Elite Season 3 Review: Graduation, (Another) Murder, and Bittersweet Endings
It’s the final months leading up to graduation at Las Encinas for some as another murder takes everyone on another wild ride on Elite Season 3.
The murder that triggers the investigation this time: Polo.
As is customary on Elite, you get the full picture by the final hour, and in it on Season 3, you get a measure of unity and overall found-family in a way that is honestly a bit unexpected leading into this season but entirely welcomed.
The found family element turns out to be one of the season’s strengths, changing up dynamics and alliances, offering up new friendships forged.
It’s more than justified by the core group’s decisions throughout the season, from the collective measures to keep Rebeca in school to the way they’ve each reached out to different people among the group, including Ander, Samuel, and Nadia.
One of the best parts of this unifying arc is seeing Lucrecia and Nadia’s tenuous relationship develop into a full-blown supportive friendship.
Admittedly, it’s initially a little difficult to fully get behind the friendship considering all the terrible things that Lu did to Nadia last year, especially the video that comes back with a vengeance around college interview time.
But, once you see the shift in Lucrecia, it’s easy to see how this healthy competition for the Columbia scholarship sparks something wonderful, entirely in character for both, and empowering.
Seeing Lu and Nadia face-off, confiding in each other about their deep family issues, and pushing each other to be the best competitor they could be for each other is honestly so wonderful and such a remarkable aspect of growth.
Their graduation moment stands out as they both realize how much they have to lose, but still, choose to call out Polo and his parents’ choices in handling the situation after having their friends expelled for the rest of the year.
In turn, Lu’s character growth over the season shines the brightest and surprisingly has me rooting for her towards the end. The fact that she stands up for Valerio realizes her worth in herself and not in others, and her friendships are beautiful.
The moment she turns a drunk, heartbroken Guzman down on Elite Season 3 Episode 4, “Lu,” at the reverse Valentine’s Day party is so amazing and stands in stark relief to the Halloween party scene last season.
Lu essentially has an “I choose myself” moment throughout, and I love every minute of it.
Meanwhile, other relationships go through the wringer, only a pair coming out of the season with any hope of reconciliation. Of the couples, Nadia and Guzman stand the strongest chance.
Nadia and Guzman’s open-ended ending after the season they each had is the best-case scenario and ends their story on a bittersweet note with potential for more to come.
Though they (frustratingly) spend most of the season apart romantically, it takes a bit for them to find themselves on a stable, friendly foundation. It might take a bit too long for it to happen, but it’s appreciated when they find themselves on relatively the same page.
From the pair conspiring to get Nadia more time to study by confronting her father at the store to their frank conversations about how much they care for each other, the moments are heartwarming and so sweet.
Guzman: You don’t complicate my life, Nadia. Actually, you saved it.
You just can’t help but root for their relationship to work out despite the obstacle in the way, in the form of Malick, who brings his fair amount of relationship troubles to the Shanaa siblings.
It makes their final messages to each other hopeful, emotional, and bittersweet as Nadia heads to New York for college. At the same time, Guzman stays behind to finish his last term at Las Encinas.
On the opposite end, there’s Ander and Omar’s relationship, which has a lot to come back from.
With Omar’s infidelity and Ander’s determination to push him away, it’s hard to see how they’ll make everything work despite their reunion. The fact that they reunited and made it clear that Omar was going to be there for him, even as he enters remission, is lovely.
Then there’s Carla and newcomer, Yeray’s, relationship, which feels as terribly thin as it’s intended to be throughout the season. It seems like the goal was to give Carla her freedom from every man that every manipulated her, be it her father or Polo.
While the relationships forged either flourished or floundered, it’s all built on the foundation of 2 tragedies: Polo’s murder and Ander’s cancer diagnosis.
What’s remarkable is that despite Polo’s murder being the central arc, it’s Ander’s diagnosis, and everyone’s reaction to it provides a much more grounded, real arc.
It feels like the idea of mortality hit far harder with Ander than the murder, providing everyone from Rebeca and Guzman to Lu and even in some small way, Polo, moments of introspection and action, almost forming a tighter-knit feel among everyone.
It makes everyone stepping up for Lu during the investigation that much more moving.
It’s clear who would be leaving and who would be staying behind. It’s easy to see how the writers could be modeling a season 4 if one were to occur as Guzman, Samuel, Rebeca, Ander, and Omar walk together into their first day of class in what is presumed to be their final year.
So, the question becomes: what’s next for the Las Encinas crew?
Random Thoughts
- The fact that the throuple is being treated as an outright scandal while the whole Valerio/Lu thing was not is a CHOICE.
- Lu being the one to kill Polo, is honestly a bit of a surprise, but the fact that it’s a total accident jives with the way they have always positioned these kids in the narrative. She was most decidedly not on my list of suspects.
- Cayetana/Polo/Valerio’s entire relationship comes off as a weird rehash of Carla/Polo/Christian’s relationship in strange ways that I’m still working out.
What did you think of this Elite Season 3? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Elite is currently streaming on Netflix.
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Brianna Martinez
Brianna spends her time away from briefs, legal research, and pleadings, watching TV and writing about it. She generally has a lot of feelings about TV, which you can read about here and on Twitter.