R29 Recaps: Every Episode From Elite Season 4

Never has there ever been a high school so rich in money and murder than Las Encinas, and season 4 of Netflix’s Elite is only solidifying the prep school’s reputation. The new season of the spanish teen soap opera is bringing it all back, from a new murder mystery to new sexually adventurous teens just counting down the moments before they can hook up with new classmates on school grounds. But, before we get into what’s going down in season 4, let’s do a quick recap of Elite seasons 1 through 3 to really set the scene.

Remember, in the past three seasons, there have been almost as many murders and crimes  as there have been hookups at the prestigious high school. First, there was Marina’s (Maria Pedraza) murder, then there was Samuel’s (Itzan Escamilla) disappearance, and, finally in season 3, there was the saga of Polo (Álvaro Rico) — who, despite killing Marina for a watch, somehow got to go back to school and finish out the year before he was accidentally killed by a drunk Lu (Danna Paola) with a broken champagne bottle. And that’s just the murdery stuff. Season 3 also saw Guzmán (Miguel Bernardeau) and Samuel get kicked out of school on the very last day, Ander (Arón Piper) beat cancer with Omar (Omar Ayuso) by his side, and Cayetana graduated only to wind up staying at Las Encinas — as a member of the custodial staff. Then Lu and Nadia (Mina El Hammani) went off to Columbia University, leaving Guzmán with no women to juggle for the first time in two years. 

As in every other season of Elite, each episode begins teasing a new mystery, one that will only be solved when the season ends. This time, the flash forward starts with Guzmán, sitting in the Lake Club (the official logo says it’s a “VIP Club”), fireworks going off behind him. A detective walks in and says he needs to talk to him about what happened. Below them, by the water, paramedics gather on the dock, and sirens blare. 

At the end of season 3, Guzmán, Samu, Ander, Omar, and Rebe (Claudia Salas) were all ready to start their senior year (some for the second time), but season 4 starts with a huge curveball. Ander’s mom, Azucena (Elisabet Gelabert) is out of a job. The school has brought in a new principal to whip this place into shape. Benjamin (Diego Martín), a former CEO, is ready to make his mark on the school. His first act as principal: single out the scholarship kids, Omar and Samuel, imply that they probably don’t deserve academic scholarships, and tell them that they’ll have to pass an entrance exam if they want to stay the year. 

Meanwhile, three new kids are introduced: Ari (Carla Díaz), a confident swimmer who catches Guzmán’s eye by almost beating him in a race, Patrick (Manu Ríos), who approaches Ander in the showers and straight up checks him out; and Mencía (Martina Cariddi), a rebel (you can tell because she’s wearing a harness under her uniform) who vibes with Rebe. But before any real connections are formed, the truth comes out. They’re the new principal’s kids, and, as a sign of loyalty to Omar and Samuel, no one will talk to them. 

After their first day, Benjamin takes his kids to dinner at the Lake Club, the fancy country club where Samuel and Omar work now. Mencía and Patrick tell Benjamin how his plan for the scholarship kids is already ruining their time at this new school, but even Ari’s suggestion that he reconsider isn’t entertained. Benjamin dismisses her out of hand, telling her that she shouldn’t worry about his job when she already has so much on her plate with Mencía. (Keep that in mind for later.)

The next morning, Benjamin and his kids arrive at school to find the students staging a sit-in in the front entrance. Mencía joins the group, and later joins them to talk strategy. She tells them that their only hope at trying to reason with Benjamin is to go through Ari. If anyone can make him change his mind, it’s her. Rebe nominates Samuel to go talk to her, but Mencía throws her weight behind Guzmán. He’s not so into the idea. The last time he tried to get close to a girl with an ulterior motive, he ended up falling in love with her, and he and Nadia are trying to make long-distance work, so he doesn’t want to be tempted. (We miss you, Nadia!) But, Omar begs, and so Guzman relents and ends up asking her out for drinks after school.

On their date, Guzman and Ari bond over having lost family members. He opens up about his sister, Marina, and she tells him about her mother, who died in a car accident that almost killed Patrick. Guzman mentions the test, but also accidentally mentions a girlfriend. When Ari presses him, he says, “the past is in the past,” and despite that not being a denial, Ari accepts it.

Meanwhile, Patrick reaches out to Ander and invites him to go out with him to a gay club, implying that, if Ander goes out with him, he’ll give Omar the test answers. Omar doesn’t want Ander to go, but he does anyway. Patrick and Ander get pretty close on the dance floor, and are almost about to hook up right there when Ander finally snaps out of it and leaves. He wants to help Omar stay at Las Encinas, but he won’t betray him. 

The other principal’s kid, Mencía, spends the night out with Rebe. The two get along great, but Rebe is still feeling gun shy after Samuel’s betrayal, and she tells Mencía as much. After they kiss, she runs away, scared of getting close to someone again, and leaves Mencía at the bar alone. Instead of going home, Mencía stays out all night, and when she finally returns in the early morning, it’s already time for school. She heads straight past her dad and siblings to her room, and Ari follows, asking her to do better. Can’t she see that what she does hurts Ari, who is being held responsible for her? “Haven’t you hurt us all enough as it is?” she asks, clearly hitting a nerve.

The next night, when Mencía refuses to go to dinner with her dad and Ari, Benjamin announces that he’s cutting her off. He’ll support her with the bare minimum of what the government requires for a parent, but she won’t have access to his bank accounts anymore. Ari tries to get Mencía to turn things around, saying that she dug this hole for herself and she doesn’t have to fight her family. This tactic does not work. Instead of trying to make nice, Mencía lashes out, telling Ari that the only reason Guzmán went out with her was to try to get her to talk to Benjamin about the test. 

After their fight, Mencía packs a bag and leaves home. She texts Rebe, but when she doesn’t answer, Mencía ends up letting herself get picked up by an older man, Armando, who buys her a drink, listens to her sob story, and rents her a room at a hotel. He says he won’t pressure her to sleep with him, but that she can stay as long as she wants and order room service on his tab. Mencía decides to sleep with him, asking him to stay the night. When she wakes up, she’s alone… with a small stack of 100 euro bills on the nightstand.

At the Lake Club, Samu decides to make a last ditch appeal to Benjamin, begging him to let Omar continue at the school without taking the test. He can’t afford to lose anybody else, he says, before his boss comes to take him away and fire him. Benjamin isn’t particularly moved, but he asks Ari if she thinks he should ease up. She says no, he should give the exam as planned. 

The morning of the test, Patrick apologizes to Ander and Omar and gives Omar the answers to the test. Omar doesn’t trust him, but he doesn’t really have any better options. Both Samu and Omar pass, and even though Benjamin suspects that Omar cheated, he lets them go.

In the pool, Ari gets revenge on Guzmán, beating him in a race by telling him that she DMed Nadia and told her all about their date. She was lying, but warns him that he shouldn’t try to betray her again. 

The episode ends with another glimpse into the future. Ander, Samuel, Guzmán, Patrick, Rebe, and Mencía are all standing, waiting and watching. Suddenly there’s a heartbeat, and a voice on a radio says, “The girl is alive.”

Ari is alive and on a ventilator. Her alcohol blood levels are high, and if she's not used to drinking this could just be a horrible accident. Benjamin asks the doctor if someone pushed her, but there's no way to know.

Benjamin, Ari, and Patrick are attending a fancy greeting party for a French aristocrat, Prince Philippe (Pol Granch). He's going to be a new student at Las Encinas this year.

At the school, Cayetana is giving the crew the low-down on the new royal in town. (She is the Instagram queen after all.) Meanwhile, the school is installing security cameras and metal detectors as new security measure. This includes background checks on the students and their families. While the students are filling them out, Benjamin heavily implies that he already knows all about Rebe's mother's illegal activities, so now Rebe is convinced that she's going to be kicked out. Though, as Guzman and Samu point out, she's not the only one with a family member with a criminal record.

Unfortunately for Rebe, her future at Las Encinas becomes even more tenuous after Benjamin catches her making out with Mencía in the locker room.

Later that night, Ari confronts her sister, telling her that their dad thinks she's been spending her nights with Rebe. Even worse, Benjamin thinks Rebe has been paying her with her mother's dirty drug money. And when Mencía won't deny it, Ari tells her that she will not let their relationship continue. Little does she know, when Mencía tries to text Rebe, she doesn't get a response, and she ends up texting Armando instead.

At a speakeasy with Armando, Mencía is approached by the owner of the club. The woman warns her that she's seen Armando with other girls like her, and wonders if she really knows what she's doing and if she's prepared for this line of work. Mencía brushes her off.

Meanwhile, there's a new love triangle brewing. Guzman and Samu are both into Ari, despite also both insisting they're not. Guzman and Ari patch things up after their date, and decide to start over. And when Samu calls him out for connecting with Ari while still technically dating Nadia, Guzman challenges Samu to ask Ari out himself.

Later that night, the O.G. crew meets up at the Lake Club. Guzman is freaking out because Nadia pushed back their video call, and he feels like he's the only one making an effort in the relationship. So, to boost his mood, he suggests they throw a party at Samu and Omar's place — no new kids allowed.

Samu manages to get Rebe alone and tries to patch things up between them — again. She slaps him and reminds him that whether or not they are friends after his betrayal is her decision, not his. As she walks away, Samu says that he doesn't need for them to be friends, he just hopes that what he did doesn't make her close herself off from other people.

The next day, it's the Prince's first day at Las Encinas. Cayetana goes old school, dressing up and seemingly pretending to be a student welcoming him to the school. She's getting away with it too, until Ari busts in and not-so-politely asks her to please clean up a spill in the computer room. But, in a twist, Phillippe isn't bothered that she's a cleaning lady. Instead, he brushes it off and informs Ari that he wanted to introduce himself to everybody, "staff included."

Benjamin, Patrick, and Mencía watch Ari in her hospital bed from behind a glass door. Benjamin suggests the cops think someone might have pushed her into the lake, but they're not sure who. Upon hearing this news, Patrick looks especially panicked.

After Ander mentions to Omar how hot it was to be hit on by Patrick, suggesting they might try something new, Omar checks out the new kid in the showers. He admits to Ander that hearing about his dalliance with Patrick was a total turn on, and so, maybe — just maybe — they could consider a threesome. But at the end of the day, it's got to be Omar and Ander, together. They're discussing the best way to approach Patrick with their proposition when Benjamin walks in and suddenly declares everyone. vacate the showers, all so that Phillippe can shower in private.

The next period, when Phillippe walks into their classroom, Guzman leads the kids in a walk out. Only Ari and Patrick stay behind at their desks. Outside, Samuel tries to defend Phillippe, saying that he shouldn't necessarily be held responsible for his parents. But Guzman accuses him of just trying to suck up to Ari.

After his chilly reception in class, Phillippe goes for a swim alone. No students allowed in the gym with him, apparently, but Cayetana, who is mopping the floor, is. She teases him about having no friends, he teases her about being a creepy stalker groupie, and they decide to start over. After their chat, Cayetana lobbies to get Phillippe invited to Samuel and Oscar's party. And when Ari overhears, Samuel decides to invite her and Mencía and Patrick. Guzman tries to scare Ari out of going, declaring that the party is actually a towel party — everyone there must be wearing only a towel.

Not only does Ari rise to the occasion, following the dress code, she also decides to get drunk. She doesn't drink often, but Patrick encourages her. He wants her to loosen up and let her drunk alter-ego, Ira, come out. It turns out that a drunk Ari is a much nicer and carefree Ari. She flirts with Guzman until Nadia calls and then turns her attention to Samu after a towel mishap causes some temporary nudity on his part. They end up hooking up as Guzman has a tough talk with Nadia, who is slightly jealous at seeing her boyfriend partying without her.

Elsewhere at the party, Rebe apologizes to Mencía for ignoring her, and admits she's scared of getting into a new relationship, but Mencía isn't. They kiss and makeup. Then Omar and Ander finally work up the courage to ask Patrick if he'd be into having a threesome with them, and they end up doing it right then and there in the bathroom. Finally, Cayetana makes her move on Phillippe. The two bond over fashion, and they kiss in their towels.

Guzman leaves the party, exiting just in time to see Samu and Ari stumble into his bedroom, and calls Nadia. He thinks maybe she's right, that their relationship is just too hard right now. He suggests they give each other a few days to really think over their relationship.

Ari's heart rate is speeding up, she's crashing.

At school, Phillippe tells Benjamin he doesn't want anybody expelled because of the background checks. The new head of school insists it's all for security, but Phillippe responds that his family hasn't asked for half of the security measures Benjamin installed. Which begs the question: just what are these extreme security measures for, Benjamin?

Benjamin offers to get rid of certain measures, and suggests they take the cameras down, but Phillippe doesn't want that. He likes the cameras. As he says this to Benjamin, we see in a flashback to last night, when he and Cayetana had sex on his bed... in front of a very conveniently placed hidden camera.

Ander is talking to detectives. He tells him that Benjamin and his kids came in and ruined everything they touched.

New television screens have been erected all over the school, and Benjamin interrupts their morning with a special message to all students. Prince Phillippe wants to thank everyone for their warm reception, and he's showing his appreciation by throwing the Bal de Paris (a French coming out ball) here, with all of them. As Cayetana tells the group, this is a Very Big Deal. Not only is the Bal one of the hottest social events of the season, it's also a particularly fun one where the women get to ask their dates out, not the other way around.

Rebe reaches out to Samu to thank him for inviting Mencía to his towel party, and to get his advice on what she should do now. She's absolutely falling for Mencía and she doesn't know what to do, she tells him she feels crazy. And that's when she accidentally sends one of her messages to Mencía.

Rebe avoids Mencía for the rest of the day, but she can't do that when Mencía shows up at her house after school. They decide to get to know each other better, with lots of shots, and are hooking up in the living room when Rebe's mom walks in. The awkward situation takes a turn for the worst when Mencía recognizes Rebe's mom, Sandra (Eva Llorach), as the woman who owns the speakeasy, the one who knows how she's getting paid at night.

Sandra gets Mencía alone and asks how much she's charging her daughter for that hook up. She tells Mencía to get away from her daughter, or she'll tell Rebe everything. Mencía stays a little while longer to save face, but when things start getting heated with Rebe, she leaves abruptly.

Later, with Armando, she finds out that Sandra is still selling drugs at her club, despite telling Rebe that her business is all legit now. With this new leverage, Mencía takes Armando's cash and goes to buy fancy clothes and presents and heads over to Rebe's to take her to the Bal. She tells Sandra she knows about the drugs, and now they can move forward with mutually assured destruction. Later, at the Bal, Sandra leaves Mencía a voice message telling her not to threaten her, especially where her daughter's involved, but Mencía doesn't seem too scared by it.

The morning after the party, Ari wakes up with a massive hangover and zero desire to talk to Samu. It's obvious it was just a hookup, and to her, he's still a low-class scholarship kids way below her status.

At school, Guzman is still unsure of where he stands with both Nadia and Ari after the towel party. Nadia changed her relationship status to single on Facebook, which hurts Guzman, and he tells Samu that he's sad she agreed to their breakup so quickly. But Samu says that he thinks that Guzman broke up with Nadia after the party because he couldn't handle seeing Ari and Samu hooking up. But he shouldn't be, Samu says. He and Ari are not in a relationship, and he even tells Guzman that he should just go for it if he really wants to.

Despite the encouragement, Guzman refuses Ari's invitation to go to the Bal as her date after he sees her talking to Samu in the hall. He tells her he's not into "sloppy seconds," and when Ari informs him that she didn't even ask Samu to be her date, he still turns her down. Besides, he has a video chat with Nadia he has to get to.

Guzman and Nadia agree to try and move on and look forward. And the conversation sends him straight to Ari's house to apologize. He promises he'll try to be better at not being a jerk, and she decides to let him take her to the dance — for a real date this time.

The next day, Guzman tells Samu about his date with Ari — an act that seems both generous (he wants to make sure Samu is okay with it) and cruel (he definitely wants to rub it in Samu's face) at the same time. Samu takes it as a dig, and they squabble — AGAIN.

After Omar turns down Patrick for a hangout, saying he's too tired, Ander goes to meet him alone. Omar is not happy when he finds out, but he's not furious either. He makes Ander tell him everything that happened, and says he wants to move on if they just agree that it'll never happen again. Ander agrees, but the peace does not last long.

Phillippe gives Cayetana a special invite to the Bal and asks her to ask him. She's hesitant, but agrees, and he really goes all out to make her feel special. He invites her over and surprises her with a hallway full of beautiful designer gowns for her to choose from, and the two have sex on the bed in front of the surveillance camera.

As she's getting ready for the Bal in Phillippe's room, Cayetana finds the surveillance camera. Even worse, she finds the saved video files of their hookups on his laptop. She still goes forward with the Bal, having to perform the debutante dance, but she's clearly not feeling it, and Phillippe can tell.

Cayetana confronts him about the camera, and he insists that it's a security measure. He claims that he had an ex accuse him of abuse and trying to blackmail him, so now he has cameras everywhere in the house. It's not personal, he says, but she feels completely insulted, belittled, and taken advantage of. It's not just that he recorded them without consent, it's also that the betrayal feels like more confirmation that she's just some lowly peasant he used to have fun. He'll never see her as his equal. Phillippe denies that there was any nefarious intention on his part, and kindly reminds Cayetana that she doesn't have the best reputation either — she did lie about her entire past and date a murderer for a year. But even with all that baggage, he still wants to get to know her, and he just hopes she wants to do the same.

Omar and Samu aren't attending the Bal as guests, but as bartenders, and they're both equally unhappy about it. Samu gets a front row seat to Ari and Guzman's date, while Omar, who is tasked with charging Ander's phone behind the bar, sees texts from Patrick asking Ander to hook up.

The night ends with Guzman and Ari officially moving forward as a couple, while Omar decides to use the info he got from the texts to meet up with Patrick instead. He's angry that Patrick won't leave Ander alone, but not so angry that he won't have sex with Patrick.

Ari wakes up.

In the hospital, Mencía sits at Ari's bedside, holding her hand. Ari is breathing with the help of an oxygen mask and is conscious, but she looks out of it. Mencía asks her who pushed her, but Ari doesn't seem able to answer, and her dad mentions that the doctors think she'll get her memories back soon.

Mencía is getting ready for school after a night with Armando. He mentions that he actually went to Las Encinas 20 years ago, and then casually asks Mencía if she'd let him pass her number along to a friend of his to expand her clientele. She agrees, but she wants the same hotel room with everything included, and his friend will pay double.

At school, Benjamin takes a special interest in Samuel and asks him to consider joining the debate team. When Samu says he can't because the extra curricular clashes with his hours at the Club, Benjamin offers to give him work study and pay him 25 percent more than he makes at the Club for various administrative work at school.

Samu isn't really sure why Benjamin wants to help him, and neither are Omar and Guzman. When Samu tells them about Benjamin's offer, Omar immediately suspects there's something more going on, and Guzman agrees. People like Benjamin just don't help people like Samu for no reason, he says.

Rebe is fully smitten with Mencía, and she wants to surprise her with a little present. But, when she goes through her girlfriend's bag to find a place ot hide a necklace, she finds Mencía's hotel key instead. At first, she thinks its for a date the next night, but when Mencía tells her she's busy then, Rebe fully cancels their plans for later and doesn't give her the necklace.

Later, Rebe confides in Samu and tells him about the hotel key. She's sure Mencía is cheating, but Samu tries to get her to stop assuming the worst. They have no idea what Mencía is up to, and even if she is cheating, it's not Rebe's fault. She's not happy about it, but Rebe is willing to accept Samu's logic.

After Rebe cancels their date, Mencía returns home to find her dad waiting for her with her secret pile of cash. She'd been hiding her earnings in a teddy bear, but he has it all now, and he insists on knowing where she got it. He thinks it's money from Rebe, and Mencía denies it. But, because she's unable to tell him where she got it, he keeps it as she heads to her room. The next day at school, Rebe confronts Mencía about the hotel room key, and she tries to brush it off by saying she's working odd jobs, but her vague answers don't satisfy Rebe.

Meanwhile, Ander and Patrick plan to surprise Omar with a group hang out, hoping to ease the tension between them. But as soon as Omar sees Patrick at the gay club, he wants to leave. Ander, howerver, insists on staying, and he even joins Patrick in taking some GHB. The two get high, and they try to convince Omar to let loose, but he's not into it. Omar heads out, and Ander follows, leaving Patrick alone to take another hit. It's a little too much for him, though, and he faints on the dance floor. Luckily, Ander and Omar are still at the club, so they take him back to Omar's place to sober up.

The night out ends with Omar taking care of both Ander and Patrick, and when Ander falls asleep, Omar agrees to stay on the couch with Patrick. They end up falling asleep together, and Ander catches them cuddling the next morning.

After serving Guzman and Ari at the Club and being taunted by Guzman, Samu decides that he will join the debate team after all. So, after school, Guzman shows up at Ari's house to pick her up for a date when Samu arrives. He's here to meet with her dad, and is promptly ushered in. In their meeting, Benjamin reveals that he also had to work his way through high school, just like Samu. And he has made it his mission in life to prove that anybody can make it with hard work — if they deserve it. That's why he wants Samu to join the debate team. Samu agrees, and Benjamin informs him that he'll be debate partners with Ari.

Samu arrives at the hospital to see Ari, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He waves at her from behind the glass before Benjamin intercepts him. Ari's not up for visitors, he says, and he doesn't want Samu to bother his daughter. Samu seems flustered and surprised by the sudden cold shoulder. He leaves with his flowers in hand.

Phillippe isn't giving up on Cayetana. He attempts to patch things up, bringing her coffee at work and telling her he deleted her videos, but she's not convinced. So, he hatches a plan with Omar and lures Cayetana to the Lake Club after school for a special date. He wants to get to know her without their social statuses getting in the way, so he got Omar to open the Club early before dinner just for them. Only, they're not exactly dining together, he's going to be her waiter. She gives him a rough time, but eventually decides that she wants to give their relationship a chance again.

Omar seems happy for them, but his own love life is taking a hit. While Cayetana and Phillippe are making up in the empty restaurant, he brushes off a text from Ander, telling him not to come to the Club because he's super swamped.

At Benjamin's house, Patrick comes in with pizza just as Samu is getting ready to leave, but when the family notices Mencía isn't there, they freak out. (Apparently just because he disowned her doesn't mean Benjamin doesn't want her home for family dinner.) Benjamin immediately begins to panic, and he orders Patrick to check the Lake Club to see if she's there, and tells Ari that they're going to go to Rebe's house to look for her.

Samu tries to stick up for Rebe, telling Benjamin that she's the best person he knows and her mom doesn't deal anymore. The principal might like him, but he doesn't believe him. Where, he asks, did his daughter get 3000 Euros in cash if not from Rebe?

Ari tries to tell her dad that he isn't in the headspace to drive, but Benjamin doesn't listen, so Samu offers to drive the car instead. Ari takes him up on his offer, and tells Benjamin to stay home and wait by the phone in case she comes back.

In the car, Ari explains that this has happened before, years ago, when Mencía was a little girl. She ran away once and the family didn't notice until dinner time, she says. Her mom grabbed Patrick and went out looking for her, but as it got later, and she got more stressed, her mom got in a car accident. She was killed instantly and Patrick was bedridden for two years after.

At the Club, Patrick is getting agitated looking for his sister, so Omar takes him aside. Unfortunately, Ander sees the exchange and assumes Patrick is going after Omar now that they've all called things off. He confronts Patrick as he's leaving, and, angry and scared for his sister, Patrick tells Ander that he shouldn't be worried about him going after Omar, because Omar is the one who went after him at the Bal.

They make it to Rebe's, but, of course, Mencía isn't there. And when Samu mentions the 3000 Euros Benjamin found in her room, she's shocked. With Rebe's being a dead end, Samu takes off with Ari to continue the search. But right after he leaves, Rebe remembers the hotel key. She takes off on her motorbike to find Mencía.

At the hotel, Mencía is meeting up with Armando's friend, and things are getting bad fast. He wants to use handcuffs, which she's uncomfortable with. And when her dad calls, she asks if they can stop so she can answer, but he says no. When Rebe arrives at the hotel, she can hear Mencía asking for someone to stop and telling them she's not comfortable. Rebe knocks and pretends to be room service, saying she's got a free bottle of champagne for the room. Luckily, Mencía gets the message and convinces the guy to open the room door. When he does, Rebe slams her motorbike helmet into his gut, throws him and his clothes out of the room and closes the door.

Rebe gets Mencía to call Ari and tell her she's okay before confronting her about her illegal activities. Mencía explains that she was doing it because she wants so desperately to be free from her father, and Rebe kind of understands. The two hug before Rebe brings her home.

Now that Mencía has been found, Ari is so relieved she asks Samu if he wants to stay over for dinner. Samu accepts, and is eating pizza with Benjamin and his family when Guzman arrives and looks on from outside. He leaves without a word.

Simu sneaks into Ari's room. She looks at him, but she doesn't seem afraid. He's about to say something when the cops come in and arrest him. Benjamin watches on.

A detective reads a text from Ari on her phone, begging someone to come meet her on the dock the night of her attack. He shows it to Samu, now handcuffed, who says he never received the message. They take him away anyway.

Now that Ander knows the truth about Omar and Patrick, they don’t know what to do. Omar admits that what he did with Patrick, it might not have been just a meaningless hookup. He’s confused, and he doesn’t really know what these feelings for Patrick are.

The next day at school, Ander is avoiding Omar, but he does let Patrick apologize for what happens, even though he doesn’t think Patrick has anything to be sorry for. They all made their own decisions, he says. Patrick is relieved they’re still friends, and decides to remind Ander that it’s ok for him to want to explore more in life. He just beat cancer, maybe he shouldn’t be asking for forgiveness or permission anymore. This pep talk/encouragement does the trick. Ander texts Omar after his chat with Patrick, arranging for them to meet up so he can dump him.

At the Lake Club, Ander tells Omar that he wouldn’t have been able to beat cancer without him, but now that he survived, he wants to live. Omar begs him not to break up, saying he was confused, but he’s not anymore, but Ander says it’s not about that. This is about him. He leaves Omar crying by the water.

The next day, Ander stops by Omar and Samu’s place to pick up his stuff, while his mom drives over to the Lake Club to drop off Omar’s things. Both men are clearly emotional, and Omar ends up crying on Ander’s mom’s shoulder, while Ander cries with Samu. 

The next day, however, Ander is fully committed to the breakup. So much so that he asks Patrick to skip class with him. When Omar notices that the two are gone, he heads over to Patrick’s house, but he doesn’t find them right away. Instead, he finds a group of men partying by the pool, some hooking up around the house. He spots Ander and Patrick dancing and sneaking off upstairs. He follows them, sees them hooking up in Patrick rooms, and leaves without a word.

Mencía shows up at Rebe’s house and tells her the truth about Armando and how their relationship snowballed out of control. She says she wants to stop what she was doing, and move forward with Rebe, who reluctantly agrees to give their relationship another shot.

At Rebe’s, Mencía uploaded a selfie to Instagram, tagging her location. So, even though she doesn’t answer when Armando reaches out, when she leaves for the night, Armando is outside waiting for her. He convinces her to let him give her a ride home, even though she makes it clear that she wants to end their arrangement. He seems understanding, apologizes for how his friend acted, and even suggests she get a new phone, just to make sure his friend can’t harass her on her old number. It all seems perfectly above board, until he pulls up in front of the speakeasy, asking if she wants one last drink. Mencía is not amused. She gets out of the car and moves to get her bike, but he apologizes, and says he’ll take her home for real, so she gets back in. In front of the club, Rebe’s mom watches on, her phone recording the entire interaction.

The next day, Rebe confronts Mencía with the video. Mencía explains that nothing happened, and before Rebe can get too mad at her, points out that she seems dead-set on not trustingher, when she should be asking about her mother. Hasn’t she wondered what her mother was doing at the club, or how she knew Armando? After some pressing from Rebe, Mencía admits that Armando bought cocaine from her mom. Rebe doesn’t want to believe it, and storms out.

Later that night, Rebe runs away from home. Meanwhile, Mencía finds a new phone waiting for her, courtesy of Armando.

At school, Benjamin gives Samu an assignment for debate club, passing him a book on Emotional Intelligence. Facts are boring, he says, but you really win arguments based on emotions. Later that day, in debate practice, Samu and Ari go head-to-head on prison reintegration. Ari goes in with the facts, Samu with emotions, and he wins the practice round. Benjamin even tells him to keep up the good work. However, after debate practice, he confronts Ari about her lackluster performance. She says she thought it would be nice for Samu if he thought he could beat her, and Benjamin warns her that he’d hate for that to actually be the case.

The next day, Ari and Guzman are studying in the library when Benjamin walks by with Samu and informs his daughter that Samu will be coming over for dinner later so that they can work on their arguments. Though he’s not thrilled to hang out with Benjamin, after hearing that Samu will be at Ari’s house later, he decides to take her up on her offer to have dinner with her family.

Dinner, of course, is tense, as Guzman constantly feels the need to put Samu down, which Ari calls him out on as she walks him out. Frustrated and jealous, Guzman lets slip that Samu’s brother, Nano, fled to Morocco while he was on parole, before he was formerly cleared of charges regarding Marina’s death. He just didn’t see Ari vacationing with a felon, he says.

The next day, the school gathers to watch Samu and Ari debate on prison reintegration. Ari comes out swinging, immediately bringing up Nano. On her podium is the same Emotional Intelligence book that Benjamin gave him. And Samu, feeling manipulated, storms out of the debate. Benjamin follows him and tries to force him to see this as a teachable moment. He can either let this define him, or he can face these disadvantages head on, he says. 

Ari won the debate, but she doesn’t seem that pleased with it. Guzman, certainly, is furious that she used the information he told her against Samu. Even though it might seem to Ari that Guzman doesn’t like Samu, he tells her that he actually considers him a close friend, and sometimes he thinks he’s jealous of him. 

As she’s getting her stuff to go home, Ari runs into Phillippe and asks him what he was doing Friday night. Mencía came home with bruises, she says, and she doesn’t trust him. She wants him to stay away from her. A surprised Phillippe assures Ari that he was with Cayetana that night, and Cayetana agrees. 

Though she publicly defended him, Cayetana is suspicious of Ari’s seemingly unfounded accusation. She decides to Google Phillippe’s alleged assault, but nothing comes up. So, instead, she goes to Ari and admonishes her for making wild accusations without any proof. Ari cautions Cayetana not to give Phillippe the benefit of the doubt, claiming she’s just looking out for Cayetana woman-to-woman. Now two things are obvious: Ari knows about the already existing allegations against Phillippe, and she definitely does not have Cayetana’s best interests at heart. So what is the truth?

After school at Phillippe’s place, Cayetana is clearly uncomfortable. So, when she sees an opportunity to look at his laptop, she does. Even though he said he deleted the video of her, she decides to take a peek at what else he might be hiding on there. Phillippe catches her in the act and feels betrayed. He wants her to trust him, and since she can’t, he sends her home.

A clearly shaken Guzman picks up Ari’s phone on the floor of the club. He’s looking at the text to Samu when Ander approaches, looking at something in the lake, and then turning to Guzman.

A shocked Patrick is being questioned by the detective at the Lake Club. “No one could find you,” he says, “Where were you?”

After what happened at the debate, Ari asks her dad not to invite Samu over to do debate club work anymore. She wants to keep her home life and school life separate. Samu also decides to take a step back after realizing he can’t really trust Benjamin. He’s going to go bac to work at the Lake Club, but still wants to continue with debate. 

Later, when Samu must end debate practice early to head to work, he leaves his keys in the classroom. Ari goes to return them, finding him in the locker room taking a shower, and she decides to walk all the way into the showers to return them. It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before she teases. 

At home, Samu’s got a full house with Rebe and Mencía sleeping on his couch. Rebe thinks Mencía should sleep at home, but she doesn’t want to abandon Rebe, and swears that tonight, she’ll find them a better place to crash. 

Meanwhile, Omar is refusing to get out of bed to go to school. He just can’t see Ander just yet, and it might be a good thing too, because Patrick and Ander are getting closer. So close, in fact, that Patrick even gives Ander a hand job in the middle of class; his dad lecturing up front. Samu sees them, and when Ander approaches him in between classes to ask about Omar, he tells him that Omar doesn’t want to come back, especially if this is what he’s gonna see at school. 

Las Encinas is abuzz with news of an exclusive party rumored to be hosting a secret performance from Ambar Lucid. Ander, especially, really wants to go, so Patrick asks Phillippe if he can use his royal connections to get them all tickets. He agrees, and he tries to see if Cayetana wants to go too by following her into the janitor’s room. But, instead of getting her to admit that she likes him and doesn’t mind benefiting from his social status, Phillippe is shaken by her suggestion that he’s mad at her while blindly trusting that his new classmates are actually his friends, not just people who want to use him for concert tickets.

Phillippe leaves Cayetana, and Benjamin sees him coming out of the janitor’s room. He asks Benjamin what he was doing, and warns him that he did the Prince and his family a favor by bringing him to this school to escape “certain rumors.” Phillippe better not start again if he wants to stay at Las Encinas. Phillippe tries to push back, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Benjamin and his family know everything about the abuse allegations against him.

After school, Ander heads over to the Lake Club, where Omar is working. Omar says he’s dropping out of school. He likes working behind a bar, he lies, but Ander doesn’t buy it. He knows the real reason that Omar doesn’t want to go to school is that he doesn’t want to see him again. But Ander wants him to finish his education. He’ll always love Omar and he wants to be there for him. Omar isn’t convinced and ends up crying in Ander’s arms. But the next day, he makes it back to Las Encinas. 

Meanwhile, after seeing how much Benjamin likes Samu, Guzman insists on taking Ari and her family out to dinner at the Lake Club. Of course, Samu ends up waiting on them at dinner, but Guzman manages to impress Benjamin anyways after he advises him to take a different approach with Mencía, who has, predictably, decided not to show for family dinner. He tells Benjamin that Mencía reminds him of his sister, and while Benjamin isn’t thrilled to be getting parenting advice from a teenager, even he has to admit that Guzman makes a compelling case. 

Ari is so thrilled with Guzman impressing her father that she decides to drink at dinner, which means her inhibitions are lowered immediately. So, she ends up straddling Guzman for a make out session in a private back room at the club. Things are getting heated when Samu walks in and interrupts, asking them to get a room. Ari asks him to leave, but Guzman decides to actually show his friend Samu a little respect and he takes Ari home.

As a test, Phillippe decides to text Patrick to see if he wants to go to dinner with him that night. Patrick  never responds, so Phillippe lies and tells the group that he couldn’t get tickets. The next morning when Patrick tries again to ask Phillippe to try to get them tickets, saying they’d all really like to go, he says that he would have liked to have dinner with Patrick, but things don’t always turn out how we want them. After that, Patrick lays all the cards on the table, at first suggesting that he just wants to hang out with Phillippe and have a good time because they’re friends. But pretty soon, he cuts straight to the threats, straight up telling Phillippe that he and his family know about the allegations against him. He doesn’t explicitly threaten to expose Phillippe, but he doesn’t have to. Phillippe gets them the tickets.

That night, Phillippe, Patrick, Ander, Ari, and Guzman arrive at the private party together. Rebe and Mencía are also in attendance, having procured tickets from Armando, who, after a forced round of very awkward drinks with Rebe, offered to let them stay in his extra hotel room and gave them tickets to the party as a gesture of goodwill. Finally, Omar and Samu are also there, but they’re working behind the bar. 

Everyone’s having fun at the party. Even Samu gets to enjoy some flirtation with Ari at the bar before being forced to watch her dance with Guzman. Phillippe, however, is miserable, sitting alone in the corner. He’s missing Cayetana, and when Ari asks him what happened between them, he tells her that Cayetana wouldn’t trust him. Ari seems sympathetic, but then leans in to tell him that she’s right not to. After that, he texts Cayetana, who is watching the concert from home, and tells her he gets why she doesn’t believe him, even his friends don’t. 

Elsewhere, Armando arrives and joins Mencía and Rebe, who reluctantly thanks him for the tickets. When Rebe goes to the bar to get a drink, however, Armando tries to feel Mencía up. He’s surprised when she pulls away. He felt his gifts were pretty explicit. He doesn’t do anything for free, and neither does she. Again, she pushes him off, and he leaves. But, when Rebe returns, Mencía covers for him, saying he had somewhere else to be.

Patrick is also having a bit of a rough night. He made a big deal about getting these tickets specifically for Ander, but it turns out Ander isn’t eager to get into another monogamous relationship. Mid-concert, Patrick spots Ander making out with a random guy at the bar. At first, it looks like Patrick is having a panic attack, but when Ari asks him what’s wrong, he lashes out and ends up throwing her to the ground, splitting her lip. Guzman is furious, but Ari asks him not to get too mad. Her brother has outbursts, she says. Guzman goes looking for Patrick while Ari heads to the bar to get some ice from Omar and Samu. 

At the bar, Samu asks her what’s up with Patrick, and she points to Ander, who is still making out with this other guy on the dance floor. Seeing his ex hooking up is not all that appealing to Omar, so he heads to a backroom to work, leaving Ari with Samu. Samu says that he understands Patrick a little bit better now, because he knows the pain he feels must be like the pain Samu feels when he sees Ari look at Guzman the way she looks at him. 

Ari seems shocked in the moment, but later that night after everyone has gone, and it’s just Samu left mopping the floor, she returns to the club. She walks straight towards him, seductively. This time she hasn’t been drinking, and she knows exactly what she’s doing when she kisses him. They hook up right there on the floor.

Guzman is outside of Ari’s hospital room, but Ari tells her dad she doesn’t want to see him. He’s just about to leave when Patrick stops him, threateningly. He notices Guzman’s bruised knuckles, but when Guzman still won’t say anything, Patrick starts a fight.

It’s time for a sex montage! Ari is sleeping with both Guzman and Samu, though Guzman doesn’t know it, and Samu is getting tired of being her dirty little secret. After a particularly athletic tryst, they get into a fight when Samu expresses his frustration at always doing things on her terms. Ari hits back that of course it’s on her terms, because she’s the one who makes things happen while he waits for other people to tell him what to do. It’s just like with her dad and debate and work study. He quit his job at the Club just because Benjamin told him to. If he’s not willing to take a stand for her, then she’s not going to do it for him.

Samu is in the hospital with the detective and a few police officers, but, despite us seeing him get arrested, he’s actually not in handcuffs. In fact, the detective seems to believe him when he says he didn’t do anything to Ari. However, the detective thinks Samu knows more than he’s saying…

Phillippe’s mother has arrived from France to check up on her son’s activities, which includes a private meeting with Benjamin. Benjamin shows her footage from the security cameras that captured him getting close to Cayetana. Phillippe’s mother is disappointed that he chose to fall for a cleaning lady, and Benjamin surprisingly stands up for her. He says Cayetana is bright and has aspirations of being a designer. At the end of the day, he says, she’ll stick to the path that’s laid out for her, and he hints that she could be an asset to a scandal-ridden prince. After all, her last boyfriend was a murderer and she stood by him til the end. 

Things between Cayetana and Phillippe aren’t so great, though. After he finds some of her designs in the printer at the library, he tries to patch things up, but it doesn’t really go his way. So he’s not totally elated when his mom expresses an interest in Cayetana. She even goes so far as to say that she’s going to throw a big party for New Year’s, and she wants Cayetana to go as his date so that they can make their official debut as a couple. But, in the meantime, to  help them patch things up, she’s going to throw another party and invite her family’s designer — the one Phillippe and Cayetana bonded over in the first place. She wants Phillippe to get Cayetana to come. 

Phillippe invites Cayetana to the party, and she agrees to go to meet the designer. From the moment she walks into the fancy event, she sticks out. She’s wearing a bright pink pantsuit while everyone else is in black, but she doesn’t let that stop her. Phillippe introduces her to the designer, and she turns on the charm, but when she asks if he could look at her sketches, he says he will, but only if they go back up to his room. Cayetana is clearly uncomfortable. She follows him to the elevators, but when the doors begin to close, she can’t get in. She says she’d rather send them to his studio to give him time to look them over, and he scoffs before going up. Little does she know, Ari sees the whole thing.

Later that week, Phillippe hands out invites to his mom’s extravagant NYE party, and Ari shocks Cayetana by asking her to design a dress for her. She saw her sketches, and she was impressed by Caye’s self-respect at the party. A truce is formed.

Cayetana and Phillippe go out that night to celebrate her very first commission, and though Caye makes clear she just wants to be friends, they end up making out in the limo outside. As things get more heated, Cayetana gets more uncomfortable. She asks Phillippe to stop multiple times, but when he doesn’t listen, she pushes him off her and runs out of the car. 

Things are only getting messier between Ander, Patrick, and Omar. After Ander hooked up with another guy at the party, Patrick is heartbroken, which leads him to form a weird heartbreak alliance with Omar. 

At the Lake Club after school, Ander, having seen Omar and Patrick talking at school, decides to warn Omar. He says he just doesn’t want Omar to get hurt, but Omar knows that’s not it. Ander can’t stand the idea that Omar and Patrick might move on from him, even though he doesn’t want them. Ander tries to say that Patrick is manipulating Omar, but OMar says it was actually him who went up to Patrick, and he doesn’t appreciate Ander implying that Patrick would only want to be with him to get back at Ander. 

Still, Ander’s talk seems to have had an effect on Omar. He tells Patrick that maybe they did just get together to erase Ander. Patrick doesn’t care why, though, he thinks they should continue to try to erase Ander together.

Later that night, Patrick visits Ander at home to confront him — while he’s on a FaceTime with Omar. It’s unclear what, exactly, he was hoping would happen, but whatever his plan was, it blows up in his face when Ander makes clear he doesn’t want Patrick, he’s sorry for hurting him, and he will not tolerate Patrick hurting Omar. Ander says he’s always loved Omar, revealing that he put off a backpacking trip after his cancer treatment to be with Omar. 

Patrick leaves unhappy, and Ander is left alone with his mom, a half packed duffle bag, and a suspicious list that reads “Before I Go” with three names on it: “Guzman, Omar, Mom.” 

After what happened with Armando at the concert, Mencía is eager to get out of his hotel room, but she still doesn’t want to admit to Rebe the real reason why. She says she’s just ready to cut Armando out of her life for good, so Rebe agrees to leave the hotel. But, she says, maybe they should have a special date to celebrate their last night there. 

Those plans quickly get thrown off when Ari, Patrick, and Mencía return home for lunch to find Armando standing at their dining room table. Benjamin introduces him as a big donor to Las Encinas, as well as the President of the Alumni Association. Patrick lets it slip that they know him, but Armando covers, saying he and Mencía have shared a couple drinks, but no more. Mencía is completely shaken. And when Armando slips away for a moment, she follows him and confronts him. At first, he insists that he’s just there to drop off his generous donation, but she calls him out. And she’s right. He wants to blackmail her to keep their relationship going. 

Benjamin can see that there’s something off about Armando and Mencía, and he tries to ask her about it. She won’t talk, so instead, he tells her that if she ever has a problem, she can tell him and he can take care of it with one phone call. Mencía thanks him, but she doesn’t need it just yet. 

When she goes back to the table, she texts Armando and threatens to expose him to her dad and have him ruin his life. But Armando knows that she won’t admit that she was having sex for money, so he owns her. And to prove it, he texts her later insisting on meeting up that night at the hotel. 

Mencía cancels her plans with Rebe, saying something came up, but it all blows up in her face when she and Armando run into Rebe at the hotel. Feeling trapped, Mencía has no choice but to go with Armando. The next morning, she lies to Rebe and says that she’s changed her mind about Armando, and she’s just being flighty and unpredictable. 

After seeing Mencía at the hotel, Rebe goes back to her mom’s house. And, in slight twist, her mom actually doesn’t tell her to stay away from Mencía. In fact, she tells her that something she’s always admired is Rebe’s desire to protect the people she loves, even if they hurt her. 

Samu is working on a text to Ari to apologize for what happened the other night when Guzman appears, knocks his phone right out of his hands and asks him for a favor. He wants Guzman to text Ari and get her to the Lake Club tomorrow night for a surprise. And he wants to watch as Samu sends the texts, which means Samu can’t give Ari a head’s up not to say anything that might give them away. Luckily, she’s pretty cold, so when Samu asks if she can meet up at the Lake Club, she just asks why and she even mentions the debate team. He says he wants to work on their arguments at the Club, and, frustrated, she answers with a voice memo asking if that’s all Samu has to say to her after last night. Guzman is perplexed by the voice message, but he brushes right by it when Samu offers some half-hearted explanation about the fallout from their public debate. 

Later in the day, Samu is finally able to get Ari alone and warn her about Guzman. He tells her about the surprise and warns her that he heard her voice message. He’s also decided something. He’s going to take a stand, but not for her, for Guzman. He doesn’t want to betray his friend anymore, so now it’s up to her. She has to decide once and for all: him or Guzman. 

The next night at the Lake Club, Guzman is late to his own surprise date, and is confused to find the table set for three. Enter Samu, who Ari has invited to join them. She lays it out for them: she’s been seeing both of them, she tells Guzman, and the thing is, she loves both of them. Samu told her to choose, but she wants to find a way to have both. 

The detective asks Samu if Guzman is the one who hurt Ari.

Picking up right where we left off, Ari’s declaration of love to both Samu and Guzman does not go over well. Guzman is especially irate, accusing Samu of betrayal and of being a bad friend (which is fair, but also a stretch considering he’s been spending the past few months taking shots at Samu whenever Ari is around). He leaves, and Samu follows. He wants to apologize, and he wants Guzman to know that he didn’t do this as a continuation of their weird competition. But the bottom line is that he cares about Guzman and doesn’t want to hurt him. Guzman tells he and Ari to go fuck themselves, and Samu leaves after him. He’s very disappointed in Ari, so now Ari has no boyfriends instead of two. 

Feeling totally out of sorts, Guzman entertains the idea of going backpacking with Ander. He doesn’t know what he’s doing here anyways, he says.

At school, Mencía can barely look Rebe in the eye. And, feeling desperate and worried, Rebe decides to tell Ari what happened with Armando. She wants someone else close to Mencía to know the truth in case she’s not there to help her out when she needs it. Ari doesn’t know if she should believe Rebe, but when she confronts Mencía about it, her sister’s denial is not convincing. She suggests they go to their dad, but Mencía wants to avoid that at all costs. If Ari tells their father anything, she says, she’ll never see her sister again. 

Meanwhile, Phillippe and Cayetana are having their own school confrontation. He goes to find her in the janitor’s room, but she’s not comfortable being alone with him, so she takes the conversation outside to where the cameras are. He apologizes and tries to say that he was drunk and got his signals crossed, but she’s not ready to forgive him. She said, “no.” What signals could have possibly been crossed? She walks away.

Benjamin sees the entire confrontation on the security cameras and, apparently, calls in Phillippe’s mom. Wanting to avoid another scandal, she arranges for a one-on-one meeting with Cayetana. She tries to reason away Phillippe’s behavior, giving some version of “boys will be boys.” At the end of the day, she says, being with Phillippe could do incredible things for Cayetana and her family. So she should really come to her New Year’s Eve party and publicly stand by Phillippe.

In other couple news, Omar and Ander have a heart to heart. Omar is the last person Ander has to tell about his trip, but before he can get the words out, Omar surprises him by asking to give their relationship another shot. He wants to fight for Ander, but if Ander isn’t into it, that’s okay. Omar says he’ll understand and won’t cause drama. Ander is stunned and doesn’t respond right away, but when Omar turns to leave, Ander makes his decision and they kiss as Patrick watches from the hallway.

It’s New Year’s Eve and Omar is picking up Ander for the big party. While he waits for Ander to get dressed, he and Ander’s mom share a joint and she reveals that Ander was going to go backpacking, but put off his trip for Omar. She wants him to know because she wants them to be on the same page. Relationships need more than love, she says. Omar denies it at first, pointing out that if Ander is staying home for him, that was his decision, not Omar’s, and the two of them head to the party.

At the Lake Club, Cayetana refuses to take photos with Phillippe. She’s not willing to dismiss his bad behavior, and she decides to take some photos with Ari instead, showing off her fashion designs and turning down a chance at royalty.

Phillippe’s mom is furious and clearly disappointed in him for not taking charge. She thinks he’s ungrateful and spoiled; he thinks she didn’t do a great job of raising him to be otherwise. At the end of their discussion, she seems to give him an ultimatum. If he’s ready to be an adult and go it alone, fine, but he’ll suffer the consequences of his actions. Later, as midnight approaches, Phillippe seems to make a choice to go out on his own. He calls a girl named Elodie and leaves her a voice message apologizing for his past indiscretions. Now she has a voice message of him admitting everything he did, he says, and she can use it how she sees fit. 

Meanwhile, Samu and Guzman are both ignoring each other and Ari, who has decided to drink champagne to drown her sorrows. (Which we all know by now is a recipe for disaster.) On the dance floor, Ander tries to convince Guzman to reach out to Ari. He’s mad at Nadia for choosing New York over him, but Ari actively wants to be in his life, and Guzman still refuses her. Not that Ander should be giving relationship advice, as Guzman points out. He has delayed his backpacking trip twice for Omar, and though Ander says it’s just a compromise to make their relationship work, Guzman isn’t sure that he should have to give so much up for another person. 

Despite overhearing Guzman and Ander’s talk, Omar decides to continue the night as if he doesn’t know anything about the backpacking trip. Eventually, though, Ander can tell something’s up, and Omar is forced to admit that he knows about the trip. Not only that, he wants him to go. Omar doesn’t want him to give up things for him, and he wants Ander to be happy. He’ll even wait for him, if he wants, he says. 

Ari’s drunken adventure has led her to the docks, where Samu finds her. He tells her that he never thought a girl like her would fall for a guy like him, and even though she said she loves him, he doesn’t believe her. He thinks she loves Guzman — they make perfect sense, after all — and that’s fine. He’s okay with that. But Ari can’t flirt with him, and she can’t tempt him when she gets bored. He wants her to forget all about him and leave him alone for good. 

And, of course, this is the moment Guzman walks into when he decides to talk to Ari. Furious, he goes back to the bar, and when Samu tries to extend an olive branch to start the New Year off right, Guzman ends up throwing a punch. 

In the midst of all of this, Mencía gets a text from Armando. He wants to see her tonight, and he’s not taking no for an answer. She tries to say she has plans, but it turns out he is also at the party. And he wants to see her — now. They meet up on the docks, which is where Rebe and Ari spot them struggling. It’s clear Mencía doesn’t want to hook up right now, but Armando is pushing, and he starts to grab her when Rebe comes in out of nowhere with a powerful kick to his back. She and Mencía run off before he can get back up.

After they leave, Ari — now even more tipsy than before — arrives to confront Armando. She tells him that this is over. She’s going to tell her dad everything and he’ll ruin Armando for good. She’s dialing when Armando smacks the phone right out of her hand, and the two struggle. Armando beats Ari on the dock, her cries for help drowned out by the fireworks as the clock strikes midnight.

During his fight with Samu, Guzman throws him to the ground and picks up his phone, seeing the text Ari sent Samu earlier in the night (the same one the police showed Samu). He knows Ari is waiting for Samu by the docks, so he goes to see her, and finds her beaten and near unconscious. She tells him to go after Armando, and he does, leaving her alone on the docks. She gets up and tries to get her phone, but she’s drunk and beaten, and she falls right into the water. 

Guzman chases Armando into the boat house. They fight, and Guzman gets a flare gun and shoots him in the back, killing him. When he returns to the dock, he can’t find Ari, so he goes inside to look for her. Dishevelled and increasingly panicked, Guzman asks Samu and Rebe if they’ve seen her, and when they say they haven’t, he starts to cry. 

Guzman tells Samu and Rebe what happened, and they try to comfort him. Guzman wants to call the police and confess, but Samu and Rebe don’t think that’s the best idea. Rebe tells him about how Armando was blackmailing Mencía — he wasn’t a good guy, and he definitely isn’t worth going to jail for. Samu agrees, telling Guzman that if he goes to jail, his life is over. Just look at Nano. Guzman reluctantly agrees to lie and tell police half the story, just that Ari went missing and they can’t find her.

And just like that, we’ve come full circle into the Flash Forwards. 

In Ari’s hospital room, Guzman tells her that Armando got away, and apologizes. Ari isn’t mad, though, she’s still ashamed of everything that happened between them. She doesn’t know what to do, and says that she does want to be there for him. But, Guzman says, she loves Samu. She tries to deny it, but he knows it’s true. He saw the text she sent Samu, and he’s not upset. They say goodbye, and Guzman walks out of the hospital and straight into Ander’s front yard.

Guzman and Ander are leaving on their backpacking trip, and it’s unclear when — or even if — they’ll return. Omar, Cayetana, Samu, and Rebe have gathered to say their teary goodbyes. Guzman and Samu end on a good note, with a very tender hug and Guzman telling Samu he would have made a pretty good brother in law. (Remember how Samu was in love with Marina in season 1?) In his parting words to Rebe, Guzman asks that she doesn’t tell Omar or Oscar the truth of what happened, and she swears she won’t. Finally, Omar and Ander exchange I love yous, and Ander and Guzman drive off.

Finally, Ari is home from the hospital, and, after everything that has happened, she and Mencía are on the same page for once. Mencía is still afraid that Armando will show up and terrorize her, and in the meantime, she has decided to come clean to their dad. She feels responsible for their mother’s death, Patrick’s injuries, and now Ari’s attack. Ari tries to tell her that it’s not her fault, but Mencía tells her she’ll never believe that. So, she’s going to come clean, but she wants Ari there with her.

Ari follows through, sitting right by Mencía as she tells Benjamin and Patrick the truth. We can’t hear what's being said, but at a certain point, Patrick gets up in anger, and then Benjamin ends up throwing his glass to the ground and breaking their coffee table. But, Ari is with Mencía every step of the way.

In a flashback to New Year’s Eve, Samu, Rebe, and Guzman throw Armando’s dead body into a lake. They’ve tied an anchor around him, so he sinks quietly to the bottom. But, anyone who has watched Elite knows that not everything thrown into the lake stays there for good…

Elite has been renewed for another season, which means we get to spend a year theorizing about all the questions left dangling this season.  

Are Guzman and Ander ever coming back to finish their senior year? Is Guzman really going to get away with murder? Will Mencía and Rebe get back together? Will Ari and Samu actually make their romance real? Is Phillippe going to be exposed as an assaulter and will his mom actually disown him? Is Benjamin going to forgive Mencía? And most importantly, how many harnesses will they wear?