'Never Have I Ever' Season 2 Review
TV14
Runtime: 28-30+ minutes per episode (10 episodes)
Production Companies: Kaling International, Inc., Original Langster, 3 Arts Entertainment, Universal Television
Network: Netflix
Distributor: Netflix
Created by: Mindy Kaling, Lang Fisher
Cast: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan, Darren Barnet, Ramona Young, Lee Rodriguez, Richa Moorjani, Jaren Lewison, John McEnroe
Release Date: July 15, 2021
The following review is based on episodes 1-2 and 4-10 of the season that Rendy was provided with. Yeah, they deprived me of one episode, which is crucial to the story, but hey… whatever. I’ll take what I can get, right?? Lol, Netflix is weird.
In Season 2 of the coming-of-age comedy Never Have I Ever, Indian-American teenager Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) continues to deal with the everyday pressures of high school and drama at home, while also navigating new romantic relationships. A new love life, a new classmate, and new reasons to bicker with mom give Devi plenty more ways to make courageous moves... and questionable decisions.
Last year Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s Netflix teen comedy series Never Have I Ever premiered and took my entire social media feed by storm. I mean, it premiered right on the heels of the pandemmy and everyone was talking about it, so I had to watch. As you can probably tell, since I’m actually writing a review of the second season, I adored it a lot. Now we’re at season two where Devi Vishwakumar must face new trials and tribulations in life. She must navigate the aftermath of season one’s events, including whether or not she must move to India, juggling two boys as her boyfriends, and a new Indian classmate. Of course, she does everything in the most Devi way possible.
We all said this during the first season but it’s time to reiterate: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a bonafide star. Nah, a friggin’ whirlwind superstar. This is Ramakrishnan’s series and once again, she delivers a commanding and downright unstoppable leading performance that’s raw, earnest, and full of charm. Despite all the terrible actions and decisions that Devi makes this season, Ramakrishnan does the perfect balancing act of being so captivating to watch while portraying this messy and selfish character you still sympathize with. Her comedic timing is impeccable as hell and her dynamic with all of her costars is so natural and strong, it feels like you’re watching a documentary at times rather than a straight-up sitcom. The fact that this is, to this day, Ramakrishnan’s only role validates that she deserves to be everywhere and in everything in the same ranks as the Stranger Things kids. While the entire ensemble is great, Ramakrishnan still carries the show on her shoulders and has the power to carry a feature film as well if somebody would just cast her in something. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a national treasure and deserves so many more roles.
Watching Devi navigate through various emotions ranging from affection to aggression as a coping mechanism to her recent loss of her father continues to be explored this season through new avenues. As much as Devi’s myriad of unfortunate and poor actions get under your skin, she’s still relatable as a flawed teenager who’s young and rebellious in her own right. She still has a hard time expressing herself and controlling her anger, as many of us who were once young and messy did. At times I would scream, “Goddamn it Devi, you fool!” while regressing and getting trauma flashbacks to my unfortunate series of angsty teenage high school drama. As much as I detest this character due to her insensitive actions and mentality, she reminds me of the worst version of who I used to be, and like many teenagers, the show gives her steps to grow. A major aspect that makes this show and season in particular as earnest and daring as the first is its fair and unforgiving atmosphere. If Devi lashes out or messes up in tremendous feats, she faces rightful consequences for her actions. In other series, you see characters get the equivalent of a slap on the wrist, but Devi gets figurative punches to the face as a result of her actions. It challenges her to develop as a character and the route they take her down is great.
The season’s overall narrative is marketed as an ongoing love triangle between Devi, Ben, and Paxton but thankfully it’s not the front and center arc for Devi. If anything, it explores the relationship between Devi and the new Indian girl in her class, Aneesa (Megan Suri). Once Aneesa arrives after the events of a big Devi screw-up, she feels immediately shown up by this cooler, hipper, and (in her eyes) hotter Indian girl who is dubbed as Devi 2.0. Surprisingly, they become friends, sharing similar experiences as Indian teenagers living in America and raised by traditional parents. Once a ridge between the two occurs, their friendship is put to the test and Devi has to untangle the biggest mess she has inadvertently caused. The universe challenges her to do the right thing and she keeps failing. The relationship between Devi and Aneesa is the major crux of the season and the way it’s utilized as a means for her growth is great in both writing and character.
Of course, the season provides a fun array of subplots that explore the continuous threads of the characters and their coming-of-age journeys. Devi’s mom Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) is as controlling and hilarious as ever while trying to move on as an independent mom finding romance again. Cousin Kamala (Richa Moorjani) starts a new position at a white male-dominated lab that tests her limits and voice in a familiar yet relatable manner. Devi’s best friend Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) is exploring her identity as a lesbian but in her own independent light. All these subplots are well-paced and integrated throughout the season and allow everyone outside of Devi to grow. On top of that, you have new additions to the cast who are also fun to watch. Common appears as a celebrity doctor named Dr. Jackson who becomes Nalini’s love interest. But someone I really adored was Utkarsh Ambudkar as an English teacher who Devi befriends due to Indian favoritism. As expected, he’s fun, charming as hell, and has some of the best jokes throughout the season.
Never Have I Ever season two plays with a variety of characters, their dynamics, and their individuality. Because you have an expansive list of supporting and main characters, some subplots aren’t as naturally developed to their full potential and some favorites hardly get their time in the sun. Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison) had a very prominent presence in the first season where his relationship with Devi was developed and explored throughout. In season two, he’s severely scaled back. Like, there’s little to no focus on him at all. This time around, you get more of swim team himbo Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), who becomes more emotionally vulnerable and communicative towards Devi. While it does a good job essentially giving Hall-Yoshida some spotlight, he’s unfortunately not as compelling and enticing as Ben was. This could also be due to the fact Netflix didn’t send me the third episode, which I assume is a Paxton Hall-Yoshida-centric episode that features a celebrity narrator in the same vein as John McEnroe who was to represent Devi and Andy Samberg to Ben. Once again, Netflix is weird. Despite that, there’s so much you could do to make a himbo interesting but he’s not that complex. That’s subject to change after I watch episode three, though.
The season navigates Fabiola’s queer identity with good intent and doesn’t do anything problematic, but some of the dialogue regarding her newfound world as a lesbian feels forced and carries a, “How do you do, fellow kids?” energy. She interacts with characters who identify as LGBTQ+ and they name-drop so much queer-related media as a means to project rather than feel authentic to the community itself. It tries TOO hard to resonate with its gay audience with the dialogue. You get references to stuff such as Killing Eve, The L Word, Carol, etc. Her new girlfriend Elle goes, “Hey, we’re going to an L World trivia night. Wanna come?” There’s a point where they force an underused gay character from the first season to give her a gay pep talk and it’s so unnatural. The world of Never Have I Ever is expansive and it would have benefited from being 12 or 13 episodes long (as opposed to its 10) to give other characters their proper, unrushed development.
Never Have I Ever’s sophomore season contains the same richness as its first. It's a fun, entertaining, smart, and earnest teen comedy series unlike anything else on television today. It’s still one of the freshest and funniest shows on Netflix and deserves all the praise it gets. It bites off more characters than it can chew, for not everyone’s arc is fully developed to its full potential, but it’s still engrossing to witness. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a national treasure and this is her golden goose. GIVE HER MORE ROLES!
