After years of healing and coming to terms with herself, Devi Vishwakumar makes her way into her senior year of high school once again surrounded by friends, family and drama in the final season of “Never Have I Ever.” However, while the story of healing and self improvement shines, the rest of the plotlines throughout the season either simply don’t feel as important or just didn’t need to be there in the first place.
The one that stuck out the most to me was Paxton Hall-Yoshida’s arc. I felt that season three ended his storyline in an effective way, with him finally realizing that he was more than just a good-looking guy and was capable of doing more than just being pretty. Season Four sees him drop out of college and go back to Sherman Oaks High School as an assistant swim coach before rehashing the same arc from Season Three, marked by doubting himself and thinking he’ll always be just another pretty face before figuring out more about his identity and going to college. It’s the exact same arc as his previous one, only this one included a different love interest.
Furthermore, other plotlines also just felt like time fillers. For example, the romantic subplot between Devi and Ethan Morales was so short-lived that I had nearly forgotten about it by the end of the season. It felt like just another way to churn out more episodes and let the main plotline shine without becoming the sole plot of the show. Similarly, while the subplot of Nirmala finding love with Len was a fun addition to the story centered around a well-liked character, Kamala trying to untangle Len’s alleged affair only to find that “the other woman” was his real estate agent felt like a very unnecessary addition. Merely, it felt like just another way to keep Kamala in the show and give her something to do.
Speaking of characters needing something to do, what happened to Aneesa? After being introduced in Season Two as a potential rival to Devi, she became one of her close friends, before nearly disappearing in Season Four and being given a few random lines to wrap up her character arc. This was probably the most disappointing part of the whole season, as Aneesa was an interesting, complex character that played the athletic, levelheaded foil to Devi’s academic, hotheaded character.
Despite issues with the subplots, the main plotline about growing past traumas and poor responses and into a stronger, well-adapted person was executed incredibly well. A great example of this comes with Devi’s encouragement of Nalini’s relationship with Andres, opting to try to make amends with his daughter Margot, her long time rival/friend/love interest Ben’s new girlfriend, rather than sabotage her mother’s budding romance.
Another example comes with Devi’s supplementary application essay to Princeton University, which she had gotten waitlisted at and subsequently lied about. Rather than just begging to be admitted to the only college she wasn’t explicitly denied from, she tells the story of her late father, who was the one who had initially put the idea of going to Princeton in her head. This brings the series to an effective full-circle close, allowing Devi to commemorate her father by following her dream to go to Princeton rather than being mentally stuck at his death.
But it’s not just Devi that does this. Her close friends, Fabiola and Eleanor, also does so. Fabiola stands up for herself and tries to make her robotics club a more inclusive space towards women, rather than simply biting her tongue and letting it happen, which she had done in different situations in previous seasons.
Eleanor also forges her own path rather than following in the footsteps of her absent mother, who abandoned her to pursue her acting career. After being denied from The Juilliard School, she decides to start directing and starring in her own films, alongside her stoner boyfriend Trent, which was a great way to wrap up her storyline. It showed that sometimes dreams don’t always play out the way you anticipate, but maybe it’s for the best.
Overall, while the series has its issues in terms of forgotten characters and pointless plotlines, it also tells a sweet story of growing past traumas and into a stronger person, no matter how long it takes.
Season Four of “Never Have I Ever” is now streaming on Netflix
