I grew up loving the Legally Blonde movies so when I heard they were doing a prequel series, it had my interest. The new series which is 8 episodes long launched last week on Prime Video. Showerunners are Laura Kittrell (who created the series) and Caroline Dries. Reese Witherspoon is an executive producer on the series. The story follows Elle Woods in high school as she has her life uprooted from Los Angeles to Seattle. She looks to find her way in the unfamiliar surrounds of Seattle and settle into her new life. I liked the pilot and by the end of the second episode, I said it’s really starting to hook me. It hooked me more and more with every episode and I really enjoyed this show a lot. I’m a big period piece person as I love watching shows set back in the 80’s and 90’s. I’m also a huge pop culture nerd so anytime someone really gets the time periods right with music, pop culture references, or whatever, it’s going to pull me in even more. This show is set in the 1995 era as that is where the season begins. I absolutely loved the soundtrack of this show and they nailed so many songs including several lesser known songs from the 90’s that I really appreciated getting playtime. The theme song for Elle is “Only Happy When It Rains” by Garbage which plays off the Seattle rain theme and it’s a great theme song for that era of music. I saw Garbage in concert live back in 1999 so I was thrilled to see them get the theme song. They were incredible in concert by the way. I’m going to talk spoilers here so if you haven’t watched yet, you’ll want to come back after you’ve watched the show.
The pilot episode was a very fun introduction. First off, Lexi Minetree as Elle Woods. Fantastic!! She is so great in this role and has Elle Woods and Reese Witherspoon full down. I was so impressed with Lexi! I loved how they played the bright colors of Elle Woods versus the dark colors of Seattle and the kids there. I say that visibly and also just with the personalities. Visibly as there was the great shot of everyone walking into the school with a bunch of dark colors and then you have Elle walking through the middle in her bright pink. The same happens in the hallways where she has the bright happy personality that is clashing immediately with the students of who is this person??? Elle has her issues right away clashing with everyone trying to make friends including what worked for her in LA but what worked in LA doesn’t work in Seattle. The story of Elle through the first several episodes seemingly is that when she gets one step forward, it’s two steps back every single time. The story of Elle Woods has always been about overcoming and that is what you see immediately in this series of trying to fit in and make friends. I did laugh when she leaned into the advice of “be Seattle” to where people would like her so she puts on the Nirvana shirt walking down the hallway and I laughed saying oh no, this is going to be worse cause they will see her as a poser and sure enough that is the reaction she got. LOL. I loved seeing her slowly make friends whether it was people accepting her right away such as Shannon or the slow burn style of Liz accepting her. Shannon finding common ground with her. Liz on the opposite side of her having walls up saying what’s your agenda and why do you want to talk to me? Elle’s world gets rocked immediately when she makes her first friend of Donna, the school secretary. I absolutely loved the character of Donna. When everyone else is not accepting Elle, Donna has taken a liking to Elle seeing something in her. Donna is the heart of the school knowing all the kids and taking care of them anyway she can. But as I said, one step forward, two steps back for Elle when she sticks up for Donna but it ends up accidentally getting her fired from her job. Elle makes another slow burn friend in her locker mate, Dustin. I loved their dynamics. Elle eventually starts making progress with the Homecoming episode with her arranging the school’s first Homecoming. Things are intertwined with her LA life as she tries to get the Cosmo internship with help from her mom who is desperate to get back to LA. However, Elle’s dad is THRIVING in Seattle. LOL. That is what I said so many times with his character where I’d say he is absolutely thriving in Seattle. Elle’s LA life would continue to show up including her best friend Madison who makes a long planned visit during fall break. The timing is terrible though when she arrives at the same time that Shannon’s mom has suddenly tragically been killed in a car accident in front of the school. To complicate things even more, Shannon and her boyfriend Miles had just broken up not long before. This was going on at the same time where we had a crush going on between Elle and Miles. Once the break up happened, a kiss happened between Elle and Miles not long after but right before learning of the tragedy. Madison’s fall break visit happens and instead of doing the scenic tour, Madison is caught in a story of Elle trying to arrange a gathering for Shannon’s mom’s passing. The writing of this was so interesting as they made Madison look villain like but then also empathetic. She was so uncaring at times and then the writing would play the empathy card too of Madison feeling wronged being on the outside with Elle not being honest with her while also being thrown into this when she had planned for weeks to see her best friend. Interesting writing letting you see both sides of Madison on this trip. Elle is also finding this time to make a little progress with who has been her rival at the school, Stephanie. Stephanie and Shannon are best friends and it’s a friend triangle. Stephanie had also been keeping an eye on the Elle and Miles thing seeing something was sparking there. Elle demands to Miles that they have to lay back on everything with what has happened to Shannon to not damage her more. They won’t tell her about the kiss. Then, Miles tells Shannon about the kiss…..at the funeral for her mom. As I’m griping at the TV of what an idiot Miles is, Shannon tells him you are telling her this at her mother’s funeral????!!! I said this is one of the dumbest guy moves in the history of any character on television. Elle freaks out when learning that Shannon has been told. However, Shannon has completely left town without telling anyone including Elle or Stephanie.
The Breakfast Club episode. Loved it! Absolutely loved it! I loved the Blockbuster scene that started it. I’m always a sucker for a good Breakfast Club spoof. First, I have to say that it was fitting that James Van Der Beek was in this episode as Dawson’s Creek did a Breakfast Club episode in season one and it’s been a favorite DC episode of mine since the very first time I saw it in 1998. Seeing James on this show brought so many emotions. One, it was just so good to see him again. Two, the sadness of this was his last role. He played the role of superintendent and mayor hopeful, Dean Wilson. He was so good in this role. The Breakfast Club story of how to get the friends into detention on purpose was fun so they could enforce their plan of catching the principal in his shady endeavors going on. I loved how the writing played with all the library stuff. The Ally Sheedy reference. Also, adding Stephanie in there because you have to have an antagonist character in the library just like the movie and there she was. In Dawson’s Creek, it was Abby who was the antagonist. This was just a very fun episode right down to the end with Elle putting the fist in the air while Stephanie forces it down as Simple Minds played. LOL
Episode 7 was the full power of the group taking down the principal while also figuring out that the superintendent was involved. Elle’s speech at the debate was classic Elle Woods. I loved the friends all backing her up which was opposite of her mother who was not backing her up at all. This could have easily been a season finale with how it was written but the story all season felt like the finale was going to be a pull back and forth on Elle between Seattle and Los Angeles. Things get really simple on that decision when Elle’s victory celebration of taking down the principal, saving Donna, and getting redemption for what happened to Shannon’s mom with the fact that the money was not spent for traffic safety in front of the school like it was supposed to. The theme again is one step forward, two steps steps back. However, this is full win forward to full crash backward. Shannon returns with the Cosmo magazine of Elle’s letter she had done for the internship written early on in her arrival there which trashed everything and everybody. Elle’s mom had sent the application in anyway despite Elle not wanting to apply anymore cause she loved Seattle. Elle loses everything and everybody. We’re right back to the pilot basically of her walking down the hallway to cold shoulders and they bring back Radiohead’s song Creep just like from the pilot to show that she’s starting completely over. But she’s off to LA where it’s what she’s wanted but she loves Seattle more. Things go very badly for her mom which along with Elle missing Seattle finishes the decision. Elle returns to Seattle looking to right things and says she prefers doing things the hard way instead of the easy way in LA. We get the love triangle finish of Elle and Dustin kissing. Miles seeing it. That was our cliffhanger. Part of me wonders if they left the finale like they did to let the fans voice their opinions on who they prefer between Miles and Dustin so the writers can feel that out while making a decision on which way to go.
I love the cast of the group of friends who have slowly come together around Elle. The evolution of the Stephanie character too where you start seeing the softening of her. She hesitantly starts to come around on Elle. Also learning of why Liz and Stephanie seem to have such a cold awkward relationship while learning they had a fling at camp. I love the Liz character. I love the relationship of her and Donna. I love the music shop personality of Liz seeing her in her element. Learning why she is so standoffish and the vulnerable side of her. I hope that farewell of Shannon won’t be the final farewell cause geez, that is such a likable character and I hurt with that crying delivery from her of that line to Miles of you decided to tell me this here and now???? Danielle Chand NAILED that scene. What a performance. I hope we get Shannon back in the future. I really love the Dustin character too. I have loved his and Elle’s interactions from the beginning and how he slowly starts to fall for her while Liz has it pegged seeing what is going on.
Big thumbs up from me on Elle! I absolutely loved it!
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