Elite: 5 Times We Felt Bad For Valerio (& 5 Times We Hated Him)

In season 2 of Netflix’s thriller Elite, a few new characters were introduced. The most interesting of these new characters was Valerio, Lu’s half-brother. Upon his introduction, it was clear that this character was going to have a huge impact on the dynamics at Las Encinas.

Valerio is wild, energetic, erratic, and spontaneous. It is clear that he is deeply troubled and seeks validation from others. He engages in a number of reckless decisions and encourages other characters to join in on his “fun.” Although there are many times that the choices Valerio makes are deeply troubling and problematic, there are still times when one can’t help but feel a profound sadness watching him. Here are 5 times we felt bad for Valerio and 5 times we hated him.

10 Hated: Taking Advantage Of Guzmán’s Sadness

After the death of his sister Marina, Guzmán is feeling particularly vulnerable. Guzmán happens to be dating Lu, Valerio’s sister whom he desires. Valerio decides that he can both help Guzmán cope with his pain and cause Lu to become disinterested in Guzmán by encouraging Guzmán to engage in reckless behaviors.

Valerio convinces Guzmán to begin taking drugs by promising him happiness, though Guzmán had previously been strongly opposed to drug use. This leads Guzmán down a troubling path and begins a battle with addiction.

9 Felt Bad: Felt Alone And Rejected

Valerio tries to portray an “I don’t care attitude,” but it is clear that Valerio does this to cover up his insecurities and struggles. Valerio is a deeply flawed individual with few consistent people in his life.

Valerio is regularly bounced back and forth between his mother and father as they both feel that they can’t control his behavior. The lack of a support system is extremely tough on Valerio and when no one is around, the pain he is feeling is clearly demonstrated on his face.

8 Hated: Encouraging Nadia’s Behavior At The Club

This has extreme implications from Nadia as she has no experience with alcohol and drugs. Though Guzmán tries to prevent her from making poor decisions, Valerio is happy to encourage Nadia’s plan. He even sets up a line of drugs for her. Luckily, Guzmán blows the line away before Nadia is able to snort the substance.

7 Felt Bad: Excluded From Core Relationship

When Valerio joins Cayetana and Polo’s relationship as a third party, he thinks he finally has found a place where people respect and value him. What initially begins as a sexual relationship blossoms into much more. The trio often has conversations in private where they share their thoughts on their relationship, identifying it as a committed relationship for all.

When Cayetana begins to make plans for them all for the future, Polo’s actions reveal that he doesn’t see Valerio as an equal partner in this relationship. This is crushing for Valerio as he feels rejected and left out once again.

6 Hated: Sold Drugs To Carla

With some convincing from Cayetana, Polo agrees to use his connections to secure a spot for Valerio to join them in London. In order to participate in this plan, Valerio needs to come up with a large sum of money in a short period of time.

With Rebeca’s mother in jail, Rebeca is also in a tight financial spot. Her mother clues her into a stash of drugs hidden in their home. Rebeca and Valerio begin dealing to the students as Las Encinas. When Valerio notices how unhappy Carla is, he convinces her to purchase from him. Carla, in turn, becomes addicted and almost dies as a result of her drug consumption.

5 Felt Bad: Expelled

When the principal at Las Encinas discovers that Rebeca and Valerio have been dealing at school, they are expelled. Unfortunately for Rebeca and Valerio, this happens just before graduation. Although they have finished almost all of their school work for the year, they are not permitted to take their finals and will not receive passing grades for the year.

Though Valerio had never cared about grades, he had actually begun to put in effort and study due to his relationship with Cayetana and Polo. It’s a bit ironic that he is forced to leave school after finally beginning to put effort into his studies. Due to this expulsion, Valerio will likely never complete high school. At the end of the season, several students are shown returning to Las Encinas to finish off their education, but Valerio is not one of them.

4 Hated: Recorded Nadia’s Sex Tape

Valerio will stop at nothing in his quest for Lu. When he sees Nadia and Guzmán fooling around at school, he realizes that this might finally break Lu’s trust in Guzmán for good. Although he and Nadia have formed a close friendship, he decides his desire for Lu is more important.

Valerio sneaks into the locker room and records Guzmán and Nadia having sex. He then sends this video to Lu. This is a huge violation of Guzmán and Nadia’s privacy and has disastrous effects on Nadia’s mental health as Lu decides to share the video with the entire school.

3 Felt Bad: Homeless

Valerio’s antics eventually result in him becoming homeless. Neither of his parents want to care for him anymore and he begins living in his car. Although Valerio brought this on himself, it’s still difficult not to feel bad for him.

When Samuel begins to look for a roommate, Rebeca convinces Valerio to move in. Valerio is forced to sell his car to earn enough money to pay the rent.

2 Hated: Outting His Relationship With Lu

After relentlessly pursuing Lu for months, Lu finally gives in to her feelings for Valerio. When Lu releases Nadia’s sex tape to the school, Valerio is disgusted. He decides that he can’t love someone who would do that (even though he recorded the video).

At a public dinner, he exposes their relationship in a humiliating way. This is an extremely vindictive move and is a total violation of privacy.

1 Felt Bad: Drug Addiction

Valerio’s drug use is out of control. He can’t seem to get through a day without using. When he becomes homeless, his access to drugs is cut off. Valerio attends a party at Rebeca’s house and begins to steal drugs from her mother’s stash.

When Rebeca’s mother catches him, she pretends she is going to exchange sexual acts in return for drugs. As Valerio kneels in front of her naked, she throws an ounce at him and tells him to “take a look at himself” before walking away. This scene was one of the most uncomfortable moments in the entire series.

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