Season 3 feels completely disconnected from the first two—and I don’t think it’s just me.

I made a post a year ago about the narrative issues in seasons 1–2, but the ending of season 2 gave me hope that season 3 would correct a lot of that.

It didn’t.

If anything, season 3 feels like an off-brand version of Elite that’s too afraid to fully commit to the chaos. The whole “we might’ve killed a guy—no wait he’s in a coma—now he’s awake and remembers nothing—Malakai ratted us out anyway—and somehow there are no consequences” storyline just felt messy and low-stakes.

But the bigger issue is how disjointed everything feels from what was previously set up:

1. Dropped plotlines

JoJo was set up to make SLTs more inclusive… and then they don’t even go to SLT this season. That entire setup just goes nowhere.

2. Malakai’s character (biggest issue)

Malakai felt insufferable this season, but not in a compelling way. He spends most of it stuck in a “woe is me” loop while also contributing to his own problems. He kind of realizes this at the end, but by then I had already checked out.

More importantly, his character regresses. His whole arc in seasons 1–2 was about finding where he belongs, but now he’s back to chasing Amerie—someone he’s had unresolved issues with since season 1. None of that gets properly addressed, it’s just ignored.

It really feels like the show defaulted to “main guy + main girl must end up together,” even when the story already showed why they shouldn’t. They would’ve worked better as friends, while Malakai had his own independent arc.

3. Malakai as the constant punching bag

Every season, something happens to him and it’s never properly explored.

• Season 1: police assault + SA by Harper and Dusty (which the show barely addresses properly)

• Season 2: constant emotional conflict while trying to figure out his sexuality + relationship issues later with Rowen

• Season 3: physical injury, depression, and resurfacing trauma all while still being “in love” with Amerie

And yet, the most people still frames Amerie as the one who “deserves better,” when honestly Malakai is the one who’s consistently put through the most and given the least payoff.

4. Harper’s storyline

Harper and Ant barely interact, and suddenly she’s falling for a random new character who does almost nothing all season. It feels underdeveloped, and building a red herring around someone with barely any presence just doesn’t work. I don’t think the new guy says more than 20 lines in the entire season.

5. The Sasha twist

This just doesn’t land. You can’t sideline a character all season and then reveal “it was her all along” and expect it to feel earned. And the whole everyone hates her now is very forced.

6. Missed opportunities

With the all-boys school being more involved, this would’ve been the perfect chance to bring Dusty back in a meaningful way. Instead, nothing. It would’ve been a better conclusion to his storyline.

7. Amerie’s relationship (again…)

Noah has zero personality. He exists just to be Amerie’s boyfriend until the inevitable breakup. This is the second time the show’s done this, and it’s getting repetitive. I’m counting Malakai as the first with how he was handled in season 1. He didn’t get much personality till after the breakup in the second half of season 1.

Overall, it just feels like the season ignores its own setup, resets character arcs, and replaces them with weaker, disconnected storylines.

Did anyone else feel like they dropped half the groundwork from the first two seasons, or am I overthinking it?