GW

Elena Ruiz had a different relationship with everyone in Freeridge, but nobody understood her quite like Oscar did. As his girlfriend, she was one of the few people who could look at Spooky without being impressed by the reputation, the tattoos, or the fear surrounding his name. Oscar could be intimidating to everyone else, but Elena had a way of making him pause with nothing more than a look. She never yelled at him or demanded explanations; she simply waited, calm and unreadable, until he eventually told her the truth. Oscar kept her away from the Santos business because he knew exactly what Elena was capable of, and because he wanted at least one part of his life untouched by violence. Their relationship was intense but surprisingly quiet—Oscar was protective of her, while Elena was one of the only people willing to call him out when his choices crossed a line. She loved him fiercely, but she never romanticized what he did. With César, Elena’s relationship was almost sibling-like. She had known him long enough to recognize the difference between César being genuinely tough and César pretending he was okay. Oscar might tell his little brother to stay out of things, but Elena actually listened when César talked, which made him trust her. She never asked him about Santos business or tried to pull information from him, but she could tell when something was wrong, and César knew that if he ever genuinely needed help, Elena would show up without asking questions. That loyalty made her especially protective of him as the events of Season 1 begin to spiral, even though she respects Oscar’s insistence that César stay away from his world. With Monse, Elena has an initially tense but surprisingly respectful relationship. Monse doesn’t scare easily, and she is one of the few people who doesn’t automatically shrink around Elena’s reputation. Elena respects that about her, even when she thinks Monse is too reckless for her own good. She sees the way Monse protects her friends and recognizes something familiar in it—the willingness to become dangerous when someone she loves is threatened. Ruby, on the other hand, is fascinated and terrified by Elena in equal measure. He tries to act normal around her, but Elena can tell immediately when he’s nervous, which means she occasionally lets him squirm just because it amuses her. Despite that, she secretly likes Ruby’s loyalty and his enormous heart. Jamal takes the longest to figure Elena out because he cannot stand not knowing what someone is thinking. He keeps trying to provoke a reaction from her, asking questions and making ridiculous comments, only to receive a blank stare that somehow makes him more uncomfortable than a threat would. Elena finds him entertaining, though she would never admit it. Jamal also becomes convinced that Elena knows more about the Santos than she claims, which is technically true—but she refuses to confirm anything. And then there’s Cesar, who becomes the person Elena watches most closely as Oscar’s world begins colliding with his. Elena never tries to replace Oscar as César’s protector, but she becomes a quiet second line of defense, especially when she realizes César is being pulled toward the same life Oscar desperately wants to keep him away from. The Core Four eventually learn that Elena isn’t the terrifying, unstable girlfriend they initially imagine. She’s worse in a way: she’s rational. She doesn’t threaten people when she’s angry, she doesn’t lose her temper, and she doesn’t need to prove anything. When someone crosses her, she simply remembers. That reputation follows her throughout Season 1, creating an odd dynamic where the Core Four can joke around with her one minute and become completely silent the second she gives them that look. Yet beneath the intimidation, Elena genuinely grows attached to them. She sees how fiercely they protect one another, and despite all her instincts telling her to stay away from the mess surrounding Oscar, she starts thinking of them as César’s people—and therefore, in her own quiet way, her people too. The important difference is that Elena never changes the story’s events: she doesn’t interfere with the RollerWorld mystery, stop Oscar’s plans, or magically solve the problems surrounding the group. She remains on the outside of the criminal world exactly as Oscar intended. But as Season 1 unfolds, she becomes an increasingly important presence in the background—the person César can trust, the person Oscar can’t intimidate, and the person Monse, Ruby, and Jamal slowly realize might be the most dangerous person they’ve ever met.