Loosely based on Mindy Kaling's life, the Netflix show Never Have I Ever dives into the life of Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan)– an Indian American teenager who has recently been through the biggest trauma of her life – her father's (Sendhil Ramamurthy) death. The series tells the story of only one Indian American teen and many other characters who all have their own backgrounds and stories.
Therefore, none of the scenes have to fit within any pre-established stereotypes. Despite that, there were some instances that were out of place comparing it to the context that the series has built throughout. Then, there were others that were simply just inexplicable.
Mr.Chan's Insensitivity
When Devi is at her music class, Mr. Chan (Peter James Smith) starts off by mentioning Devi's father's death at the spring concert after which he laughs it off and continues with his lesson. With Dei trying to come in terms with her father's death, she is still feeling hurt. While not everyone would completely understand what she is going through emotionally, as a teacher he should be more considerate and sensitive towards his student's feelings. Therefore, it is quite appalling that he would talk about her biggest trauma in such a light-hearted manner.
A Photo With Devi
As an Indian American teenager, Devi often felt self-conscious about her Indian identity and wanted to fit in with the Western standards more. One such instance is when she goes to buy coffees before the Ganesh Puja. Here, in addition to feeling uncomfortable draping a saree, she doesn't like how it makes her stand out. While the woman behind her did ask her permission for her daughter to be photographed with Devi, it doesn't make sense for her not to let go when Devi says no... or perhaps, this is the point being made.
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Another thing that didn't make sense in the scene where Devi is at the coffee shop is the way the man behind argues with her for not agreeing to take a photo to post on Instagram. When she says it is not necessary to put everything on social media, he calls her out for tweeting to a Target ad.
While she is not obliged to agree to be photographed, it is unconvincing that a grown man doesn't understand that people prefer their privacy and personal space. Besides, he doesn't realize that his argument is flawed. Again, the fact that this makes no sense may be the point being made - that it happens anyway.
Running To The Therapist
Whenever Devi felt disturbed or doubtful about something, she immediately ran over to Dr. Jamie Ryan's (Niecy Nash) – her therapist– office to talk about it. While she feels more comfortable talking to her therapist, she goes there often, and some times for the simplest reasons, making it look like she is the only patient. Besides, it is quite strange that her therapist' s office is always open to her and there is no one at the front desk to stop her - especially when she doesn't have an appointment.
Devi's Journal Entry
When it comes to Devi's upbringing, her mother Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) was definitely strict and did not encourage the idea of her daughter being in a relationship. It is quite obvious with Nalini grounding Devi for dating Paxton and scolding her for kissing him.
In that regard, it is unlikely that Devi would write "I'm gonna have sex with Paxton!!" in such a big font on the front page of her journal. She would definitely get in trouble for it.
Eavesdropping
With Eleanor W0ng's (Ramona Young) mother – Joyce Wong (Jae Suh Park) – returning after a while, they both are reconnecting with each other. In this instance, their conversation is definitely personal. However, both Devi and Fabiola Torres (Lee Rodriguez) eavesdrop on it. Similarly, when Fabiola and Eve (Christina Kartchner) are talking with each other, Eleanor listens to it. It is weird that in both these scenes, everyone thinks it is okay to eavesdrop. Although Devi, Eleanor, and Fabiola are best friends, it certainly doesn't give them permission to overhear their personal talks especially when it involves other people.
Kamala At Ganesh Puja
It is no doubt that the aunties at the Ganesh puja were all very nosy and they all still hold on to the old school Indian stereotypes. For instance, one of them even questioned Nalini for dying her hair after her husband's death. In that regard, given that Kamala (Richa Moorjani) is a young woman – who they all see as the girl who is going to be engaged soon – it is unlikely that not a single person at the puja called her out for not having a bindi on her forehead. While it is Kamala's choice, it is hard to believe that no one brought it up.
Mohan's Pronunciation
When Mohan and Nalini check their house in California for the first time, Mohan talks about his plan of growing tomatoes in the garden. He goes on to say that they can make "Thakli Sambar." While the first word in Tamil translates to tomato, the second means a popular South Indian side dish.
However, the actual pronunciation for the first word is Thakkali. Given that his native language is Tamil, it doesn't make sense that he would pronounce a common word like it incorrectly.
Kamala's Background
While Kamala often puts on a front to be liked by her family, the things she says as someone who has recently moved to America are farfetched. For instance, she says that she was impressed by the two-way traffic in America and that she doesn't understand why Americans celebrate April Fool's day. Here, she comes off as too pretentious because obviously India has two-way traffic too and although not a public holiday, a lot of teenagers do celebrate April Fool's day in India too.
Nalini's Approach
When Devi and her family are on their way to Ganesh Puja, Nalini tells her that Ron Hansen Bhattacharyya – the CEO of a college counseling company will be there and that Devi has to impress him in order to get into Princeton. To which Devi says, "Winning over old-a** teacher types is my superpower." As mentioned before, Nalini is a very strict parent and it goes without saying that she expects Devi to respect her elders. Therefore it doesn't make sense that Nalini is okay with profanities some times and not others depending on her mood.