Spoiler Alert!

When we first meet Samuel in season 1 of 'Elite', he is one of the three scholarship students set to attend the prestigious, elite school, Las Encinas. He, along with Nadia and Christian used to attend San Esteban, where a roof collapsed, leading the construction company to offer scholarships to three students from the poor side of town. While Christian received his scholarship for getting caught in the roof collapse, both Samuel and Nadia are well-performing students. He is also, however, a suspect in the death of Marina, the rich girl he used to date. He is sure of his innocence and there is one person he suspects more than anyone else, his brother Nano with whom Marina was in a relationship as well.

In Season 1 Samuel is very much a good boy. He does not like his mother smoking, he picks up a part-time job to earn money to bail his bad-boy brother out of jail, and he is just trying to live through his time in Las Encinas. More importantly, Marina is immediately taken with his humility. In other words, Samuel is a bright-eyed, innocent, optimistic boy who had no idea how messed up his life was going to get after starting at Las Encinas.

Everyone is affected by Marina's death. Christian is because of his guilt over covering up the crime, Guzman because he lost his sister at such a young age, and Samuel, who feels terrible about Marina's death, but also guilty over his role in making his brother the police's prime suspect in the murder.

Itzan Escamilla as Samuel in Season 2 of Elite. Credits: Netflix

When season 2 starts, there are two things on Samuel's mind - find Marina's real killer and get his older brother exonerated. He is bolder and more aware of the tension his presence caused, yet he stands his ground, arguing with Guzman that he has as much right to be in that school as everyone else. There is a significant difference in how he interacts with the newcomers as well, showing his sarcastic side more. Rebeca, who is new to the school, soon becomes friends with Samuel and Nadia. In Rebeca, Samuel has found a friend who is not troubled by Marina's death and one he can trust to keep in confidence as to how he plans to find Marina's real killer.

The new Samuel is less forgiving as well. Even though he knows his brother did not kill Marina, he still holds Nano responsible for her death. He knows that if Marina was killed for the watch, it was because Nano was the one using the watch to blackmail Carla's father (in his defense, he wanted the money so he and Marina could start a new life in Morocco with the baby). The new Samuel is determined to find the people responsible for Marina's death and Nano's incarceration and he is preparing himself for it, damn any other consequences. He even goes to Rebeca's house (which used to be Marina's) to take up boxing, so he can defend himself should the need arise. When he tries to get close to Carla to know more, he is upfront about it with her.

Samuel's attitude in season 2 means that this time he is not just on the periphery of the central mystery. In fact, it gets him involved in a dangerous game that then leads to right in the middle of danger. But is he also smarter this time around? Perhaps he is playing the situation, rather than get dragged down by it like in the last season.

All episodes of season 2 of 'Elite' are streaming on Netflix now.

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