Never have I ever watched a show that perfectly defines and incorporates all the best things about romantic comedies. Introducing itself as a traditional romantic comedy, the show Never Have I Ever by Mindy Khaling peels back its layers to reveal a heart-wrenching anatomy of grief and self love.
The show starts with the introduction of the main character Devi Vishwakumar, an explosively vibrant teenage girl navigating through highschool, college preparation, maintaining her friendships and love life, and her gradual acceptance of the death of her father. Season Three begins with the extension of these plotlines, but even better. Devi embarks on her first relationship with the most popular guy in school, Devi’s mother, Nalini, begins to expand her social circle, and her friends are fraught with new potential relationships.
Most importantly, this season focuses on Devi’s development as a character. While she still struggles in an internal battle, Devi realizes that her self-worth isn’t dependent on her relationships with others. This change in principles is emphasized after she comes to terms with herself and matures after moving on from her relationship, a stark contrast between the Devi in earlier seasons who insisted that her value as a person was contingent upon her romantic relationships. Devi addresses her insecurities and resolves conflicts with level-headed negotiation rather than short-tempered confrontation, taking direct action without self-destructive behavior. Moreover, the audience sees Devi heal from and let go of her grief while still honoring the legacy of her father. It’s a beautiful and thorough character transition that allows the comedic quips to join hand in hand with mellow characterization.
This leads me to confess the unthinkable. The relationships and personal development for the secondary characters were half-baked and underdeveloped at best. It’s an obvious trade-off as the show completely immersed itself in Devi’s storyline, but nonetheless, it was still disappointing. While Devi’s best friends, Fabiola Torrez and Eleanor Wong were given thought-out personalities that lightened the show, their attention to their plotlines this season was simply not the same. Fabiola’s breakup with her girlfriend over the past two seasons, Eve, felt choppy and abrupt, and her budding relationships left no time for audiences to feel invested. The same went for Eleanor’s plotlines, her relationship with a character that she had never interacted with until the end of last season was artificial and illogical. A key issue with many of the plotlines in Season Three is that audiences had no build-up to be invested in relationships presented this season.
However, the highs and lows of Never Have I Ever leaves a show that engrosses the audience with colorful characters and nuanced plots. Season Three concludes with a memorable end as Devi embarks on her last year of highschool and her adolescent world expands towards the future.