Elite Season 7 Review – Could have worked better as a spin-off to the thrilling Spanish show

https://youtu.be/FtpRZghkRlI

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

 

Episode Guide

Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 7 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 8 -| Review Score – 3.5/5

Remember 2018 when Netflix Spain gave us this exciting thriller with a very clear-cut formula? Elite then peaked in season 3 and the last good season was season 4 before it all went downhill. The original cast leaving really should have been a warning. Having said all that, Elite season 7 isn’t bad per se.

It just isn’t the Elite we fell in love with, especially with half of our favourite characters missing, and viewers constantly referring to Wiki to check who all the new characters are. It doesn’t even have the same structure anymore where viewers would be thrown in the middle of a mystery at the beginning and the rest of the season would take us through all the events that led to that mysterious crime. 

Elite season 7 feels like any other ordinary high school thriller and the stakes have never been lower. To be fair, the creators did warn us that they would take a different route with this season focusing on mental health and relationships. Possibly why it would have worked better as a spin-off so fans of the original show could give it a chance without constantly comparing it to the original premise and previous seasons. 

So, let’s do exactly that. Say Elite season 7 is a standalone instalment with familiar faces in the ‘Elite’ universe. Didac and Isa do their best to stay together while their mafia families have declared war on each other. Poor Rocio is dragged into their mess while falling for Nico’s troubled cousin, Eric. Sonia is yet to forgive Nico for dropping her for Ari and instead, she decides to help Omar with his internship.

Yep, at least one original character is back! And he brings with him a fresh set of drama – his boyfriend, Joel catches the eye of the lonely and brokenhearted Ivan as Patrick runs away. There is also a new duo in town – Carmen and her daughter Chloe who have their eye on Ivan for nefarious reasons. But they end up getting involved in the messy and abusive relationship of Sara and Raul.

Interesting? Yep, told you. As long as we don’t compare it to the previous seasons, Elite season 7 actually has a strong premise. The new characters do pull their weight such as Eric and Carmen. It does take 3 episodes to pick up but the wait is worth it. Ivan is definitely main lead material and so is Isa. The writers also redeem themselves by finally fleshing out Sonia’s character.

But even as a standalone instalment, there are flaws. What is the overarching plot? There are several subplots but none of them are tied together which was one of the charms of the initial seasons (okay, fine, we can’t help but make at least one or two comparisons, we are after all watching Elite).

To give credit where credit is due, the pace does pick up which catches our attention. However, it again weakens in the second half as we realise half of the characters are wasted. The thing with ensemble stories is that the writers tend to forget some characters, and then make it up by cramming it all in the end.

We get a nice start for Eric, Sonia, Didac and Joel but their storylines fizzle out in the second half. Nico and Rocio become a prop for Eric’s development so you can imagine how often they disappear when Eric himself disappears. Then there’s poor Jessica, a starry cameo by Anitta; she is one note and barely there. She is very clearly a plot device for Sara but even that is not fully explored.

The finale becomes a mish-mash as it hurriedly puts an end to the dozens of subplots which leads to an unbelievable and unsatisfying ending. However, there is that one icey move which will have all viewers clapping. In the end, Elite season 7 fails as a continuation of the iconic Netflix Original show. As a standalone or spin-off, it is a flawed yet high-energy and fun show, but consider it a one-time watch.


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  • Verdict - 5/10
    5/10
5/10

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