Polo Benavent Villada

"It only takes a second. If you don't control your anger, one bad punch, one bad fall... and you make everything go to shit." - Polo to Guzmán.

## Polo Benavent Villada

### Cause of Death

Stabbed in the chest with a bottleneck causing a fall through a cracked window, by accident. (by Lucrecia Montesinos Hendrich)

## Character Information

### Occupation

High School Student Las Encinas (formerly)

### Residence

Benavent Villada House (formerly)Carla and Polo's Apartment (formerly)

### Alias

Polito (by Guzmán Nunier Osuna, Christian Varela Expósito and Lucrecia Montesinos Hendrich)

## Relationships

### Family

Andrea Villada (mother)Begoña Benavent (mother)

### Friends

Samuel García Domínguez (former bully) †
Guzmán Nunier Osuna (best friend)
Lucrecia Montesinos Hendrich
Ander Muñoz (best friend)
Marina Nunier Osuna †

### Romance(s)

Carla Rosón Caleruega (ex-girlfriend)
Ander Muñoz (hookup)
Christian Varela Expósito (ex-crush; fling)
Cayetana Grajera Pando
Valerio Montesinos Rojas

### Enemies

Christian Varela Expósito
Ander Muñoz (formerly)
Marina Nunier Osuna †
Samuel García Domínguez (former bully) †
Guzmán Nunier Osuna (best friend)
Lucrecia Montesinos Hendrich (formerly)

**Leopoldo Benavent Villada**, more commonly known as **Polo**, was a main character on the Netflix series *Elite*, serving as the central antagonist of its first overall story arc. He was a student attending Las Encinas who became the subject of mass-hate following the murder of his fellow classmate, Marina Nunier Osuna. He was portrayed by Álvaro Rico.

Polo was a wealthy individual, allowing him into the inner circle at Las Encinas.

Polo's actions at the end of the first season caused mass hysteria and tensions among the students at Las Encinas. Eventually, he returned to school but was subject to hate crimes and bullying by the other students, particularly from Guzmán Nunier Osuna.

## Biography

### Background

Polo was a close and childhood friend of Guzmán Nunier Osuna and Ander, and had been in a relationship with Carla since they were twelve; the two lost their virginity together at the age of fourteen. He was a wealthy individual and the son of two influential lesbians, which drew much attention to his family dynamic, but also allowed him to often do reckless things in the hopes that his mothers would bail him out.

Polo began experimenting with his sexuality when still in a relationship with Carla, and eventually discovered that he was bisexual. He seemed to have more of an affinity for men, however, and revealed that Guzmán was the reason he realized he was attracted to men. This attraction grew, and he eventually began relationships with both Christian and Valerio.

## Throughout the Series

### Season 1

#### Relationship with Christian

Polo is a popular student at Las Encinas; he has been in a relationship with wealthy student Carla, since the two were twelve years old. Bored with their relationship — and on cue from Polo, who is beginning to explore his sexuality — Carla sleeps with new student, Christian, whilst Polo watches. They are eventually caught out on the situation, but are able to convince Christian that the trio should begin a polyamorous relationship.

The three enjoy a relationship for a while, however it begins to unravel when Polo and Christian — on urge from Polo — begin to exclude Carla from the relationship. Christian hints that he believes this to be weird, however engages in sexual acts with Polo alone despite this. The relationship breaks down completely, however when Carla and Polo point fingers at Christian for stealing Carla's father's watch — a watch containing vital information that could criminally tie Carla and Guzmán's parents to the collapse of San Esteban.

#### Polo to win Carla back

Eventually, Carla breaks off her relationship with Polo, and begins exclusively dating Christian. This is problematic and extremely difficult for Polo to deal with, and he becomes determined to win Carla back — to do this, he pursues the watch, which he knows is in Marina's possession.

One night at the school pool (during the dance), Polo approaches Marina and demands she hands over the watch. Marina begins toying with Polo and refuses to hand over the watch, pointing out that Polo is wrong to think Carla would get back with him for retrieving the watch. Marina begins laughing at him, and he becomes increasingly more annoyed. Polo warns her not to mess with him, causing her to slap him and walk away. As she attempts to walk away, Polo — in a mad rush — picks up the nearby trophy and hits Marina over the head. Marina begins bleeding out and, afraid that he will be caught, Polo takes the watch and leaves her bleeding out in the school pool. She dies moments later.

Polo has no choice but to tell Carla and Christian what he has done. Both are shocked at the situation, however attempt to cover up the murder. Christian gives Polo his shirt and the three hide the trophy. They return to the dance and talk no more of the events that have unfolded. When he is interviewed by the inspector, Polo does not tell her anything, simply remarking that he and Marina were friends.

### Season 2

#### Hiding his crime

Polo returns to Las Encinas following the summer holiday. He talks with Carla, who is afraid that Christian is on the verge of spilling their secret. Despite this, Polo does not seem too bothered about the situation, and just wishes to get on with the school year; Polo warns Christian to keep his mouth shut if he knows what is good for him.

When Carla's father silences Christian — by hitting him with his car — Christian is left injured, and Carla tells Polo that he will not walk again. Polo does not respond, however Carla asks if he knows anything about it, given that she is not aware her father is responsible. Polo becomes disoriented and confused, and rejects Guzmán's help to keep him steady; he begins having a panic attack and Guzmán gives him pills he has been taking to combat his anxiety.

Polo eventually begins to relax following Marina's wake, and it seems that everything is back to normal. After a drunk Guzmán begs Polo and Ander to stay over after the wake, the two sleep over at Guzmán's house. When he falls asleep, however, Polo and Ander begin making out, and eventually masturbate with each other. The following morning, Polo pretends that he is asleep, and watches as Ander and Guzmán watch videos of Marina, visibly upset.

The following days are awkward for Polo and Ander, and the two barely talk. In the changing room at school, Polo questions why Ander will no longer reply to his texts, or help him with chemistry; Ander tells Polo he reminds him that he cheated on Omar, and that he should ask Guzmán for help. Polo cannot stand to ask Guzmán for help, given his guilt, and suffers in silence with studying — he begins experiencing hallucinations of blood, a sign of guilt over his actions. Guzmán and Polo talk, and Polo reveals to Guzmán that he's had an anxiety disorder since he was twelve, and that the pills he's been taking for it are no longer effective; he struggles to differentiate between fantasy and reality.

At the club that night, Polo becomes a recluse and it is clear that he cannot control himself. Ander finds him alone and looking worse for wear in the bathroom, and questions if he is alright. Polo reveals that he has been missing for over an hour and nobody has noticed. Ander offers to take Polo home, and when they get there, Ander begs Polo to tell him the truth, and that nothing will change between them.

> *"I killed her. [...] I killed Marina."*
>
>

Polo reveals that he killed Marina, and Ander is no longer able to look at him. Polo begs Ander not to leave him, however Ander is unable to hold back the tears. Ander is enraged with Polo the following day, and questions why Polo would burden him with such knowledge. Ander tells Polo that he cannot keep the knowledge to himself, causing Polo to panic. Ander gives Polo twenty-four hours to tell Guzmán the truth, before he himself reveals the truth to Guzmán.

Polo is conflicted over what to do with the secret, and tells Carla that he has been self-medicating; now he is unable to sleep. Carla reassures him that the situation will be alright, and Polo uses this as an opportunity to try and get back with Carla — she pulls away, however when she notices Samuel watching. Fearful that the secret will get out, Carla suggests that Polo go to the police station and turn himself in; she believes the repercussions this way will be less than if he is publicly named the killer.

#### Secrets revealed

Later that night, Carla urges Polo over SMS to go to the police. Simultaneously, Ander questions whether or not Polo has told Guzmán about the crime; Polo ignores both people, however, to eat with his parents.

After lunch, Polo visits Guzmán, and reminisces over times spent together as children, when the two would play video games until dawn. Guzmán is confused at Polo's behaviour, but agrees when Polo asks if the two can do it once more, given they are the best memories he has. The next morning, the pressure from his friends and his guilt overwhelm Polo, leading to him attempt suicide. He is seen overdosing on pills in the school bathroom and then entering the school pool. Eventually, he falls from the lifeguard chair into the pool and begins to drown. Cayetana notices, and drags him from the pool. At the hospital afterwards, a defeated Polo tells Ander that he can tell Guzmán the truth if he wishes.

Ander visits Polo that night, expressing his anger over the whole situation, but promising to keep his secret given the two are childhood friends. Polo tells Ander that it was an accident, however Ander remarks that it was anything but.

Ander is angry at the situation and the fact that an innocent man suffered for Polo's accident. Ander and Polo begin a heated discussion and in a fit of rage, Polo picks up a bottle and heads to hit Ander over the head. He is able to stop himself, however, from killing yet again. The guilt gradually begins to build up in Carla, and she reveals to the police that Polo killed Marina, and she and Christian helped cover it up. The students at Las Encinas look on as the police arrive and arrest Polo. Guzmán is left in a state of shock by the situation after realising that Ander lied to his face. The charges do not stick, however, and Polo is released due to a lack of evidence — the trophy is missing.

### Season 3

#### Returning to school

Polo returns to school following the announcement that Polo has been released on bail given there is no murder weapon in sight; only he and Cayetana are aware that the trophy is hidden at her address. He receives backlash from everyone at the school, and nobody but Cayetana is willing to associate with him during, or after, school hours. The judge orders that Polo and Carla will sit together in court and rehash their statements.

Both Polo and Carla are nervous about the meeting, and Polo calls Carla, citing that everything can go back to the way it had been previously. Carla, however, tells Polo that she is going to come clean and put an end to the entire situation once and for all, which unsettles Polo.

On the day of the confrontation, Polo sits across from Carla as the process is about to begin. Polo is visibly nervous, however before the confrontation begins, Carla retracts her previous accusations, remarking that she fabricated the story and is sorry for any pain she has caused Polo and the wider community; a move that has come out of fear of losing her families wealth. Polo is therefore free of all the charges, however his life does not get easier at school.

The tension between Polo and Guzmán comes to a head after the charges are dropped. Guzmán asks Polo if he killed Marina, and he — once again — reiterates that he did not kill Marina. Guzmán tells Polo that he may be able to trust him after all. Polo begins warming back up to Guzmán, despite the conflict between the two, and they decide to skip school and play video games at Guzmán's place. When they arrive, Polo thanks Guzmán and the two hug, with Polo firmly believing that the two are fine. Unbeknownst to Polo, however, Guzmán has spiked his drink and ties him up when he passes out. Polo is interrogated and abused by Guzmán whilst Samuel watches, and eventually he cracks, revealing that he did kill Marina, but accidentally.

#### Social media attacks

Polo's life becomes more and more difficult at Las Encinas, and it is quickly revealed that Guzmán and Samuel have been sending tweets about Polo, pretending to be him. The contents of the tweet pose him as killing Marina, and in one of them, it exclaims *"Of course I killed Marina. Did you still doubt it?"*. Eventually, Azucena calls Samuel and Guzmán into her office citing that they are harassing him. The tweets come to a head when Samuel makes an offhand tweet about Polo attempting suicide. Polo is embarrassed by the tweet and storms off away from the club.

Polo's parents find out about the tweet and upon confronting him, he tells the two that he wants to disappear. They offer to contact schools in England, allowing him to finish the semester there, instead of Las Encinas. Polo is grateful for this. His chance at this, however, is foiled when Cayetana forwards the tweet to all of the British schools; in turn, they refuse to admit him.

#### Relationship with Valerio

Polo and Cayetana, his girlfriend, begin a relationship with Lu's brother, Valerio. The arrangement is complicated, and it seems to be only for sexual purposes in the beginning. Polo is quite attracted to Valerio, however and tells Ander about the threesome they had. Ander is in awe and, for a moment, the two are like old friends again. Polo's relationship with Ander grows, and he eventually begins attending Ander's hospital visits alongside a disgruntled Guzmán.

Polo's relationship with Valerio eventually grows, they fell in love and the three eventually become a three-way couple. Polo remarks that he is finally happy. Despite this, Polo and Cayetana plan to move to England the following year, and Valerio is unable to do so given his financial status. Nevertheless, Polo eventually tells Valerio that he will convince his parents to pay Valerio's tuition — in the same way that they are paying Cayetana's.

The relationship between Polo, Cayetana and Valerio comes to an end, however, when it is revealed that Valerio was involved in drug dealing; an act that almost got Carla killed. Polo cuts off the relationship with both Cayetana and Valerio, telling the two to return home.

Polo calls of his relationship with both Valerio and Cayetana. Cayetana is upset about the ordeal, however Polo tells her that she was in love with the life he could give her, as opposed to actually loving him. This is something she finds difficult to accept, but seems to be true. It is later revealed that the note Cayetana gave Polo read *"You didn't ruin my life, you saved it."*.

#### Polo's Death

Despite trying to redeem himself previously, Polo eventually realises that the best course of action is to turn himself in. He arrives at the graduation party to tell Lu and Nadia that his mothers will still fund their New York scholarship. He is immediately met with hatred upon entering the venue, and Samuel attempts to stab him. Guzmán stops Samuel, and warns Polo that he should leave the party, to which Polo replies that he is going to turn himself in. Polo apologises for the pain he has caused and asks if Guzmán will ever be able to forgive him, however Guzmán tells him that he will not. Polo attempts to talk with Lu, however is stopped when she throws her drink over him.

In the toilet, Polo is drying off, when Lu approaches with the broken bottle-neck seen earlier. She threatens Polo with the bottle-neck and the two get into a heated argument. The argument escalates and Lu accidentally stabs Polo with the bottle-neck when pushing him. She is immediately remorseful and tells Polo that she didn't mean to hurt him; he remarks that he understands it was an accident. Polo leaves the toilet bleeding, and heads to Guzmán for help despite their strained relationship. He is pushed off-course, however when he bumps into two people dancing. Losing his balance, he bangs his head on the glass that had previously been cracked days earlier. Unable to get his balance, Polo falls from the second floor onto the dancefloor below. Guzmán witnesses the incident and calls out for Polo, rushing to the dancefloor below.

Polo is severely weakened by the fall and it is clear he is experiencing his final moments. Realising that Polo is about to die, Guzmán begins to tear up and tells Polo that he forgives him for his sister's death. Polo uses what is left of his strength to hold Guzmán's hand before he sadly passes away.

Polo's death is covered up as a suicide by his friends, with everyone realising that Polo would not want Lu to suffer for the accident. While not everyone shows actual sadness for his death, everyone recognize that Polo, much as Lu, was not a real murderer, since Marina's death was an accident as well, so he didn't deserve to die like that. His funeral is short, and afterwards, Guzmán and Ander sit at his headstone, which reads his full name and the short period he lived.

## Physical Appearance

Polo was a smart and handsome teenager with well and strongly defined facial features. He was of average height, and well-built with short, brown hair. Polo was often seen as attractive by those around him; he has shown to attract both male and female attention, as seen in Valerio and Christian's attractions to him.

He was often smartly dressed, wearing smart trousers and often, buttoned-up shirts; his dress sense and appearance allowed him to present himself as wealthy.

## Personality

Polo was seen to be a caring, loyal character keen to protect those around him. Despite this, he was often short-tempered, and willing to use those around him for personal gratification; whether this be socially or sexually. Polo showed an utmost desire to protect his childhood lover, Carla, and he eventually murdered Marina to protect her family. He was extremely remorseful of his actions, however, and spent the rest of his final year at Las Encinas attempting to redeem himself.

It could be said that Polo just wanted to fit in with those at school. His family drew attention from others given he had two mothers. Perhaps concerning was his willingness to use Cayetana to make Carla jealous. Despite this, he had shown a fierce loyalty to those he had grown up with, and forced his mothers to still pay for Lu and Nadia's scholarships despite the way they had treated him. It could also be suggested that Polo was mentally unstable even before Marina's death due to his unwillingness to come to terms with his sexuality and the harsh demanding attitudes of his parents combined with the fact he was being manipulated and pressured psychologically by Carla and Guzmán who were supposed to be people who loved him yet refused to accept this as the truth.

## Relationships

### Polo and Carla

Polo and Carla had been in a relationship since they were twelve, and were known around Las Encinas as "Polo and Carla", the unbreakable couple. Polo was willing to go to extreme lengths to force a relationship with Carla, however, and became extremely jealous when she began exclusively dating Christian. His jealousy, and urge to fix his relationship with Carla eventually forced him to murder Marina in order to regain Carla's father's watch.

After this, it was shown that the relationship between Polo and Carla was a strong one, as she covered up the murder in order to protect Polo. Despite this, she eventually came to resent Polo, and attempted to turn him in and confess her role in covering up the murder. She eventually confesses, and this lands Polo in custody, however he is released on bail and she retracts her statement in order to save her family wealth. When Polo dies, Carla sheds a tear seeing her childhood lover dead on the floor of the nightclub.

### Polo and Cayetana

The relationship between Polo and Cayetana was complex. Cayetana and Polo became involved following the investigation into Polo, who was rightfully accused of murdering Marina. Cayetana, believing herself to have no connection with Polo, hid the trophy he used to murder Marina in her wardrobe — this way, the authorities could not find it, and do not think to look.

From this moment on, Polo became attached to Cayetana, and the two began dating. It quickly became clear, however, that Polo did not truly feel the same way about Cayetana, but felt tied to her due to the evidence she had on him. Cayetana eventually used this relationship to attract Valerio, who they became romantically involved with. After this, Polo managed to convince his mothers to pay for Cayetana's tuition in England. Following his wish to turn himself in, Polo broke off the relationship with Cayetana, citing that she never actually loved him, only the life his wealth could have given her.

After his death, Cayetana told his lifeless body that she really did love him. At his funeral, Polo's parents told Cayetana that they would still respect Polo's wish to pay for her tuition in England, as it is what he would've wanted; despite this, she declines, citing that she wasn't as good to Polo as everyone thought.

## Trivia

* He was involved in a three-way relationship not once, but twice.
	+ The first time, he was in a relationship with Carla and Christian; despite he and Carla were engaged since middle school, this was more sex orientated rather than love, however.
	+ The second time, he began a relationship with Cayetana and Valerio; they fell in love and planned to move to England after graduating.
* He was bisexual and seemed to prefer men over women.
	+ Despite having an relationship with Carla and Cayetana, and was shown to be jealous of Christian because of Carla.
* He lost his virginity at the age of fourteen.
* It is unknown if he is adopted, if he's the biological son of one of his mothers or both of them.
* After graduation, Polo wanted to move to England to study further.
* The official Elite twitter claims that Polo's death date was on March 13, 2020, yet on his gravestone as seen in Season 3 Episode 8 it is written 2002-2019.
* He had expensive speech therapy, that Teodoro mentioned when he started stuttering.
* It seems that he had to wear glasses at some point, as a flashback prior to the first season shows him wearing them. It is never made clear why he needed it and why he is no longer seen with them.
* His parents and Carla's parents bought them an apartment.
* He, Cayetana, and eventually Valerio, were planning on attending King's College London after graduating from Las Encinas.
* Several fake twitter accounts were created to impersonate Polo. The twitter accounts included @Polo\_Benavent and @Polo\_Imback\_Bitches (run by Samuel). Later, Cayetana forwarded tweets about Polo to schools in London so that Polo would not be accepted into them and have to stay in Spain.
* It is most likely that Polo's death may have been the final straw that would lead to Ander's mother being fired from the school.
* He is the second main character to be murdered.
	+ He is also the first male main character to die.
	+ Polo's death marks the first time in which the victim's killer is murdered as well.

## Appearances

* "Deseo"
* "Sábado noche"
* "El amor es una droga"
* "Todos mienten"
* "Todo va a salir bien"
* "Todo estalla"
* "Assilah"
* "34 hours missing"
* "36 hours missing"
* "59 hours missing"
* "63 hours missing"
* "66 hours missing"
* "84 hours missing"
* "0 hours missing"

Season Three
* "Carla (episode)"
* "Samuel and Guzmán"
* "Cayetana and Valerio"
* "Lu (episode)"
* "Ander (episode)"
* "Rebeka (episode)"
* "Nadia and Omar"
* "Polo (episode)"