From being the quintessential mean girl of Las Encinas to being the glue that held the gang together, Lucrecia “Lu” Hendrich had the most fascinating character journey in Elite. I know I wasn’t the only one who hated her guts in the first two seasons because of how determined she was to destroy Nadia’s life. But when she had her redemption arc in Season 3, I was able to appreciate her snark and spunk much more.
Lu is known for her Spanglish quips and her questionable taste in men (hello, half-brother!) but she had so many moments that made her the bad bitch of the show. In this list, we’re taking a look back at all those good and bad instances that defined her character.
And if you just learned today that Lu’s last name was Hendrich, then feel free to take a look at our our guide to watching Elite and get to know everyone’s full names!
This was the ultimate friendship moment between these two former archrivals. They had just won a scholarship together that would allow them to study in New York, but they knew that it felt wrong to accept it for an unacceptable reason. Some of their friends were barred from graduation while Polo, Marina’s murderer, was allowed to walk scathe-free. And who were the people funding the scholarship? Polo’s parents!
After debating whether or not they should stand their ground in their joint speech, Lu and Nadia inevitably spoke up for their classmates, and the bias shown in favor of Polo. Lu ended up going on a long-winded tirade in front of the whole school, attacking Polo’s mothers. As expected, both of them ended up losing their scholarship.
What a satisfying moment this was! Not only was the two women’s camaraderie fascinating to watch, but Lu also showed how loyal she was to the people she loved.
Much of the first season revolved around Lu’s jealousy towards Nadia when it came to Guzman. When he legitimately started to fall for Nadia during the scheme to take away her virginity, Lu knew that she had to something to stop those two from getting together.
In one of her baddest moments, Lu seduced Guzman in his family’s swimming pool in a similar way to how he tried to seduce Nadia beforehand. The seduction plan looked like it was going to fail, but leave it up to Lu to get what she wants. Guzman ended up falling for her tricks and slept with her after a cinematic kissing scene underwater. And of course, Lu did not keep her mouth shut about the incident, making sure that Nadia heard all the deets about it.
While it wasn’t particularly a display of good character, this was just one of those instances that made us Lu hate so much in the early seasons of Elite. And it just made her redemption arc in the third season that much sweeter!
After Marina’s death, Guzman was understandably feeling depressed and angry at the world. There was a scary moment when he stood on a ledge while intoxicated and was contemplating his own death. In what was perhaps Lu’s first vulnerable moment in the show, she talked Guzman out of taking his own life.
Lu was so frightened for whom she considered to be her best friend that she cried when he finally decided not to do it. Unfortunately, both of them were at a vulnerable state and decided to kiss each other when it was clear that they were better off as just friends. But regardless, this moment really showed us why Lu Hendrich is the best friend you could have in Elite, and would foreshadow the series of events that led to Polo’s death in Season 3.
One of the pleasantly surprising friendships that Lu Hendrich made was with Omar. Considering that his sister was her nemesis, she could’ve just easily been mean to him. But in the second season, they were able to form an unlikely bond while having dinner with Ander and Guzman. Those two men were angry at them for some reason and they found some common ground with being shut out by their respective partners. It also helped that Lu spoke some Arabic!
Then their friendship was solidified in the Halloween party at Rebeka’s when Lu gave some advice to Omar about his relationship. “Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary,” she said to him.
They would actually turn out to be really good friends as Lu continued to be a guardian angel to him later on when he was having his affair with Malick.
After Polo’s murder, the Inspector questioned everyone yet again about what happened that night. We knew that Lu was the one who stabbed him with the wine bottle neck which led to Polo falling off from the barricade. So she was obviously feeling a lot of anxiety when she was being questioned!
When she claimed that she wouldn’t kill Polo because he was her friend, the Inspector tried to paint her into a corner by claiming that they weren’t friends. To this, Lu disagreed and gave one of the most memorable quotes in Elite: “Polo was my friend. Despite everything, we’re all friends. More like a family. We might not say we love each other every day, but you have no fucking clue what I’ve been through with these people.”
And with that line alone, we saw how much Lu Hendrich has transformed since the first time we saw her. No longer was she the person causing so many cracks in everyone else’s relationship, but she was someone who actually wanted and craved for their friendship.
Well the Reverse Valentine’s Day party that Lu threw was iconic already in of itself, but something much more magical happened for her. Throughout the entire series, we saw Lu fight tooth and nail to win Guzman’s love and affection. The fact that his eyes were always on Nadia was why she hated her with a burning passion.
Lu Hendrich knew that she was always going to be the “second choice” for Guzman, and she just simply went along with it because she loved him. But she was finally able to say no to him in this party when Nadia had rejected him for the nth time. Guzman tried to worm her way back to Lu to feel some sort of emotional validation, but she wasn’t going to fall back to that routine.
It wasn’t all bitter though; she still loved Guzman as a friend; it’s just that she wasn’t going to allow herself to be his back-up plan any longer.
In perhaps her baddest moment yet, Lu took the mic in a fundraiser party she planned with Cayetana. And boy, did she make that a night to remember for everyone!
Lu quickly took Cayetana under her wing when she first rolled into the Las Encinas scene. In fact, you can say they became best friends. But their bond quickly turned sour when Lu discovered her huge secret: she was actually the daughter of the school janitress. And the worst part of the whole thing was when she realized that the money they were raising in fundraiser party was for Cayetana.
Feeling betrayed, she told everyone in the party about the lie. But she didn’t stop there. Lu also exposed the fact that Guzman cheated on her with Nadia, and that Carla was sleeping with Samuel. She basically had enough of the people whom she considered her closest friends hiding things from her and treating her badly.
This was the first time I really felt bad for Lu because she was always projecting a mean girl facade before this. But as she said, she was sick of pretending and putting on a fake smile because nothing was going okay for her.
Which Lu Hendrich moment did you like the most? Are you gonna miss her as much as I am going to? Leave your thoughts in the comments down below! And if you’re also a Carla fan, make sure to read our list of her 8 most iconic moments.
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