should’ve kept filming after season 3. I think it would have made much more sense to create a spinoff and have these characters and story lines introduced there. The short stories could’ve also been an alternative, given that we know the show has used them in the past to fill in gaps and allow us to get to know the characters better.
However! This is just my opinion, and if you enjoy it, keep watching! I’ll give it a chance if it comes out.