Elite (2018) is a Spanish teen drama on Netflix, It was released October 2018 with a second season that is due to be released later this year. Just like with Rita, jumping from an Asian drama to an European drama, you must be ready because the culture is vastly different.
Genre: Teen Drama, crime, thriller
Episodes: 8
Summary
Three working class friends are given a scholarship to Las Encinas, an exclusive private school in Spain, where elite students attend. A murder takes place and we spend the whole season what happened, who did it and why.
Review
I don’t typically venture into the genre of crime, but it always results in being so captivating. I choose to watch this while on a break from the many Asian dramas that I watch. As usual, I jumped in without knowing the story beforehand and was immediately enveloped by the storyline.
Samuel, Christian, and Nadia are given a scholarship by a construction company after their school collapses. It’s a rough start attempting to fit in with the elite students. They eventually befriend a few and end up entangled in a drama.
Characters
Innocent and sweet Samuel (Itzan Escamilla), one of the scholarship students, befriends the unruly Marina (Maria Pedraza), who also befriend’s Samuel older brother, Nano (Jaime Lorente). Nano is fresh out of jail and looking to get revenge.
Christian (Miguel Herran), another scholarship student, becomes involved in a polyamorous relationship with Polo (Álvaro Rico) and Carla (Ester Expósito). Polo is a puppet who seems to be easily controlled by others, especially by Carla. Carla to me seems similar to a mob boss. She knows people and can easily navigate situations. She is in charge of things, good at hiding things, and will take care of things as well.
Nadia (Mina El Hammani) is the last of the three scholarship students. She becomes close with Guzmán (Miguel Bernadeau). Guzmán is the charismatic and arrogant older brother of Marina. The relationship that Nadia and Guzmán for is something to anticipate. It filled with innocent flirtations. Also Nadia is a ride or die chick; she’s reliable and brave. But then there’s also Lu (Danna Paola) who has a relationship with Guzmán. She manipulates and intervenes anything him and Nadia attempts. Overall Lu doesn’t seem like she particular close to anybody.
We also have Omar (Omar Ayuso) , Nadia’s older brother, who becomes close with Ander (Arón Piper). Ander is the kind-hearted friend of Polo and Guzmán. He learns to be true to himself, as he discovers more about himself and decides to live it slowly.
Production
As for production, there were some beautiful shots. I enjoy the editing with the flashbacks and flash forwards. It seems like editing like that could easily get disorganized, but in this series it was synthesized nicely. Viewers who paid attention would not get confused by the storyline.
Music
Honestly, I didn’t even noticed any of the songs from the series, But I looked up the soundtrack and there are some good songs–very chill. Here are the songs I enjoyed:
Here’s a link to the full soundtrack.
Quotes
“Teach me how to look at you, I promise I’ll be a fast learner.”–Guzmán to Nadia
“Good looking men look good in anything.”–Carla to Christian
Scenes
After Thoughts
I like how Nadia and Omar are portrayed as Muslims. In America, a regularly casted main/supporting cast member who is also Muslim is rare (please give me an example because I can’t think of anything). Typically, Muslims are featured on an episode or two, and usually follow stereotypes. I enjoyed the show because they show them as people who are Muslim but are also Spanish and they have to balance their culture with the culture that they live in. Here’s an article that goes more in depth about Muslim portrayed in American TV.
Recommendations
- Teen Crime/Thriller Dramas- Riverdale (this show reminds me of Riverdale so much), Pretty Little Liars, Erased
- Rich Teens- Rebelde (has a lot of Rebelde vibes), Heirs, Boys over Flowers (Hana Yori Dango, Meteor Garden), Gossip Girl
- Netflix Spanish Originals-Grand Hotel, Money Heist, Merlí, Cable Girls, House of Flowers
Drama-to-Life
Culture
Travel
Hair/Outfits
Swim meet
Coconut Birthday Cake