Elite: Almost, Not Quite

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chapters
0:00 Intro
0:46 Meet the Elite
3:28 Season Summaries
27:57 Character Writing
49:00 Themes: More Harm Than Good
57:38 Conclusion
instrumental music (in order of appearance):
• “lollipop” - 2ne1 & bigbang
• [original song]
• “magic stick” - lil kim
• “call your girlfriend” - robyn
• [original song]
• “assassin” - au/ra

[@cas8580]

omar: dresses as frankenfurter ander: so wait... ur gay??? Kinda cringe

[@Yharazayd]

thank you 'cause i legit laughed out loud at that

[@keayannadavis9836]

@@Slm99 points

[@tdfox4052]

@B M wait what???

[@stellar3746]

Bro this is so true. Like, omar has changed bc he can finally act like himself with no boundaries... let a man be happy and gay jEEz

[@gstaadglitter]

But it shows how uncomfortable her was with his sexuality

[@laurenlivermont4359]

I never realized how boring Samu was until you pointed it out. Kept getting distracted by the man's eyelashes.

[@Nick-mv5kg]

His eyelashes were hypnotising

[@nichecorner7504]

Reminds me of that male ladybug from A Bug's Life

[@jaidenjn]

I'm glad she mentioned it because as the show progresses the more I was just not interest in his storyline

[@LangBellsChannel]

@@jaidenjn I'm weak.

[@Kmkmkms]

samuel is like clay jensen, hes only somewhat interesting when theres a dead girl that hes inlove with. When there isnt a dead lover he sort of bounces from girl to girl waiting for something to stick, his character is the guy we're supposed to say "oh hes so nice" but there isnt really much more to him than that. its odd that he somewhat acts as a protaganist but his storylines and personality depend on whoever hes dating or his brother when hes with marina hes the nice boi whos sad that his edgy girlfriend is dead when hes with rebecca hes the nice boi whos a slight badass that betrays gang banger mother when hes with carla hes the nice boi who is working to expose the truth

[@neo.aenergy]

Is no one else gonna talk about how Marina was 15 and Nano was 25 🤢

[@JM-hd3lr]

25???! 🤮🤮

[@Retroworld-lk8so]

I’m pretty sure she was 16 and he was 24 but still tho it’s so fucking gross how some ppl ship them, same with lu and valerio theyre signings what the fuck

[@Retroworld-lk8so]

Siblings*

[@gstaadglitter]

@@Retroworld-lk8so but the siblings thing was somewhat justified, nano and marina is just gross

[@gars129]

its ok cause in real life they were a couple and conscenting adults

[@bleachisgoodforurhealth9946]

I don't understand why no one blamed Carla for marina's death. Both her and polo were apart of this, but everyone makes her a victim

[@user-vk5lx1cj2k]

True, everyone be praising her even though her character is awful and unbearable

[@bleachisgoodforurhealth9946]

@laura the worst thing is that they tried to portray her as a victim. Marina was a messy character, but the show was self aware of this and it made me love her so much more. Carla was literally the reason why polo didn't confess to the police, but in the end no one cared or blamed her. I thought that maybe in season 3 she would rebel again her father and expose everything, but no..nothing. her character has potential , but they were too focused on her sex appeal to give us a good character arc about her

[@cornelia4838]

I mean she wasn't to blame for the murder. For covering up the murder sure but she didn't want to kill anyone. Her plan was to have christian open marina's locker and take the watch when that didn't happen Polo decided on his own to take action. Sure she was a bitch but she did not want people to actually lose their lives.

[@danield4406]

She’s a white woman lol

[@lgee8383]

@@cornelia4838 she's literally an accessory to murder. She is just as much to blame. If she really didn't want anyone to be killed or cared about the horrible murder, she would have turned Polo in. Jeez are you dumb?

[@livanthelife2364]

please the way my brother and i spent all of season 2 and 3 clowning on samuel and how his only character development was getting a chain and being angry all the time LMAOOOO

[@-t9214]

KAJAHSBSNS

[@dc9067]

He's as bland as turkey without sauce Edit : even Christian said this i'm dead

[@ninalempicka2948]

"his only character development was getting a chain and being angry all the time" i'm rolling on the floor 😭😭

[@chidzhustle3570]

I noticed halfway through s3 that every Scene Samuel is in, he *glares.* And it ends with either him walking away angrily, or the person he’s talking to walking away angrily He’s just.. always mad. It’s so tiring

[@Henlak-]

Smaual is just Clay from 13 reasons why but Spanish. His character is merely a vessel for his girlfriend to build off of. Every girl he date's gets a more interesting story than he does, shit every character gets a more interesting story than he does. He's just there because they couldn't think of a good way to get rid of him after he had fulfilled his purpose after season 1

[@malenaoliveira6549]

The Lu/Valerio thing Is a telenovela classic, I bet in season 4 it'll be revealed that one of their moms cheated and they are not actually related.

[@emi-ts1ko]

exactly and happens to be that lu is Latina so it wouldn't be surprised if her storyline turns into a telenovela plotline humm

[@iNtando1]

@@emi-ts1ko Valerio is Latino as well, so it'll probably happen 😂

[@yegra]

The way I'm screaming 😂😂

[@dc9067]

Still would be problematic since they were already attracted to each other before knowing they weren't related lol

[@beautifullEternal]

Uh, they were adopted right? Both of them? Honestly, still fucking gross.

[@Princess_Weekes]

I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY THEY GAVE LU THAT STORYLINE UGHHH

[@maggiemcfly5267]

Hey! I love it when the content creators I follow, follow other content creators I follow 🤣♥️

[@GeoQuag]

And even with all the terrible baggage Lu gets she’s still one of the best characters. I really wish season 4 followed her and Nadia instead of the sad cast that’s left

[@irrelevance3859]

@@GeoQuag I agree they were more interesting by the end of it

[@angelazayn4878]

@@maggiemcfly5267 Same love Melina's Channel.

[@andiestrellitam3]

Because the production and people liked her so much the first season, that the production wanted to give Danna Paola (the actress) the spotlight, and while being the unapologetically bitch the first season was fun at the time, they couldn't make her a protagonist the way they were managing the series without giving her a redemption arc or giving her a fuck up story to give her drama, cause in the first season she was the perfect daughter (from what we heard from everyone in the story) but her only problem was Guzman. I mean, the drama that she was given was probably too much... But that's another story :3.

[@currently_online]

As a muslim girl my expections when it comes to muslim representation is so incredibly low that i feel kind of silly saying this, but I'd love a show where the hijab or "omg i like this boy but we can't be together because religion and evil dad sob sob" wasn't the ONLY thing that defined a girl's relationship to her religion. Like imagine a show where they'd explore the dynamics between culture and religion and how alot of the expressions that muslim girl's face when it comes to "being a good muslim girl" is actually just a cultural thing? Or how guys are allowed to mess up way more than girls even tho there's nothing in the religion that supports that? Or idk a girl wanting to enter a field that is stigmatized within the muslim community? Like there is sooooo much more to muslim girl's that the hijab, boys and evil dad's (for real tho I'm so sick of the evil dad trope). Also how about a story line that isn't center around her religion "holding her back"

[@nameless3525]

YAAAAAAAS COULDNT. AGREE. MOREEEE. Its getting embarassing at this point tbh

[@KossybRo]

Skam (the original one) is the only show that had positive representation of a muslim girl imo

[@sadclownenergy5886]

GIRRRL SAMEE. as a muslim girl I've been dyinggg for proper representation and sana from skam (the original, Norwegian one) was SOO GOOD

[@kamdardurvagautam6933]

you should read the ms marvel comics !!! I found it very refreshing to see a Muslim character that's pretty religious and looks to her Imam for guidance but has a personality beyond that. the romance also does NOT revolve around her religion and has more to do with the fact that she's a superhero !

[@Eris_Norregard]

@@KossybRo Goldi, the muslik girl in Degrassi: Next Class is a very good representation I think. Her faith is important to her, she doesn't want to abandon her culture, her parents are not shown much but they are very supportive and open-minded - after Rasha (the other muslim girl) takes off her hijab, Goldi contemplates doing the same, and it's stated that her parents would be completely okay with that, but SHE decides against it because in her own words, it makes her feel closer to Allah. She just doesn't feel good without it. And yes, she does fall in love with an atheist boy but instead of a culture clash, he is accepting of her religion and she doesn't change for him, nor does she try to change him into a muslim.

[@aao2780]

The way the show deals with islamophobia is weird.. Nadia just takes everyones shit, especially Lu’s and doesn’t really fight against it. Lu is humbled by being disowned and never apologises to Nadia and Lu is used as the person who helps Nadia take heed to stand up to her parents...despite never apologising to Nadia and being the reason she needs a scholarship. I hate how Nadia’s character became so weak, when in s1 she was very strong headed. *Nadia was basically used as a poc to “humanise” the racist, xenophobic, islamophobic, classist characters that were Lu and Guzman lol Her moral judgment and blackmailing/manipulative nature in s1 was so much more interesting than the all forgiving, naive, weak Nadia that morphed after she forgave Guzman and Lu for manipulation and attempted sexual assault* She had bits of Carla in her but without the money in s1, wish that stayed.

[@ww.DuzaFizz]

Exactly, in the first season she had this ' do no harm but take no shit' type of attitude and she was established as the level-headed one out of the original three.

[@aao2780]

@@ww.DuzaFizz The writing was on the wall after she fell for Guzman after that bet seduction game with Guzman and Lu. She went from threatening the rich kids in S1 to making shitty decisions like hooking up with Guzman at school and acting shocked when she got exposed. And then they made her S3 arc around being besties with Lu, a girl who despised her and never apologised but that won’t stop Nadia giving her half her scholarship 🤦🏾🤣 and pulling the “Muslim arranged marriage” plot like they did with Omar. And let’s mention how she was so forgiving about Omar’s behaviour with Malick... that was weird but I’m glad it was “resolved” quickly. Each season she became so dumb and forgiving and she looked weak despite being book smart and being portrayed as “strong”.

[@DoodleDoo2]

Well what can she exactly say? I’m someone who’s faced Islamophobia and you kind of just have to take it or you’ll have more people turn on you and call you “crazy” and “overreacting”. People like me who have faced it multiple times get tired at some point trying to argue with people how we aren’t all terrorists.

[@aao2780]

@@DoodleDoo2 For one the show could have viewers see Nadia standing up to the school about double standards concerning dress codes and them banning her hijab (Rebe and her colorful attire), have someone call out Lu's islamophobic remarks, Nadia and Omar calling out Ander for his comments in front of their mother... The show highlights islamophobia and xenophobia but never gives justice to the characters who faced it. What sense did it make for Nadia to half her scholarship with Lu of all people??? The girl never apologised to her and that's just one of the many examples of bad writing.

[@honda-akari]

Everyone should be scared of islam as it is a cult. Stop the taquiyya.

[@Yharazayd]

in an ideal elite world: lu would have properly apologized to nadia and they would be girlfriends. ander and omar would have broken up since all they do is hurt each other. and samuel wouldn't exist ❤️

[@ameetfaisal8723]

Are we copying and pasting comments from past video.

[@ameetfaisal8723]

As a reply to your comments, Lu not being racist and classist would make her character more lame. And I also really didn't like the Muslim representation in Nadia. She is the the representation of a Muslim women from a viewpoint of a non bigoted but still judgemental white person who never interacted with any Muslim people. And she stops wearing a hijab and becoming free is the most overdone thing of Muslim women in TV. And Nadia's family is the literal definition of stock Muslim middle Eastern family from the viewpoint of a person who hasn't ever seen a Muslim in life. I am not saying those types of families don't exist, but as a guy from a Muslim family and a very educated one, not wearing hijab means being free is really lame in my opinion. My mother is a doctor and chooses to wear a hijab(and nobody forces her, really nobody). I really wish that kind of representation is shown on TV, but the way its going in the world that's just a dream.

[@null6955]

@@ameetfaisal8723 idk dude as a woman from a muslim family i can say we struggle with the hijab a lot more than you're trying to claim lol. especially as a teenager. really appreciate nadia's portrayal for that reason, even if it is from the lens of non-muslims who really don't know how it is, i like that she's not portrayed as a bad muslim for exploring her sexuality, questioning her choice of wearing a hijab, at the end of the day she has faith and wears a hijab by choice and is a character beyond just being a muslim.

[@thepodium6930]

@@null6955 It's not about bad or good, it's more about the abandonment of her culture and religion being portrayed as her being more liberated. Also, to me, this trope seems to be about white men having access to non white female bodies. Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should mix, but media does have a problem with the way it portrays the dynamics between interracial couples, especially when it comes to Muslims and southeast Asian/middle eastern. And the men are always gay and hiding from their family. Throw in an unwanted arranged marriage for the secretly gay man and you'd have a bingo

[@null6955]

@@thepodium6930 i think your first point is really unfair. i totally agree with the trope seems to be about christian, white men having access to a brown muslim's body, and i agree that the arranged marriage and secretly gay plot point was so painful and unnecessary and handled very poorly, but to imply that she was portrayed as being more liberated is wrong. she's framed in a very interesting way. there's the ideal girl her parents want and the anti-ideal girl who is "westernized" that is her sister and nadia is in the middle. i think the show highlights that nadia doesn't want to be either, someone that abandons her culture and religion like her sister or someone who doesn't feel true to herself just trying to meet her parents expectations. im not saying elite did this in an incredible way, i just think there is good that i can see her in storyline. again, it is about being a bad or a good muslim daughter for so many of us i appreciate that there was someone who was able to question how she wants to live her life while holding on to her faith and making her parents proud in the ways that matter.

[@lailahbezan4833]

I'm glad you mentioned how Samuel just ditched Nadia for Marina when Nadia was clearly being discriminated against on two different levels of being a scholarship kid and a Muslim, and he didn't even defend her or stand by her once-- not even to Christian. He came off as super selfish in that moment. And I really appreciate that you mentioned nadia's hijab journey. She was met with so much prejudice that seemed like it was going to be confronted but the response ended up being her taking it off, making it almost as if the prejudice against her was justified. The parents were put into such a negative light, while the teens were actually also super disrespectful to them--ahm-- Ander and Guzman. They literally said the most offensive stuff like "you'd think she was a terrorist" and then wonder why the parents didn't like them.

[@dc9067]

Yeah Muslim representation in TV shows is pretty bad and stereotypical 95% of the time...

[@evangeliar.7600]

Well, as an ex Muslim I was hoping to see FOR ONCE a representation of someone actual leaving the religion because we see that with ex Christians all the time. I never had this kind of representation, it's always half things (like Nadia starting to rebel a bit) or Muslims being completely strict about their religion. That's not the reality for so many people, especially looking at the Iranians who are fighting to take it off. Everytime we even mention that we left the religion we are confronted with so much hate and this is exactly why they don't show these things on TV! Because whatever you show, you are always labeled as "Islamophobia" even though so many people experience religious trauma. Also they didn't even show that one sex scene of Nadia and Guzman because Nadia is Muslim but they ignored that Guzman is christian too and they didn't care..

[@Henlak-]

This show had so much potential with Nadia but they fumbled it. Ended with the bullying winning and she gave them what they wanted in the end. Principle starts by telling her to take it off and it's not part of uniform and in the end she takes off the Hijab and people start respecting her more. What a waste of development for Nadia

[@aao2780]

@@Henlak- In the end she befriends Lu who racially abused her, was the reason she couldn’t wear her headscarf, made a bet on her to be sexually coerced, released a sextape of her, NEVER apologised and for what? All in the name of faux feminism and character development of a problematic character. But the show was written by gay white men who probably barely interact with minorities on a daily basis anyway. Yikes!

[@kindhani8134]

@@evangeliar.7600 your name is Evangelina and you're apparently ex-muslim? Religious trauma doesn't justify islamophobia or any kind of discrimination

[@goldstarsupreme]

Haven't watched the show but 100% know what you're talking about with Samuel. It sounds like he has what I call Likable Protagonist Syndrome where the creators make a character that is so inoffensive and passive with the purpose of ensuring that he cannot possibly be disliked. Ironically, this usually has the opposite effect with people who like to think about and analyze media because you immediately realize they have no real character or growth and the best that they get is a facsimile of it, usually to keep the audience's attention and/or sympathies.

[@Yharazayd]

YES! omg he has the personality of an icing free pop tart

[@emmaGisMe]

It's funny cause they want us to like Samu so much but I ended up liking Lu way more than I should've, she was probably my favorite character and I wanted things to go well for her, I didnt gaf about Samuel tho

[@rgs8970]

the show itself calls him plain deli meat... but it's like, y'all wrote this character, how about just... not writing him like that???

[@shineeroun]

yeah Scott from teen wolf falls under this category as well for me, many people loved stiles way more than him

[@Kmkmkms]

samuel is like clay jensen, hes only somewhat interesting when theres a dead girl that hes inlove with. When there isnt a dead lover he sort of bounces from girl to girl waiting for something to stick, his character is the guy we're supposed to say "oh hes so nice" but there isnt really much more to him than that. its odd that he somewhat acts as a protaganist but his storylines and personality depend on whoever hes dating or his brother when hes with marina hes the nice boi whos sad that his edgy girlfriend is dead when hes with rebecca hes the nice boi whos a slight badass that betrays gang banger mother when hes with carla hes the nice boi who is working to expose the truth

[@rndmusrnm2763]

Earlier in S1 it seemed that even though she was treated as an outsider, Nadia was pretty satisfied with her life. She mostly got along with her parents, enjoyed learning in school and was happy with her religion. But then suddenly these aspects of her life we believed were Nadia's preference became problems. For example, she fought with the school to keep her Hijab because she wanted to wear it but later in the season that same Hijab became a symbol of her Islamic oppression and it was no longer her decision. Nadia never partied or acted 'wild' but that's became it simply didn't interest her and it just wasn't her personality. But the blame shifts to her dad/religion and we're supposed to believe she wanted to wild out all along. It's weird because she went from being the most Self-assured character to the one with the biggest Identity crisis. Also, her main obstacle was once the Islamophobia she faced, but then it changed to Islam itself being the problem.

[@UIAL570]

@@kK-iv3hc Character development does not mean debasing and demoralizing a character. You can grow and still believe in your religion and practicing it to the best of your ability.

[@beatrizgaspar6697]

I mean... That's what teens do? Teens question everything they were brought up to be as kid, they question authority and try to find themselves in the face of conventional expectations. Thats literally every teen ever. That's when you find yourself and define your likes and believes. I think its impossible to find a teen that didn't thought about either they believe or not in religion, that didn't argue with their parents and struggled with the generational gap between them, and there's definitely no teen that hasn't experimented with alcool and partying. If anything having the muslim girl do all these things just shows how everyone is equal and goes through the same hormonal weird and confusing times as a teen. Like literally every single other character on the show did. You cant expect a tv show about teens and about growing up to not have conflict, opposition, peer pressure, confusion, even if you think its wrong (guess what teens make bad decisions). Of course every ethnicity deserves every kind of representation, muslim girls should have ruly and unruly teens to look up to in media. The thing is, in this show, the writers chose to have every single character be unruly, problematic and excessive, because that's literally the basis of the plot. It would be ridiculous to have the Muslim girl be any different from the actual point and plot of the show, just because shes muslism. Why would it be? Can't muslism teens feel confusion, revolution and pressure as everyone else?

[@rndmusrnm2763]

@@beatrizgaspar6697 The problem with Nadia's character arc isn't about her relationship with Islam (I do think it was part of it though). The problem is that her character did a complete 180 and it didn't make sense. Like I said before, she went from the most self-assured grounded person to the most conflicted/confused in just half a season with no explanation. I get what you're saying about about teens changing and questioning their own beliefs, this is very common in coming of age stories. But Nadia's character arc was not set up like that, there was no hint she was feeling limited by her beliefs in fact she held them very strongly. Its not like with Omar you was clearly having internal struggle and was confused. Nadia's big obstacle was external forces she faced in school. Its inconsistent writing to just flip it out of nowhere with no build up. Its not just a "muslim girl" thing either. Its like if they Carla suddenly dislike having threesomes and have her become super catholic bc she realized she didn't like being promiscuous. This would be confusing and crazy bc we know that Carla never had an issue with being sexually active, she wasn't peer-pressured, it was just her. Thats how it is with Nadia. Her character arc just changed out of nowhere.

[@saf8514]

@@beatrizgaspar6697 I agree that Muslims girls can and do experience rebellion etc as u stated in ur comment. Nut the issue with elite is that this is all the representation we get. Muslim women representation is so limited and rare that we have every right to complain if we feel that representation is in adequate. As a Muslim teenage girl myself who is quite rebellious, I still wouldn’t do things like loose my virginity or drink alcohol. Anyone who was raised in an Islamic family, ESPECIALLY a strict one like Nadia’s wouldn’t take up these sins so easily. It’s also really an issue that her religion is constantly the root of her problems. It’s a negative portrayal of Islam and honestly just pure shit.

[@beatrizgaspar6697]

@@saf8514 when you're trying to accurately portray rebellion thats what you get: sins, because otherwise you're not going against your religion. It's not like Christians get a different treatment, when there's a portrayal of a teen Christian rebelling what he does is commit sins (sex without marriage for example is everywhere). I totally get that not having more representation beyond this thrope is wrong and annoying, but if someone is doing it then how else should they rebel? I was raised catholic and when i made up my mind about not being one that was exactly what i did, i did stuff that my previous religion thought wrong, so i think is very believable, even if a cliche at this point, to portray that kind of story. I do understand what you're saying, i just think that the need for more diverse representation should also mean stop doing some of the plot points that we've already seen. And i would disagree, i think Nadia has problems and story lines that come from other places beyond religion. But when you're raised with a major role of religion in your life I think its believable that religion will define a lot of your beliefs and thoughts, making it also easy to start having questions and doubts about those. Even if she is a Muslim, she is also defined by being a teen in spain in the 21st century, defined by being an intelligent, independent woman that wants to see the world, so yeah i totally think it's believable for her to want to have sex and drink like all other teens in spain want. You're saying you want Muslims to be defined by more than their religion. Well this is it. She having these things she wants to do come from the fact that shes also a teen, a person I love, a person searching for herself. All beyond her religion. I literally know zero teens that dont question and disobey rules, religion, parents and expectations, or that dont want to have experiences.

[@thabzmoloi2953]

I would watch a whole video on why Ander doesn't deserve Omar

[@illukos1531]

Sorry what? First thing Omar did when he found out Ander has cancer was cheating on him. And Ander is the bad one? Sis you're Delusional with a big ass "D"

[@kingmxjup1825]

They're both really toxic for each other, and Omar is equally awful to Ander imo.

[@illukos1531]

@@kingmxjup1825 Tbh I just couldn't stand Omar for the most of the story. I always felt like he took up his struggles on other people

[@aao2780]

@@illukos1531 The first thing Omar did was be there for Ander and he tried to make him feel better in what was a very difficult situation but he just got pushed away. I believe Omar “cheated” after Ander suggested an open relationship because he was looking for comfort when he had nobody. It was wrong but they’re teenagers who never dealt with such issues. And it was Ander taking his frustrations on Omar most of the time.. Guzman called him out on it.

[@liviclare]

Um what? Are we watching the same show LMFAO Omar literally cheated last season

[@blueswan7655]

The detective was literally even duller than samu

[@dexroda6505]

the detective isnt really meant to be an interesting character, she just adds drama

[@thelegacyofgaming2928]

The detective was weird af 😂

[@nkanyisoinnocentkhwane3752]

I hate it when KZbinrs have to fight with copyright claims. It's Fair Use! It's been a tough year: Let me enjoy this KZbin

[@nanamiharuka3269]

So true 😔

[@Ladyknightthebrave]

Gotta feed the algorithm. Hey your video slaps and I agree that the actress who plays Nadia is extremely gorgeous

[@chloekm7958]

I love seeing my fave youtubers in each others comment ❤

[@siddiqsmouse5004]

The fact they did NOTHING with Ander's Season One Tennis career storyline is disgusting. I remember his dad saying something about using his and Omar's relationship to boost good publicity for his tennis career idk....

[@lucasouza889]

ander literally gave up tennis and told his dad he would never play tennis again

[@atilla9770]

i mean they began it, wrote a good storyline ab it and ended it idk where the problem is

[@evangeliar.7600]

I mean they ended the storyline in the last episode? But I would love to see more about anders dad.

[@zuperheads4828]

nobody gaf about his tennis career

[@candyshopdream]

He had such an interesting storyline with his family and being the son of the headmaster and not as rich as the others, being pressured into the tennis thing, exploring his sexuality, him being best friends to Guzman and Polo and signs of drug abuse. He also seemed to be the only honest good guy with morals. But they cut all that off after S1 and made him "the gay guy" and suddenly everything was about him and Omar being toxic and him making a U-turn to being an asshole most of the time.

[@sofiapicasso1915]

I agree with all of this (specially that Mina is hot af), I hate shows that end up with the main character being the most boring one. I understand that Samuel is meant to be the most "relatable" one so he can introduce us to this crazy world or whatever, but you can make an average straight man character without it being so incredibly dull

[@sweetpeabee4983]

It's funny because on paper, Nadia should be the most "boring" to watch because she mostly tries to stay out of drama, has a part time job in her family's store that takes up a lot of her time, and mostly studies the rest of the time lol. Meanwhile Samuel is _super_ involved in the main plot & messy drama every season. Imo it's a misunderstanding by the writers or idk, someone? lol 🤷🏻‍♀️, that having stuff happen around a character who is a zzz-inducing sponge somehow makes them interesting by osmosis.

[@Kmkmkms]

@@sweetpeabee4983 i guess her dislike for drama is also what makes her personality more vibrant in a crowd of rich dramatic gossip lovers shes the one who tends to stay out of trouble (or at least try to) the most

[@joshuahagan1797]

I liked his character he’s underrated

[@chrisgrimstad9985]

it's the way that I watched every season of elite and left it having no clue he was the main character 😐like I am just learning this now and I am shocked. I think he was so boring that even tho he probably had more screen time and the plot was more focused on his perspective to designate him as the main character I somehow didn't notice.... sometimes I forget he even exists when thinking about the show's arc at least in season 1😅

[@butterbubbles5375]

My thoughts (prior to watching the review): 1. The 3rd Season was awful. 2. Omar and Ander were toxic, and shouldn’t have stayed together. 3. Carla was all over-the-place, character-wise. 4. Lu was the best part of S3. 5. Christian should’ve come back. 6. Samuel was some major white bread. 7. The three-some of S3 was a waste of time, when they should’ve been fixing toxic Omander, or developing lustful Nadia x Guzman. 8. No one would think Polo was worthy of redemption if he wasn’t ✨conventionally attractive ✨ 9. S1 was the best, by far. 10. Ander getting cancer was a cop-out. He needed some development, lowkey. I loved him and I sympathized with him, but he def needed some real growth, not absolvement.

[@guppy8073]

I haven’t watched the show but through this video I was starting to sympathize with Polo until #8 slapped me in the face

[@butterbubbles5375]

@@guppy8073 I call that the Draco-Malfoy Effect. Listen, I’m guilty of it too. I freaking love Draco, are you kidding me? But I’m also aware that his whole character depth and redemption potential would never have been so _nearly_ romanticized if anyone less attractive than Tom Felton played him. I’m sure there’s earlier male figures that reflect this. Scratch that, there definitely are. But Draco’s a popular figure that reflects this pretty-privilege. Because pretty privilege is real. I also think characters in the vain of Zuko fit with this notion. Yes, he had an amazing redemption arc all of his own accord. But, do I think it’d be nearly as acknowledged and praised if he wasn’t every-girl’s-first-cartoon-crush-they-wished-were-real? No, not a chance. Being attractive is almost a prerequisite for depth and forgiveness and redemption. There’s a reason conventionally “ugly” people like the Crabbes and Goyles of the world don’t get the same depth as a conventionally attractive person. It’s almost sad that if you’re not pretty, by society’s standards, you are instantly not afforded the same allowances or sympathy. You’re dumbed down into a single thing, or otherwise it’s a point that you’re not attractive and is a major part of the characters (Ex. Brienne from GoT, Dumplin’ protagonist, Sierra Burgess, etc...) But that’s just my two cents on the matter :)

[@guppy8073]

@@butterbubbles5375 well said! I’ve had similar conversations on this topic, especially about Draco (comparing him to Dudley) but never to this depth. That was a great read and I hope more people will realize it too!

[@butterbubbles5375]

@@guppy8073 I actually really like Dudley’s apology to Harry. It didn’t make up for the years of torture and bullying, but I can understand how Dudley was conditioned to believe himself better than Harry, mostly out of Petunia’s jealousy/insecurities over her prettier, more accomplished, more special sister Lily. I’m irritated they removed that part from the movies, because I think a major overlooked theme of Harry Potter is that no one is truly good or bad. As Sirius Black put it, everyone has a little light and dark in them. We see several figures that teeter on the dark side, and several that teeter on the light as well. But Draco gets more attention because he has more presence, and is attractive to fourteen year old girls lol And yes, the more attractive you are, the more people are willing to see the good in you. I can’t say how many full blown predators or creeps have made their way on screen purely because they have a six pack and an “UwU sad backstory” that somehow justifies their toxic and damaging behavior. Conventional attractiveness doesn’t mean anything about who you are and your relative goodness. I also think confidence and good values is what makes people attractive, but maybe that’s just me. I think this whole issue could’ve been avoided if physiognomy wasn’t a thing. Historically, literature (and by extension, all media) promotes using specific character traits to reflect personal or moral beliefs (ex. A big gut = gluttony). While this isn’t inherently harmful (the hero’s scar, like Harry’s, has proliferated nearly all hero’s journeys. To the point that it’s its own archetype), there is a problem because it promotes the idea that physical indicators make you “special”, like birth marks. But that’s more uncommon, and I don’t think that affects people as much. The problem is when negative associations arise. My previously mentioned gluttony comparison of note, but also things like physical deformities being a fascination of modern culture. There are many media’s (can’t think of much off the top of my head, but Chillingworth from the Scarlet Letter comes to mind) that fixate on physical appearances for our consumption and entertainment. Hell, that’s the whole appeal of pôrn. This just devolved into a whole other topic, so let me bring it back. Regardless of the ethicality of physiognomy, the subconscious desensitization to regular appearances/bodies is what facilitates such odd trends in media. We’re so used to seeing the minority of cis, white, thin, attractive individuals, we don’t see the inherent racism, sexism, body-shaming, and abnormal dehumanization across a wide scale of only showing a fixed minority of the public. Most people don’t look like Polo’s or Zuko’s or Draco’s. And that’s okay. Whew, rant over. I discuss the impact of social media on human perceptions on a daily basis, so I know quite a lot about the topic. Especially how perceived proximity to attractiveness creates unnecessary biases. Humans are fascinating creatures.

[@guppy8073]

@@butterbubbles5375 I actually forgot all about Dudley’s apology. Have read the books but it’s been a while! My discussion was more about who gets fix-it fan fiction. I hadn’t actually read any HP fanfic, but one of my friends who does says there’s a good handful of Dudley redemption arcs, and I think that’s a nice! I think it’s great how much thought you’ve put into this! Feels like reading an academic paper, in the best way. Beauty is so strange, I feel like we all agree it’s nonsensical but still, it’s so ingrained into our psyche that we can’t disregard it. I think your points on physiognomy are equally poignant for those who have visible disabilities; how disabilities have been used to describe moral failings in literature and how that impacts people with disabilities everyday. That’s something I personally want to read more about. But this was a fascinating conversation, thanks for having it with me C:

[@manuelagiraldo340]

Skam's last season is all about a young muslim girl in norway, so amazinggg everyone watch it now

[@emilyandygreen5733]

i love skam

[@manuelagiraldo340]

@karina I watched it on stremio but I think there's a google drive somewhere on tumblr with most of the seasons!

[@Gerbera726]

Her character and story was done so well. SKAM is way better if your looking for a high school based show.

[@justthetruth3950]

YES SKAAAAM IS AMAZING

[@Gerbera726]

@@braingirl9112 watch the OG Norwegian one. In my opinion it's the best. Then I would sat watch the french one (I think now they added 2 more season making it 5 in total which the original doesn't have).

[@soph1172]

„She‘s already dating Polo, who wears suspenders“ I don‘t know why but that line cracked me up

[@MissKashira]

I love those suspenders. They are like a cast member themselves.

[@BassicallyKiyash]

​@@MissKashira I will forever remember this description

[@emerald3049]

i just font get why the writers thought it would be a good idea for ander to get cancer. it seems like tv shows now and days cant come up with a great storyline for each off their characters.

[@Memily23]

I was so afraid that they would have make another bury your gays trope, but then he survived and the showrunners still managed to make the whole plot point look useless. No character development, no change at all. They just add it for drama.

[@jolie1631]

I said the same thing lmao

[@aneirys]

To me the first season of Riverdale was actually decent. It was something like this, a murder mistery, then the writers gave up on developing something coherent. I haven’t watch Elite, but based on what you are saying, it feels that it’s going thru a similar path than Riverdale.

[@wandanemer2630]

That's actually quite true!

[@laurenbeddoes3478]

Riverdale isn't trying to be deep though. it's campy and fun and it's supposed to be, they're not trying to do a social commentary like elite

[@wandanemer2630]

@@laurenbeddoes3478 Season One and Two TRIED to be serious at least in the angst... and they *tried* to make commentary more than once.

[@dtsotm]

Lauren Beddoes sorry but season 1 of riverdale 100% tried to do social commentary, they had an entire episode about slut shaming and in one of the episodes josie told archie the reason they were called the pussycats was because they had to claw their way into rooms he could just walk into, a clear reference to the unfair disadvantage black women have in the world. it may be *trying* to be fun and campy now but it definitely hasn’t been that way from the beginning

[@siddiqsmouse5004]

I remember a review of the third season saying something along the lines of "a weirdly mature Spanish Riverdale"

[@4dultw1thj0b]

Their blazers remind me of the Warblers from Glee

[@ninalempicka2948]

that's what got me into watching the show, I thought it was a glee spinoff 💀

[@fedhaamour]

I'm loving how you dragging the main character

[@CanelaAguila]

A small tangent on European diversity following the small comment on the two black characters, with stuff most of you might already know: to be fair, in the context of Spain the diversity would make more sense coming from minorities that have a large presence there, like the Romani, Chinese, Moroccan and Romanian communities, as well as a lot of people from other Spanish speaking countries. It's not that Spanish people don't discriminate, but my "racist aunt" complains about and looks down on Romanian immigrants, not black people (because she never sees one, she's more of a xenophobe I guess). There is also a whole other socio-economic history to these communities. These Romanians that my aunt complains about are all low-skilled workers that came over not too long ago. In Romania I've heard people complain that the ones who leave romania are "gipsies who give Romania a bad name". The Netherlands then is very different, a lot of Moroccans & Turks were actively motivated to come over in the 60s to take over low-skilled jobs, but its third generation can now be found in every layer of society. Same goes for the Surinamese that migrated after the country became independent in the 70s (... Yes, I know). There is still a lot of discrimination, mind you, but I have the feeling as a dual citizen of both countries that Spain has slightly less upward mobility. I think diversity is important, and it's certainly not bad that two black characters were included, but if we begrudge Elite diversity it would make more sense to begrudge it underrepresenting Moroccans and Chinese people. I think we should talk about diversity more in the context of what makes sense in a country. And Europe is very different from the states. (In a way, discrimination tying in with class would have been great to explore for elite...)

[@simple-sardines]

great points, but as a romanian i just feel the need to correct one bit: most romanians don't look down on people who leave the country. it's pretty much only old, very traditional people that do that, as most younger romanians want to leave the country themselves (since our government is pretty shit). i just wanted to clarify that because i have a lot of family that's left the country (and have experienced a lot of xenophobia) and that one comment kind of rubbed me the wrong way, though i'm sure it wasn't intentional.

[@CanelaAguila]

@@simple-sardines Thank you! No offense meant, no! My "source" was the family I was staying with in Romania, but they were quite conservative so that probably informed their views. We talked about emigration specifically in the context of discussing my journey there, in which I sat in a night train next to a self-proclaimed thief living abroad in Spain (very nice guy btw). The family then gave me a whole lecture about "those people" giving a bad reputation to the country. Their son (my friend) had left as well to study in the Netherlands, so it was a very specific complaint. That was my limited context. Anyways, I live in the country where a politician once set up a "help line" for people feeling victimized in some way by polish and romanian workers, so yes to the the whole xenophobia part.

[@Anna-zo7dj]

Thank you I was about to comment on this. Diversity and racial discrimination are different in Europe than in the Usa. There are differences even in between European countries but given the fact that the show is set in Spain and not even in a big city the two black characters only thing doesn’t seem unrealistic to me. Sure there should be more diversity but if we really go for authenticity then the problem isn’t the lack of black characters it’s the lack of other ethnicities. Correct me if I’m wrong I’m only saying this based on my experiences

[@unfazedjae2645]

Black Spaniards are mostly found in Barcelona, Seville and Madrid. - from an Afro Spaniard

[@achieachie911]

Good points. I think she'd bring up black people because the creator is black herself? We are always looking for people that look like us🙂

[@literaIIyshy]

Rebeca and Valerio were the highlight of second season hands down both actors are so talented and charismatic I love them

[@Dartagnan010]

Season 4 just came out, and it got significantly, significantly worse. I'm talking hot garbage fire, *massive* fricking disappointment. They should've wrapped everything up and ended it after season 3.

[@goitseonemzimba401]

I am so disappointed… I don’t like the new characters

[@ikarus1752]

I'm genuinely scared of what season 5 is going to be like. cause the 4th was a shitshow.

[@sashhhaa4874]

@@ikarus1752 same tbh 😅

[@carringtonn7]

I actually liked it lol. It was definitely different from the other szn’s, but I still thought it was good

[@AikiraBeats]

Talk about it the only interesting thing about the last season was Rebecca relationship everything else was boring

[@carlykronish7161]

i thought i was crazy for having polo as my favourite character but now I feel better that you literally pointed out how he was the most developed and interesting of the bunch

[@j.m251]

As long as you didn’t think he shouldn’t have gone to prison or whatever. He bothered me, but it’s mainly bc I don’t do the whole sympathy thing for characters that are murderers, yet he did have an actual storyline

[@trix6130]

I haven't finished the video, all im saying is: if christian hadn't just fucking disappeared, the second and third season would have been so much better. But I guess he had a contract with la casa de paper. Anyways in this house we love and appreciate Miguel herrán

[@trix6130]

wow you just said this two second after I left the comment lmao glad we agree

[@taylorswiftmidnight]

right but i like him better in money heist so i’m cool with it

[@Bri88888]

I really hope that elite doesn’t turn into a 13 reasons why or riverdale. Those shows started out STRONG, but went downhill fast. Also, I don’t know if it’s just me but I feel like Christian was such a waste of character/storyline. I felt like so much could’ve been done, but they basically “killed” him off. Edit: Season. 4 wasn’t that great and now they’ve announced season. 5

[@ww.DuzaFizz]

Fr, I was actually kind of dissapointed when they announced seasons 4&5 since everything was tied up. I'm kinda worried that it will end up like Glee, where they drag it on to the point where every pre-established characters traits get stripped away in favour of ridiculously unrealistic plotlines.

[@justthetruth3950]

His character and Nano are mostly gone because both actors picked Money Heist(where they also have lead roles) over Elite. I believe that's also one of the reasons the show is been struggling that much.

[@mariana-ni9wl]

The show is already bad lol

[@darwis4769]

13rw was already shit from the get-go😄😄

[@blaze6477]

@@darwis4769 yeah it was dogshit since season 1. At least Elite executed the mystery beautifully in season 1 and the characters and dialogue were well written. 13RW has bland stupid and irritating characters with shit dialogue.

[@susanalopez5052]

I always found it weird how quickly the show (and the fans) tried make you forget and forgive Lu’s racism, they could have done something very interesting because way she bullied Nadia in season one felt very white feminist of her and we rarely see that on these teen shows, but nope forget about it they are friends now!! Either way I still like the show for how trashy it is, and I feel like the murder/mystery interrogation format makes it feel better than other current teen dramas, like they are trying to make more of an effort even if isn’t self aware and the serious angst Can come off as cringy

[@Eris_Norregard]

Can I ask what exactly do you mean by "white feminist"?

[@susanalopez5052]

@@Eris_Norregard bullying a Muslim woman for her cultural upbringing in the name of the ideals of western feminism. You know it happened mostly in the first season, and sure Nadia was very judgemental too, but Lu’s bullying was targeted towards Nadias Muslim identity and shielded behind a “she’s not liberated like us!”

[@Eris_Norregard]

@@susanalopez5052 Oh right, Lu had such a great character development I forgot how terrible she could be in s1. The worst thing is that I can almost see where she's coming from - being raised as an atheist, I too used to see islam as incredibly misogynistic and restrictive, basically "anti-feminist". But as I grew older, I realized that feminism is about choice. If a muslim woman chooses her religion and all the traditions that come with not because of a society pressure, but because it's a part of who she is, than she is by definition liberated. I'm glad that both Lu and Nadia became less prejudiced later.

[@susanalopez5052]

@@Eris_Norregard same here, I lowkey started disliking Lu because she felt like a meaner bootleg Blair, but she really grew on me

[@susanalopez5052]

@@Eris_Norregard same here, I lowkey started disliking Lu because she felt like a meaner bootleg Blair, but she really grew on me

[@onebrowngirl998]

Can't wait for your Season 4 video. You're gonna have a field day with that one. It's so so weak.

[@sashhhaa4874]

Frrr 😅😂🤣 Season 4 was a mess

[@AikiraBeats]

Yeah she is they did Rebecca so dirty

[@mariac7664]

I think there is going to be a fifth season so It’s better to wait

[@musiclover8843]

I can’t even count how many times I’ve been asked whether I was being forced to wear my hijab. Like, no.

[@gabssza8569]

I just keep thinking how pretty Nadia's actress is

[@ryannaseymor543]

Same

[@marthaarchives]

soooooooooo gorgeous.

[@ithoughtiwouldbeunderstood7050]

THANK YOU, i always felt like nadia and valerio had chemistry and was surprised they didnt explore that

[@AmetafJohora]

im actually happy they just stayed friends, there aren't a ton of straight guy and straight girls having just platonic relationships, and one of the best parts of valerio's character was seeing him break things off with lu because he was shocked at what she did to nadia and felt guilt for what he did to nadia as well, it was nice to see him just have respect for nadia and to stick up for her without them needing to have romantic development

[@irenedotcom2405]

@@AmetafJohora I mean Valerio isn’t straight.

[@AmetafJohora]

@@irenedotcom2405 oh huh i wasn't totally sure, but my point still stands

[@mickeycattt]

@@AmetafJohora I loved their friendship. Sucks we didn’t get to see anymore after he recorded her

[@AikiraBeats]

I was waiting for that and so disappointed that she went for Guzman because that wouldn't happen in real life

[@xoxKenziexox]

you forgot the most frustrating thing about season three. Cayetana placing the murder weapon on Polo when she was "saying goodbye", cutting her hand on the bottle, and getting blood on the crime scene....AND NOTHING HAPPENED.

[@lgsuma71]

Ikr, the police in this show are terrible at their jobs. Or maybe it's the writers.

[@marthaarchives]

dude same !!!!!! like wtf was that about 🙄

[@meg_2087]

Ikr? Like I was actually hoping there's going to be more to it but nah

[@PrettyLittleLiar4]

Right?? The similar thing happened when Marina fell in the locker room and hurt her head, and Nadia came in with her injured hand to help her. It was clearly shown that their wounds came in contact (important since Marina had HIV), and NOTHING happened afterwards. Was it just a tease? I don’t know. It’s just pointless, I thought she would at least have a scare and go to the doctors to check if she’s alright. Anyways, the show is full of inconsistencies, plot holes and pointless moments that seemingly promise one thing but lead to nothing.

[@Kay-nc1ux]

@@PrettyLittleLiar4 im pretty sure it was because marina's was on medication that is meant to keep the hiv contained to the point you can't infect others. im not sure if that also works with blood to blood transmission, but i think that was the explanation

[@literaIIyshy]

Not gonna lie I appreciated Samuel blandness. He was just a good boi™

[@maidarlindear]

Funny, cause he wasn't even that good lmao

[@danmi7]

but he's awful lol

[@irish2661]

he’s really not a good person, just the way he betrayed rebeka is enough proof for that. he is so selfish that he didnt even seem to care how snitching on her will ruin her life. she was literally homeless, had zero money and nowhere to go. but he didnt even thought of it, and even after that he kept trying to tell her to do this and that like he have the right to. the drugs that she had to sold was the only way to pay bills, and he was being an annoying prick about it. ugh i hate him

[@literaIIyshy]

@@irish2661 I'm not about to read that novel you just wrote. I was talking about first season Samuel.

[@kaskus7147]

Is Valerio just Robert Sheehan's character from Umbrella Academy?

[@Yharazayd]

basically, yup

[@eyimofeedah3640]

Yes but mixed with a little Luther

[@hassanalkhalaf1115]

@@eyimofeedah3640 HAHAHA made my day

[@felixsfrecklessavedmylife9173]

@@eyimofeedah3640 LMAO 😭✋

[@user-by1df8ok3l]

@@eyimofeedah3640 PLSHSJS

[@RobertoHernandez-to4nc]

As a Spaniard the only thing a like about Elite is the diversity. Yess is not that much, but in spanish TV there is 0%. Is the first Time i see more representation of differents Backgrounds in Spain, even when sometimes is to chliche.

[@DoodleDoo2]

Well y’all are in your way to make tv more diverse than :) celebrate the victories no matter how big or small

[@lapatafc618]

And let's be honest for Spain it was fine black community is significantly smaller than even France but maybe more latinoamericans and Moroccans

[@MrCheesecake1928]

@@lapatafc618 and yet still they tend to represent latin people as lazy, dumb, annoying and poor. Most of Spanish series do that, racist much.

[@bal9944]

I'm Turkish but Elite is a Spanish TV show, so of course the majority of characters will be Spanish... My God you guys are annoying... We don't representation every time. It's a European show

[@victoriarosa1762]

I used to joke that Samuel's personality was being an angry gnome (no disrespect to by short kings tho)

[@maria-ie6zd]

it went in a similar road gossip girl did. started out kinda criticizing the higher class and we find it relatable but with time they have more screen time to the rich kids, bigger storylines to the point they became the center of the show and 90% of the fans’ favorite characters are the rick kids and they end up hating the “poor” character we’re supposed to find relatable.

[@popsitck6083]

"Polo. He wears suspenders" lmao

[@aleemv]

it made me upset how downhill ander and omar’s relationship went after the first season, like they were the most wholesome and then i hated their relationship

[@crybaby5564]

@Hi Guys TRUE

[@aaron_collen]

24:15 well, I mean, is Spain. Here there's not really that much black people as in other countries. The underrepresentation here becomes literal invisibility, like, porcentually. So, it's alrealdy a miracle that Omar and Nadia exist.

[@aaron_collen]

@Trinity Gilreath well, first of all, your argument doesn't really stand if pricks could use it to defend the exact opposite thing (like "I don't care that real people are diverse, this isn't real, they don't have to be here", which, ew). Second of all, it's no so much about wether it makes sense for them to have POCs, than about how many POC actors we have in Spain. I mean, they are a smaller percentage of society, so they are also a smaller percentage of actors. Again, I'm not saying that we have enough representation, I'm explaining why this isn't as terrible as it looks. In fact, you get Omar, Nadia and Lu in season 1, I can assure you that in comparaison with most of Spanish fiction that's actually a lot of non-white people. (And yeah, I think that they're not exactly the best kind of representation, but well, baby steps).

[@ninalempicka2948]

@Trinity Gilreath lmaoo

[@edc4004]

@@aaron_collen you’re probably talking to an american. They cant imagine there is a country that doesnt have the same people in it as theirs. Like Spain is 94% white, one of the highest percentages in the whole of Europe so to have a kinda main character whos muslim is already a big deal. Also you have to understand that race is america is not viewed the same as race in the rest of the world. I believe that here we have a more prevalent issue with religion than race, which btw isnt really a thing. It works diffrent in different parts of the world, they need to réalise their country is not the only one in the world

[@aaron_collen]

@@edc4004 I mean, is tricky because we can't understand race by us American standards. It just doesn't work because native Spanish people are white in the sense that we aren't systematically opressed by our appeareance; but, given our history, is normal that a lot of us don't look white within other countries standards (houndreds of years of mixing with arab and North african people and all of that). Nevertheless, the actress that plays Nadia is from I think Moroccan descent. She actually has a pretty foreing name. And the character in itself is supposed to be Palestinian. So I figured out even within our context, both the actress and the character navigate the world as a poc. Btw I agree with your previous point. We do have a bigger issue with religion. Basically bc when you have a highly prevalent white country, where a lot of the times white people don't look so different from some non-white people, opression tends to take that road. But, I mean, as US americans are still debating wether are we white or not (lmao) most of them wouldn't listen to what we are literally telling them.

[@aaron_collen]

@@user-gf5ce9ig1b well, I guess that's a valid point of view. I mean, I might be biased since my city is not very big, and I also live in the North. Even though I'm from a working class neighbourhood, most people around me are white; but that doesn't mean your experience isn't valid, it would make sense for them to coesxist, if that makes sense. Althought I still think that it's middly coherent for a Spanish show to cast/have less POC characters than an American or British one (not to this extent, tho). (Oh, and thanks for complimenting my name! I chose it myself, way before the character of Ari was created, but I do think is a pretty cool coincidence too).

[@s.bakyhnh1756]

Elite: Almost, Not Quite: Director's Cut?

[@mariedrasnin2152]

Honestly after season one it all felt like a telenovela that took itself too seriously. I still really liked it tho, I’m here for stupid plots as long as the characters are interesting. Nadia and Guzman were definitely my favourite part of the show. Also I just like the fact that a spanish production is getting such a large international following (same goes for casa de papel of course). It may not be great but at least it isn’t another hollywood teen drama

[@CharmfulCarlie]

I think the problem with the show that it got too big than they initially thought of. And now they have to listen to the fanbase. Plus, they completely changed the mystery tone into a complete teen drama.

[@AikiraBeats]

It's definitely a fan show especially with this last season it was almost as if I was reading a Wattpad story

[@dexroda6505]

the shows never really been about mystery tho

[@shiroinamida2002]

the only thing that's stopping me of watching this show is the fact that they're teenagers. it's so oversexualized and explicit in every possible way, and it's uncomfortable, because if they aged them up to college age, and it wouldn't make any significant difference, maybe it couldve improve it.

[@AikiraBeats]

Yeah they should've been in college for sure but they followed the Riverdale route which kills me

[@dexroda6505]

theyre 18, to me thats kinda fine

[@shiroinamida2002]

@@dexroda6505 idk barely legal teenagers getting oversexualized by very much older people...

[@insanepoet9]

I think the writers messed up by thinking Samu being broody would make him interesting. Every time the writers couldn't figure out what to do with him, they'd throw a girl at him and see what stuck, which is why Carla and Rebe are interested in him (when they could be interested in each other!).

[@chrisgrimstad9985]

brooo i remember when Rebe said Carla had tight tits or something and I was like omg they're gonna get together! but no 😔

[@insanepoet9]

@@chrisgrimstad9985 Rebe even says she's gay for "the marchioness"! It could have been a thing!

[@pregmobrainrot2857]

i actually liked carla and samuel together but youre so right, they thought him being stoic makes him a good character

[@madamemisogynoir2646]

Here are how many people who want Yhara to do a video on Grand Army ⬇

[@amandalopes3048]

I don't buy Samuel and Carla's relaionship for a second. They really want me to believe that she would rat Polo, the boy she knows and dates since they were 12 years old, on a crime he basically commited for her, for this dude that pre heats pasta for her? It's not like she's impulsive like Marina or love sick, actually the story tell us that her character only cares and loves the ones that are like her, they show that through her relationship with Christian and how she deals with that, by playing with him.

[@literaIIyshy]

Elite lost my respect when they didn't make Polo x Christian x Carla a thing. I was rooting for the murder trio so bad

[@Eris_Norregard]

RIGHT?! This makes me so mad, why is it that everytime there is a polyamorous relationship introduced in a TV show, it always ends with some big tragedy? They get together, they have sex a lot, then one of them gets jealous and then the bonds are completely torn apart. Not to mention, they are usually consist of the most toxic people. Seriously, can't we have one good case? It DOES happen in real life. I have friends (two guys, one girl) who have been happily together for over four years.

[@Kmkmkms]

"the murder trio" lmao

[@kiwisvideos0]

Sameeee, I was so disappointed when there started being jealousy and lies and then Christian didn't want anything with them, I'm so sad

[@snem9381]

I loved seeing a polyam relationship on TV... then it ends in murder? Again?

[@Eris_Norregard]

@@yukijames1321 Not always. Jealousy is a bad thing and it does happen a lot, unfortunately, but there are polyamorous people out there who don't get jealous at all, I've seen it happen more than once. The friends I've mentioned before are still happily together (they will have a 5th anniversary soon) and they are not the only ones I've seen. It's just about communication and setting the rules and boundaries right from the get go.

[@learivel]

A) I really wish they didn't have the whole Lu and Valerio plot for obvious reasons and B) PLS CAN WE HAVE MORE OF REBE, I think her character's great but they just didn't do much with it. Also I actually love this show but you made some great points!

[@Eris_Norregard]

What's so wrong about the Lu and Valerio plot? And no, I 'm not saying incest is OK, I'm saying it had potential to be a very interesting plot device that involves a lot of drama and a deepdive into character's psychology and development. I think they let go of the whole idea too quickly.

[@learivel]

@@Eris_Norregard yeah you do have a point. I just think that plot taints a lot of what is rly great about those characters otherwise. but I see what you mean for sure!

[@uwu-fm2kj]

small correction Yeray isn't black, he's mixed race Spanish and black(not sure). We don't do one drop rule here in Europe. Also Spain has a very small population of black peoples, so as a biracial person here in Europe I don't really mind having few poc characters tbh, the representation is much better than other shows

[@literaIIyshy]

Spanish is not a race tho (?

[@uwu-fm2kj]

@@literaIIyshy sorry I meant white Spanish

[@crisdebelle]

@@literaIIyshy she meant Spanish

[@crisdebelle]

that's true it seems only the USA still use the racist one drop rule system

[@LuuCaicedo]

Thank you !!

[@glorsvids]

I hate how Samuel is the center of the show since he’s so bland. Élite s1 is chefs kiss, but it took such a nosedive after that, even though I liked s2 the most. I have a soft spot for the setting as I studied abroad in Spain 🇪🇸 and missed the Spain vernacular. Commenting again to help this vid out in the algorithm and since I crave any and all analysis of this show!

[@AriUgalde]

About they showing black characters just in the third season...In Spain black population is really low, not like in America that is almost the half of the population. What there are mostly in Spain are latin american, morocans and rumanians. And would be really weird to find then in a rich school, unfortunately. So I think it's realistic than they only introduce one latin american(Lu) and in the season 3 one of the black guys is also latin american. Americans have to remember their reality is not the only reality in the world!!

[@anjie3048]

exactly different european countries have different minority communities and they are not the same as those in the us....

[@irrelevance3859]

The US’s black population is still very low (like 13%) they just have a huge population all together that it appears to be very large, no where near half. But I agree

[@abrilmuchella432]

true

[@afternoonsunjeans9180]

if the show wanted to display reality as it is, they wouldnt have made teens being knowledgable about sex and sexuality as they are presented as if puberty and teen angst is not smth that freakin exists. it's all about what you want to include, and what not. and clearly, BIPOC are not on the list. wonder why (:

[@AriUgalde]

@@afternoonsunjeans9180 well idk in what high school you were but it's completely normal teenagers start their sexual life between 14-16, at least in Spain. I'm not going to say the TV show doesn't have race issues, of course they have it, specially in the representation of Muslims that I have to remember you are bipoc

[@MakeedaRoberts]

When Christian made that bomb joke towards Nadia in the first season I legitimately lost it I remember I had to rewind it to hear it again because I thought I might of heard it wrong whoever wrote that in their can go to hell.

[@133774c05]

he doesn't really make a bomb joke, he makes a self immolation joke (setting yourself on fire), still in bad taste but i think i would make more sense to anglospeaker knowledge or cultural sensibilites to make a bomb joke

[@consueloj.773]

@@133774c05 no he actually makes a bomb joke in episode two (i think, tho it might’ve been another episode) when Nadia is admiring the trophy and Christian goes and says: "thinking about throwing a bomb, uh?" and Nadia responds: "yeah to your face”

[@mickeycattt]

I mean yeah it’s horrible but I guess it’s reality in non Arab countries to be racist AF to Muslims. I’m not surprised they showed racism in the show when they had a Muslim character. It’s what they get weekly so ?

[@tesscrelli783]

Why would you hate the writer for writing a racist joke that was meant to be said by a racist?

[@lucasouza889]

but the point was to literaly point out the racism nadia has to endure

[@tangentexy]

It's clear that Omar loved Ander a lot, because he should have dumped him when he made fun of his Halloween costume, internalized homophobia is the last thing Omar needs in his life.

[@AikiraBeats]

This part

[@dani-888]

YUP

[@kyliegordon3980]

I’ve said it before and Imma say it again: Sana Bakkoush >>> Nadia Shana

[@whatspoppin11326]

Deadass, It was never even a question

[@user-by1df8ok3l]

which is a shame because i rlly wanted to like nadia ://

[@emilyandygreen5733]

yes! i love sana

[@DoodleDoo2]

I always hear how everyone thinks she’s an “unrealistic expectation” and has a “white man saving her” and I feel like I’m taking crazy pills because I watched the entire show and I didn’t see that once??? She takes off her hijab because of the school but she wears it at home and sometimes when she’s out too (she’s allowed to do that because you can choose to wear one or not wear one). She never once relied on how wealth and powerful Guzman was to get a scholarship, she worked hard for that herself while he supported her. I also guess struggling hard to meet your parents expectations and what you think they are gonna react like and trying to figure what you want in life is non existent for Muslims now 🤔. I am a south Asian Muslim woman and I completely sympathized with her and her struggle to meet her parents expectations. It’s like y’all want a picture perfect Muslim because you’ve never struggled with these things therefore they must not be realistic. Not to mention Guzman literally freaking goes to her parents shop, kneels, and apologizes for whatever problem that he has done. How is he a terrible influence trying to teach her that her faith is bad and that she should run away? He always respects her decisions and her understandable indecisiveness. I’m honestly sick of y’all Muslims that think you speak for everyone. I have seen good and bad Muslim representations, there can be more than one type of good Muslim representation. The Muslim girl from Skams was good but so we Nadia but if y’all think only the skams girl is acceptable then clearly you got bias.

[@whatspoppin11326]

@@DoodleDoo2 literally no one here said she was unrealistic. The problem is that the Muslim woman who’s oppressed and hates her religion is *already represented* it’s a stereotype that I’m sick and tired of seeing, I can name at least 10 insteances off the top of my head where the muslimahs defining trait is her rebelling against her religion and only one where she’s just a normal girl being a Muslim and living life as a Muslim, for something to be realistically depicted it should be depicted in equal amounts and while Nadia’s story may be representative of a minority of Muslims it’s not for the rest of us and it’s something we’re sick and tired of having to see and having to deal with as everyone only sees me as hating my religion

[@thefollowingisatest4579]

" skip to @ if you don't to hear my summaries/thoughts on each season" I would not press that button with a gun to my head.

[@gracecanartsometimes]

Im so glad you pointed out that Christian and Nano were both written off for Casa De Papel. I never really liked Christian but I was so excited for his character arc in s2 and then he just disappeared and left us alone with Samuel. I also wish they had actually developed Omar and Ander's relationship problems more in s2 because if they were so adamant on being deep they should've explored Ander's internalized homophobia instead of giving him cancer in s3 instead.

[@flowerbloom..]

I’m just sick and tired of them reusing the thrupple storyline. S1: Polo, Carla, Christian S2: I don’t think there’s one here, so I’ll just count the awkward bed scene with Guzman, Polo and Ander S3: Polo, Cayentana and Valerio S4: Omar, Ander and that new guy

[@rosie2719]

EXACTLYYY

[@dexroda6505]

there are legit only 2 thruples how tf are they reusing it. plus the drama that comes from the thruples is way different

[@misterfortune3790]

There’s only like two throuples. S1: Polo, Carla and Christian S2: You can’t count Guzman sleeping next to his two friends who choose to masturbate together, and then the next day admit it was a one time thing as a Throuple. S3: Polo, Cayetana and Valerio S4: Patrick, Omar and Ander is more like a love triangle.

[@Animefreak242]

It's strange because Riverdale and Elite are one in the same. Surprisingly good first seasons with tons of social commentary and and a compelling mystery that almost completely fell apart in later seasons as the writers grasped at straws to stir up drama, quickly think of thin, vaguely headline-esque story lines, mashed together with useless teen romance

[@devinthomas5671]

I haven't seen anyone mention this but with Netflix they intentionally drop shows after their second season because most contracts only last two seasons and then producers try to negotiate pay raises. If the show ended up getting really weird after two seasons what might have happened is they fired the original team and hired a new crew to do a third season and it ended up going in a different direction because its new people working the show behind the scenes. They also drop shows after two seasons because they want to maintain a balance of having enough new cool content to lure in new subscribers constantly and do not try to maintain subscribership by continuing on with shows after two seasons unless they are extremely popular like Stranger Things or Elite. A lot of good shows have been ended abruptly because of this like The Get Down.

[@1555milena]

I recently watched season 4 and omg rebeka and lucrecia really were the only ones that had any trace of personality

[@grandsonoak]

The thing that I hate the most is that Samuel look 45 years old.

[@marthaarchives]

pleaaaassseeee

[@Batcow-1138]

His actor actually as old as Tom Holland

[@ComfortablyPlump]

Season 1 was great. Season 2 felt like an excuse to have a party every episode. Stopped watching after that.

[@sjblack9135]

People saying Spain "isn't diverse so this is accurate representation actually" are full of sh**. I lived in a small (30K) population town in the middle of nowhere in the region Castille y Leon and we had a large population of Black West African diaspora, people from Senegal, Gambia, from Morrocco. OH, and that doesn't include the large populations that include Romani and Bulgarian descended people, and the large Asian (from what I saw, mainly Chinese) population, too. These people are there, have been there, for a long time and are continually ignored and stiffled; these are totally issues the show could have brought up. I'm so, so tired of people using this idea that yes, while homogenous countries still exist, it's a reason we should "accurately" depict these countries by continuing to perpetuate euro-centric standards--when it all boils down to stereotyping anyway. If you think Spain is one of those homogenous societies, you are wrong, straight up. anyway your videos are amazing love you thank you

[@electriksheep1508]

i have never seen a full episode of elite but I LOVE your videos, so I'm grabbing popcorn and getting ready for this! thank you for making videos!

[@snakesnoteyes]

“If I had so little going for me I’d kill a more interesting person too” is absolutely vicious and I can’t stop laughing

[@TBD..]

I think polo said that to lu coz that was what marina said to him about carla which pushed him over the edge. I think he was egging her on coz he wanted to die, and that's why he said it's okay and tried walking out of the club so lu or any of his friends would not be suspects

[@hyperballad4971]

i’ve never seen elite but i watched this whole video. literally all i was thinking about was how hot nadia is 😂

[@AikiraBeats]

Facts she is fire along with Lu

[@astralura]

You make watching detailed analysis of media I've never seen and never plan on seeing so entertaining and interesting

[@spellraiser]

yhara your videos keep me alive. i have never seen this show and you made me care about it. u da video essay god

[@WolfpupBrew]

I love that you used After School’s First Love for the credits song. You’re amazing. Also, thank you for the amazing hour long video (re-upload).

[@felicityb93]

Can I just say that I absolutely love that you use K-Pop songs as interludes in your videos?! And it's usually songs from 2nd gen groups, so it's like a fun guessing game for me. Great video, as always; I'm allergic af to shows like this (it's starting to get weird how literally every show about teenagers portrays them in this highly dramatized manner), but it's dope to hear people dissect them.

[@pippinmajor2440]

I love all of your videos but the editing on this one is just so fun and great, the titles are brilliant, wahh, I just love it so much

[@burbujas4448]

Thank you for putting this video up again. I had just finished elite to watch this video and was sad when I saw it was gone. Love your takes and hearing your thoughts ✨️

[@poppaelias4175]

I wasn’t sure how i should feel about liking Polo so much at first lol, but I feel more justified after this video😂 fr though even though the reveal that it was Lu had me *reeling*, I was SOBBING during his death scene. the part where Lu’s voice is shaking and she says “I didn’t mean to” and you can see in his face that he realizes he’s going to die, and he just tells her, “I know.” then when Guzman forgives him…..man I couldn’t take it😭

[@katyayani6698]

Polo was the only reason why I was so invested in seasons 2 and 3 despite of its shortcomings. Now knowing that he's dead , it's kinda hard to be excited for further seasons

[@shea6140]

yesss i love your videos and im so happy youre talking about elite!!! 💗

[@AyshaRehmen]

you are an absolute genius. I cannot believe I am getting to consume such high quality content for free. Thank you for this amazing, thorough, in depth analysis on one of my favorite shows. I can't wait to check out your other videos. You just gained a new subscriber and fan :) Love your work so much!

[@carysbebard3690]

Can't believe there were spoilers in this hour long video about a show I haven't seen....ur content is just so good!

[@leena6615]

I did my best to keep track of the plot and characters in this show while watching this amazing video but if you ask me why Polo killed Marina I wouldn’t be able to answer you. But I can totally relate to watching a whole season for a beautiful actress because I honestly watched this whole video for your voice.

[@sergiovela7686]

It's not explained that well in the video. Basically marina's and carla's dads were doing shady businesses together. All the dirt was stored in a flashdrive which was Hidden on carla's dad's watch. When marina helps nano get Money she tells him to steal carla's dad's watch collection. Carla figures it out and tells marina to return just that one watch. Nano gets greedy and tries to blackmail carla's dad. Meanwhile Carla breaks up with polo because polo slept with Christian without her knowing which breaks the rules of the threesome or something. Polo gets to a point where he would do anything to get Carla back and goes to confront marina and take the watch back. And then in a fit of rage he ends up killing marina. It's a really good twist because throughout the season polo was the only character who didn't really have a motive for killing marina

[@Lisaand11]

@@sergiovela7686 Maybe it's me but tbh I feel like Polo in a way did have incentive for killing Marina--now, hear me out: Now, I haven't seen season 1 in quite some time but I do remember that before Polo killed Marina, she did ridicule him. Now that doesn't sound like much, but when you think about the moment where he snapped, there were other times in the show where Carla would mock/talk down to Polo, his friends would do the same at times and later on we see that even one of his own mothers would bring him down as well. As for the dumb threesome thing yeah...Carla clearly cared for him since they've known each other for years and been together romantically for years--but she was getting bored of him. Polo could sense that, and it also didn't help that he was dealing with confusion of possibly being bi AND polyamorous. He'd get enough shit from his guy friends about possibly liking both guys and girls. So if you take all of this--plus including with Carla breaking up with him and Polo being terrified of being on his own since him and Carla used to always be there for each other--he was really desperate to get some type of structure back in his life, which was Carla. But then when he confronted Marina for the watch and she decided to ridicule him, it brought back all that closed off anger of constantly being the punching bag of his friends (and how Carla breaking up with him was his own fault) and...he just snapped. I don't think he meant to kill her, but in a blind rage just let all his anger out at once and by the time he realized Marina was dead, the deed was done.

[@lu-fr8oo]

Love your writing/ editing style. SO funny!

[@lolabunny2489]

The way I just found your channel and fell in love with your voice and commentary:)

[@TheLeah2344]

I watched this show and didn’t see a lot of reviews when this show first came out. I’m glad to see that you reviewed this show. I was also mad when they did NOTHING with Christian’s character.

[@Sb-kx9ne]

What was annoying for me with Nadia (other than the stereotypical potrayal)is how her dad is supposed to be this evil backward man. But the writers don't seem to follow through that very well bc it seems that the problem is the lack of communication with his kids more than anything, bc everytime Nadia sits him down and explains stuff to him, her dad ends up being very accepting of her decisions. And Nadia's parents are the only ones that care for their kids' wellbeing in comparison to the other ones (Carla's parents are pimping her out, Guzman's are involved in illegal stuff and were lowkey ashamed of Marina having aids, Christian's ones hated him etc.)

[@bakugo9761]

You mean how he was written to be a nuanced character who ended up growing as a person? I'm sorry but I don't agree with your perception of him at all. His fear was that his kids will pull away like their older sister did, that's a major conflict of the whole story. In the end, he very much ends up accepting both his son and his daughter. He was never a one-dimensional character.

[@Sb-kx9ne]

@@bakugo9761 the writer have him going back and forth with him, that's less growth and more of them just constantly coming back to him being "oppressive". Also there's the fact that the writers don't present him much in a way where we feel his fear of losing kids, but rather we see him constantly being the villain and they also mention Nadia's sister like one time, which is why a lot of the audience failed to pick up on his mindset

[@bakugo9761]

@@Sb-kx9ne Again, this is not the way I saw it at all. Of course he wasn't a great person at all in the beginning because he was super oppressive and held bigoted beliefs, but in the end he grew and had to face that he can't control his children anymore. I mean you do you, but I saw this and it resonated so much with me.

[@ViviButter]

I really dig all your essays! Never watched this show but im gladly click on a new video of yours.

[@margaretdiaz6043]

yesss I haven't even watched the show but I know I will love this video! Your voice is so soothing and your insights are much appreciated keep up the good work

[@jaidenjn]

"Polo...he wears suspenders." hahahaha

[@TJ-bu9zk]

Rewatching the new upload in full to feed the algorithm!

[@HAVgiraffe]

sitting here on July 2023 with the release of Elite Season 7 looming in the near future...they're still doing the flashback/flashforward narrative style from the 1st season with less than stellar results.

[@GenesisUnkn0wn]

The little snippets of music you choose are always so good

[@fedhaamour]

omar is the best character and ander doesn't deserve him

[@null6955]

they're both so toxic to each other but ander definitely is the worst. omar would be a much better character without him dragging him down...

[@aao2780]

Omar had so much potential as a gay Palestine Muslim but the writers refused to do anything with his character other than be reduced to his relationship. It’s weird since one of the creators developed him from his own context with his ex Muslim boyfriend. I loved in s1 Omar’s relationship with Ander, his relationship with Nadia and his friendship with Samuel which was very wholesome amidst the drama. Him exploring queer culture was also fun but they dropped the ball in s3 when he became so weak and left the independence he had in s1. It’s a shame since he’s a very charismatic character around Samuel, Nadia and Lu and even Ander when he’s not depressed 😭

[@user-oo6vr1ky5f]

@@aao2780 gay Muslim couples don’t exists wtf

[@gn2630]

@@user-oo6vr1ky5f yes... yes they do

[@zuperheads4828]

@@null6955 omar was cheating on ander when he had cancer 💀 they both don’t deserve eachother

[@valeriarossini543]

comment before watching the video: I find elite super fun, in the same way shows like gossip girl are fun (which means I enojoy the campy, outrageous, nonsensical elements, but I don't expect much from the plot) Edit: I agree with EVERYTHING you said, season 1 was sooo much better than the last two! Also, yeah, I would like for the classism to be explored more. The show got too comfortable with itself and didn't try hard enough to push boundaries and actually do something good. Also, I was so disappointed when Cayetana wasn't Polo's killer!!! It would've been super cool and fit her character!

[@AntonioOliveira-ed5yt]

Can I just say? I love that you used the season's soundtracks to introduce them, it not only goes to show the amazing soundtrack of the show, but also is an amazing detail that enriches your content. Loved it so much!

[@bunnybear9883]

i love your dynamic and the music choice, yass🤩😍😍