After the events of Never Have I Ever Season 4 Episode 1, Nalini and Nirmala Pati examine the damage to Devi’s car and unilaterally agree that Devi isn’t entirely innocent in what transpired, simply based on everything they know about her as a person. Tough break for our girl. When Devi voices her theory about Margot, Nalini decides the best course of action is to go to school and have the principal sort it out. Margot is there with her dad (her very attractive dad, I might add) to plead her case and when Principal Grubbs reveals that the two girls were fighting over Ben, Nalini’s reaction is one of pure disbelief (Jagannathan’s line reading of “Ben Gross? Really?” accompanied by a hand gesture mocking his size is pure comedy). Despite Devi’s insistence that Margot is the culprit, Nalini holds steadfast to her decision that she’ll have to pay for the repairs, which will cut into the money Devi has saved for a school trip to New York City.
Feeling righteous, Devi approaches Ben about his lying girlfriend and he doubles down on believing Margot. (Say what you will about Ben Gross, but at least he’s trying to be a good boyfriend.) But almost immediately after Ben’s shut down, Devi finds out that Margot lied about having a double period with one of her teachers — it turns out, that teacher wasn’t even at school the previous day. Devi is quick to tattle and Margot is summoned to the principal’s office again, which brings Devi endless joy. That is, until she discovers that bad boy Ethan (Michael Cimino, from Love Victor) was the true vandalizer when she recognizes his handwriting on the board in Spanish class.
To Devi’s credit, she doesn’t let that weigh on her conscience for long; she quickly goes to Principal Grubbs and clears Margot’s name, and the principal in turn chastises Devi for always being an agent of chaos. It’s not quite fair for the principal to react this way, even despite the serious accusations at hand — with all the evidence we had seen thus far, it was plausible that Margot took her anger out on Devi’s car and her lying about her alibi doesn’t exactly add a vote of confidence in her direction; Devi’s hunch wasn’t entirely misguided even if it was wrong. Still, Devi is reprimanded and Margot storms away, and Ben (who was inexplicably in the office too) realizes that he needs to distance himself from Devi if he’s going to survive senior year. In a heartbreaking moment he tells Devi that they can’t be friends anymore.
Elsewhere at school, Fabiola finds out that the robotics team has a toxic reputation (“Incel City, USA,” Aneesa lays it plainly to her) and she’s newly determined to change that as the team’s captain. She approaches a fellow female STEM student about joining and while she’s skeptical at first, by episode’s end Fabiola has successfully recruited a new team member. Paxton is also roaming the halls again, cryptically telling Devi that he’s back at his alma mater for an interview.
Doing her best to move on from her break up with Trent, Eleanor distracts herself with a new crush and focuses on getting into an acting conservatory. At school, she has her eyes set on the latest peer to have a glow-up: Ethan. Only problem? Devi has also noticed the bad boy with the swoopy hair in the hallways. She confronts him about her car and forces him to pay for the repairs and when he comes over later to fix it with a $13 spray, he admits that he was turned on by her yelling at him. It’s a different take on the classic love triangle DNA of the series, pitting Devi against her friend instead of making her the center of the triangle, and is a welcome change-up that will test her moral compass.
In the Vishwakumar household, important generational and cultural conversations are happening all thanks to Pati’s new relationship with a white man named Len. Kamala comes home unannounced one day to find Pati and Len playing house, and when Pati expresses shame in finding love again after becoming a widow 20 years prior, Kamala reassures her that it’s not something to feel bad about despite what the cultural norms have dictated. “Wanting companionship is not shameful,” Kamala says, busting the old Indian traditions that perpetuate women’s roles as subservient to their husbands. By the end of Never Have I Ever Season 4 Episode 2 (“…Gotten Sweet Revenge”), Pati has told Nalini and Devi too, and it sets the stage for Nalini to put herself out there again soon, too.
Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, Teen Vogue, Paste Magazine, and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.
