{"id":578197,"date":"2023-06-11T04:18:51","date_gmt":"2023-06-11T01:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/never-have-i-ever-stars-on-why-satisfying-ending-really-does-make-sense\/"},"modified":"2023-06-11T04:18:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-11T01:18:51","slug":"never-have-i-ever-stars-on-why-satisfying-ending-really-does-make-sense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/never-have-i-ever-stars-on-why-satisfying-ending-really-does-make-sense\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u2018Never Have I Ever\u2019 Stars on Why \u201cSatisfying\u201d Ending \u201cReally Does Make Sense\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n [This story contains spoilers from the fourth and final season of Netflix\u2019s Never Have I Ever<\/em>.]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n Netflix\u2019s Never Have I Ever<\/em> ended its fourth and final season with lead character Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) at her dream college, Princeton, and with the long-awaited resolution of the series<\/a>-long love triangle between Devi, Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison).<\/p>\n

\n Devi ends the show with Ben, with the pair cuddling together in Devi\u2019s dorm room. The enemies-turned-friends-turned-lovers start off the final season having sex but after the awkward experience, the first time for both of them, they don\u2019t immedia<\/a>tely get together, with Ben dating art student Margot (Victoria Moroles) and Devi having a fling with bad boy Ethan (Michael Cimino). As their senior year progresses, Devi and Ben find themselves becoming friends again after not even speaking to each other for part of the fall, but it\u2019s not until the final episode that the two finally couple up. In a When Harry Met Sally<\/em>-esque moment, Ben races back from New York to Devi\u2019s grandmother\u2019s wedding, where he tells her that he loves her and she reveals she feels the same. After a romantic night together, they decide to give their relationship a real shot, with Ben at Columbia and Devi at Princeton.<\/p>\n

\n While the ending to the series, created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, might be seen as a win for Team Ben and a disapp<\/a>ointment for Team Paxton, the actors behind all corners of the love triangle seemed happy with the outcome.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI do have my preferences. I am definitely Team Ben, so I\u2019m happy with what the writers chose,\u201d Ramakrishnan tells The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019m happy for the two of them. Devi did find love. And that\u2019s always fun. I was of course, for like the past year, always like, \u2018Devi should end up with no one.\u2019 But, hey, Devi, should live a little and why not, with your academic enemy turned rival turned friend back to enemy turned friend lover? They just had such a lovely roller coaster ride. It\u2019s so satisfying to see them come together. So I think that\u2019s pretty great. Also, they\u2019re both the same kind of crazy, so that works.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Though Lewison admits he\u2019s \u201cobviously biased,\u201d he explains how his onscreen counterpart ending up with Devi \u201creally does make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \u201cDevi and Ben have this, like, magnetism to them,\u201d he says. \u201cEven in the first episode where Ben is so loud and obnoxious, you find out later that it\u2019s really coming from a place of love. And for Ben, [Devi\u2019s] sort of like one of the only people in his life that sees him and allows him to open up to her later in the series. And then every time there is adversity and they go through different trials and tribulations, for both of them, they find each other. And that\u2019s what senior year is about, sort of finding who they want to be and deciding the relationships they want to have and preserve and invest in and I think that they find that, for them both, their relationship is something that\u2019s very special and always has been.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n He cites specifically Devi giving Ben her shirt after he gets paint on his at the college fair and Ben being there for Devi when she finds out she didn\u2019t get into college, not to mention Ben getting punched in the face while defending Devi at Princeton before the two share their mutual anxieties about being able to make it in college.<\/p>\n

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\"Jaren<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

Ben (Jaren Lewison) and Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) in Never Have I Ever<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Courtesy Of Netflix<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n And their banter, he argues, just shows how comfortable they are with one another.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cTheir banter is always so wonderful and everyone loves to see that, and the audience has really related to that. I think when you look underneath that, which is a great connection in general<\/a>, the reason why they\u2019re able to do that is because they care so much about each other and they know that no matter what, they\u2019re always going to be there for each other,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that makes them soulmates or if that means that they\u2019re in love or whatever emotions those are, especially in your senior year in high school, but I think that it does show a really complex depth for their foundation of care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n While Lewison and Barnet admit that there are arguments for both Ben and Paxton, Barnet concedes that Devi and Ben have a bond she doesn\u2019t have with Paxton.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere\u2019s something about Paxton that\u2019s a whole opposites-attract thing,\u201d Barnet tells THR<\/em>. \u201cBut with her and Ben, I think they are the personality types who want someone who\u2019s going to push them, and they push each other as well as push each other\u2019s buttons. And that\u2019s what keeps them excited and engaged in the relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Paxton and Devi do spend some time together after Paxton quickly drops out of Arizona State and returns to Sherman Oaks High as the assistant swim coach.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere\u2019s an enormous ego death with him not being the coolest guy on campus anymore,\u201d Barnet says of why Paxton left ASU so quickly. \u201cHe was too used and accustomed to being the big man on campus, that top dog. He goes to a much bigger pond and he\u2019s a much smaller fish. I don\u2019t think an ego death is something he can handle, so that\u2019s definitely what brings him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Though Paxton and Devi kiss, their romance appears to be in the past, particularly since Paxton is now part of the faculty. But both Ramakrishnan and Barnet appreciate the characters\u2019 supportive dynamic on display in season four.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere\u2019s definitely love there. I\u2019d say more platonic than not, but having a romantic history with anyone is never the most simple thing to deal with when you\u2019re trying to maintain a friendship,\u201d Barnet says. \u201cI think there\u2019s always gonna be that mutual love and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Ramakrishnan adds, \u201cDevi and Paxton end on a beautiful, beautiful note of friendship. And I am always team platonic relationships are just as important as romantic. They end on such a beautiful friendship, and they\u2019re so grateful for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Instead, Paxton\u2019s on his own journey in season four, ultimately realizing he wants to teach, and he returns to ASU with that goal in mind. But Barnet isn\u2019t sure if Paxton will stay.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny, even when he goes back to ASU at the end, I\u2019m not sure, as the character of Paxton, if he\u2019s going to stick it out this time,\u201d Barnet says, adding that Paxton could end up \u201cdropping out and going, \u2018I\u2019m going to teach surf lessons in Hawaii and live a happy life.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n As for what the future holds for Devi and Ben, Lewison isn\u2019t so sure.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe optimistic part of my brain says they\u2019re soulmates, they always find each other; they\u2019re meant to be. And even if they break off, maybe post-college, they\u2019ll find each other again,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd then there\u2019s another part of me that\u2019s like, they\u2019re still really learning who they are. They\u2019re both at really smart schools where they have diverse populations that will really challenge the way that they think and the way they view the world, and maybe that will bring them closer together and maybe that will bring them further apart, I don\u2019t know. I would like to think that, in a perfect world, they both have worked on themselves and figured themselves out and are happy doing whatever that might be, whether Ben is about to go to law school or going to go get an MBA or some kind of entrepreneurial business that he\u2019s starting, or whatever he\u2019s doing. And the same for Devi. But hopefully, it\u2019s something they both have found a passion for and have found enjoyment in, and it winds up being successful for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Beyond the love triangle, the fourth season shows Devi, Ben and Paxton all dealing with anxiety about college, something the three actors behind those characters acknowledged felt true.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a very real thing. In terms of like, young adults and college students; you start thinking you to have it all figured out,\u201d Barnet says. \u201cAnd people forget how young you are, that your whole life doesn\u2019t need to be figured out. That you don\u2019t need to get so down on yourself and feel like a failure if things crumble that were your original plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n And Devi in particular experiences setbacks on her journey to Princeton, getting deferred and then waitlisted before finally getting in, which Ramakrishnan appreciated seeing.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI mean, college post secondary, it\u2019s not an easy route. But I think, in general, anything that you really, really want, there isn\u2019t an easy, clear-cut path right to get there,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it\u2019s nice to see, not failure, it\u2019s only just different paths that you didn\u2019t expect to take to get to the same end destination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n For Devi, the final season also sees her continue to deal with the grief of losing her dad, who viewers discover, inspired her Princeton dream. As she\u2019s getting ready to go to college, she sees her dad\u2019s ghost and yells at him as she struggles to figure out what to pack, a moment that Ramakrishnan says reflects Devi\u2019s ongoing grief.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cShe still just misses him. She\u2019s still in grief, but just in a different form,\u201d she says. \u201cGrief comes in so many different ways. So I think we\u2019ve shown her in those different ways, how she\u2019s grown to accept her dad\u2019s loss and accept the person that she\u2019s now going to become with his memory but not his presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s Devi\u2019s mom who helps her pack and, earlier, supports Devi amid her Princeton setbacks, showing how their relationship has strengthened since the tension of season one.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s an empathetic relationship now, versus in the beginning when it was two people who just lived in the same house and were not communicating about their feelings. By the end, they\u2019re able to communicate way more and recognize that they\u2019re both works in progress. Devi recognizes, \u2018Hey, my mom was going through it just as much as I am.\u2019 And Nalini recognizes, \u2018My daughter is a remarkable woman who\u2019s really trying her best.\u2019 So that\u2019s really beautiful to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n And it\u2019s Devi\u2019s personal growth, including her finding a way to \u201cchannel her anger in a way that isn\u2019t self destructive or hurtful to others,\u201d that Ramakrishnan feels like is \u201cthe real ending.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think the ending when she\u2019s praying at the altar is the real ending, the ending that truly matters. Because it\u2019s showing the real growth. She has learned how to be so grateful for everything in her life and the blessings and people around her,\u201d says Ramakrishnan, reflecting on her previously saying that what happens in the final season is what she hoped for her character<\/a>. \u201cThe thing I always wanted the most for her was that self love. And that self acceptance, where Devi could be at a point where she realizes, you know, she\u2019s not perfect. And that\u2019s okay. That she\u2019s trying, and she\u2019s not a bad person. She\u2019s really trying to do good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n She adds, \u201cI just wanted her to be proud of herself. I think at the end of the series, she gets to that point. I feel like every person deserves to have that moment of feeling truly, truly in love with themselves in a healthy way, so that\u2019s what I wanted for Devi.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n