Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever premiered its penultimate season on Netflix and has become a staple in modern teen comedies for its positive representation of South Asian young girls and its ability to deal with grief appropriately. With it being a coming-of-age story, Devi often creates havoc for the people around her but often learns from her mistakes and grows as a person.
Regardless, the show is inundated with humorous and moving moments that together illuminate a broader understanding of what it means to be in high school now. The hilarious writing and characters make for a number of memes that showcase the show’s true essence and its relatable nature to everyone of all ages.
Devi’s Consistent Questionable Decisions
One of the reasons Never Have I Ever is a different teenage coming-of-age series is that it follows its main character Devi, as she makes some of the most misguided and morally ambiguous decisions. From being unable to choose between Paxton and Ben, lying to her friends, and constant self-sabotage, Devi explores herself without the writers holding her up to a pedestal.
Since the show’s beginning and especially in season 3, Devi has started to evolve and become more cognizant of her actions towards her friends, her family, and herself, illustrating her immense growth after audiences have seen her make some very questionable decisions.
Paxton’s Arc
Throughout the series, Paxton Hall-Yoshida has one of the best arcs in Never Have I Ever season 3, evolving from the school’s promiscuous heartthrob to a more thoughtful and intentional character. In “…Had My Own Troll,” Devi confronts Paxton about his old best friend whom he ghosted after hooking up.
Paxton, who has developed and grown to take accountability for his actions, redeems himself by apologizing to every girl that he has wronged. Hilariously enough, the list included almost every girl in the school, but Paxton did not permit his pride to deter him from earnestly apologizing to every girl he hurt. Paxton has learned from Devi and his sister to treat the people around him with respect and sincerity.
Emotional Season Finales
Every season of Never Have I Ever deals with Devi growing as a person and learning to love herself as well as the people around her. As she sometimes alienates herself from her friends, she often reaches a point of breakthrough and finds comfort in emotional scenes with her mother Nalini, who is considered the best character in Never Have I Ever.
At the end of season 1, Devi is able to process the grief from the loss of her dad with her mother. In season 2, Devi and Nalini talk about missing their dad but moving forward. And in the newest season, Nalini comforts Devi when she expresses her feelings of unworthiness. These scenes close out Devi’s season arcs as well as emphasize the kind and supportive mother that Nalini is.
Devi’s Love-Triangle
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While the show centers on Devi’s personal growth through high school, one of the most important and divisive parts of the show is the continuous love triangle between Devi, Ben, and Paxton. Despite feeling unattainable, Ben and Paxton have feelings for her, and she is forced to choose between the two of them unless sometimes she chooses both of them.
Whether Team Paxton or Team Ben, fans can tell that the writers have creatively given each boy redeemable qualities that make them viable options for Devi. Ben uncharacteristically genuinely cares for her and knows her from their several years as enemies. Paxton listens to Devi and chooses to grow alongside her as well as help her grow as well. With the show concluding on its fourth season, Never Have I Ever fans have questions about who Devi will ultimately end up with, if any.
Fabiola and Eleanor Try To Support Devi As Much As They Can
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Devi might make contentious choices, but she does not go through it alone. She usually talks to her best friends, Fabiola and Eleanor, about the situation. Devi tends not to listen to their advice which leads to more problems ultimately. Regardless, Fabiola and Eleanor tend to stick by Devi’s side as she learns her lesson, and they provide her with the best support when necessary.
When Devi told them about her plan to be in relationships with both Ben and Paxton, Fabiola and Eleanor reminded Devi of what she was doing, but in the end, it was Devi who had to learn the lesson on her own.
Hilarious Supporting Characters
One of the most hilarious characters in the show is Trent, Paxton’s long-time best friend, and Eleanor’s boyfriend in season 3. He is characterized to be very aloof and is very straightforward with the characters, often calling Devi “Crazy Devi” to her face. Despite his comments sometimes about Ben’s acne, he is direct and never intends to cause harm.
In season 3, Trent develops as a more multidimensional character who holds fears for the future and what it means to him. He learns to express his love for Eleanor, making their relationship the cutest in the show. As the funniest character on Never Have I Ever, he quickly became a fan favorite this season who always said what he felt and confronted his emotions head-on.
Mohan’s Emotional Impact
Fans praised the show for its ability to adequately process Devi’s grief from her father, Mohan, who passed away a little before the show started. Over the span of the show, Mohan appears in both flashbacks and the present day, speaking to Devi through her memories.
Mohan’s gracious and kind character still rings true even after his passing, providing emotional support to his daughter even she feels the rest of the world is against her. It can be guaranteed that any scene with Mohan in it is going to leave some audiences reaching for a tissue.
Focus On Supporting Characters
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While most of the show focuses on Devi’s journey narrated by famous tennis player John McEnroe, Paxton and Ben each get their own character-centric episodes that reveal more layers to the characters than just part of Devi’s love triangle. Ben’s episodes are narrated by Andy Samberg while Paxton’s episodes are narrated by Gigi Hadid.
These episodes explore their personal lives that Devi typically does not see, such as their relationships with their families and the relationship they have with themselves. These episodes allow viewers to gain new understanding of these characters and have become a fan-favorite marker for every season.
Friends Who Support Each Other
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Particularly in the newest season, Paxton’s growth was marked by profound moments with most characters, excluding Aneesa as the meme suggests. Paxton helped Fabiola ask Aneesa out on a date and was there for Ben when he had to go to the hospital and go through emergency surgery. He even continued to root for Devi even after their break-up.
More than just Paxton, the characters are all friends who support each other, such as Ben revealing to Devi the truth about Nirdesh’s mom and Eleanor helping Paxton talk to Trent about going off to college. While Devi can make horrible decisions and sometimes hurt the people she loves, every character remembers to lean on each other. Hopefully, the last season gives Aneesa her moment with Paxton.
