Elle Has a Prequel Problem – And It’s Sinking Its Best Ship

Elle has a bit of a prequel problem.

Before Elle Woods waltzed through the doors of Harvard Law School (like it’s hard!) with Bruiser in her arms, before she bent and snapped and solved a murder case based on her knowledge of perms, Elle was a girl in high school living a privileged life in LA.

The central conceit of the 2001 film is that, before hitting those law books, Elle had never been a fish out of water or burst her hot pink Bel Air bubble.

Elle’s experience at Harvard is the first time she has to prove herself and demonstrate she has what it takes to belong there, even though everyone underestimates her — and this is the core of Elle’s entire narrative arc. 

Fast forward to 2026 — or should I say rewind to 1995 — and Prime Video’s Elle has taken a big pink fluffy pen and attempted to rewrite that entire narrative. 

The show asks: What if before Elle went off to college, her parents moved to grey, drizzly Seattle? What if her hot pink stilettos stuck out amongst the ’90s plaid like a sore thumb? And what if she ended up liking Seattle so much she wanted to stay?

Elle sticks to doing the only thing it knows how to do with its titular character: put her in an environment where she sticks out like a sore thumb, and watch her conquer it while discovering more about herself in the process. 

While Elle is not an exact one-to-one copy of the movie’s plot beats, it makes no attempt to reconcile the fact that high school Elle’s character arc mimics that of law school Elle — therefore undermining all of Elle’s growth at Harvard. 

The show requires the viewer to suspend a whole lot of belief for it all to make sense, and I felt like I was watching Legally Blonde-inspired fan fiction more than anything else.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a whole lot to like about Elle: the costumes are excellent, the 90s music is perfectly curated (another point to Prime Video for nailing the playlist), and Lexi Minetree has Reese Witherspoon’s voice, mannerisms, and facial expressions down to a science. 

I even love the many funny and sweet references to the movie — you won’t hear complaints about fan service from me — and adore the fact that we get June Diane Raphael as Elle’s mother. She nails pitch-perfect comedy in every scene. 

But Elle seems to be stuck in this wonky middle ground: it’s already straying too far from the source material to be believable, but not far enough that the show can prioritize its creative direction based on the chemistry of its cast. 

This will likely significantly impact how the show explores a key component of its plot: Elle’s relationships with her love interests.

Pre-Warren and Emmett, Elle is caught in a love triangle between two high school classmates, Miles and Dustin. And while I love a good triangle, eight episodes did nothing to inspire any investment in either of them.

Elle’s romantic tension with both boys was as tepid as dishwater; the chemistry between them all fizzle, no sizzle. 

Elle has chemistry with exactly one character, and that’s Liz. I felt the tension from their first encounter; Liz’s wry amusement read less annoyed and more flirty.

Their scenes popped with color against the grey backdrop of Ranier West High, and felt more natural than Elle’s interactions with any of the other supporting cast.

Elle nailed its queer representation with Liz. She’s incredibly cool, confident, and fiercely loyal, and I loved that her story was joyful. Her narrative centers her art, music, and the embracing of her sexuality, rather than focusing on harassment or bullying.

There is a goldmine of potential between Elle and Liz.

What’s not to love about two incredibly attractive people at opposite ends of the style spectrum who have proven they enjoy learning from one another? And who doesn’t root for a good friends-to-lovers arc?

The show is actively positioning Liz and Kimberley as love interests, playing on their animosity and shared romantic history. I like it well enough.

But perhaps since Elle waited until its back half to give the characters much screen time together, I left the season feeling pretty ambivalent about them as endgame. 

The best TV shows know that the most memorable couples usually aren’t planned from the start; they’re written in or developed because the creative teams spot the natural chemistry between two actors and run with it.

Think Joey and Pacey, Veronica and Logan, Luke and Lorelai, Caroline and Klaus, or Nick and Jess…. Need I go on?

All of these iconic couples were born out of a creative team capitalizing on the natural dynamics between the characters, and taking the risk of testing them out.

Exploring the queer ship between Elle and Liz feels like the most interesting direction the show could go in. As a story fundamentally about identity and self-discovery, there is something to be said about this version of Elle’s character having the chance to explore the complexities of her desire. 

“I am not about to brand Elle Woods as any one word,” she says on Episode 3, proving that her identity is multifaceted and that there is still much to discover about her. 

Elle’s queer awakening isn’t technically off the table, as Elle’s movie sexual identity is never explicitly confirmed. 

But with the present framing of Elle as the sweet but naïve, sometimes blundering but always supportive ally, I fear the creative team may deem the decision to pursue the chemistry between Elle and Liz too “risky” or too “different” from the original source material to make. 

My secret wish is that the team behind Elle throws in the towel, recognizing that they’ve already retconned the plot up to its breaking point, and own the fact that Elle may be its best show if they admit it already feels like an alternate-universe Legally Blonde fan fiction. 

They could follow the chemistry and see where it leads, opening up the show to any possibility. Then, Elle might have the chance to really stand on its own. 

Until then, Elle Season 2 may stay stuck in limbo between “too different” from Legally Blonde, and “not different enough.” 

Regardless of how they choose to play out Elle’s relationships with the supporting cast, I just hope we get lots more of Elle and Liz interactions in Season 2!

So what do you think, Legally Blonde fanatics? Did you like Elle? Who are you rooting for Elle to get together with?

We want to hear all of your thoughts in the comments!