In addition to breaking several South Asian stereotypes like going to therapy or having a Panditji (Anjul Nigam) who says "Just Kidding", the Netflix series Never Have I Ever boasts multifaceted characterization. Be it Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a smart teenager who desires to be popular, or Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), who is very protective of his sister, each character has their own personality and backstory that makes them unique.
Thus the ten-episode series delivers a very gripping plot. This can make it possible for one to miss some details that are not the center of focus.
Ben Gross' Room
With Andy Samberg narrating Episode 6, viewers got a clear picture of Ben's (Jaren Lewison) life and interests apart from school. For one, he likes basketball which we saw him play outside his home. He also had the NBA team Clippers' poster stuck on his room wall, the game he planned to go with his father (Michael Badalucco), and his girlfriend, Shira (Hanna Stein).
Moreover, right next to it is a poster of the film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping which starred Samberg and different poster of the same film is seen on his study desk on the previous episode.
Fabiola's Haircut
In addition to Fabiola Torres' (Lee Rodriguez) dorkiness, her curly hairdo was something that is adorable about her. Despite the show not mentioning it, it can be assumed that she used to have long hair. We get to see her old hairstyle on Devi's phone screensaver when she checks her Instagram notification in two different scenes. Apart from that, there is a similar photo stuck near Devi's mirror in her room and her school locker that features her old hairstyle. Moreover, in both these photos, it can be seen that she used to wear her hair in a ponytail.
Debate Championship
It is no doubt that Devi is one of the smartest students in her class. Moreover, from the "Never Have I Ever Started A Nuclear War" episode, we get to see her incredible debating skills. However, that was not the only time the show revealed this talent of hers. In the very first episode, we see that she won prizes in different school activities. With the debate championship being one of them, its certificate was framed on the wall of her room. We get a quick peek of it when she getting ready to go to school.
The Bake Sale Poster
The bake sale scene was a very memorable scene – so much happened – for which we saw the three girls bake cookies with Joyce Wong (Jae Suh Park) – Eleanor W0ng's (Ramona Young) mother. In a different scene, we even hear Fabiola mention that her mother (Tembi Locke) has been busy with the PTA bake sale. What most people would have missed is that among the other posters at Sherman Oaks, there were also several posters stuck around the school with details about the bake sale. The cakes were priced at $4, cupcakes at $2, and the drinks and cookies at $1.
Spiritual Motifs
There is no doubt that Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) – Devi's mother – is a very spiritual person. She had her daughter's geometry textbook blessed in the temple and was pretty strict about not letting that book touch the ground. In that regard, her helmet and her mobile's back cover were both in orange color – a color she probably chose because it is considered sacred in the Hindu culture. There was also a monthly calendar with a photo of the Hindu god, Lord Ganesh stuck on their refrigerator and a small statue of his, right across the entrance.
Mr. Shapiro's Classroom
Mr. Shapiro (Adam Shapiro) is one of the coolest teachers of history (pun intended). He came up with different ideas to make the class more engaging. Thereby, it is no wonder that he always had an interesting way of writing the class' topics of discussion on the board. It included: "WWII The Truth About Hate," "Let's all say the F Word - Fascism" and more.
Speaking of boards, there was also one at the back of the class that had the definition of the Roman Empire written on it on both Episode 1 and 2. There was also a poster on the door that read "Caution, No Crying."
The Fountain Obsession
When Devi, Nalini, and Kamala (Richa Moorjani) – Devi's cousin are on their way to the Ganesh puja, Nalini says that the Jews know how to save money but Indians don't. She continues that once Indians get some money they go to Home Depot to buy cement fountains. For which Kamala says she loves it too. In a later scene, Panditji asks someone to give him a ride in their car. Coincidentally, he wants to be dropped off at Home Depot because he liked a fountain that he saw there. With so much happening between the two scenes, it is easy to miss the parallels.
Go Lakers
While we only get to see memories of Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy) – Devi's father - in some scenes, we know for sure that he was a fan of John McEnroe. Apart from that, he probably liked the basketball team Lakers too. In the scene where Nalini and he are moving their things to their new home, he is seen wearing a grey Lakers jumper. Besides, when Panditji gets down from Nalin's car after the Ganesh puja, he says "Go Lakers." At that instance, Nalini looks a little sad – maybe she remembered her late husband Mohan.
Rebecca's Collection
In the scene where Paxton asks Devi to help him with a fashion emergency, Devi models for Rebecca's (Lily D Moore) collection. According to an Instagram post by the series' official account, the clothes that Devi wears were in fact designed by Salvador Perez using remaining fabrics from The Mindy Project. He was the costume designer for both these shows.
On a similar note, Devi's school had a poster on recycling that had the picture of a cycle drawn instead of the word and the symbol of recycling placed inside both the wheels of the cycle.
The Glass Menagerie
The play Eleanor is in is none other than The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams for which we see her read the script and rehearse in some scenes. More interestingly, in this very play, there is a glass unicorn that breaks and without its horn, it becomes a horse. The scene represents the way the unicorn loses its uniqueness without the horn. This can be compared to the way, Eleanor herself is like the unicorn, and her personality as a "theatre wrench" is something that makes her stand out. Without it, she feels less special.