Elite Season 2 Review – I Wanted More For Nadia, Omar & Ander!

Elite Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix. If you’re into high school-centric stories with teenagers and murder mysteries, I recommend you check it out. It’s a messy show, but one that’s messy in an enjoyable way. I can’t wait to see it come back for a third outing.

When the trailer for Elite Season 2 was released, I was very interested in finding out what was going to happen to Nadia. I don’t know if I can say that Nadia was indeed a negative portrayal of a Muslim woman (as some have shared). For me, there were definitely certain tropes the writers decided to use. Nadia’s narrative was handled in a weird manner: she decided to go through with her romantic feelings for Guzman (he’s not worth it, Nadia!), her new outlook included drinking and going to clubs, but then the entire thing ended when a video of her and Guzman (being intimate) was leaked online.

To me, it felt like the writers were saying they allowed Nadia to have her fun. She had the right to try different things and she did. But it didn’t work out the way she wanted it to. And so she came back to being the Nadia she was before.

The scene where Nadia confessed to her parents, during the finale, was amazing. Kudos to actress Mina El Hammani.

I would have been (kind of) okay with such a narrative choice if it was handled a bit differently. With the leaked video plotline, it felt as if Nadia was being punished for her previous actions.

Why not simply allow her to try things out and let her come to the conclusion herself about how the party scene wasn’t for her? It’s not for some people. And there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to go out every night.

Yeah, I would have liked her to make such a decision on her own, instead of the leaked video stuff making it seem she changed her mind because she felt she was being punished for fulfilling certain desires.

Also, was it supposed to be karma for what she did back in season 1? Didn’t she falsely accuse another Muslim girl of not being pure to stop her from marrying Omar? I get Nadia’s heart was in the right place (she wanted to protect her gay brother from being forced into a straight marriage). But still. She did cause a lot of distress to the family of that girl. Anyway, as I said, this show is messy.

Talking about Omar (played by Omar Ayuso), I have a feeling the passionate fanbase that has grown for our lovable Muslim gay boy (ever since we saw him in season 1) made the writers too cautious toward the character during the second season.

You could feel the hesitation radiating from the writing team whenever Omar came onscreen. Of course, being Elite, the show added drama between Omar and his boyfriend Ander (Aron Piper). But it felt out of place. They would make Ander do something wrong just to quickly fix their relationship after a few scenes.

Ander hooking up with Polo didn’t make Omar break up with him. Ander being distant from Omar didn’t make the two break up. Even Ander saying he wasn’t ready to accept Omar’s feminine side didn’t cause the two to part ways.

For me, these were issues valid enough for teenagers to stop seeing each other. It made me not like Ander. I felt Omar deserved someone better. Even (the highly problematic) Lu told Omar to not love anyone who doesn’t think you’re special.

But Ander and Omar came across as a married couple in Elite Season 2. It was as if they had known each other for years and nothing could deter the love they shared.

I mean, I’m all for Omar and Ander basically being married at this point (and I think the two feel they’re already married as well). Omar began living with Ander during the second season. There was also a scene that showed Omar cleaning around the house (even though Ander’s mom had a cleaning lady). I loved their domestic interactions, but it still felt weird. They’ve only been seeing each other for a few months.

My unsolicited advice to the Elite writers, going into season 3, would be to not try and shake things up between Omar and Ander if the narrative won’t be going all the way. Let Omar and Ander be a happy domestic couple. The queer community out there needs such stories to be told. Why try and fix what isn’t broken? Let Omar and Ander be. The drama in their lives can come from other people. Doing so will give them more chances to interact with others.

I would have preferred seeing more of Omar dealing with his parents and talking about being gay with his family than whatever forced drama he had to go through with Ander.

As for the main story of Elite Season 2, it felt like the second chapter of the first season rather than its own thing. New characters were introduced, but I couldn’t make myself invest in any of them. Valerio was kind of okay, I guess.

Seeing Polo slowly destroy himself from the inside because of what he did was interesting to watch. Is the third season going to be Polo trying to kill the rest of the main characters? I’ll be there for it!

Elite didn’t try and be anything else than what fans have come to expect from it during the second season, and it worked. There was still a lot of blackmail, manipulation, lies, romance, heartbreak, and similar stuff. That’s why, while I have certain issues with how Nadia, Omar, and Ander were handled, I’m looking forward to season 3.

What did you think of Elite Season 2? Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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