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Never Have I Ever...Been More Surprised By A Show

The Elements of Taking Well-known Tropes and Turning Them Into Something More

By Allison Schafer Published 3 years ago 6 min read
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Photo by Josh Sorskash/Never Have I Ever/Netflix

It’s rare when a show comes along and completely surpasses all your expectations. But Never Have I Ever managed to shock me in ways I wasn’t expecting.

Most of the time I know exactly what I want to watch and what I like, never straying too far from my usual, very comfortable path. In this, I think many people share the same feelings. We know what we like and what we don’t like, so we are hesitant to try something new. When the show, Never Have I Ever came along, I, at first, disregarded it as another teen drama/comedy, a genre I hardly ever watch since I am well out of my teen years.

A few weeks later, I was bored scrolling through Netflix, trying to find something to watch. Coming up in my recommendations was Never Have I Ever. Doing some further digging and seeing it was written by Mindy Kaling, of who I am a fan, I decided to give the trailer another try.

After watching it and taking a considerable amount of time to debate if I would like this show, I decided to try episode one.

The premise of this show is simple: a high school girl seeks for her and her friends to shed their “Nerd” status by obtaining boyfriends along with losing her virginity and chooses the hottest guy in school as her potential boyfriend.

Only, the show isn’t that simple at all. While that story line is happening, there is another, deeper one going on in tandem with it. Upon seeing the original plot of the show, I wasn’t sure I’d find anything to relate to, but once the story started developing, I realized there was so much more to this show than just a girl trying to make it through high school and lose her virginity.

After watching a few episodes, I was hooked. This show was slowly proving to be much more than your basic high school dramedy and at its heart, there is a lot of raw emotion. Along with classic one liners from the characters:

We are smart. Idiots are banging all the time. We can learn how to do it, too.

But what really got to me was Devi’s relationship with her mother.

Something I think every person can relate to is complicated relationships, whether that’s with your parents, a sibling, a friend or a significant other, relationships are tough. This show not only explores the difficult relationship between a mother and daughter, but also delves into struggles of loss and friendship and the overall pressure of surviving the angst that comes with being a teenager.

Without giving too much away, in the show Devi and her mother have a very strained relationship, each of them unwilling to truly see the other beyond the depth of what they already know, constantly pushing what they want each other to be. In high school, my relationship with my mom was very similar. I felt I was living under the roof of someone who just didn’t get me and who was always putting this pressure on me to meet expectations that I was constantly failing miserably at.

In the show Devi struggles with this too, trying to find her own identity while her mother wants her to be something else entirely. High school can already be a difficult time for so many kids, but to add pressure from other people can make it even more stressful and complicated. Throughout the show, we see Devi’s struggles with becoming the person she wants to be, while trying to find some balance with the person she is in connection to her heritage. The show even grants a title to the episode where we see Devi struggle with this the most:

Never Have I Ever...Felt Super Indian

Not only that, but Devi also lives under the roof of her perfect cousin, who in her mothers eyes can do no wrong. I think many people can relate to this in some manor because we are all constantly trying to compare ourselves to others and meet unnecessary expectations from the world around us.

Devi expresses these feelings in many scenes and while watching; I felt all the same pain and anger, understanding it on a personal level. It was such a surprise to me, feeling this mix of emotions while watching a show I previously thought wouldn’t relay any kind of emotion on this level.

If you’re not looking for something emotional I can guarantee you would still like this show. On top of having great representation of minorities and LGBTQ characters, In between the heartfelt moments there is comedy. You’ll find yourself laughing more than you will tearing up at Devi’s hilariously awkward personality.

I dont negotiate with terrirost, Ben. And Honestly I'm mature enough to be on my own. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna google how to buy a credit card.

And if that isn’t enough to convince you there are tons of popular tropes happening such as; I hate that I love you, slight enemies to friends to lovers, and the popular guy falls for unnoticed girl. Along with that, at its core this is a witty rom com/coming of age story. So, if you are a sucker for any of those tropes, then I suggest watching Never Have I Ever.

I won’t spoil the ending, but in ten episodes the story is brought full circle and whether you’re an emotional person or not, I think you will feel something stir within you while watching this show.

At its core, this show is special and unique. When I say, “ don’t judge a show by its cover” I mean it. This show will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even relate to Devi’s struggles in ways you couldn’t imagine.

I know when I’m looking for a new show to watch, I love when I find one that can surprise me and take all my expectations and warp them into a jumbled mess of emotions I never expected to feel. This show surprised me more than any show ever has, simply because I didn’t expect for it to hit me as hard as it did. I went into it thinking it was one thing and came out realizing it was nothing at all what it appeared on the outside, but in the best possible way.

A show that can bring out different kinds of emotions within the person watching it is something special. So, if you’re a fan of Mindy Kaling or The Office or looking for a new show that might be intriguing to you, I suggest watching Never Have I Ever. If not only for the reason that it is written by Mindy Kaling, then because you might be like me. And it might surprise you.

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About the Creator

Allison Schafer

Harry Potter/Marvel/Disney enthusiest. Cat lover. World traveler. Book lover. Alway baking. Hopeless Romantic.

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