Never Have I Ever Season 3 Is The Best Yet!
In season 3 of the coming-of-age comedy Never Have I Ever, Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) continues to deal with the everyday pressures of high school and drama at home, while also navigating new romantic relationships. Now that she's finally dating her dream guy Paxton (Darren Barnet), everything is perfect, right? Maybe not.
While I really enjoyed the cast of Never Have I Ever, I struggled to get through the first two seasons of the show. I felt like they didn’t know what to do with its supporting characters and I found the character of Devi to be unrelatable and unlikeable. However, I’m glad I stuck through with the show because all of the chaos the characters dealt with in those previous seasons led to some really satisfying growth in season 3.
We kick off this season with Devi finally in a relationship with Paxton, which is what she wanted from the beginning of the series. She had this goal to be popular, date the hottest guy in school, and now she’s doing it. But she’s also realizing that having a boyfriend doesn’t change the way you feel about yourself. It seems she was trying to make herself feel better after the passing of her father by trying to achieve these classic high school milestones, but there are also deeper rooted insecurities going on there, especially as she begins to question why Paxton would even like her. As RuPaul says, “If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” While their relationship doesn’t work out, we see Devi blossom throughout the season, making smarter decisions and having healthier relationships with her friends and even a new crush.
Growth and life after high school are big themes of this season, as well as the continued steady drumbeat of Devi dealing with her father’s passing. We see her connection with her mother (Poorna Jagannathan) grow stronger and she realizes that your dreams and goals can change. Your identity doesn’t need to be tied to nabbing the hottest guy in school. Every character in the series shows immense growth. Kamala (Richa Moorjani) stands her ground when it comes to love. Ben (Jaren Lewison) learns to take a step back from being a workaholic and take better care of himself. Paxton takes accountability for his past actions and works hard to get into college. Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) explores various romance options, while Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Trent (Benjamin Norris) connect in a sweet yet theatrical relationship.
Another recurring storyline throughout the series has been Devi’s mission to lose her virginity and the ups and downs she feels around the idea. We end on a cliffhanger with her possibly losing it to one of her love interests this season, which brings up the question, how will that effect her in the already confirmed season 4?
When it comes down to it, everything that Devi has gone through has lead to her having a stronger arc in this season where we see her and her friends grow and mature in a satisfying way.
Never Have I Ever season 3 is streaming on Netflix.
