"I'd like to be invited to a party with alcohol and hard drugs. I'm not going to do them; I'd just like the opportunity to say, 'No cocaine for me, thanks. I'm good.'"
— Devi praying to the Hindu gods in "Pilot"
Never Have I Ever is an American coming-of-age dramedy television series on Netflix starring Tamil Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. Created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, its first season premiered on April 27, 2020, its second season on July 15, 2021, and its third season on August 12, 2022, and its fourth and final season on June 8, 2023.
Fifteen-year-old Devi Vishwakumar (Ramakrishnan) thinks that sophomore year is time to rebrand. Tired of being an ostracized nerd, she encourages her best friends to join her in her pursuit of high school coolness. But friends, family, and her own feelings stand in the way. Tennis star John McEnroe narrates, As Himself, occasionally substituted by other celebrity lemony narratorsnote for the shows' spotlight episodes.
Single-character tropes go to the Characters sheet. Beware of spoilers!
Never Have I Ever provides examples of:
- Actor Allusion: Malcolm Stone is said to have starred on a fantasy Disney show before transferring in. His actor, Tyler Alvarez, did star in fantasy sitcom Every Witch Way (albeit for Nickelodeon).
- Age-Gap Romance: Implied with Ben's parents, Vivian and Howard, as they are portrayed by Angela Kinsey (b. 1971) and Michael Badalucco (b. 1954) who look their real-life ages. Ben's father is actually older than most of the parents on the show, compared to his wife. Justified as Ben's father works as an agent in Hollywood who was looking for a Trophy Wife.
- Allegedly Dateless: The main trio is supposed to be "Unfuckable Nerds" and Ben doesn't fare much better, but over the course of first three season they all attract and are in relationships with several people, often popular and considered attractive note . Somewhat justified as they start out pretty naive about relationships and sex, with Fabiola being more introverted and closeted, Eleanor starts out secretly dating as to not upset Devi, Devi and Ben are both nerds that can turn people off.
- All Gays Love Theater: In "...made someone jealous" Devi and Ben comment that the only guys willingly at the drama club fundraiser are gay; everyone else was dragged there by their girlfriends.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Parodied when Devi has a dream about her attraction to the local hot bad boy, Ethan, by...dreaming that they're in detention.
- All Men Are Perverts: Overlapping with Hormone-Addled Teenager, the principal accuses Ben of wanting to see "teenage boobs bouncing around" when he mentions his girlfriend's upcoming field hockey game.
- Amicable Exes: Paxton and Devi's dynamic in season 4 — though they briefly make out, they mutually consider it closure. They further build on their already friendly relationship and end the show dating other people.
- As Himself:
- John McEnroe narrates as himself. Later, Andy Samberg narrates for Ben's Day In The Limelight, and Gigi Hadid narrates for Paxton’s. McEnroe later appears in the S01 finale, in the flesh.
- NBA player Dwight Howard pops up briefly in the first episode of season 4 to give Ben advice about his love life.
- Betty and Veronica: Some of the love triangles have this going on.
- Ben is the Betty and Paxton is the Veronica to Devi's Archie: Despite their longstanding rivalry, Ben and Devi have a lot in common and can keep up with each other intellectually. Paxton is the handsome, unattainable, popular guy with whom Devi doesn't have as much in common at first.
- Devi's the Betty and Shira's the Veronica to Ben's Archie: Shira is more popular, glamorous, and distant than the supposedly homely and unpopular Devi, but Devi's more on Ben's intelligence level than Shira is.
- Betty and Veronica Switch:
- Paxton/Devi/Ben: Both guys have Betty and Veronica traits. Ben is more similar to Devi personality-wise and knows her longer (Betty) but he's also very wealthy and a male Academic Alpha Bitch (Veronica). While Paxton is her unattainable longtime crush and fits the popular boy persona (Veronica), he's shown to have a relatively normal family background and a good deal of Hidden Depths (Betty).
- Devi/Ben/Aneesa: Aneesa starts as the new girl and becomes quickly popular (Veronica) but she's also a kind and down-to-earth person who gets on well with Ben's sense of humor (Betty). Despite Devi having more Betty traits (a good student, knows Ben longer...), she displays some Veronica traits too (extreme jealousy over Ben, dated him and Paxton at the same time).
- Birds of a Feather: Downplayed. Prashant and Kamala instantly hit it off and have a lot more in common than she thought they would, so she agrees to date him without the pressure of an arranged marriage. However, she is still apprehensive about staying with him long term.
- Bollywood Nerd:
- An important part of the setting. The SoCal Indian-American community is very academically focused and high-achieving. Protagonist Devi's dream is to get into Princeton, her cousin Kamala is getting her PhD, and Kamala's would-be fiance Prashant is an MIT alum. When Devi speaks to a college counselor, he tells her that there's nothing unique about her story as there are many overachieving Indians vying for Ivy League spots.
- Subverted with both Prashant in season one and Des in season three. Devi assumes that being Indian guys in STEM career paths (Prashant being an engineer and Des being interested in marine biology) they'll both be unattractive and socially awkward nerds, and is taken aback both times when they turn out to be handsome and charming on top of being smart.
- Book Ends: The show begins with a Silly Prayer from Devi to the Hindu gods, asking them to bless her high school life with frivolous desires. The penultimate scene before the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue is Devi thanking said gods for giving her a good time in high school and asking them to take care of her mother.
- Black Comedy: Ben's encounter with a middle-aged creep he met online, who promised him friendship and bonding over their favorite cartoon, is depicted somewhat lightheartedly. However, it is clear that the man is a predator. Ben quickly leaves when he realizes the man is not just there to talk about cartoons.
- Bros Before Hoes: In season 4 Devi struggles with her attraction to Ethan because she knows that Eleanor, one of her best friends, is also interested in him. Ethan himself is a big flirt who kisses both girls. Later Eleanor lets Devi pursue Ethan because she's realized she's not over Trent.
- Butt-Monkey:
- While Devi is selfish and dishonest, she gets a lot of flak. She's called "crazy Devi" by her peers, she gets suspended for mishandling a moment of jealousy, and Paxton's friends treat her pretty invisibly.
- Ben's life on the show is not much better then Devi's. The peak moment is when he has to be carried, bride-style, by Paxton, his enemy and romantic rival, to the hospital. Where it turns out and is in detail explained by a nurse, that he's been so constipated for two weeks that they have to literally empty if organism of shit. Paxton is enjoying the situation quite a bit.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Devi is disciplined for sneaking out and spying on her mother. It turns out her mother was seeing Dr. Jackson and lied to her about it.
- Catapult Nightmare: Subverted. Devi dreams about her father Mohan in the first episode and bolts upright, but the dream is not terrifying, just surprising, since Mohan is dead and she's more confused than actually scared.
- Character Development: The third season takes place over a much longer period of time – about a year-and-a-half – giving a lot of characters a chance to develop beyond their initial characterization.
- Devi isn't a bad person, but throughout the first two seasons, she is defined primarily by her impulsiveness, shortsightedness and her It's All About Me nature. By the end of the third season, Devi is driven much less by her selfishness and shallowness. She acknowledges her friends' accomplishments and pain, and deals with rejection and adversity much better. Lampshaded by her therapist, who points out that she's not the same girl she was a few years ago.
- Nalini becomes distinctly less controlling throughout the series, and stands up for her daughter without hesitation.
- Paxton's more studious nature from the second season sticks and he becomes a far less shallow person throughout the series, being friendly with nerds like Fabiola and Ben.
- Coming of Age Story: The characters are teens in high school who are dealing with their own identities and issues (coming out of the closet, parental abandonment, romance, death of a parent).
- Convenient Slow Dance: Inverted at the Winter Dance. When Paxton publicly shows up next to Devi and offers to dance with her, the DJ puts on a fast song. They slow dance anyway.Devi: You've gotta be kidding me!
- Cosplay: Kamala's labmates engage in cosplay. Evan and Setseg show up at the Vishwakumar household dressed as Loki and Piccolo.
- Dawson Casting: Conversed In-Universe when Devi and Kamala watch Riverdale. It shocks Kamala that the characters don't look like high schoolers; Devi jokes that the actors are older than her mother.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "...been the loneliest boy in the world" is one for Ben. Instead of McEnroe narrating, it's Andy Samberg. The audience gets a deeper outlook on his character and home life.
- Paxton gets his own in Season 2 titled "...opened a textbook" and it's narrated by Gigi Hadid. It focuses on his attempt to become more academically inclined.
- Demoted to Extra
- Aneesa plays a central role in the second season and is a pretty significant supporting character in the third, even getting a relationship arc with Fabiola. It then goes nowhere and they decide to stay friends, but while Fabiola gets to move on and find a new love, Aneesa isn't seen for the last few episodes.
- Once Kamala's relationship woes are essentially resolved, she slips into the background, is unseen for several episodes and only gets a brief few speaking lines in the last episode.
- Didn't Think This Through: Devi decides to simultaneously date Ben and Paxton and then break it off when she has to go move to India with her mom. However, not only does a slip-up on her part end with them finding out, but she also can't escape the fallout after Nalini decides the family will be staying in California after all.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: Everything Paxton says to Nalini makes her more annoyed. By Season 2, he eventually lets Devi do the talking to avoid any more awkward situations.
- Distracted by the Sexy:
- Grown men and boys alike salivate at the sight of Kamala. Even Eleanor's loyal boyfriend Oliver can't stop his attentions from straying when she's around.
- Gigi Hadid also gets distracted as she's narrating Paxton's life when he's shirtless and pours some liquid on his bare chest accidentally, saying to put on a shirt so she can make her point.
- Double Standard: In the third episode of the second season, "...gotten drunk with the popular kids", we see Trent's mom flirting with Paxton, groping him to feel his muscles and asking who he's taking to prom. She's flirting with one of her teenaged son's teenaged friends, right in front of him no less. She even jokes about Paxton taking her to prom, "lifting" her up, and "throwing her down." Trent shoos his mother away, and the incident is largely played for cringey laughs, whereas the exact same scene with the genders of the characters reversed would be a creepshow. The seventh episode, "...been a big, fat liar", has Eleanor's mom, Joyce, refer to Paxton as "Sexton" and calling him "sexy" and "a hunk." Imagine her dad describing one of her female friends like that.
- Dude, Not Funny!: When Devi says she wishes the Nazis killed Ben during a class discussion about the Holocaust, she's rebuked for it by the principal, as not only is it generally unfunny, but Ben's also Jewish. She apologizes to Ben for her remark, to which he blows the comment off (knowing she actually has issues that caused her to lash out).
- Easter Egg: There's a firefighter in season 3 wearing a gear that indicates he's from station 118, the station number that happens to be where Des's actor, Anirudh Pisharody, plays as Ravi in procedural drama show 9-1-1. There's also a fire engine with station number 133, the station that is involved in a certain infamous scene from the same show's Season 4.
- Eating Lunch Alone: Jaya Kuyavar sits by herself at Ganesh Puja. After marrying an American Muslim man instead of the one chosen by her parents, she is an outcast in the Hindu Indian community. Seeing this adds further pressure for Kamala as she realizes this is what can happen to her if she marries Steve instead of Prashant.
- Exact Eavesdropping:
- Margot tells the principal that she couldn't have vandalized Devi's car because she had a class at the time. The principal buys this alibi, but Devi coincidentally overhears the teacher saying she was out...
- Margot accidentally butt dials Ben while talking to a gallerist, and he overhears her telling him that their relationship isn't that serious.
- Favors for the Sexy: In "...made someone jealous" the underage Paxton (who is universally considered ridiculously good-looking) flirts with an Uber driver to get alcohol for Trent's birthday.
- First-Episode Twist: Devi's dad, Mohan, has a heart attack and dies at her band concert, and John McEnroe is the series narrator because he was Mohan's favorite athlete.
- Gentle Touch vs. Firm Hand: The now-dead Mohan was the Gentle Touch, Nalini is the Firm Hand to Devi. This dynamic makes Devi resent Nalini greatly because she thinks Mohan was her only parent who loved her and actually made an effort to connect with her.
- Girls Like Musicians: In "...have been ghosted", the only straight guy at the coffeehouse fundraiser is the nerdy Alejandro. Devi is grossed out by him until he busts out an acoustic guitar and starts crooning. The other girls there obviously feel the same as they start to crowd around him. Lampshaded by the Lemony Narrator:John McEnroe: What you are witnessing right now is a fairly common phenomenon that happens to almost every teen girl. It is the moment when an unremarkable dork is given a guitar and suddenly becomes the hottest man in the world. Scientists call it the Ed Sheeran effect. There is no known cure.
- Gossipy Hens: The "aunties" (older women) in the Indian Hindu community are all huge gossips. Anyone who finds this annoying avoids them as much as possible.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Paxton thinks of a slogan for their group project. It's the closest thing to a genuine contribution by anyone who isn't Devi, but it's also not a very good slogan. His friend Trent tells him so and that they should leave everything to Devi, who is the smart one. Still, it's a notable moment, as it shows that Paxton does try; he's just not academically inclined, making people (including his own sister) verbally put him down for being Book Dumb.
- High-School Dance: The back half of the second season builds towards the winter dance, which takes place in the finale.
- Hollywood Beauty Standards:
- Devi and her friends are referred to by fellow students like Ben as "the UN", aka the Unfuckable Nerds. Justified as they are attractive young women but live in a suburb not too far from Hollywood and Ben's father is a celebrity lawyer (which probably would have colored Ben's perception somewhat).
- Also lampshaded when Kamala says she is too curvaceous to become a model.
- Lampshaded again when Kamala starts binge watching Riverdale:Kamala: What's so interesting about this show is everyone has different backgrounds, but they're all hot.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: A central premise. High school junior Devi is obsessed with securing a boyfriend.
- Huge Girl, Tiny Guy: Fabiola says she doesn't want to date Alex Gomez because of how much shorter he is. Devi tells her to go for it anyway because he's handsome.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: An ellipsis before a phrase that would complete the sentence "Never have I ever...", just like the party game.
- Idiot Ball: Devi thinking she could date two guys simultaneously. It doesn't last long before they find out, and both are very angry with her. She's generally smarter than this, but is just so thrilled that both are into her she does it anyway.
- I Miss Mom: The whole series is thematically built around Devi and her mom adjusting to life without her dad.
- I Never: Never Have I Ever's characters finally play its titular party game in the last episode.
- I Resemble That Remark!:
- In S01E01, Fabiola protests the accusation that she and her best friends are uncool by pointing out they're the only students allowed to eat with teachers at lunch.
- In S01E05, this is part of Devi and Ben's banter. She calls him pretentious and unlikable; he follows it up by saying he can't be those things because his dad drives a Porsche Cayenne. He says she has a somewhat difficult personality; she responds by threatening to punch him in his Adam's apple.
- Irony: In episode 1, Ben is accused by the principal and then by Devi who runs with it of being a pervert after he says he has to attend his girlfriend's field hockey game (Devi also accuses him of having a foot fetish not long after), however, in episode 6 it's actually Ben who is catfished and lured to a restaurant by a middle-aged pedophile who asks him to blow on some pizza.
- Ivy League for Everyone:
- Multiple characters are mentioned to be attending prestigious schools like Stanford, Caltech, and UCLA, while Sherman Oaks High is indicated in dialogue to be an Ivy feeder school. Moreover, Ron’s counselor company gets 90% of students into Ivies, without counting Penn and Cornell.
- Devi, however, doesn't have this guarantee. Ron bluntly points out that yes, Devi has a high GPA and great extracurriculars, so she'd be great at any standard college. Ivy Leagues, however, don't want just straight-A students but rather interesting ones. Devi has to make herself interesting, but the only interesting part of her life was her father dying. She reacts rather rudely to the thought of using her trauma to get a college acceptance.
- Season 4 chronicles everyone's college applications. In the end Devi's class does send plenty of students to prestigious universities; the early admission day alone sees acceptances to Duke, Columbia, Princeton and others. Fabiola goes to Howard after turning down Princeton, while Devi is waitlisted for Princeton and eventually gets in; she sees Ben at Columbia.
- Jerkass Has a Point: College counselor Ron states Devi doesn’t have a good chance of getting into Princeton unless she has an interesting story. Though condescending, he makes Devi realize that taking AP classes and joining multiple clubs to pad her resume won’t impress Ivy League schools. Thousands of students with the same high grades and multiple extracurriculars apply, so she won’t stand out. Due to low acceptance rates, students need significant accomplishments and intriguing life events in essays in order to be a strong applicant. Though Devi initially angrily rejects Ron's suggestion to write about her father's death, considering it exploitative, in the fourth season she realizes that her father genuinely did shape her and that she can honor him in an acceptance essay without coming off as milking it. She gets into Princeton for it.
- Kids Play Matchmaker: In stark contrast to how badly she reacted the first time her mother Nalini tried to date after her father's death, Devi is incredibly supportive of Nalini's obvious crush on Andres. Even if Andres is the father of her current school nemesis Margot. Devi even makes up with Margot to help push their single parents together.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When Kamala watches Riverdale, she points out how the actors are both unrealistically hot and much older than their teenage characters. Paxton is an idealized hottie who looks nothing like how real teenagers actually look like because he's played by an actor who was pushing 30, which is emphasized even more by how the rest of the cast are played by actors (born in 2001, 2000, 1999) a lot closer to their characters' ages.
- Lemony Narrator: McEnroe's narration is in this style, and includes references to his own life and tennis career. Andy Samberg narrates Ben in the same way, and Gigi Hadid does for Paxton too.
- Look Both Ways: Happens to Paxton when he storms out of Devi's party after finding out she's two-timing him and Ben. He doesn't get seriously hurt, but breaks his arm which puts his sports scholarship to college at risk.
- Love Confession:
- In "...been a perfect girl", Fabiola says she loves Eve while they're at the dance.
- In "...said goodbye" Ben and Devi confess their love for each other.
- Love Informant: In the season 2 finale, just after Paxton and Devi have a Relationship Upgrade, Eleanor tells Ben that Devi had initially wanted to choose him.
- Love Triangle: Just as Devi and Ben finally act on their Belligerent Sexual Tension, Paxton has a Love Epiphany for Devi.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: In the fourth season it's revealed multiple student couples have had sex inside the school. Some even do this very regularly.
- Modesty Bedsheet: After having sex with Ben and later Ethan, Devi is shown lying in bed afterward with the covers around her chest.
- Moving Beyond Bereavement: The show begins with Devi's father Mohan's untimely death, which traumatizes his daughter and is suggested to be the root cause of her issues. Part of her Character Development is accepting that he is gone and moving on. It also applies to her mother Nalini, who finds it difficult to raise Devi without him and tries to move on romantically.
- Never Trust a Trailer: The trailers really play up the Hormone-Addled Teenager aspect of the premise, giving it a more light tone. The show itself actually deals with more heavy issues than teen sexuality and relationships, such as serious trauma and dysfunctional family lives. Case in point, the first season trailer doesn't even hint at the inciting incident of the series: Mohan's death.
- Nice Guy:
- Kamala is typically sweet and pleasant, even making Devi a lunch on her first day and talking to an outcast woman at Ganesh Puja.
- Mohan is an understanding father who encourages Devi's fiery spirit and encouraged her to try to play the harp and tennis and he was so friendly and easy-going that even their old realtor was saddened by his death.
- Oliver's very supportive of Eleanor's feelings, especially regarding her mother and conflict with Devi.
- Eve's very sweet and patient, understanding even of Fabiola's argument with Devi and helping her with the fruit punch stain on her white suit.
- Jonah is very friendly and sweet, helping Fabiola out and being her and Eleanor's support system as they deal with Devi at her worst.
- Aneesa's consistently charming and friendly to everyone, easily winning people over as a result, including Devi (although she's also jealous of this).
- Mr. Shapiro. Though he goes over the top at times, he's a kind teacher to his students and genuinely wants all of them to feel included (e.g., his reaction upon learning Aneesa's a Muslim is immediately offering her a prayer rug and a place to pray if she wants).
- Prashant, who is more amused and appreciative of Devi's vocal candor (when she said they were expecting an "uggo") and very enthusiastic about Kamala's career ambitions (even getting her a beaver key chain as the animal is Cal Tech's mascot) and tells Kamala he understands that she is not ready to marry.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
- When Devi accidentally spills Fabiola's drink all over her expensive suit, Devi was genuinely stopping her from drinking the beverage out of concern (Ben just told her that Trent put his balls in the punch as a joke, and Devi saw Trent laughing at people who drink from the punch bowl). Yet Fabiola dismisses this as Devi making another "weak excuse" for acting crazy.
- In general, plenty of Devi's attempts to do good/fix her mistakes lead to her being dismissed or getting frustrated.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The usually sweet Kamala's outbursts when relationships are mentioned, since she had to break up with Steve, her boyfriend — an American man of East Asian, rather than South Asian, descent.
- Operation: Jealousy: Devi dances with Des at Trent's birthday party to make Paxton, her ex-boyfriend who now has a new girlfriend, jealous.
- Pair the Smart Ones: Devi and her "nemesis" Ben are the two smartest kids in their grade and their academic rivalry turns romantic at the end of season 1.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Subverted. Kamala is initially quietly against the idea of an arranged marriage but decides to give it a go once she realizes her prospective husband Prashant is not only good-looking, charming, and intelligent, but also someone she has a connection with. While they have a long-distance relationship in season 2, Kamala is still apprehensive about the idea of marriage, and later realizes she isn't ready for it and dumps Prashant.
- Popular Is Dumb: Deconstructed. Because of his prodigious swimming skills, popular jock Paxton has never had to worry much about academics. However, when he breaks his legs in an injury, he has to begin to focus on schoolwork in order to get into a good college.
- Popularity Power: Even though Devi is certainly acting out of line at Model UN, her newfound popularity means that almost every other student in the room rallies behind her.
- Precision F-Strike: Once a Season
- Season One’s finale has Devi say “Oh fuck” upon meeting John McEnroe.
- Season Two has Devi say “What the fuck?” when she catches Nalini kissing Dr. Jackson.
- Season Three has Paxton say it when he’s in the hospital with Ben.
- Season Four has it happen twice. Devi says "Are you fucking kidding me?" in the first episode after Ben appears to ghost her, and later in the season, Paxton tells his mom he thinks he's a fuckup.
- Racial Face Blindness: In the fifth episode, in denial that her mother is waiting tables and hasn't reached out to her, the Chinese-American Eleanor accuses Paxton of mistaking her for someone else and by extension, thinking all Asian people look alike. Paxton responds by pointing out he is half-Japanese.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: With the girls we have the impulsive Devi and expressive Eleanor as Red Oni and then we have the soft-spoken Fabiola and the chill Aneesa as Blue.
- The Rich Have White Stuff: In contrast to the Vishwakumar's smaller, warmer (although still good-sized) home, Lonely Rich Kid Ben lives in a modern mansion predominantly decorated in white.
- Rivalry as Courtship: Of the "crush stems from rivalry" variety between Devi and Ben. They start out as intense rivals, but gradually become closer over the course of the show and emotionally connect. They end up kissing in the first season's finale, and eventually end the series together.
- Self-Deprecation: In the first season finale, when Devi tells John McEnroe that her dad was his biggest fan but he's dead now, John quips that most of his fans are these days.
- Senior Year Struggles: The fourth season is set in senior year, and involves college admissions, prom, and moving away from your family.
- Sexiness Score:
- Ben tells Devi he doesn't notice her or her friends because they are "below a 6" on the attractiveness scale, making them "U.N." (Unfuckable Nerds).
- Devi considers her crush Des a "Palisades 10"; Fabiola replies that Devi herself is a "Sherman Oaks 8 with two friends".
- Ethan is described by McEnroe as a stone-cold 10.
- Sexy Discretion Shot: Discussed by Devi, who blames this as part of why she doesn't know anything about sex.Devi: It's like, I think about sex 24/7, but I don't really know how to do it. In the movies, you always see the girl kiss her way down the guy's body, but then, she moves off-screen. Is she stopping at the penis or kissing all the way to the foot?
- Shiksa Goddess: After Ben dumps Shira, he dates Gentile girls like the Hindu Devi, the Muslim Aneesa, and he Latina Margot Ben and Devi end the series in a committed relationship.
- Shout-Out:
- Riverdale gets a lot of focus in the third episode; Devi introduces Kamala to it.
- When Eve says Fabiola pushed Devi into Ben's pool at the party and Fabiola argues that she fell in by herself, Eve laughs and replies, "Okay, Big Little Lies.
- In the third season premiere, a "Lady Whistleboy" TikTok account has started to catalog school gossip, which McEnroe lampshades is a riff off the Lady Whistledown character from Bridgerton.
- In "...made someone jealous", Eleanor worries that Devi is locked in her room going crazy, like in The Queen's Gambit.
- Silly Prayer: The show has this in the very first scene. Among other things, she greets the gods with: "Hey gods, it's Devi Vishwakumar, your favorite Hindu girl in the San Fernando valley. What's popping?" She also asks for the opportunity to turn down drugs (but not actually take any, just turn them down); a mega hot boyfriend (brains not required, she's happy with a Brainless Beauty); and thinner arm hair.
- Strict Parents Make Sneaky Kids: Devi and Aneese grow up in a South Asian subculture where teens generally aren't allowed to date, sneak out, or get piercings and it seems to not stop them. The latter only grows bolder after meeting "a rebellious Indian kid."
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- When Devi is desperate to join her mother and cousin to spread her father's ashes with them, Ben proclaims that he'll get her there in time. But while he can drive, he's also a really awkward beginner who's really nervous about getting into an accident, so he doesn't so much dramatically race her to her destination as they nervously putter and wobble their way there. Devi lampshades that he made it sound like they'd be going a lot faster.
- At the end of Season 3, Devi takes Ben's offer of "one free boink" and Season 4 opens up with the two not finding it very enjoyable and feeling quite awkward about it with no way of communicating properlyf, as they are teenagers/
- Stealing the Credit: Throughout the second season, Kamala works her ass off at her lab rotation and eventually makes a major discovery. However, when it's time to turn it in as a journal article, her asshole boss leaves her name out, with the Nobel-winning scientist who leads the lab being hands-off about it. Indignant, she adds her name to it and leaves the lab.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Defied. In season 4, Coach Noble gives Paxton one pass after catching him and Devi post-makeout in the supply closet. He acknowledges that Paxton is only 1-2 years older than Devi, she is his ex-girlfriend, and he's still not entirely over being the former Big Man on Campus — but Paxton, as assistant swim coach, is a staff member now and thus it's still wildly inappropriate.
- Their First Time: After three seasons of romanticizing losing her virginity, Devi sleeps with Ben at the end of season 3. Season 4 shows that the aftermath was very awkward.
- Time-Passes Montage: Played for Laughs. In "...made someone jealous" McEnroe narrates Devi's coming to terms with her breakup with Paxton with several scenes of Devi walking up to her house in different outfits over a few months, then comments that it's not that visually effective because Southern California's weather doesn't change all that much.McEnroe: She raged. She wallowed. And after several long, pretty-hard-to-watch months, she finally accepted it. Also, this little bit was supposed to show the passing of time, but there aren't any seasons in Southern California. See, there are some little pumpkins on the porch.
- Title Drop: Devi and her friends play “Never Have I Ever” during the reception of Nirmala’s wedding.
- Token Good Teammate: In Season Two, Setseg is the only worker at the lab where Kamala works who is actually nice and helpful to her, both when he gives her a heads-up that Evan is planning to steal the credit for her work by leaving her name out of a journal article and later when he tips her off about Evan's weaknesses as part of a plan by her to sneak her name back on the article so she can get her due credit. Also, unlike Evan, he actually pronounces her name correctly.
- Town Girls: Devi's best friends make up the first two: prosaic robotics captain Fabiola (Butch) and excitable drama club member Eleanor (Femme). They both dress very differently; Fabiola dresses like "the janitor's nephew" while Eleanor is always in eclectic, colorful, patterned outfits. Devi herself is the Neither, not fitting in either extreme, with her dress style too intermediate between them.
- Trauma Button: Devi might have listened to Ron about his plans to change her angle for an Ivy League application, except that he talked in an Innocently Insensitive about using her father's death to do that. She lashes out at him, saying that she's more than the worst moment of her life.
- Two-Teacher School: In the first season, the only Sherman Oaks High School staff with any importance or screentime are Principal Grubbs and Mr. Shapiro. Justified, as all the major characters are in Mr. Shapiro's history class, so it serves as the "classroom" setting, while Principal Grubbs' office serves to discipline Devi when needed. No longer the case in the second season, which introduces the school's college counselor (Ms. Warner) and an English teacher (Mr. Kulkarni). The fourth season introduces more staff as Paxton joins it.
- Two-Timer Date: In "...thrown a rager", Devi is now dating both Ben and Paxton. She ends up hosting a house party that both of them are attending. She plans on keeping them separate, so they don't find out she's seeing both of them.
- Unreliable Narrator: Played for Laughs in S01E02, when Devi tells Fabiola and Eleanor an embellished version of her encounter with Paxton. To be fair, he really did agree to sleep with her, just not as fawningly as he did in her fake version.
- Unrequited Love Switcheroo: Just as Devi seems to be moving on with Ben (due to realizing how he's been there for her), Paxton has a Love Epiphany and decides to stop being a Jerkass to get her back.
- Warm Place, Warm Lighting: The show, set in Southern California, uses yellow-filtered scenes to introduce Chennai, India when Nalini visits in season 2. Her initial scenes visiting her family are also shot with yellower lighting than normal.
- Wedding Finale: The show's penultimate setpiece is at Nirmala's wedding to her American boyfriend. It is attended by Devi's family, friends and members of the community. There is an added layer of sentimentality as she's also going off to college the next day; an auntie points out that it's emblematic of the end of her childhood.
- What Does She See in Him?: Both Principal Grubbs and Nalini wonder why Devi and Margot would have multiple public spats over Ben Gross of all people.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The show ends with an epilogue of what the main characters are up to after Devi leaves for college:
- Fabiola is crushing it at Howard's engineering program, having joined the robotics lab of the professor she met earlier;
- Eleanor is self-producing media with the assistance of Trent;
- Nalini is in in a happy relationship with Andres;
- Paxton is back at ASU, studying to be a teacher;
- Kamala is settled in Baltimore with Manish;
- Devi is happily dating Ben while attending Princeton.
