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Everyone’s favorite teen rom-com narrated by John McEnroe is back, and dare I say, better than ever. Season 3 of Never Have I Ever picks up right where we left our heroine, Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), actually living her dream of dating the hottest guy at Sherman Oaks High, Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet).
The new season initially centers on Devi and Paxton making their slow-motion entrance as an official couple on the first day of school. The reactions of their classmates — and teachers — range from awestruck to pleased to downright spitting out coffee in shock. The Daxton shippers will be happy to learn that the couple is still going strong, despite Devi’s insecurities and Paxton’s general teenage guy cluelessness about certain things (like why Devi is insecure about dating him in the first place). Those who’d rather see her with fellow overachiever Ben (Jaren Lewison) will be happy to learn that everything isn’t perfect for Sherman Oaks High School’s most talked about new couple either. No matter which team you’re on, you’ll likely get some moments to make you squeal with delight in Season 3.
It comes to light in the first episode that though Daxton are happily dating (and keeping it a secret from Devi’s very traditional Indian family), Devi tends to suggest they chill and watch TikToks whenever their time together gets overly physical. Despite his storied past, Paxton says he’s cool with taking their relationship slowly, which is a huge relief for Devi. However, the will-they-or-won’t-they question is far from Daxton’s only challenge toward a happily ever after. There’s also the fact that Ben clearly has lingering feelings for Devi, the popular mean girls think Paxton must be with Devi because she puts out, and Devi can never truly seem to move past Paxton’s popularity and his, shall we say, experience with the opposite sex. And then there’s the new Indian guy in Devi’s life, Des (Anirudh Pisharody), who may just provide some competition for Paxton.
It’s not just Devi’s relationships that take center stage in Season 3. Eleanor (Ramona Young) gets more screentime this season, as she navigates her relationship with Paxton’s best friend, stoner with a heart of gold Trent (Benjamin Norris). And Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) also has to learn about the pros and cons of long-distance love with her girlfriend, Eve (Christina Kartchner), who announces she’s moving to Korea in the first episode. Ben is still dating Aneesa (Megan Suri) after the two got together in Season 2, but their relationship hits a rocky path too.
One of the big storylines from last season that takes something of a backseat this go-round is that of Devi’s cousin, Kamala (Richa Moorjani). Last season, she was all but engaged to Prashant (Rushi Kota) after their families matched them together, per Indian custom. But she began having doubts toward the end of Season 2, and she makes a decision this season to not get married and instead enjoy being single for a while, something that causes her grandmother Nirmala (Ranjita Chakravarty) a lot of grief. In fact, for a while, she ignores Kamala altogether, saying she’s brought great shame on their family. That does lead to a lot of hilarious moments from Nirmala, as we got a taste of last season, but once that conflict is resolved, we don’t hear much about Kamala, which is something of a letdown, considering her growth last season. She does, however, get a nice romantic subplot with Devi’s teacher, Mr. K/Manish (Utkarsh Ambudkar).
However, the show is mainly about Devi, and that’s where its strength lies. Like any rom-com, there are a few somewhat predictable moments and revelations this season, which you do realize are about to happen right before they happen. But, that’s to be expected with any comedy of this nature, right? So maybe we’ll let that slide. After all, this season has some of the series’ best moments, like Eric (Jack Seavor McDonald) writing a gossip column at the high school called Lady Whistleboy in a shout-out to fellow Netflix phenomenon, Bridgerton. A nod to another series, Squid Game, also sees Nirmala vowing to write a letter to Netflix if the Indian guy is killed off.
There’s also more of Devi’s heritage and culture in this season, as we see the family celebrate the Hindu holiday of Navratri. In addition to showing a piece of Hindu culture, the holiday celebration also gives a chance for Kamala and Mr. K to try to prove themselves to Nirmala, which of course, goes slightly awry. But back to our heroine. This season, Devi undergoes a lot of growth — perhaps the most she has undergone so far. She learns to love herself, and she learns to stop focusing so much on her future and her past, and live in the present. This show has the unique ability to have you laughing out loud one minute and then wiping away tears the next, and while viewers may have thought Devi had finally fully dealt with the death of her father from Season 1, this season shows that she still has a lot to process and work through before she can truly heal. As her counselor (Niecy Nash) tells her, it’s going to take time — and that grief will pop back up at the most unexpected moments. It’s a slice of real life, real struggle that Never Have I Ever continues to succeed at depicting.
One of the great things about Never Have I Ever is, of course, that narration by McEnroe. A particular scene sees Devi anxiously waiting for a text from a guy, and when her phone finally dings, it’s actually a wildfire warning. “Come on, stupid wildfire!” McEnroe yells. “Read the room!” It may seem odd that a 1980s tennis star is narrating the life of a 16-year-old Indian girl in California, but it works so well. Plus, this season sees the delightful return of Andy Samberg, who once again returns to narrate an episode of Ben’s life.
Overall, Season 3 of Never Have I Ever does a fantastic job of portraying the ups and downs of a year in the life of a teenage girl. It also sets up new love triangles/interests/struggles for the fourth and final season, and a few surprises for some of our beloved characters.
Rating: A-
Never Have I Ever Season 3 premieres August 12, exclusively on Netflix.
