‘Elle’ Season 1 Ending, Explained
With the help of her new friends, Elle (Lexi Minetree) brings a bit of pep to Rainier High School and uncovers the truth behind Principal Anderson’s (Matt Oberg) stolen funds. The other shoe drops for the titular character in time for the Season 1 finale of Prime Video’s Elle (2026). Shannon (Danielle Chand) is still understandably upset that Elle and Miles (Jacob Moskovitz) kissed on the night that Shannon’s mom died. So, amid pink-hued celebrations in Elle’s honor, Shannon returns with a Cosmopolitan magazine-shaped bombshell.
Shannon reads the less-than-kind things that Elle wrote about the other characters and Seattle in general for the Cosmo internship application. Of course, Elle wrote those things before getting to know the place or the people in it. Not to mention, Elle doesn’t even know that her mother, Eva (June Diane Raphael), submitted her for the Cosmo internship. Do I think it’s a bit of shoehorning for Shannon to return just to stir the plot with a device that no one knew about? Sure, but it gives Elle Season 1, Episode 8, “What, Like It’s Hard,” plenty of conflict to address.
Does Elle Move Back to Los Angeles?
Instead of facing the music, Elle decides to return to where things are comfortable and takes on the Cosmo internship in Los Angeles. Elle stands out to stylist Anna St. George (Rebecca Wisocky) by being fearless during a presentation. So much so, Anna wants Elle to assist her at the Golden Globes. Elle’s love for the Golden Globes is a running bit in the season, so this feels like such a win for her. Still, Elle keeps thinking about who and what she left behind in Seattle.
All the while, Elle also shows how Liz (Gabrielle Policano), Dustin (Zac Looker), Miles, and even Kimberly (Chandler Kinney) try to pretend like they don’t care about what happened between them and Elle. I love seeing both sides of that coin because they’ve all impacted each other so much over the season. Though it’d be easier to just stay with Elle, it’s better to follow all the characters. It makes the eventual reunion—or lack thereof, depending on how the show goes—better.
Meanwhile, Eva slips right back into her social life, only to be met with the woman who was on the other end of Wyatt’s (Tom Everett Scott) botched nose job surgery. That confrontation puts a few things into perspective for Eva about how she feels and what she wants. Since this season rightfully follows Eva so closely, I appreciate that her arc has such a defined shape by the end. I couldn’t have anticipated how fulfilling it would be to get to know a character who has such a minor presence in the movies. Eventually, after speaking with Anna St. George, Elle realizes that it would be best for her and her mother to return to Seattle. There’s friction there that will only help them grow as people. LA will wait for them, and knowing where the movies find the Woods family, it does.
Does Elle End Up With Dustin or Miles?
Upon their return to LA, Elle—long before she becomes a romantic comedy heroine in Legally Blonde (2001)—pulls out a trope of the genre. She runs to Carpet Mart (a set I really wish we could have seen more of this season) so she can see Liz perform. Elle races through the streets, with support from other people sitting in traffic and Seattle itself. A store’s LED sign in the window flashes: “GO ELLE.” The sequence is a little cheesy, but I love every single second of it. It’s all very serendipitous and glass-half-full, like Elle Woods.
She gets to Carpet Mart just before Liz kicks off her encore. So, there is no time for any conversations with Liz, but there’s a look that says a lot. Their friendship really becomes one of the season’s strongest dynamics, so it’s great to see Elle pay it off in this way. It comes first, like Elle and Madison’s (Jessica Belkin) friendship before Elle leaves LA again. It’s not really a point of contention that Madison and Dustin kissed. Refreshingly, their scenes are more about how both Elle and Madison could have been better communicators in fighting for their friendship. It matters that the show values female friendships. Not only is that important for viewers to see, but it also aligns with the Elle Woods that I know and love so much from the movies.
That’s not to say that Elle doesn’t or shouldn’t have romance—it does. The season finale makes incredible progress with Liz and Kimberly. When Liz opens up about how nervous she is to perform in front of everyone, Kimberly stops her from spinning out by kissing her. It’s the most romantic scene in the episode, in my opinion. Plus, after another conveniently timed conversation with Shannon, it seems like the show will finally set Elle and Miles on the right path. Instead, after just as much flirtation all season, Elle seeks out Dustin at the Winter (In)Formal. They admit they have feelings for each other and kiss, which Miles sees. She ends up with neither guy, with Elle’s Season 1 finale leaving Elle to figure out her feelings. I can’t help but love a good emotional cliffhanger for a YA show. Elle knows what it’s doing!
