I watch a lot of TV and thought I had seen the slowest of slow burns. But then I started shipping Nadia and Guzman from the Netflix original series Elite and they took slow burn to a whole other level.
If you’re not familiar with the show, it tells the story of 3 new scholarship students arriving to their new prep school after their old school collapsed – literally. Their arrival starts to shake up what’s accepted socially. And oh yeah, and everyone is being questioned over a murder that happened to one of their own.
Nadia is one of the scholarship students, Guzman is one of the social elite. It’s the classic story of two people from different sides of the track learning from each other, making each other better humans, and falling in love along the way.
With season two just around the corner, I figured I’d celebrate with a list of my 10 favorite Nadia and Guzman moments from Elite season one.
“Teach me how to look at you” – 1×01
First of all, I love how loyal of a friend Nadia is in this scene. She does whatever it takes to have Samuel’s back, even if it means blackmailing the two most popular kids in school in order to get what she wants. Guzman is trying to sweet talk her by asking her to stay a little longer and let him show her that the popular kids are actually “worth the trouble”, but she is not having any of it.
But on a shipping level, Nadia and Guzman’s sexual chemistry is not just apparent in this scene — it’s immediate. From the moment Guzman looked directly in her eyes and flirtatiously said “Teach me how to look at you. I promise I’ll be a fast learner”, I was sold on their chemistry and investing all of my energy into shipping these two.
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Guzman tells Nadia he feels comfortable around her — 1×02
Guzman and Nadia are working on the project together at his place when Nadia asks him why he’s being so nice to her all of a sudden. “Am I a challenge, or a bet you made with your friends?”, she asks him. Guzman comes back at her with a quip about her self-esteem being low and she replies that the “impossible” must turn him on. That’s when Guzman drops a bomb: “I feel comfortable with you.” And then, he lists all of the things they have in common.
On the one hand, it seems a little weird that he would have said that when he did. He was literally yelling at her at the end of 1×01 and agreeing to this archaic bet with Lu that he could get her to sleep with him. But on the other hand, it’s the most sincere and honest we’ve seen Guzman at this point in the series. She treats him like a human being rather than a “god”; it’s different and something he has to get a grasp on at first, but ultimately puts him at ease.
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Guzman pretends to push Nadia in the pool – 1×02
Although this is technically the second half of the scene above, in my mind they are two separate moments. Guzman walks over towards the pool and Nadia follows him, asking to see his phone. Guzman thinks she’s going to use it to take a picture for the project, but she ends up stuffing it in her pocket so it won’t be damaged when she pushes him into the pool. He quickly catches on to what she’s doing and turns it around on her so that she’s the one to be pushed in the pool. They share a lot of laughs together as Nadia doesn’t want to be pushed in. Lu looks on during this scene (she came over to confront Guzman about why he’s been ignoring her) and clearly can see the connection and chemistry these two have, just like us viewers can.
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“I don’t deserve you” – 1×04
Nadia finds Guzman in the hall and thanks him for her hijab. She asks him how his father’s fundraiser was, but he’s honest with her and tells her it was a “farce” simply used to make his dad’s company look good. He also says he “participated” in it so that she would forgive him. “If I were your father, I wouldn’t let you date me,” he tells her. In typical Nadia fashion, she responds by saying, “Who said anything about dating?” Guzman agrees to be friends (for now), especially since he doesn’t know if he has any left. Nadia, however, continues to worry that he’s just using her and trying to get her to pity him. But he debunks that, saying that he doesn’t deserve for her to forgive him. “I don’t deserve you,” he sincerely tells her. Nadia simply responds by taking a step closer to him and telling him he does.
All Guzman wants is to be honest with her, which is why he takes a risk by laying all of his cards out on the table in this scene, even if makes him look bad in Nadia’s eyes. You can tell just from the way she looks at him that she appreciates his honesty, hence why she agrees to be his friend and tells him he does deserve to have her in his life. She also finally seems to recognize that there really is a good person underneath Guzman’s rich boy exterior. In my eyes, this is the moment that the nature of their relationship changed.
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Guzman and Nadia talk about celebrating his birthday – 1×05
This is such a small scene in the grand scheme of things, but I think it speaks volumes. Lu buts into a conversation between Marina, Samuel and Nadia to conveniently mention that she’s invited to Guzman’s birthday dinner and Nadia is not. The next time Nadia sees Guzman in the hallway, she pulls him aside and wishes him a happy birthday. He asks her if she wants to come over and celebrate just the two of them. “I’ll kick everyone out of the house,” he says. “We’ll be alone.” Nadia says she’s not interested (which is clearly a bold face lie) and walks away. I think it says a lot that Nadia and Guzman have not even known each other, let alone be friends, for that long yet Nadia is the only person Guzman really cares about celebrating his birthday with. Yet just another example of how deep yet fast-growing their connection has been.
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Nadia comforts Guzman – 1×06
Again, this is another small scene that says so much. Earlier in the episode, Lu calls Nadia out for not being there for Guzman when he’s clearly going through something. So when Nadia sees him sitting on the steps in the hallway, she goes over, sits next to him, and simply asks him what he’s listening to. He seems stunned at first, probably because she didn’t immediately share her opinions about what he should do in regards to his father. But nonetheless, the smile on his face shows that he’s grateful for her presence. Without saying anything, he hands over one of his ear buds and the two of them sit in silence, except for the music they’re both now listening to.
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Nadia goes with Guzman to see his dad – 1×06
This is probably the most iconic Nadia/Guzman scene from season one. Nadia offers to go with Guzman to visit his dad, something he probably would have never asked her to do but is grateful for deep down. On their walk home, he ends up admitting to her that he doesn’t want to be just friends with her anymore. Nadia jokes that he’ll just have to get used to not getting every thing he wants and Guzman sincerely responds that it’s too bad because he’s never wanted something more in his life. Nadia continues joking with him and says she bets that he says that to all the girls. While he admits to this not being the first time he’s said that to another girl, he honestly tells her that this is the first time he’s actually meant it. They share a sweet embrace and almost kiss, but Nadia pulls back and then walks away. You can tell from the slight nuzzle of her neck as he leans in that Guzman is definitely smitten with her and from the smile on his face as he hugs her that he sincerely means what he told her.
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Guzman tells Lu he’s in love with Nadia – 1×07
Lu comes over to Guzman’s to call him out for ignoring her. Guzman is clearly over Lu’s need to make everything about her and they get into a spat. Lu reminds him that they’ve always supported each other through thick and thin, but Guzman scoffs at her use of ‘we’. He tells her that there is no ‘we’ anymore because he’s in love with Nadia. Lu clearly is feeling a mix of disbelief and hurt and says that he’s not in his right mind because of everything going on with his father. But Guzman said it with such firmness and sincerity that it’s obvious he meant it. Yeah, that’s right. You heard the man, Lu — GUZMAN NUNIER OSUNA IS IN LOVE WITH NADIA SHANA.
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Guzman visits Nadia at her locker – 1×07
Guzman’s smile often says it all, as seen from the many times I’ve mentioned it already. I mean, look at how brightly he’s beaming just at the sight of Nadia getting books at her locker. As he tells her, he just wants to make the most of the time that he’s got left with her, even if it means that he comes off “clingy” to his friends.
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Guzman makes a deal with Nadia’s dad – 1×08
The night of the big end of year party at Las Encinas, Guzman tracks down Nadia’s father and asks if they can talk for a minute. Guzman wants to propose a deal that allows Nadia to stay at school. If she’s allowed to stay one more year, he swears “on all things sacred” that he’ll stay away from her. When her father asks whether or not this means he’s grown tired of her, Guzman immediately replies no but says that they both know that he and Nadia don’t have a future together. “But she has a future at this school, so don’t end it,” he begs her father.
Two things immediately come to mind after I finish this scene. First, if anyone had doubts that Guzman could actually be selfless, I hope this changed your mind. He did what he believed was best for Nadia and her future, even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness. And second, they say if you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. Guzman “let Nadia go” so that she could have the future she deserves If they were meant to be, then they’ll be together in the future (fingers crossed that future means sometime in season 2)
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Elite Season 2 premieres September 6 on Netflix.