The third season of Never Have I Ever is back, and this time, the show begins with a happy ending.
After the show's sophomore season, where a lot goes down, our messy, lovable hero has ended up with a boy she's obsessed with since grade-school. We don't know how this will turn out for anyone who knows the show's penchant for romantic plot twists and questionable life decisions. In the first two seasons of the show, the show explored the unprocessed grief of her father's death, however, this season is more focused on love. It is also true for the rest of the cast. The previous season ended with Aneesa Qureshi and Ben Gross together, and now they are together again in the new one. There is an extreme focus on romance in this case.
Trent Harrison is going to get more screen time as he starts dating Eleanor Wong. Trent is a stock character who develops his narratives beyond classroom winning one-liners. Trent and Eleanor are some of the relationships examined in Season 3. Plotlines are often discarded too quickly before they get to the meatier parts. The potential to really draw out these potential pivots gets missed while we're keeping up because we get just enough of each secondary character to root for them one way or the other.
This season, Never Have I Ever continues to grow. The idea of being Indian is explored in a nuanced storyline with cousins and lovers. Manish's knowledge of India, Indian culture, and religion makes his grandmother object to the union of the two girls. How connected are we to our culture is an issue for so many diaspora children. We want to be connected. Similar conversations were achieved by the introduction of Des as a new love interest. Like Aneesa, who made her debut in Season 2, Des joins the school as a South Asian child, adding another layer to the circle she finds herself in.
Some of the one-liners and scenarios blend culture in a way that is rarely seen on screen. The show serves as a beacon of entertainment for the South Asian kids who have never had this kind of representation on screen. In the fourth episode, "I'm happy, and healthy, and Hindu!", Devi yells down the hallway. Only one of these things was true back then. It has been argued that the second season tried too hard to cater to the white audience. It tries to avoid being molded for a white audience by using universal themes to explore a culture and what it's like to be a high-schooler today. The show doesn't expand on South Asian stereotypes any more than it needs to, but it doesn't separate its global audience either.
There's a shift in the series that focuses more on identity, self-esteem, and change, if this is true for Nalini or Ben. The questions of personhood and feeling deserving of love are explored with the signature humor of Never Have I Ever. Her character exhibits personal growth in quieter ways than her impulsive and messy one. Iced coffee being thrown in people's faces, and drama at a debate tournament, but Devi appears to be on his way to self- learning. It's the same for both of them. One of the season's strongest episodes saw the two thrown into an unlikely situation, thanks to Ben's dwindling health and rising stress levels. The characters are given believable maturity and personal development even after everything they've been through with Devi.
The Gen-Z approach of the show is unaffected by the depth of these themes. The trends and jokes that appeal to the TikTok generation have been pulled on by Never Have I Ever. The Lady Whistle Boy ruling Sherman Oaks' gossip mill is a result of references to Squid Game, Love Island, and Bridgerton. At times, the jokes are cringeworthy but still come across as charming. Tennis legend John McEnroe is back as the narrator of the series.
The formula of funny stories, awkward high school encounters, and laugh-out-loud moments won't go away this season. It would be thought that this would result in a bit of mundanity. There are times when it feels like deja v: Ben protecting Devi from herself, Paxton navigating college admissions, and Kamala exploring a new relationship. The show could have slowed down a bit. The writers and cast have a fresh approach to each situation. Growing up makes us fall in love with Never Have I Ever.
You can now watch Never Have I Ever on the internet.
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