On today's episode, Bobby Finger welcomes actor, singer, and podcast host Kevin McHale to talk about life at a place exceedingly different from Glee's William McKinley High School: a private school called Las Encinas, the setting of the Netflix original series Elite. In this SPOILER-FILLED DISCUSSION, McHale and Finger discuss how the show upped the ante in its recently released second season (has there ever been a teen show this shocking?), how their own high school experiences compared (they didn't), the great Subs vs. Dubs debate, and why the show – for all its unquenchable outlandishness – is actually a nuanced portrayal of adolescent life. Seasons 1 and 2 of Elite are now streaming on Netflix.
On today's episode, Bobby Finger welcomes actor, singer, and podcast host Kevin McHale to talk about life at a place exceedingly different from Glee's William McKinley High School: a private school called Las Encinas, the setting of the Netflix original series Elite. In this SPOILER-FILLED DISCUSSION, McHale and Finger discuss how the show upped the ante in its recently released second season (has there ever been a teen show this shocking?), how their own high school experiences compared (they didn't), the great Subs vs. Dubs debate, and why the show – for all its unquenchable outlandishness – is actually a nuanced portrayal of adolescent life.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Elite are now streaming on Netflix.
[Music]
Bobby: Welcome to I'm Obsessed With This, the Netflix podcast about the shows and films viewers cannot get enough of, sort of like the students at Las Encinas can't get enough backstabbing betrayal and public sex. I'm your host, Bobby Finger, and today, I am joined by actress, singer, dancer, and co-host of the podcast Showmance, Kevin McHale.
Kevin: Hello.
Bobby: Hello, Kevin. How are you?
Kevin: I'm excited. Thanks for having me.
Bobby: Thanks for coming on. You know, Ray had brought up that you were a big fan of Elite. Netflix Ray, hello. Shout out, Ray Vada [phonetic] [00:00:40].
Kevin: Hey.
Bobby: Podcast queen.
Kevin: Oh, yeah. And, she, like, hooked me up with some merch last season. I was real excited.
Bobby: It was truly—This is not an exaggeration. Within 15 minutes of the suggestion being made, "Oh, Kevin should come on the show and talk about Elite," you were coming on the show and talking about Elite. I had an e-mail in the inbox. Suddenly, we were on a thread.
Kevin: Don't tempt me with a good time. I have never responded to anything more quickly in my entire life.
Bobby: But, that's, like, the hallmark of an obsession to respond to an e-mail quickly. I let e-mails—
Kevin: That's true.
Bobby: …linger in the inbox for weeks before I respond to them.
Kevin: Yeah. I have, like, professional, like, obligations that I should, I still haven't emailed back on, but, this, here I am recording this podcast about a show I have nothing to do with.
Bobby: How's L.A. today? How's the weather?
Kevin: Oh, you know, it's just a crisp 90 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, per uge [phonetic slang] [00:01:37]. Can't complain.
Bobby: Any beverages on the table? Any water, any tea, any something?
Kevin: I've already had my green tea for today.
Bobby: Oh, that's good.
Kevin: And, not to bore you with my caffeine intolerance, but that's as much as I can handle.
Bobby: I had some coffee. I had a green tea. I'm going to have another coffee later, I'm sure.
Kevin: Oh, yeah.
Bobby: So, this is a show about obsessions, specifically obsessions related to Netflix. Today, we are going to talk about seasons one and the newly-dropped season two of the instantly iconic, Spanish-language teen soap Elite. But before you get into that, I want to know what else you've been watching on Netflix, if anything, that you've been really loving, that you are obsessed with, let's say.
Kevin: Oh, my God. Where do I even start? Oh God, what else have I been watching? Look, any teen drama, usually if there's a gay character, I've seen it. That's, sort of, how—The Society, is that what? Yeah.
Bobby: The Society? Yeah, the gay deaf character.
Kevin: Hm-hmm [affirmative].
Bobby: Yes.
Kevin: I watched that. I'm also someone, when I watch these things, I basically don't sleep, you know, as a proper binger. I don't sleep, and then, ingest it in the amount of time it takes to watch it. And then, I try to push it on everybody I know. So, just like with the show we're talking about today, I do that with every single show because there's a lot of good teen shows that people may not know about. Like, a lot of my friends who appreciate those shows just, like, they're watching reruns of The West Wing, which is great; however, like you mentioned, you're missing public sex.
Bobby: And maybe, I was actually, I wrote that and I was like, yeah, there's a couple instances. It's not necessarily public. It's just, like, sort of, whenever they feel like it. You know what I mean? Like, next to the pool, inside the coat check.
Kevin: Yes.
Bobby: Like, it's just, sort of, like, they just go with it.
Kevin: I feel like I'm a nun. Like, was my high school experience—I do have questions. Like, I want to know—Sorry. I've totally gotten off track of what you even asked me, but I really would like to know if this is, sort of—So, like, sex education, that show—
Bobby: Oh, yeah.
Kevin: …I read a whole bunch. That's an amazing show. I read a whole bunch on that how they were saying they, sort of, like, married, you know, like, British school with American high school a bit, and I wondered. I want to know how much of this Spanish school is sort of influenced with, like, the American drama of, like, what you're used to seeing on a high school television show here because, man, that is wild. They're making Gossip Girl look like nothing. It's like How to Get Away with Murder, but we're 16 and we're actually getting away with it.
Bobby: Just repeatedly getting away with murder.
Kevin: It's unbelievable, and they're all hot.
Bobby: They're all hot. They're all, like, they're all completely in love with each other, but they also want to kill each other. It's like, this, like, weird, perfect storm of you're extremely horny, but you've also got a vendetta against everyone because you're a teen and you're just angry.
Kevin: But, they're also, like, very open. Where everything is acceptance except being poor. Like, that's the only thing—Like, murder, fine. Gay, fine. Bisexual, cool.
Bobby: Incest.
Kevin: Awesome. Yeah, into it. Like, a Muslim girl having public sex, we're going to put it in a video. Cool, not that bit of a deal. However—
Bobby: Her dad's like, "I'm not going to ever look at the video. It's fine."
Kevin: Yeah. They're just going to sweep that under the rug. Oh, God. You're poor? Never, we can't talk to you.
Bobby: Yeah. Get this scum out of my home, out of my club. Does Valerio own the club? Now, we're just going to go off the rails here. How does he have so much influence over this club?
Kevin: I don't—Also, is there only one club?
Bobby: I think there's just one club.
Kevin: There's just the one club.
Bobby: And, the club didn't open, the club wasn't open last year. The club just opened. And so, they're there all the time.
Kevin: What is the legal age?
Bobby: When you're rich, the legal age is conception.
Kevin: Oh, yeah. You're right. You're right. It's just when they can ever—Ooh. There was a scene—Can we talk—We can talk about season two, right?
Bobby: Of course.
Kevin: Like, get into it.
Bobby: It's out at this point. Everyone's watched it. If you're listening—
Kevin: Okay, great.
Bobby: …to this podcast, by the way, just a note to the viewers, listeners—Oh, God. Just a note to the listeners, if you are listening to this, we are going to go in detail about seasons one and two of Elite. It's filled with spoilers. Finish the series before you listen to this. Go on, Kevin.
Kevin: So, when they think that Samuel is missing or dead, whatever, and—Oh, God. This is where I don't know anybody's names. Let me pull up a cast list. Oh, goodness.
Bobby: This is me talking about any show. I have to pull up a cast list.
Kevin: Yeah. Is it in there?
Bobby: Like, you have mentioned Game of Thrones. No idea.
Kevin: Ander asks, like, if his boyfriend can get him into the club an hour early, I was like, "Ooh! You just stepped in it." Like, literally, your man's best friend might be murdered, like, dead in a ditch somewhere, and you're trying to get in the club early. Oh, you're messy. And, it's like you—I do love, however, I feel like the most realistic digestion of finding out one of your friends is a murderer and not knowing what to do is through his character, where he just, sort of, like, shuts down and starts acting out, but not really until the end. And, I thought that was a really good representation of, like, yeah, how would you deal with this? Because, it's super complicated, and a lot of the show, obviously, is, like, super heightened and exaggerated. But, I thought his whole, either it's his performance or how they wrote it, it was like, okay, this is a very, like, balanced portrayal of self-destruction and just being completely confused about who to protect in that very complicated situation.
Bobby: And, so many of the characters in the show deal with, like, anxiety or deal with upsetting news by, like, just paying it forward, you know, like, "Oh, I just learned something terrible. I'm going to do something terrible to someone else." And then, with him, it was Ander. Yes.
Kevin: Yes.
Bobby: Right. Yes. So, when he finds out about that, he's just like, "Oh, no. This is a complete nightmare." And, I like the end. Wasn't it in the final episode where Omar is like, "What were you supposed to do? You acted normally." And, I was like, "He did act normally."
Kevin: Yeah, completely.
Bobby: He's a kid. He's a kid.
Kevin: And, it's also, like, he didn't know the information as long as the other people who were, like, concealing this. Like, he just learned it and gave his friend a chance to do the right thing. Then, when he didn't because his friend tried to kill himself, so, then you're like, "Oh, well, I have known this person forever. I want to help them. Oof." I love how messy it got because, in the first episode, I immediately—You know, obviously, you remember what happened in the first season. You're just like how? And, they're throwing in new characters, and the first season, like, often with first seasons, it was so, like, perfectly done and concise where you know there's a murder. You have no idea who is going to do it. And, with this, like, how are they going to get into this second mystery of, like, is this guy dead? Also, who killed her, and is that going to come out? And, I think, by the end of it, everybody got so messy in such a great way, and, like, it aired out everything.
Bobby: I almost forgot how messy Samuel's life was getting because, at the end whenever you find out that it was just, like, a drug-related thing, I was like, "Oh, right, because he got involved in something completely different."
Kevin: Yes. And, they were downplaying that. Like, they were, it was like, every now and then, it's like, "Oh, yeah. He's just doing drug runs. No big deal," while he's simultaneously investigating the murder that his brother has been accused of. Also, his brother just was in jail. He received some mysterious money. His brother gets out of jail and then dips out. So, like, he's got a lot of—Like, he seems pretty level-headed for the amount of crap he has to go through in his life.
Bobby: Oh, yeah. He's very, he's been through a lot.
Kevin: Yes. I feel like he's—
Bobby: He's tough.
Kevin: …lived many lives in his supposed 16 or 17 years.
Bobby: I feel like he, I feel like older brother is definitely going to come back in season three in a big way. Like, they're going to give him more to do. I hope so.
Kevin: Oh, yeah. I think so too. I also was wondering if—So, the girl who played Marina last year and then Samuel's older brother, like, they're also in, aren't they in another show?
Bobby: Oh, Money Heist.
Kevin: Yes. So, I was like maybe the schedules were conflicting, so they needed to write them out a little bit and give everybody else a bit more to do.
Bobby: Yeah. They'll be fewer conflicts in season three. So, we can give them more to do. We can have them in scenes with other people more often.
Kevin: Exactly, yeah.
Bobby: But, to backtrack just a little bit, how did you discover this show? Because, you were saying that, whenever you see a show that you love, you tell people about it immediately. Maybe they'll watch it. Maybe they won't.
Kevin: Right.
Bobby: Like, who told you to watch Elite, or did you find it yourself?
Kevin: I—So, I have a friend of mine who I trust in all things pop culture. He's a writer. He's super brilliant. His name is Alex, and we text about this show like we text about music and all these other shows that we're watching. And, I don't remember if it's—I either saw it on Netflix and then immediately texted him or it was the other way around. It was one of those possibilities, and, immediately, we were like, "Oh, my God. Have you seen this show?" Because, he also watches a lot of, I think, Spanish-language shows and knows all the actors, is following their careers, and gets super excited for them. He is like, "Oh, my God. I'm so happy this show is taking off because so and so is so talented, and, you know, now they're exposed to American audiences in this show." So, I believe it was probably him who told me about the show, and then, I watched it, I think, either the first or second day it was out and just consumed it like it was a chocolate sundae. Like, I just immediately watched all of it. I think I also—I remember seeing it on the screen and thinking, "Oh, their outfits sort of look like the Warblers from Glee." And, I was like, "What is this show?" And so—
Bobby: Oh, was it ripping us off?
Kevin: I was like—No, I don't—I was like, "Respect." And then, I watched it. I was like, "Ooh, this is a lot juicier than Glee ever got."
Bobby: Yeah. I mean, Elite, when I was watching it, I was like, "This is basically Glee, but in Spanish and minus the singing and dancing with more murder and sex and depravity. It's Glee. It's the same.
Kevin: Yeah. It's like Glee, but, like, rich and hot basically.
Bobby: It's the same thing. Did you watch it with subtitles or was it dubbed? What's the term? Subs or dubs? Subs or dubs?
Kevin: I watched it with subs. Yeah. Do they have a dubbed version?
Bobby: They do, and it's—I don't want to criticize it. I will just say it's a completely different experience. I watched the first episode with dubs, and I was like, "I don't know that I'm a fan of this." And, I went through the same thing with Money Heist where I watched the first season dubbed for some reason. I mean, I don't have a good reason for any of this. And then, once I switched to subtitles, I was infinitely more invested and into it.
Kevin: Yeah. I love a good subtitle. I'm an avid reader. I will—Like, a lot of my friends are just lazy, and they're like, "Oh, it's in Spanish? I don't want to have to read subtitles." I'm like, "What?" I'm like, within the first 30 seconds when you find out it's murder and everybody is hooking up with everybody, you will, you'll forget that you're reading subtitles.
Bobby: Yeah. And with the murder and the hooking up with everyone, I think I was, sort of, undersold when people told me to watch it. They were like, "No." It's like you were saying. "Gossip Girl meets How to Get Away with Murder. It's just like a teen show, but there's, like, tons of sex and violence. And, it's, like, kind of crazy." I still didn't expect it to be as completely off the wall, bat shit insane as it actually is, especially by the second season. Because, the second season, the first season was shocking enough or intense enough, and then, the second season, they were like, you could almost imagine some sort of writer's room where they were like, "What haven't we done yet?" And, someone's like, "I know. I know. Incest." Or like, "What about this?" And, it's—
Kevin: Maybe we've all been desensitized with incest now from Game of Thrones.
Bobby: Yeah. But now, it's like, of course. We need to—It's baseline dramatic show now. You've got to have a character who is in love with their sibling.
Kevin: But also, it gave us the ending that Game of Thrones didn't where you, sort of, have some redemption for the brother, the incestuous brother who tries to, sort of, do the right thing.
Bobby: He does. Valerio's addition, I wonder if they even had him in the back of their mind when they were doing the first season because he is not mentioned at all.
Kevin: No. I did feel like the first episode of the season, because you do need to introduce those new characters, those things can get a bit clunky, and I think they did a pretty good job of, like, navigating that. But, there's always going to be those weird things where you're like, "Who are these people, and why are they here?" But then, I thought about, like, the ways we got new people into Glee and things like that. I was like, "All right. It's fine." Like, I think, like how you said too, like, the first season was so crazy that I think you're already buying, if you like the show, you're already buying into this whole alternate reality of where anything goes.
Bobby: And, that's why you're watching it.
Kevin: Yeah. It's like, "Okay. Samuel's in a box with this stranger. Cool." You know?
Bobby: Who won the lottery.
Kevin: Yes, right.
Bobby: Who must have won a lot of money and is still dealing with drugs on the side. It almost seems like you could leave that behind, but maybe, after taxes, they got their lump sum and lost so much of it.
Kevin: Also, to be fair, I'm shocked that Samuel didn't get, like, hurt sooner because that boy is a creep. He's looking through every window, every door crack, all the time.
Bobby: He's a big loiterer.
Kevin: Yes. Like, he saw them counting money really early on in the season and then saw this person hooking up with this person. Like, he sees everything, but nobody went after him.
Bobby: He's the one—Isn't he one of the only people, if not the only person, who actually walked in on Lu and Valerio, like, hooking up?
Kevin: He's the only one.
Bobby: No one else saw it.
Kevin: No. Like, as messy as they are, how is he the only one?
Bobby: He's always in the right place at the right time. Well, right place, wrong time, but in the best possible way.
Kevin: Speaking of Lu and Valerio, I'm sorry. I'm totally taking over your—
Bobby: Oh, no. This is how this happens. Just keep talking.
Kevin: Because, Lu, shout out. What's her name? Who plays Lu? Danna Paola. She is so good.
Bobby: She's incredible.
Kevin: I remember watching the first season and thinking how good she was and, like, natural, and there was a moment. Oh God, now I'm forgetting it. There was a moment late in season two where somebody tells—Oh, God. Oh, no. Great story, Kevin. She has this reaction where somebody—Oh, it's when fake rich girl—
Bobby: Cayetana.
Kevin: …yes, throwing that event to raise money for herself.
Bobby: Oh, yeah. A great move.
Kevin: Yeah, really respect that. And, Lu's, like, former BFF, Carla, tells, is like, "Wait. Whose account is linked to all this money?" And, Danna's face changes so quickly, and it's so good and real. And then, she goes onto to just put everybody on blast on that stage, and I think I was sitting in bed watching this clapping. I was like, "Yes. Like, call everybody out." Because, she was right. Yes, she's pretty awful to everyone, but she doesn't really do anything. Like, she definitely is an instigator, but I feel like, in terms of how bad everybody is, like, in their actions, she doesn't really do that many horrible active things.
Bobby: Yeah. And, it's pretty, like, she has a lot of, like, personal issues, obviously, but, like, she isn't doing active violence or, I don't know, psychological horror really far outside of her own little bubble.
Kevin: And, like, she loves her man, for better or for worse. She's got a big mouth on her, just like gabbing at everybody, like spewing shit, but—Am I allowed to cuss? Sorry.
Bobby: Yeah.
Kevin: And, I just, I think she's so good, and I love that they gave her that speech to just call out everybody. And, the amazing thing is, in any other show, that speech would have torn everybody apart, but, in this show, you're like, "Eh. All right. Yeah."
Bobby: It's, sort of, nice when the show tones it down to, like, realistic drama. It, like, does have it both ways, in a nice way. Who was your favorite character, other than Lu?
Kevin: Oh, man. I don't know if this is because I think she's, like, an incredible actor, but the girl who plays Carla.
Bobby: Oh, yeah. She's great.
Kevin: She might be my favorite just because she's legit the messiest, and she's so good. She is constantly, like, towing the line of you don't really know what she's thinking. You don't know if she's ever being genuine to Samuel. You're assuming she's not, but then, at some point, you're like, well, maybe she is. And, she's good. She, sort of, manipulates everybody to do what she wants them to do in a way that doesn't really cause a lot or bring a lot of attention to her when she's in school. And, I just think she's a phenomenal actor, and I'm so—I remember thinking last season, I'm like, "Who is that?" Because, I do think they cast all these roles perfectly because I can't—I remember last season watching, you're like, "Oh, well, that. She is that character." I felt like all these people are these characters so deeply, and I'm just thankful that they gave her a lot more to do this season because I feel like she's just phenomenal.
Bobby: There's something about all of their looks, specifically, and I think hers, the way that just her hairstyle, that's like can you imagine Carla without her hair pulled back tight, you know?
Kevin: Right.
Bobby: Like, and straight and severe. Like, I can't imagine it. She just seems like that's who she is.
Kevin: And, when I go on my deep, like, Instagram stalk of all these actors, they still, like, hold up, you know, where, like, I see, like, her on the red carpet. And, she has this face of, like, "I don't care. Like, I'm just here. Like, what?" And, I'm like, "That's that character. You're nailing it." So, shout out to whoever casted because you nailed it.
Bobby: What did you think of the Cayetana subplot? Did you see that coming? Because, I honestly didn't. Even though it was a pretty early reveal, where it was like, "By the way, she's poor," it threw me for a loop. I was like, "Oh my God! What's happening?" My first thought was, "This is going to be a never been kissed situation, and this actress, she's actually older than everyone else and she's, like, infiltrating the school as some sort of detective." But, I was completely off. She's just poor.
Kevin: I would have loved that. No, I didn't not expect it, but I felt like, obviously, like you did. There was something off because she just, like, came in with a bang, and, like, why is she just up in everybody's business? Like, immediately. But, I had, I did not see that coming, and I did, sort of, like that. And, ooh, when she got called out at that Halloween party, it was brutal.
Bobby: It was awful.
Kevin: It was like, guys, like, stop shaming people for being poor. Like, it's wild. I would have liked though if she was the detective because, let me tell you, my least favorite person in the show is the detective because she is awful at her job. Awful. Samuel, a 16-year-old boy, figured this out in half the time. She never even figured it out. She only figured it out because of him.
Bobby: Oh, she never figured it out. She literally had to find him in that place at the end and then have him tell her everything.
Kevin: Her only redemption was allowing him to stay at Guzman's, like, country house.
Bobby: I didn't really notice how bad she was at her job until there was some scene where, I guess, it was Samuel and Rebeca, Rebe, and they were looking through, like, her laptop and he noticed that Polo was wearing Christian's shirt.
Kevin: Yes, and I was like, "This should have been so obvious that he suddenly changed outfits and they're always on camera." And, she is always pouring through all of this footage and doesn't actually put anything together.
Bobby: Did you watch Money Heist?
Kevin: No, I haven't. I need to.
Bobby: Oh. Well, she reminded me a lot of one of the law enforcement officials on Money Heist, but kind of the opposite, because I was just like, "She would have been completely torn up in the Money Heist universe. She would have been fired in two seconds." Because, everyone in that show is so good at their job.
Kevin: Because, I feel like these kids are so smart and, because they're so rich, they have easy access to everything, where, if you had a really good detective—I mean, I guess you needed Samuel to, like, figure it out and to orchestrate it all, and there was a nice twist that he and, like, Guzman, like, teamed up. But, I feel like, if you made her actually somewhat competent, they would have then been able to, like, navigate that. They would have been able to do all kinds of tricks to, like, throw her off because they're good.
Bobby: They're good, and they're also, there's something about them being teams, like young people, that almost—It doesn't excuse their behavior, but it almost makes more sense. Like, you watch the show, and you're like, "This is ridiculous. Like, why do we believe that any of this could ever possibly happen?" But, like, if any of this is ever going to happen, it's going to happen with really, really rich, really, really smart teens because their brains haven't developed all the way. They act on, like, their—They are very impulsive, and, like, when you've got an unlimited cash flow and you've been well-educated, like, this is the perfect storm of shit that leads to Marina being dead and Polo going back to school.
Kevin: That's why I thought Ander's speech to the detective saying, like, "We're just kids."
Bobby: We're kids. Yeah.
Kevin: "You did this to us. You ruined our lives. You were supposed to be the adults. Like, we pretend to be adults, but you're actually the adults and you failed us." That was, like, a nice, slow clap moment for me because homeboy is always just the most level-headed, like, trying to keep it together for everybody and is, sort of, saying what needs to be said because he's completely right. That's what the whole, the system, sort of, failed them. Like, these kids, they're just, you know, yeah. They just—Everything is easy for them. Everything, like, they're acting like idiots because they can, and everyone else is failing them.
Bobby: What do you want from season three? I hear you're going to Spain. You're going to visit the set.
Kevin: Yeah.
Bobby: I know you're not quite sure what you're going to do yet.
Kevin: I have no idea.
Bobby: You know, see what happens in Espagne.
Kevin: I'm, sort of, in disbelief that that's happening.
Bobby: What are you most excited about seeing in person or doing? What is your dream Elite visit look like?
Kevin: My goal is to befriend everybody so I can get the dirt because I'm assuming they're filming season three. Is that what's happening?
Bobby: I think so, yeah. It was just announced.
Kevin: Which is great news. So, my goal is to—I'm pretty good at getting people to trust me, and so, then, I'm going to need them to open up and give me the secrets for what's happening in the show because I just—I don't know. It's also the other—Sorry. I'm getting off track here. The other thing is, when somebody does something really bad or they find out something bad, then they immediately have sex with them.
Bobby: Oh, it's like immediately.
Kevin: All these characters get off on all the secrets and murder, and so, now that murder boy is back at school—
Bobby: Everyone's going to fuck him.
Kevin: Yeah. I'm like, "He's already having sex with everybody because he's bi." Which, also, like, shout out to Grayton. Like, it's nice to see a bi character on the show and nobody cares.
Bobby: Oh, right.
Kevin: That's also really positive and nice. He also is a murderer.
Bobby: And, it's like he's a bi character that—Like, I feel like sometimes TV shows or movies introduce bisexual characters, but like there's some sort of, like, yeah, they say they're bi, but really, like, this dude is really only having sex with women or this dude is really only having sex with men. But, like, honestly, Polo is, they're letting him do, they're letting him, like, do whatever, and I feel like that's very progressive and fun for a television show.
Kevin: Yes. And, he's complex because he also just, you know, murders people.
Bobby: He has a bad anger problem. He has a bad anxiety problem. I could not believe it when he almost killed Ander. I was like, "Are we going to do this again?"
Kevin: Oh, but I love that he stopped and you saw how, like, troubled he was.
Bobby: Yeah. I mean—
Kevin: There's some very good moments.
Bobby: He does not like being a murderer. He wishes he weren't a murderer.
Kevin: Yeah, which is classic murderer. Like, he can't help himself.
Bobby: That's exactly what you expect from a murderer.
Kevin: Yeah. Like, you can't help yourself, but you're probably going to do it again. I don't know what I want from season three. I feel like, maybe because—
Bobby: What's left?
Kevin: …he truly got away with murder, that maybe he'll feel, like, redemption or relieved of the stress or he might fully embrace his murderness and maybe—Because, he always seems, you know, like weak and really passive aggressive, and, like, may now, he's just going to be aggressive aggressive.
Bobby: Right.
Kevin: But, I do really like that, like, Samuel and Guzman have teamed up now at least, seemingly, and so, I feel like all the cliques are going to be vastly different next season.
Bobby: Yeah. I like that that's, sort of, where we ended up because the cliques were the same in the first two seasons, but now, they've finally evolved.
Kevin: Totally.
Bobby: And, like, Guzman is not being, you know, party line enforcer. Like, everyone's, sort of, intermingling, and now, you've got Cayetana sympathizing with the murderer and hiding a murder weapon in her closet.
Kevin: I also was like, "Did they give her the murder weapon because she's the cleaner and she's going to, like—"
Bobby: She's going to, like, disinfect it.
Kevin: She's going to really clean it up.
Bobby: She's going to disinfect it. She's going to bleach that murder weapon. It's not going to have any DNA on it.
Kevin: That's what I thought. And then, it's just, like, casually hanging out in, like, a hamper or something. It's like, "Girl, you've got to—"
Bobby: I feel like these kids would have access to, like, some sort of incinerator. I don't know. Like, some sort of industry that their father owns where they could dump it into something that would burn it and melt it. But, no. They're keeping it in a closet in the poor student's house.
Kevin: For as meek and, like, as helpless as Polo seems, I do think he's, they give him these really smart moments where he's, like, telling, confessing to her. And then, he's like, "Oh, well. Yeah. You should go get it." I mean, it's sort of like, "Oh, you don't have to do that." But, like, he's totally—Like, you see how manipulative all this money is—
Bobby: Oh, yeah.
Kevin: …especially for somebody like her who desperately wants to fit in.
Bobby: She wants to fit in.
Kevin: But, the thing is, like, he doesn't like her.
Bobby: No.
Kevin: He just likes that somebody is on his side, and so—
Bobby: He's going to kill her.
Kevin: Oh.
Bobby: I feel like he's going to kill again.
Kevin: Oh, I absolutely think he's going to kill again.
Bobby: A murderer is a murderer.
Kevin: Yeah. I think now—Yeah. I think now it's just he's unleashed the beast because he got away with it. Also, come on, Detective Lady. Like, there's got to be, like, you have the photos. Right? Like, also, why didn't Samuel bring in the photos? Be like, "Look at this clear evidence."
Bobby: I don't know. They gave him that one scene where he goes in and he's like, "Hey. Here's the audio. Here's everything." And, she's like, "I don't know. That doesn't really, that's not really going to help me. I'm sorry. Go back to school."
Kevin: And, it matches up with Carla's confession. Ugh.
Bobby: Yeah. I mean, she's not good at her job.
Kevin: No, she's the worst.
Bobby: In season three, they're going to, if not fire her, they're going to need to, she's going to have to go back into some training, maybe hire a supplemental investigator who is a little more aggressive.
Kevin: Hire Samuel.
Bobby: Hire Samuel. That should definitely be taken care of.
Kevin: Yeah.
Bobby: But, it's going to be great. I just don't know what's left because, in this one, they upped the ante with—I don't know. There was more sex, more violence, and I don't know what category of, like, explicit television content we can do next. Just more violence? More sex? More of what we've already seen? What's left? Like, what taboo is left? We've already done incest.
Kevin: Right. I mean, because they also frame every season with some big event.
Bobby: Yeah.
Kevin: So, like, what is—
Bobby: It's a flashback, yeah.
Kevin: Yeah. What is the flashback, forward or flashback? Yeah. Like, what is the big event that happens? I mean, is it going to be murder again? Because, they had us thinking the whole season that Samuel was murdered. I liked that he wasn't. I liked that they changed it up.
Bobby: Thrilled that he wasn't murdered.
Kevin: Yeah. I just don't—I have no idea. I was thinking halfway through the season. I was like, "How do these people come up with this?" Because, it's so nice when all the pieces start to fit together as the season moves on. You can, sort of, see the puzzle, you know, forming, and it's really nice, but complicated.
Bobby: Yeah. It's a great show to watch all at once, and eight is a good number.
Kevin: I think eight is the perfect number.
Bobby: Even 12. Twelve is a good number, but 12 takes a little too long.
Kevin: Yeah. It does.
Bobby: There's no filler in eight.
Kevin: I want to see what's going to happen to Samuel.
Bobby: There really is no filler in this, in this show.
Kevin: No.
Bobby: And, I think that that's incredibly rare.
Kevin: Yeah, absolutely. But, that's what's nice about having the freedom to make six to 12 episodes for a season because you don't, then, have to just fill time. Where, you also got all your A and B and, I mean, your B, C, D storylines happening as well. Like, you got to know family lives of other people that you didn't really get into before and got to see character growth, but also murder and sex. So, they covered everything, I think, pretty well in eight episodes.
Bobby: Oh, absolutely. And, I think the people I, kind of, want to see more of next season are Rebeca's family. I want to know more about this lottery winner.
Kevin: I also think she's great. I want to see more of her—
Bobby: She's so good.
Kevin: …because she's acting.
Bobby: Her Halloween episode, I'm so glad they gave her, like, a really nice moment to be the most extreme version of herself.
Kevin: Yeah. And also, what they do with her as, like, a really strong female character, where, like, she doesn't want to dress like the quote unquote—
Bobby: Pretty is not a shame.
Kevin: …princess. No. And, like, she likes Samuel, but she's really not letting it, sort of, defeat her or be the end all of their relationship. Like, she handles herself with his brother. Like, she's, like, super complex and just different from every other character.
Bobby: Yeah. The show is a lot more, I don't know, nuanced and interesting than I ever expected it to be. I, kind of, just thought it would be, like, a murder-y teen show. I don't know, which I totally love.
Kevin: And, it is, but it's sprinkled in with, yeah, all these, sort of, like, grounded, like you said, nuanced scenes and performances, which is nice, because I think it's easy to just be like, "Yes, murder, sex, murder, sex," like I keep saying. But also, there's some really nice, like, socially conscious and, like, learning moments in watching this.
Bobby: Yeah. And now, we have to wait however long for season three, which is really frustrating.
Kevin: Yeah, but I'm going to go get all the dirt and then report back.
Bobby: You got to get it all.
Kevin: Omar follows me on Twitter. So, I feel like I have a start.
Bobby: Okay. You're halfway there.
Kevin: Yeah. We're best friends.
Bobby: Before I let you go, I have a really stupid question, but I feel like it could be a fun little thought experiment.
Kevin: Okay.
Bobby: What would—You went to high school in—You're from California, right?
Kevin: I'm from Texas, but I went to high school in California. So, basically.
Bobby: Okay. Oh, I'm from Texas too. So, that leads me to more about high school though. What would the TV show based off your high school experience be called?
Kevin: Oh, my God. Boring Weirdos.
Bobby: Boring Weirdos.
Kevin: I went to this really—I switched high schools. So, not to bore you with this, but the more interesting one. In my sophomore year, I went to a, the only time I went to a private school, which I did not do well in, and the next, like, junior and senior year I went to this—My class was, like, 70 people. It was at a community college in, like, Santa Clarita. So, it was all the kids who chose to go there. There were no, like, extracurricular activities. Everyone was just, like, focused on their studies. So, there wasn't a lot of drama. But, the Catholic school one might have been, that would have been the better show. Well, no. That would have been, like, Murderess Nuns or something, you know.
Bobby: Murderess Nuns. I'd watch that, yeah.
Kevin: Yeah. Like, it felt like they had secrets.
Bobby: That's, like, a common trope, like how scary they can be with their rulers and, like, it's like a silent. There's no actual violence, but there's always the threat of it.
Kevin: But also, the kids are so much crazier. Like, at any other school I went to, like a public school, the kids—Sure, you have your crazy stuff, but there, everybody was nuts because, one, people normally had more money. I was on the aspect of, like, I had to pull money from a bunch of different family members to go to the school. So, I was the poor kid. And then—
Bobby: Oh, so, you have a chip on your shoulder, something to prove.
Kevin: Oh, yes. Hm-hmm [affirmative]. And, everybody else was, like, rolling up in their nice cars. I was getting dropped off in my totaled Acura, and I was just so shocked at what a cliché it all was. I was like, "Yeah. Of course, all these kids are way worse. Like what?"
Bobby: And now, we're all talking. And then, like, we think about high school all the time, and so, it makes sense that—Sometimes, I'm like, "Am I too old to be watching Elite?" But, no.
Kevin: No.
Bobby: I don't think so. I think it's for everyone.
Kevin: Yeah. I think so too because it's also, like, it's not a real high school experience where it is—
Bobby: No.
Kevin: …like entertainment and, like, a really fun show to watch. Because, I mean, can you imagine there being a murder at your school and the suspects are all amongst you and it's just fine? Like, everybody's fine. Nobody's really getting in trouble for anything.
Bobby: Every time it showed one of them, like, performing one of their tasks, like on the computer doing something, I was like, "How are you paying attention to anything else?"
Kevin: Yeah. Like—
Bobby: Your best friend got killed, and no one knows who did it. And, it's probably one of your other friends.
Kevin: And, they're all telling, like, Guzman, like, "You need to move on, dude. You've got to get over it." Like, what? No. Yeah.
Bobby: And, I guess they have one year left in school, and then, Elite, the kids will move onto university or not.
Kevin: Or, they could do, like, what Glee did and then change their ages halfway through the season.
Bobby: That's great. We should flash forward. They'll be convincing as 20-somethings.
Kevin: Only graduate half of the cast and keep some more and keep another—
Bobby: That's perfect.
Kevin: Yeah. Keep the other group there another year.
Bobby: Perfect. Well, I think we can stop talking about Elite, but this was such a fun conversation. This was great.
Kevin: Oh, yeah. I could keep going. I'm glad, I mean, I'm so happy that we could talk about it for this long.
Bobby: Oh, me too. I mean, we could go on for another hour. I guess we'll do it. We'll catch up after season three.
Kevin: Okay, great. Love that.
Bobby: And, if you learn anything from Omar—
Kevin: Oh, yeah.
Bobby: …you've got to just e-mail me. You have my e-mail address now.
Kevin: Okay, great.
Bobby: Put Ray on the chain too. I'm sure she wants to know.
Kevin: Great. I'm going to do my best.
Bobby: And, Ray, if you know anything—I know you're listening—e-mail both of us.
Kevin: She knows everything.
Bobby: Ray, we will sign the necessary NDAs. Just send them to us. We need to know what happens.
Kevin: Take me to your office.
Bobby: But, thanks, Kevin. It was great to talk to you.
Kevin: Likewise.
Bobby: Have fun in Spain. Tell everyone we love them.
Kevin: Oh, I will.
Bobby: And, we'll talk to you later.
Kevin: Thanks for having me.
Bobby: Of course. Goodbye.
Kevin: See ya!
Bobby: Bye. And, thanks to you for listening to another episode of I'm Obsessed With This. We will be back in one week with another episode. Until then, you can watch all of Elite, seasons one and two, on Netflix right now.
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