Netflix’s Never Have I Ever is a coming-of-age drama/comedy that follows that ups and downs of its teenage heroine, Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). Devi’s misadventures realistically portray how messy teenage life can be. The show is loosely based on the life of series co-creator and co-executive producer, Mindy Kaling, and has been lauded for its positive South Asian representation.

In its third and penultimate season, Devi and her friends begin to mature, discover new aspects of themselves, and for some, look onward to life after high school.

The Story So Far

When the series opened, Devi was recovering from the sudden and devastating loss of her father, Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy). In the aftermath of the trauma and emotional issues this event caused, Devi became temporally paralyzed for months, before eventually regaining the use of her legs. When the series begins, she’s a bit of an outcast at her school and known as the girl who lost her father and became disabled because of it.

She hatches a plan to lose her virginity to the most popular guy in school, Paxton (Darren Barnet) and although that ultimately doesn’t happen, the two grow closer as the first season plays out. She also finds herself befriending and becoming romantically interested in her sworn rival, Ben (Jaren Lewison). Season 1 ends with her making out with Ben, while Paxton waits for her on her doorstep.

Season 2 kicks off with Devi in a love triangle with Ben and Paxton. Of course, both boys are initially unaware that Devi is dating them both at the same time. When they find out, they both dump her and Devi is back at square one. When Aneesa (Megan Suri), a new Indian-American girl arrives at her school and grows closer to Ben, Devi gets jealous and starts a damaging rumor about Aneesa that almost results in the new girl leaving the school. Although Devi apologizes, this is one of the many sticky situations she finds herself in. After circling each other the entire season, she and Paxton end the season declaring their love for each other and deciding to truly embark on a relationship.

Season 3

When Season 3 opens, Devi and Paxton are finally a couple. Their classmates are shocked that the most popular guy in school is dating the oddest girl in school. Devi quickly realizes that a lot comes with being the girlfriend of the big man on campus. She finds herself contending with mysterious text messages warning her about Paxton, gossiping mean girls, and Paxton’s closeness with his female friends. Although she does mature a lot this season, she’s still the hilarious and messy Devi we know and love.

Devi’s best friends, Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) and Eleanor (Ramona Young) support their friend, but have misadventures of their own. Eleanor is still on her quest to become a famous actress, and surprisingly, a relationship with Paxton’s best friend, Trent (Benjamin Norris), leads to some great opportunities for her. She must also adjust to dating a ‘bro’ like Trent.  Meanwhile, Fabiola is struggling to maintain her stellar grades and a long distance relationship. She and Aneesa have an interesting storyline that I won’t spoil here, but I will say it’s surprising how it unfolds and ends.

Ben and Aneesa work through hiccups in their relationship as Ben becomes super focused on preparing to attend his dream Ivy League school, and reprimands Aneesa for not being as dedicated. There are also some surprising friendships in store for Ben as the season progresses.

Devi’s cousin, Kamala (Richa Moorjani) deals with the aftermath of breaking up with her boyfriend and embarks on a new relationship with Devi’s culturally ignorant English teacher. Devi’s mother, Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) finds a new friendship that provides her fulfillment outside of her job and family.

Anirudh Pisharody joins the cast as Des, the son of a family friend who grows close to Devi halfway through the season. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I’ll stop there.

The series balances all of these storylines well enough, and although some feel rushed at times, their execution overall is satisfactory.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this season. The characters, especially Devi, made some huge steps toward maturity and acceptance. Devi and her friends began thinking more about their futures as their junior year of high school progressed. Other characters, like Paxton, figured out what life after high school would look like for them and moved toward those goals.

There are some things that fans will find themselves frustrated with: there’s a certain couple that we never see Ben react to or comment on. Said couple is introduced and are together for a few episodes, then break up. It starts and stops so quickly that viewers will wonder what was the point. It’s a small complaint, but viewers will know exactly what I’m talking about when they watch the show.

The third season ends on a very intriguing note and has me eagerly awaiting the fourth and final season, which was announced earlier this year.

Never Have I Ever continues to be a clever, subversive, and enjoyable coming-of-age drama/comedy that portrays the highs and lows of growing up in a realistic and entertaining way.

Season Three of Never Have I Ever is currently available to stream on Netflix.