Netflix's Elite is a gripping teen drama that revolves around a murder mystery while tackling a range of topics like homophobia, drug use, classism, religion, and sexuality. The drama has captivating audiences across the streaming platform. Here's why the show is worth watching sooner rather than later.
The teen drama follows three working-class students (Samuel, Nadia, and Christian) that receive a scholarship to an elite high school called Las Encinas. Their presence leads to constant conflict with the wealthy students and results in the murder of a fellow student. The show was created by leading Spanish TV writers Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona.
Elite is not afraid to shy away from hard-hitting topics - one being sexuality. The most captivating romance is Ander (played by Arón Piper) and Omar (Omar Ayuso). They come from two different worlds. While being from a rich family, Ander feels trapped in a sport that he no longer has a passion for. He continues to play tennis to make his father happy. Omar, being from a Muslim background, is in a constant battle to hide the act of selling drugs and his homosexual identity from his family.
“The two find themselves in a passionate love affair that they have to hide — not because they're ashamed of their sexuality or because their friends won't approve, but because Omar fears it'll ruin his relationship with his traditionalist Muslim father,” an Insider article points out.
There are more compelling love triangles that include Nadia, Guzmán, and Lu, (played by Danna Paola). Also, the relationship between Christian, Carla, and Polo. The two rich kids, Carla and Polo, try to spice things up in their failing relationship by asking Christian to engage in a threesome, resulting in them becoming involved in a polyamorous relationship.
When the students at Las Encinas are first introduced, they seem to feed into the typical character tropes. For example, Guzmán (played by Miguel Bernardeau). At first glance, he is seen to be the manipulative, privileged villain.
But as the show proceeds, we start to see multiple sides of him. We get to see how he is protective of his family and sister Marina, he cares deeply for his friend’s well-being and develops an emotional connection with Nadia, a girl he intended to humiliate.
Another aspect of the show that makes it so great is the use of flashbacks. Similar to the structure of Big Little Lies, the show switches from the present time, with a police interrogation to the past events leading up to the murder.
As the show builds, the show gives viewers more clues as to what happened. Toward the end of the season, Elite gives every character a motive toward Marina, making it harder for the audience to identify the murderer.
"Truth be told, there's more than enough intrigue going on in the everyday lives of these teens without one of them ending up dead," a review from Variety wrote. "But to 'Elite's' credit, the conclusion manages to be both satisfying and intriguing as to where season two ... might go."
Season 3 is now on Netflix, which was released this past March.