Netflix’s Elite Is Not Your Typical Teen Thriller
Spanish teen thriller drama Elite follows the story of three exchange students maneuvering the remaining parts of their youth in a cutthroat and catty private academy, Las Encinas.
It has renewed for a third season, aptly called "ELIT3". According to a tweet posted by What's Next, the cast finished filming in October, and it has been streaming since March.
Not-so-Typical TV Tropes
Created by Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona, who first dabbled in Spanish TV before pitching the show to Netflix, Elite introduces audiences into a world of teenagers who are more than what they seem. Subjects like classism, xenophobia, and homophobia are taken by the helm immediately in the pilot.
The series features the debuts of a talented young cast. Joining the actors are Money Heist's Jaime Lorente, Maria Pedraza, and Miguel Herran.
Nadia is a scholar, so she must be academically capable, but first and foremost, she's the protagonist. She quickly surpasses Lucrecia, one of the antagonists, as the top student in the class. The tension between the characters is palpable.
On their first day at Las Encinas, scholars Nadia, Samuel, and Christian discover that the elite and exclusive high school is just as they expect it to be. At least, on the surface. Much like other sappy teen dramas, the path to class elevation is dictated by wealth, sex, and power.
Soon they are met with young socialites who may be hiding secrets of their own.
A student on campus is dead. Immediately by the end of the first episode, viewers are shown who it is. The rest of the series follows the stories of the characters as they figure out who murdered Marina Osuna, who was played by Maria Pedraza.
As the story develops, there are more disappearances, more murders, and more suspects. The way this is told is what makes Elite stand out from the rest of the teen melodramas.
The structure of the series is to tell the story in separate timelines: Flashbacks and flashforwards fill the viewers in on the details of the mystery. Somewhat similar to another murder-mystery drama that has a large following.
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Thanks to Brilliant Creative Decisions
Throughout the first three seasons, the characters have gone through significant development and growth, and it is apparent through their choices.
The writers have made the brilliant decision of keeping the characters as consistent as possible in the second season. Of course, there are the occasional but just as crucial parties, petty fights, and pretty teenagers stabbing each other in the back. These are fun to watch, but these circumstances show the extent to which characters are willing to go.
If you're having second thoughts about watching the show because it's in Spanish, then you're missing out! There is an English dub for the series, but if that's not to your taste, as Oscar-winner Bong Joon-ho might put it, once you learn how to watch shows and films with subtitles, you will be amazed.