Never Have I Ever fully came of age in its third season, when the Mindy Kaling-created show perfectly nailed its balance of teenage trauma, big-hearted sweetness and breezy humour. The fourth and final season sticks with the formula, making for a satisfying finale for a show that's ending at the exact right moment.
Season 4 opens with Devi Vishwakumar (Missassauga's Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) having just lost her virginity to frenemy Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison). But in typical Devi fashion, it doesn't go smoothly, and the ensuing anxieties propel the interpersonal drama through the rest of the season.
Much of the season concerns getting into university — perhaps not the most compelling plot device, but it does the trick for bringing the worst out in everyone: Devi's cutthroat competitiveness, Ben's smug elitism, Eleanor's (Ramona Young) overconfidence and Fabiola's (Lee Rodriguez) timidity. Former king-of-the-school Paxton (Darren Barnet) is having his own college crisis, having bailed on Arizona State University and returned to high school as an assistant swim coach, which is apparently a full-time job at this school?
After three past seasons of watching these teens grapple with hormones, meltdowns and breakups, the pleasant surprise of Season 4 is that the show now spends a little more time with the adults. Both Devi's mom Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) and grandma Nirmala (Ranjita Chakravarty) have their own romantic prospects, which offers a fresh spin on the show's usual adolescent concerns. Nalini in particular could easily carry her own show as a widow becoming an empty-nester and learning how to once again prioritize herself.
Some of the supporting characters have been unfortunately pushed to the sidelines: Aneesa (Megan Suri) has gone from the fourth member of Devi's friend group to a bit part, while the teacher Manish (Utkarsh Ambudkar) is on camera for a matter of seconds. There's only so much screen time to go around in these 10 episodes of 30 minutes each, but these former supporting stars are missed.
Many a teen drama has been ruined by its cast growing up. Rather than giving viewers one or two dismal university seasons before burning out, Never Have I Ever is wisely going out on a high — leaving a massive void as high school comedy with crossover appeal. The show's sentimental finale (which comes complete with a modern synthpop cover of Mazzy Star's "Fade into You") feels extremely well earned.
So now what am I going to watch while doing the dishes?
(Netflix)Season 4 opens with Devi Vishwakumar (Missassauga's Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) having just lost her virginity to frenemy Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison). But in typical Devi fashion, it doesn't go smoothly, and the ensuing anxieties propel the interpersonal drama through the rest of the season.
Much of the season concerns getting into university — perhaps not the most compelling plot device, but it does the trick for bringing the worst out in everyone: Devi's cutthroat competitiveness, Ben's smug elitism, Eleanor's (Ramona Young) overconfidence and Fabiola's (Lee Rodriguez) timidity. Former king-of-the-school Paxton (Darren Barnet) is having his own college crisis, having bailed on Arizona State University and returned to high school as an assistant swim coach, which is apparently a full-time job at this school?
After three past seasons of watching these teens grapple with hormones, meltdowns and breakups, the pleasant surprise of Season 4 is that the show now spends a little more time with the adults. Both Devi's mom Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) and grandma Nirmala (Ranjita Chakravarty) have their own romantic prospects, which offers a fresh spin on the show's usual adolescent concerns. Nalini in particular could easily carry her own show as a widow becoming an empty-nester and learning how to once again prioritize herself.
Some of the supporting characters have been unfortunately pushed to the sidelines: Aneesa (Megan Suri) has gone from the fourth member of Devi's friend group to a bit part, while the teacher Manish (Utkarsh Ambudkar) is on camera for a matter of seconds. There's only so much screen time to go around in these 10 episodes of 30 minutes each, but these former supporting stars are missed.
Many a teen drama has been ruined by its cast growing up. Rather than giving viewers one or two dismal university seasons before burning out, Never Have I Ever is wisely going out on a high — leaving a massive void as high school comedy with crossover appeal. The show's sentimental finale (which comes complete with a modern synthpop cover of Mazzy Star's "Fade into You") feels extremely well earned.
So now what am I going to watch while doing the dishes?
