Devi-ing This One Up - A Never Have I Ever Season 2 Review
Content Warning: This analysis mentions eating disorders and sex trafficking
This is not just a coming-of-age story. It is a story of the almost uncontrollable rage that your unresolved trauma drives you to. It is the story of what has long been misunderstood and dismissed as teenage angst. It is the story of when you are doing something wrong while failing to comprehend it, so you do it repetitively, you mess up horribly, and experience consequences. Besides that, this is a quirky and at times corny high-school fiasco revolving around 15-year-old Devi Vishwakumar.
Last year, the first season of Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever aired on Netflix and I was beyond ecstatic. I had never before seen a brown girl as a protagonist who was not tokenized or caricatured. I wrote a review of the season, describing all the great and immaculate things about it. This year, Devi has grown by a crumb, and so have I. I have become more receptive to acknowledging my own and other peoples’ flaws. Hence, I admit my mistake of not being as critical as I should have been in my earlier review.
This is in no way saying that I disliked this season. In fact, I loved it enough to watch it multiple times. However, there are certain things about it that need to be addressed. For this season, I have decided to write an honest, uncouth piece of analysis. By that I mean, I will be critical while still fangirling over the show, doubting everything I say, and geeking out about the lighting, music, costumes, symbolism, and parallels. Think of this as an ode to not knowing everything and to being willing to learn and change opinions. Since we’re being honest, I might as well start early. Unlike last year, this year’s analysis is full of spoilers, so be warned before you proceed.
For starters, during Season 1, I was so excited about the fact that some of the main characters such as Devi, Ben, Eleanor, and Fabiola were played by people who were in their teens or early 20s that I failed to mention how the character of Devi’s romantic interest, Paxton, was played by Darren Barnet, who is 30. Paxton has a way deeper and more nuanced role in Season 2, so I could not help but think about the actor’s age. There is no denying that 30-year-olds playing the roles of high school students is problematic because it cultivates a toxic sense of body image within viewers who are actual high-school students and do not resemble the characters they see at all. I always thought that this idea was somewhat subverted by the subtle nods in Season 1 about how Paxton looks unrealistically perfect and grown for a teenage boy, including the comment by Devi’s therapist. “Is this kid on HGH?” and Devi’s ironic comment about how most of the Riverdale cast are older than her mom.
I am not a professional film critic, but I personally thought Barnet did a good and convincing job at his role in juxtaposition with a lot of other 30-year-olds playing teens. This is why if I am being honest, I am still conflicted, given that most of the actors were a lot younger as compared to other teen shows as well.
Another aspect of the show I want to address is the development of the character, Eric. In the first season, he is the textbook comic relief character or the “weirdo”. This is ironic because the whole point of the show is allegedly to normalize “weirdos” and to send out a message that being different is perfectly okay. I was really glad to see Eric’s character develop, get a love interest and become president of the robotics club. In a conversation, Devi and Paxton even consider him and his girlfriend to be an example of a great relationship! This was one of the many improvements in the second season.
Another such improvement was the addition of both of Devi’s grandmothers who, in my opinion, excellently represent parts of the spectrum of what older desi women are like. I hate to pick favorites (not really), but her paternal grandmother, Nirmala, wins this round for me. It was particularly refreshing to see the warm dynamic between Nirmala, and Devi's mother Nalini. It broke the stereotype about the existence of hostility between South Asian mothers and daughters-in-law. To see an older South Asian woman stand up for the autonomy of her daughter-in-law made me happier than I could imagine!I was also very pumped about the addition of the new Muslim girl, Aneesa, who is again, very cool and not tokenized or caricatured. Aneesa is kind, forgiving, and has an amazing sense of style!I personally did not think Devi’s South-Asian-diaspora-kid-identity-crisis was as prevalent in the second season as compared to the first. And maybe this is wishful thinking, but Devi taking up the role of Paxton’s “overbearing Indian mother”, as hilarious as it was, made it seem like she was starting to feel slightly more comfortable with her Indianness.It is important to point out how lucky I am because as a South Asian, I find the characters very relatable and I see a lot of people among my friends and family who are so much like them. This does not mean that every South Asian person feels this way, nor is it possible for a single show and a handful of characters to represent the vast and diverse array of individuals and communities that South Asians are. All of us deserve accurate representation in the media and I really hope other works are produced that represent other South Asians better!
Devi-ing This One Up
All in all, a lot of my friends just do not like Devi because she messes up quite a lot. While I was screaming at my laptop screen when she busted her mother’s chances at having a relationship with Dr. Jackson and a pit formed in my stomach when she made a joke about sex trafficking, I still could not hate her character because I kept reminding myself that she is a young girl with trauma. She definitely has a lot of unlearning to do and a lot to work on, no denying that.
Only recently have we started to see flawed characters on television. Earlier, protagonists would largely be characters devoid of imperfections, they would be the center of attention and supporting characters would simply be used as plot devices to move the protagonists’ story forward. I am glad that in the recent works, the emphasis on the main character being the ‘hero’ has subsided, main characters have flaws, and supporting characters have complex personalities and backstories. The perfect protagonist trope was derogatorily termed Mary Sue based on a parody self-insert Star Trek fanfiction written in 1974. However, the term is used to describe many characters that fit the description. An example of this is Bella Swan from Twilight. A Mary Sue is heroic, talented, flawless and the center of the universe.
This not only makes it very difficult for the audience to empathise, relate or identify with the protagonist but also, leaves no substantial room for supporting characters. The problem does not stop at that. Some critics talk about how the Mary Sue trope is sexist, being heavily codified as a female trope. Perfect characters who are men are less likely to be deemed Mary Sues than women. This goes to show that female characters are so heavily scrutinized that they can even be hated for being too perfect while male characters might be able to get away with it. However, this does not take away from the fact that the trope is unrealistic, no matter what gender the protagonist is.
It is also important to note the existence of the Flawless Token, who is a Token Minority or Token Female character, again devoid of flaws. The Flawless Token does not dare to rebel against their oppressors. In the context of Never Have I Ever, it is essential to identify that Devi is a brown girl full of flaws, and while she is unsure about her identity, she is subversive and critical of systemic racism and sexism. To see her directly overturn the Flawless Token trope is refreshing.
I think Devi’s mistakes are one of the most realistic aspects of the show. Although I will admit, I think that maybe the number of times she makes high-magnitude mistakes could be overstated and unrelatable. Coincidentally, the new season was released while I was personally introspecting (read: self-hating) about past mistakes. One thing I noticed about Devi is that she acts and speaks without processing or reflecting. When her impulsivity detrimentally affects other people, she overlooks her own faults and rather focuses on the other peoples’ reactions and self victimises. This is something I am guilty of doing as a teenager and I did not grow out of it all of a sudden. Instead, it was a gradual and non-linear process and it involved learning from mistakes. Since this is my honest take on it, I believe that the depiction of Devi’s mistakes was pretty spot on. She is a 15-year-old girl with unresolved trauma and anger issues, and while she does go to therapy I do not see her listening to her therapist or cooperating all that much. Neither has she learned how to react to things after processing them, nor can she properly apologize without either self-hating or self-victimizing. She also repeatedly makes mistakes. However, these mistakes do not come without consequences.
It is not sugar-coated in the show that Devi hurts people. An evident example of this is the impact that she has on Aneesa’s mental health when she spreads the word about Aneesa’s eating disorder. In fact, apologizing twice does not work in Devi’s favor and she has to involve her mother to resolve the situation.
Her mistakes also taint her relationships with some people, even after seemingly successful attempts at reconciliation. A pivotal example of this is Ben. After he finds out that she has been cheating on him, a rift is created between them and he does not express his interest in dating her even though he still has feelings for her, which I think is very mature and cool of Ben.
From the first season, it is established how badly Devi wants to go to Princeton and how she has been focused on her academics and extracurriculars all her life. However, she faces the consequences for gossiping about Aneesa and blatantly lying about it to the school principal. This goes on her school record, possibly jeopardising her chances at getting into Princeton. This is what makes it realistic, Devi messes up and faces consequences instead of everything turning out to be perfectly fine at the end. I particularly liked how the show normalizes loved ones holding each other accountable, a noteworthy example of this is Paxton’s sister Rebecca calling him out! Another example is obviously Devi’s friends calling her out, although I still can't wrap my head around how they enabled her to cheat on Ben and Paxton initially.
Nevertheless, Devi does not come without personal growth and guilt. These qualities are subtle but are seen a little more in the latter half of the second season as compared to the rest of the show. While her moral compass is very questionable when she two-times Ben and Paxton and goes to great lengths to keep up the facade for as long as she can, she is unable to do the same in the Aneesa situation and blurts out her confession.
I think this was because earlier, Devi’s main concern is getting into trouble with authority. Only when she does not get in trouble and successfully gets away with it does she reflect on the impact that she has on Aneesa’s mental health. She realizes how simply getting away with it did not truly bring her at peace. From my very personal experience growing up in a desi community, I know that some children are disciplined into righteousness by means of intimidation, with no regard for empathy towards the other party. This could be a stretch, or a possible explanation for why Devi acted the way she did, besides the fact that she is immature. However, in this season we see Devi try to do things right.
While her first attempt at apologizing to Aneesa fails, her second attempt comprises a genuine honest apology, promising reform, and so far she has not broken the promise. In the first season, she ditches Eleanor when Eleanor’s mother leaves, but in the second season, she puts her own issues aside to be there for Eleanor when it is suspected that Malcolm is cheating on Eleanor. We even see her open up more in therapy, so it might be safe to say that things are looking up for her. Growth isn’t linear, at least for Devi it isn’t. We see Devi retreat to old bad habits when it comes to the issue of her mother and Dr Jackson.
While some other recent shows feature characters that go against the Mary Sue trope, Devi is one of my favorite flawed characters I have seen in a while. Many other flawed characters have been very unrelatable for me, because of their tenacious inability to learn from their mistakes. I recently binge-watched the entirety of the legendary Gilmore Girls and I simply failed to wrap my head around Rory Gilmore’s flaws. Rory ostensibly starts out as a very sensitive, gentle, kind and empathetic girl and her character mostly catches a downfall when it comes to boys and romance. I thought this was somewhat understandable because everyone around her was so kind to her and she lived in a small town, putting her in a bubble with sparse real-world problems. However, Rory was heavily called out by her mother when she had made mistakes such as cheating and being with a married man while she was in high school and her Freshman year of college. Nevertheless, she continued on with the same mistakes as a woman in her 30s
Heavy Topics Tackled
I was glad to see that the new season touched on some very important topics. Part of showing Paxton as a multifaceted character included dissecting his identity as a Japanese-American. In the new season, Paxton seems to unpack generational trauma and the internment of Japanese-Americans. Along with this, eating disorders are talked about in Aneesa’s storyline.
I also thought it was really important that sexism at the workplace was addressed in the storyline of Devi’s cousin, Kamala. In the first season, we see Kamala talk about her work a lot but we never see her at work. While I imagined her professional life to be smooth-sailing thanks to her smarts, I felt sucker-punched when I was reminded of the issue of sexism at the workplace when I finally got to see her in a professional setting. It was satisfying to see her stand up for herself, because if I am being honest, I would not have been able to do it if I were in her position.
Hot and Cool
In Season 2, Devi finds herself in a love triangle between Ben and Paxton, but since each character has their own complex and distinct backstories, the dynamics between the characters are also very different. I love how little aspects of lighting, costume, and sound reflect these differences.
For example, in scenes with Devi and Paxton, red lighting is used and the background music has themes of fire or heat. In Season 1 Episode 8, where Paxton drives Devi home from Ben’s party in his maroon Jeep, the mellow yet rhythmic Fire For You by Canons plays while subtle, warm red and orange lighting illuminates the scene. This is made to seem realistic given the streetlights on the road in the dynamic background. The yellow exterior walls of the Vishwakumars’ house and its pale lighting also keep the latter half of the scene in harmony.
This harmony is not broken in Season 2, where again, in Episode 9 during the scene where Paxton climbs through Devi’s window, Glass Animals’ banger, Heatwave plays in the background. Like Fire for You, Heatwave is also a mellow yet rhythmic pop song with similar themes not only limited to fire and heat but also regarding infatuation. Note that this is only my take on this, but the song lyrics could possibly underscore how infatuated Devi has been with Paxton. In the Season 2 scene, the lighting is subtle and red again, this time owing to the bright red string lights in Devi’s otherwise dim room. This is shortly followed by a moving drone shot of the valley in the night, with similar street lights as the Season 1 scene while the song carries on. The common ground between the two scenes stretches far beyond light and sound. In both scenes, Devi is fresh out of conflict and taken by surprise when Paxton is nice to her, because earlier in both scenes, he was mad at her about one thing or the other and gave her the cold shoulder. However, there is evident development in their relationship between both scenes.
In juxtaposition to Paxton’s scenes, Ben’s scenes involve tones that are cool and songs that are nostalgic, upbeat and almost bittersweet. The last scene of Season 1 takes place in Ben’s gray car on Malibu beach. The overcast evening setting along with Devi and Ben’s purple and blue shirts complements the cool tones of the beach. Boys like You by Kids at Midnight plays in the background. The song starts with a slow build and reaches a very funky pop crescendo. The lyrics perfectly encapsulate the nostalgic, banter-filled, and competitive relationship that Devi and Ben have.
The camera pans to a drone shot of the beach and season one ends. Season two begins at the very same point but this time, Back To The Sun by Black Bones is playing. This is one of my favorite songs in this season because it has such a passionate, 80s pop feel to it. Unlike Boys Like You, this song starts with a strong upbeat mood and builds down and becomes mellower as Devi gets out of his car and the scene connecting the two seasons comes full circle. It is to be noted that the Season 2 song is more intense as compared to the Kids at Midnight song, possibly signifying the development between Ben and Devi.
Mean Girls Parallels
Intended or not, I have always been excited by parallels between multiple forms of media, so naturally, I noticed some similarities between the second season of Never Have I Ever and my comfort movie, Mean Girls. One of the first ones was when Paxton is hit by a jeep while he is lashing out at Devi, very similar to how Regina George is hit by a bus while lashing out at Cady Heron. Both Cady and Devi were also accused of pushing Regina and Paxton in front of the vehicle respectively.
Similarly, the winter formal scenes felt like they had a lot of similarities with the spring-fling scenes in Mean Girls, including Eleanor, just like Cady, realizing that the incessant need to fit in is doing more harm than good and showing up in a nerdy uniform to receive the queen title.
I also noticed how the ending shots for both Never Have I Ever Season 2 and Mean Girls are similar from a cinematography perspective, which I thought was very cool. Ever since Season 1, I have thought that the Devi-Paxton dynamic is similar to the Cady-Aaron dynamic, which really makes me wonder if all these parallels are intended or wishful thinking on my part.
Final Comments
Finally, I watched the show for the representation and for comfort and while I had some concerns, it did not fail me. A new season has not been announced yet, but I am hoping that the creators keep up with the improvement in case there is a season three. I hope we see even more diversity and representation as the juicy drama unfolds. Oh, and also, whatever happens between Eleanor and Trent, I am itching to find out.
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