‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 4 Ending, Explained: Does Ben Come Back For Devi?

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The conclusion of Season 4 of Never Have I Ever is the definition of hitting the goal, with Devi getting everything she had set out to achieve at the beginning of Season 1. We have seen her go through a lot, and in our private moments, we have wished for a friend like hers. Devi gets a bad rep for being complicated and impulsive, but the thing is, she is one of the few imperfect people we know who consciously changes herself after realizing her mistakes, and that makes her a worthy protagonist who deserves the four seasons of watch time that she got. On that note, is Poorna Jagannathan being styled by the same person as the rest of the cast because her fashion is leagues above the rest? Maybe the Instagram giant, Diet Sabya, had a point when they pointed out her outfits on his now-infamous #NRIGate. Regardless, here is a recap of how beautifully the series wrapped up.

Spoilers Alert


Devi’s Complicated Relationships

It only makes sense that we start this thread with Paxton since he has been the center of Devi’s existence for the better part of the show. Maybe he was objectified in the series a final time as a goodbye to his character. Kudos to Darren Barnet for being a sport about this. Considering the way Devi and Paxton broke up in Season 3, it made sense that there was the question of what could have been had Devi not doubted herself so much. In Season 4, she is in a much better place, and when the two of them give in to a moment and briefly kiss, they realize that they are truly over each other and are better off as friends. While Paxton decides to go back to college and not give up on his dream in favor of his comfort zone, he also starts dating his colleague, Lindsay. We can’t say we are thrilled about this couple. Lindsay is a college graduate, which means she must be 23–24 years old. Paxton is just 19 years old, and while the age difference may not seem much, it is decidedly odd since Paxton is still a literal teenager. But Never Have I Ever often toed the line with the age thing, considering Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is 21 years old and must have been around 17–18 when the series started. We are pointing this out because Darren Barnet is 32 years old, so imagine the uncomfortable age gap between them when the series started.

Moving on, like Kamala does in regards to her doubts surrounding Len and his intentions for her Pati, she comes on board with Nirmala for her “white” boyfriend, as the latter liked to say, and also moves to Baltimore for her job. She is happy with Manish and apparently has the better choice of flavors in frozen yogurt. She also has one of the better choices in traditional Indian wear for the wedding between Nirmala and Len. We still don’t believe that Len is entirely innocent, though. He may not be trying to con Nirmala, but evidence suggests that he is trying to mooch off her.

In another uneasy relationship, Devi and Margot have made peace with each other. Honestly, their fight did not have to drag out for as long as it did. Any other person in Devi’s place would have similarly suspected Margot of ruining her car. Her lying for an alibi did not help. It should have been a point in Devi’s favor that she rushed to protect Margot when she came to know the truth. This time, it wasn’t Devi who complicated things, but Ben and Margot. The two break up eventually when Ben realizes that Margot doesn’t make him feel as good as he thought, which is the same reason why he broke up with Devi. Maybe it was that that gave him the perspective that he and Devi might not be a bad match after all. When he came in through the window to encourage Devi to not give up and write her college essay, it was another reason why we will always and forever be Team Ben. Devi listens to him, and her consistent therapy also works, helping her get over her frustration and go for what she wants. The start of Devi’s journey in Never Have I Ever was the death of her father, and it only made sense that her final step in the journey of getting over him would be to finally open up about how he shaped her as a person. That essay gets her into her dream college, and all is well in the world again.


‘Never Have I Ever’ Ending Explained: How Does Ben Come Back For Devi?

The only things that have ever come between Ben and Devi have been themselves. They could have been together at the end of Season 1 if only Devi hadn’t been swayed so easily by her friends. They could also have again been together at the end of Season 2 if only Devi had realized that Paxton did not deserve a second chance after the way he treated her. Finally, at the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4, they lost another chance because they were too awkward, and they (Ben) listened to everything except common sense. Since when do older men understand the nuances of text messaging? We mean that they clearly don’t because Dwight Howard was wrong, but why did Ben believe he was right?

After this final missed opportunity came a long time filled with tension and feelings that just needed to be acted upon. Even after Ben realized that he and Devi would make a good pair after all, he decided to not confess and just go to New York for an internship. This guy has no chill, and the constipation fiasco of Season 3 has taught him nothing. But right before Devi leaves for Princeton, he finally sees sense. Ben has just been lightly flirting with Devi over text, but when he realizes that this is not enough, he pulls up his socks. It is his colleague who makes him realize, with his own stupidity, that it is better to be direct and confess than just beat around the bush. That is when Ben finally lands at Nirmala’s wedding and tells Devi that he loves her. Not “like” but “love.” The long wait was worth it, and anything less than love would just not have been worth it. Ben and Devi spend the night, and unlike their first time, this is better, and there is no more awkwardness between them. The next morning, they decide to make their long-distance relationship work as Ben looks up YouTube tutorials for Devi to re-wear her saree. They got practical here after trying to make us believe that Devi slept in with all that jewelry.

At the end of Season 4 of Never Have I Ever, Devi makes it back home in time to leave for the airport and is all dressed up and ready. Right before leaving, she prays to the gods one last time to take care of her mother. She may have noticed that Nalini had taken off her “tali,” which is a necklace married women wear in India. Nalini’s removal of that signifies that she is ready to move on from Mohan. Finally, there is Fabiola, who is doing well in her robotics program, and Eleanor, who is creating her opportunities herself by directing her own films.


Final Thoughts

We have loved every part of Season 4 of Never Have I Ever. We will forever cringe at the dialogue, but the storyline itself leaves little to be desired. A special mention goes to the “Swamy” song from Pushpa for finding a place in the finale. It gives us flashbacks of when Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Richa Moorjani danced on “Sheila Ki Jawani” for a YouTube channel. The only flaws of this season are that Devi needed a better stylist and that she shouldn’t have been so objectified in the few scenes where it happened. As for the rest, Never Have I Ever had a perfect ending, and we are glad to have caught it in time.


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Divya Malladi
Divya Malladi
Divya spends way more time on Netflix and regrets most of what she watches. Hence she has too many opinions that she tries to put to productive spin through her writings. Her New Year resolution is to know that her opinions are validated.

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