Published by Mason Oldridge, 8 January 2024
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Following on from winning Audio Visual’s TV series of 2023 for its fourth and final season, we take a look at the teen drama that broke Indian stereotypes.
I binge watched the entire show around the time of its conclusion. I decided to give it a try after having been reluctant to watch it as I expected it to conform to the Indian stereotypes by portraying a standard Indian family immersed in Indian culture. I was surprised to find that the show did just the opposite, offering up a blend that reflected the multicultural life that the family embraced, as well as being both a funny yet wholesome drama series. However, to take a proper look at the series, it's best to break it down into the individual characters as they each inhibit their own storyline while interweaving into each other's too.
The series follows Devi, an Indian-American high school student who attempts to improve her social status following her father’s death the year before. Devi is kindhearted and means well, though often gets into difficult situations and alienates people, usually as a result of her jealousy or unintentional selfishness getting the better of her. She is friends with the introverted Fabiola and aspiring actress Eleanor and finds herself torn between two love interests throughout the series: popular jock Paxton and her academic rival Ben. On top of this, she is processing her grief for her father with a therapist, has a difficult relationship with her mother, is desperately attempting to get accepted into her first choice university Princeton and struggles to balance her Indian heritage while fitting in with American culture.
Both her friends and love interests each have their own issues and personal development that are explored too. Fabiola is coming to terms with being gay and struggles to come out. She later encourages girls to join the male-dominated robotics club and wants to go to Howard due to their robotics team despite her mother’s preference of Princeton. Eleanor is upset to learn that her overseas actress mother has actually been living locally for a while and hasn’t contacted her. After striking up a relationship, her mother abandons her again for a final shot at the limelight, which results in Eleanor giving up acting. She also navigates a rocky relationship with Paxton’s friend Trent, who himself has to deal with being held back a year and not graduating along with his friend. Progression is seen a lot through Paxton’s journey as well. Devi encourages Paxton to apologise to the girls he has treated poorly in the past and overall makes him a more caring person. She tutors him and he improves his grades, getting accepted into Arizona State University. However, he feels left out attending a new place where he is no longer widely regarded as cool and returns to high school as a swimming coach, where he finds his legacy has faded. Devi’s classroom rivalry with Ben evolves into a friendship after seeing a different, nicer side to him following an emotional episode centred on Ben’s loneliness that gives us an insight into his life. We learn that his rich parents are always away on business and he is often left alone feeling isolated. He also takes his schoolwork very seriously, pressuring himself to the point of illness at one stage.
The lives of Devi’s family are also featured and the Indian representation is more prominent here. Devi’s mother Nalini is struggling with the loss of her husband and has to handle a rebellious Devi at the same time. She also attempts to have love again when opportunity knocks in the form of Dr Jackson, though feels guilty and struggles to pursue a relationship. Meanwhile, Devi’s live-in cousin Kamala is in a secret relationship as she is expected to marry a suitor in an arranged marriage. She also faces sexism while studying for her PhD and stands up to the group leader. On a family visit to India, Nalini discovers that Devi’s paternal grandmother Nirmala is lonely and she moves to America to live with the family. She develops a relationship with an American man named Len, who Kamala suspects of cheating.
Character development is top notch, though it was Season 4 that earned the award for the way it perfectly ends the series as well as honouring a concluding show for how it changed Indian perception on TV. Each character’s story is rounded off well. Nirmala and Len get married after it is revealed Len wasn’t cheating, Kamala moves away for a job offer along with her eventual boyfriend Manish, Nalini begins a relationship with her contractor Andres, Paxton realises he enjoys helping people and goes back to Arizona State to study teaching, Fabiola enrols at Howard and Eleanor pursues directing with the help of Trent. So that leaves Devi and Ben. Devi is going to Princeton and Ben is going to an internship. At the end of the summer, it is Nirmala’s wedding, where Ben turns up and confesses his love for Devi. They have sex and agree to give a relationship a try as Devi will be in New Jersey and Ben will be in New York. Devi has also made progress with her therapy and mends the rift with her mum as Nalini tells Devi she is proud of her while packing for Princeton. It is difficult for a show to provide a satisfactory ending (look at Game of Thrones) but Never Have I Ever does it brilliantly. It delicately tells of all these character’s journeys with a balanced mix of drama and comedy, all the while dismantling Indian stereotypes. Audio Visual’s TV series of 2023.