Let’s be honest, Elite is chaotic, morally unhinged, and clearly written by people who think shock value equals depth. And yet… it works. I genuinely enjoyed watching it.
Elite is a Spanish thriller-drama about three working-class teens who enter an ultra-wealthy private school after a scholarship program throws them into a world of privilege, power, and quiet cruelty.
What starts as class tension quickly spirals into obsession, betrayal, sex, and murder, exposing how money protects some people while destroying others.
Watching this show as a Muslim woman is a very specific experience, but as a revert, nothing in it really shocked me. I’ve seen these worlds before. What made it interesting wasn’t the “scandal,” it was watching it through a new moral lens.
I was entertained, uncomfortable, reflective, and mildly irritated all at once. Not because the show is bad, but because you can see the consequences of moral chaos playing out in real time. It’s not a hate-watch. It’s a side-eye, but still binge-worthy watch.
At its core, Elite isn’t about sex, drugs, or even murder. It’s about what happens when people grow up with everything except moral grounding. It shows you that privilege without principle is still emptiness.
Las Encinas students have wealth, access, and protection from consequences. What they don’t have is accountability, restraint, or any sense of higher responsibility. Everything is negotiable. Everything has a price.
From an Islamic perspective, this is textbook. Wealth is a test, not a flex. And Season 1 is basically a case study in failing it.
No one in this show looks peaceful. Just over-stimulated. Distracted. Hollow.
My focus is really going to be on Nadia, the Muslim girl who’s treated like a problem from the moment she steps into the school. In the very first episode, the principal tells her to remove her hijab or face expulsion.
Her intelligence is questioned. Her values are mocked because god forbid someone actually has a moral compass. She’s expected to constantly explain herself, justify herself, soften herself.
And yet, she’s disciplined, ambitious, principled, and emotionally intelligent.
Her storyline feels painfully familiar. The Muslim girl is allowed in the room, but only if she tries to blend in or willing to be interrogated for existing as she is.
And of course, the writers have her fall in love with the non-Muslim white boy, which is honestly annoying. Why can’t the man take an interest in her religion? You know switch it up for once since that kind of thing happens in real life.
That said, Elite slightly redeems itself. Nadia doesn’t actually end up with Guzmán, and not because the attraction and love wasn’t real, but because their worlds don’t align.
And instead of Nadia bending, assimilating, or toning herself down to fit into his chaos, she walks away.
Guzmán is intrigued by her, but he’s not ready to meet her with the depth or respect she deserves. He’s drawn to what she represents, discipline, difference, morality, but not prepared to live by it.
And Nadia chooses herself.
In a show where nearly everyone compromises their values for desire, status, or attention, Nadia refusing to abandon her principles is quietly radical. The show almost delivers the cliché, then stops short.
And honestly? I can respect it.
Now let’s talk about the other muslim character, Omar, her brother. His storyline is heavy, and Season 1 doesn’t sugarcoat it. His struggle isn’t just about sexuality, it’s about suffocation. When faith becomes fear and family becomes control, people don’t grow, they fracture.
From a Muslim perspective, his pain reflects what happens when compassion is removed from religious spaces. Islam isn’t supposed to erase people, it’s supposed to guide them. The absence of mercy creates rebellion, secrecy, and deep wounds.
From an Islamic lens, most of the harm in this show happens when nafs runs unchecked and no one is taught restraint. Watching Elite Season 1 as a Muslim woman actually made me feel affirmed.
Affirmed that boundaries are protective. Affirmed that discipline creates stability. Affirmed that faith, when rooted in wisdom and mercy, is grounding, not limiting.
Elite is highly entertaining, yes. But it’s also a cautionary tale dressed up as rebellion. A reminder that freedom without values isn’t freedom, it’s chaos.
Season 1 isn’t about how wild these teens are.
It’s about how lost they are.
And that’s why it’s worth watching, critically.
Honestly, Vanessa 