“Elite” Season 3 Review: The Writers Still Don’t Know How to Handle Omander!

Elite Season 3 ended up being very enjoyable. However, the way the show handled Omander (the pairing between Ander and Omar) was something I hoped the writers wouldn’t do.

If you read my review of Elite Season 2 you would remember I talked about how I felt the writers were hesitant whenever Omar came onscreen. The same hesitation continued into the third season of Elite (which debuted on Netflix on March 13, 2020). I have no idea why the writers can’t figure out what to do with Omar and Ander as a pairing.

After watching the second season I had hoped there wouldn’t be any unnecessary drama between the two. But nopes, the writers decided to go down that route.

The previous season had Ander keeping Polo’s secret and all of Ander’s frustration, guilt, and anxiety falling on Omar. Their relationship was put through the wringer and still, Omander survived. In my opinion, Omander didn’t need any more relationship troubles. What the relationship needed was a narrative showcasing Ander and Omar supporting each other to face drama with other characters.

But during the third installment, do you want to know what the writers decided to do to force relationship drama between Ander and Omar?

They freaking gave cancer to Ander!

Like, where did all of the creativity go? There’s supposed to be an entire team of writers handling this show. Could they have not come up with something better?

Due to Ander’s cancer, his relationship with Omar ended up being tested… again!

The fandom already knows that Omar and Ander are basically married. We already know (due to the events of the previous two seasons) that no matter what happens, Omar and Ander will last. They seem to have a connection at the ‘soulmate’ level.

That’s why the writers deliberately pushing the two young gay men into unnecessary drama, yet again, made me roll my eyes.

Frankly, I would have actually congratulated the writers if they had the guts to go through with the breakup. But nopes. We had to sit through eight episodes of Omander going from one argument to the next only to stay together in the finale. 

The writers had Omar be humiliated by Ander. Omar even went to seek comfort in the arms of another (new) gay character named Malick. Even the so-called cheating mini-story with Omar and Malick didn’t pack a punch. It was as if the writers continued to remind the audience that even though Omar’s intimate with Malick (more than once), they didn’t really sleep together.

Like seriously, watching the Omander storyline, it was as if I could hear the writers say to me, “They didn’t sleep together! So, it’s not like Omar severely betrayed Ander, right? Also, Ander wanted Omar to find someone else to love. So, it’s all cool, right?”

I’m telling you. The entire thing was a mess.

The show gave Omar and Ander the type of storyline you would expect an older couple to have. It was the type of story certain married couples get to have in films and other media where one becomes terminally ill and tries to push their romantic partner to move on with someone else and live their life only for the couple to stay together until the very end.

Every fictional character in Elite knew that Omar and Ander are supposed to be together. We even had Guzman ask Ander to stop using his medical condition as an excuse to push Omar away. That’s why it was frustrating to see the writers handle Omander in such a manner. It came across as very “much to do about nothing” in the sense that Omar and Ander went through a lot just to remain together in the finale.

While Omander was very predictable for me, I was genuinely surprised by how Elite Season 3 handled Nadia as a character. I have already shared my opinions about how Elite has made Nadia go through numerous tropes associated with Muslim women in media. The third season made her face a few more, but it all worked out in her favor in the end.

I enjoyed seeing her standing up to her parents and making them understand that she was passionate about going to New York to continue her studies. It was wonderful to see Nadia realize she didn’t need a knight in shining armor (whether it was Guzman or Malick) to achieve her goals. I also liked her budding friendship with Lu.

The final season ended with certain characters going their separate ways. If I remember correctly, only Guzman, Samuel, Rebeka, Omar, Ander, Cayetana, and Valerio are around. Polo’s dead. Nadia, Lu, and Malick went to New York. Carla went somewhere, too.

Apparently, the fourth season of Elite is going to introduce a new set of characters and plotlines. I wouldn’t be surprised if the writers found a way to have the original cast serve minor roles.

However, having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if the original cast never showed up at all. But, then again, if certain original characters aren’t supposed to appear in the next season, what was the reason behind preventing a handful of them from graduating?

Let’s see what happens.

Coming back to what I said about the writers being cautious with Omander, every romantic pairing (more or less) broke up in the finale except for… you guessed it! Omander!

Anyway, the main mystery behind who killed Polo was fun to see as it slowly unraveled during the eight-episode long Elite Season 3. While I wasn’t sure who had killed him, I was sure it wasn’t going to be Nadia, Omar, and Ander.

The identity of his murderer came as a surprise to me. The way he died made a lot of sense, though. Polo had to go after everything he had done during the first two seasons.

Also, shoutout to Carla who, again, acted quickly to ensure the safety of the people she knew. You can always count on her to make some boss moves when needed. 

If you haven’t seen Elite on Netflix, I would urge you to begin. Currently, there are a total of three seasons for you to binge. The entire show, while trashy, is immensely enjoyable. It features a great soundtrack. The entire cast is very attractive. And yes, there’s a whole lot of queer representation going on.

I can’t wait to see what will happen when the show comes back for a fourth outing!    

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.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary