Major spoilers ahead
Elite season 3 might be its most emotional yet.
And not just for students of Las Encinas but for viewers who had to say goodbye to many of our favorite characters.
But Netflix gave us the relationship we didn’t know we needed. And no, I’m not talking and Samu and Carla, or Guzmán and Nadia. I’m talking about the incredibly empowering friendship between Nadia and Lu.
The two were rivals from the moment Nadia transferred. Lu was used to being the top student and then hard-working Nadia arrived. It was very Paris-Rory à la Gilmore Girls.
And while the two remained more competitive than ever as they both went out for the Columbia University scholarship, Nadia and Lu supported each other every step of the way. It was women-supporting-women at its finest.
Below are perhaps the most touching moments of their relationship.
Lu Telling Nadia She Doesn’t Need a Man
After Malick blindsides her with a marriage proposal (you know, despite being gay and a cheater), Nadia realizes she doesn’t want to live a lie. But since she’ll no longer be going to New York with Malick, she knows her parents won’t allow her to go to New York at all.
But when Lu finds out that Nadia has turned down the scholarship, she confronts her in the hallway and gives her the most inspiring speech of the season. She tells Nadia to “grow some ovaries” and confront her father, to tell him she’s going to New York alone because she doesn’t need a man or anyone else, for that matter.
Nadia and Lu Standing Up For Their Friends
After Guzmán, Samuel, Rebeca, and Valerio are unfairly kicked out of school on the last day of senior year (ok, so Rebe and Valerio *did* sell drugs, but semantics), Nadia and Lu decide to stand up for them.
The two spent the entire season working for the Columbia scholarship (the only way either of them can afford to go to college), but they decide to put it all on the line. At graduation, they use their speech to call out the injustices and, as Guzmán calls them, become heroines.
Nadia Touching the Champagne Bottle For Lu
In order to [spoiler] prevent Lu from going to jail, the gang decides they must all put their fingerprints on the champagne bottle that Lu used to stab Polo.
But as Nadia reaches for the bottleneck, Guzmán stops her, telling her that the scholarship was back on and that she shouldn’t risk it. Without missing a beat, Nadia tells Lu that, if they’re going to New York, they’re going together. Period.
Nadia Splitting the Scholarship with Lu
Nadia is perhaps the most gracious winner ever. After beating out Lu for the Columbia scholarship, she decides that the two of them should split the money. Lu is so shocked and touched that she even gets emotional as she hugs Nadia.
Lu Congratulating Nadia on the Scholarship
After Nadia wins the scholarship over Lu, Lu approaches Nadia in front of the entire class. She announces that Nadia won the scholarship and that she’s the only one she’s proud to lose to.
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