Never Have I Ever season 1 episode 1 recap: A Pilot Full of Laughs

Never Have I Ever, the new teen comedy from Netflix opens with hilarity, pathos, and drama. We recap the pilot episode of the show.

In the premiere episode of Never Have I Ever, protagonist Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) plans on putting a disastrous past behind her to focus on a bright and exciting future. But she needs to overcome her own anger, insecurities, and the fact that high school kids just… suck. We recap the opening salvo of this Mindy Kaling-produced comedy series.

Devi’s Year from Hell

Devi’s parents, Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) and Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy) arrived in the US hoping to live the American dream. They’re definitely doing that through their beloved daughter Devi, who is extremely intelligent—always in the top two in her class, with several other talents under her belt—and generally, a good, loving child, who nobody in school paid any attention to.

But last year, Mohan had an unexpected heart attack during Devi’s recital and died. Heartbroken Devi—not knowing how to cope with the loss—had the psychosomatic reaction of losing the ability to walk.

High School Renaissance

Things are about to change though—Devi has had her eye on Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) for years. He’s good looking; he has abs; he isn’t the smartest around—he’s repeating sophomore year—but Devi wants this boy. And it’s because of Paxton that Devi regains the use of her legs.

Well, Paxton doesn’t really have anything to do with it but on an otherwise ordinary day, Devi is so desperate to catch a glimpse of him that she overcomes her mental block and stands right up from her wheelchair.

Now, it’s day one of sophomore year on Never Have I Ever and Devi has a plan. She and her best friends—Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) and Eleanor (Ramona Young)—are going to stop being the nobodies of school. They’re going to change their style and get themselves boyfriends.

Devi has even picked out their marks—Fabiola is to romance Alex Gomez (Gilberto Ortiz), solely because he has a ‘hot face’. Fabiola isn’t a fan of the plan—Alex is far too short for her taste.

For Eleanor, Devi has chosen Boris Kozlov, the good-looking Russian exchange student who eats entire onions like they’re apples. Eleanor is doomed.

For herself, Devi has picked Jonah Sharpe, the very cool, not yet out of the closet gay classmate—she plans to be his beard until she finally gets Paxton’s eye.

And so, the mission begins.

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Derailed Plans

Not so fast. This is Never Have I Ever and Devi’s mission goes off the rails sooner than she could ever have imagined. Despite dressing up in super-high heels and a short skirt, Devi doesn’t manage to impress Jonah—primarily because she falls while wearing said heels and cuts her leg, grossing out everyone around her.

Fabiola doesn’t quite get the ‘dressing cool’ memo and turns up in a button-up t-shirt, and trousers. Well, Fabiola is the kind of girl who thinks the janitor telling her she looks like his favorite nephew is a compliment.

On the flipside is Eleanor who has dressed up as her great-grandmother’s ghost reincarnated. Devi despairs for her friends.

But her day is about to get worse—history class, where Devi is up against her nemesis, Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), turns into a nightmare. Their teacher specifically asks Devi and Ben not to be overly competitive—they fail miserably and get sent to the principal’s office for afterschool punishments.

While completing their onerous task, Devi and Ben come across Eleanor and a boy happily making out. Turns out, Eleanor has had a boyfriend for quite a while now, and Fabiola knew about it. Devi is heartbroken—perhaps she’s the only one who’s not cool? Time to speak to her therapist.

After a brief chat with her therapist, Devi comes to the conclusion that getting a boyfriend should not be a priority for her after the year she’s had. Instead, Devi decides to tackle her desires head-on. She waits for Paxton after his swimming session and asks him to have a physical relationship with her—no romance or commitment.

Surprise… surprise. Paxton is totally up for the idea and agrees to meet up with Devi for an encounter. Devi can’t believe her plan worked but it looks like her life may be heading in the right direction at last. Or is it?

Final Thoughts

If you weren’t sure what to expect from Never Have I Ever, the opening episode clearly demonstrates that this is a show that will subvert expectations.

I love that Devi’s inner voice is incongruously narrated by tennis bad boy/ legend John McEnroe—because he was Mohan’s favorite player. It’s hilarious and unexpected.

Devi is charming and relatable—one instantly connects with her from the opening scene where she’s praying to several versions of Shiva to help her go to a party with drugs and alcohol and to get a boyfriend. Getting good grades is last on her list.

The diversity on this show is admirable—Devi’s friends, teachers, and classmates cover the spectrum of ethnicities, which reiterates the importance of diversity behind the scenes.

With such a strong and fun pilot, the rest of the series looks set to be a joyful ride.

Next. The Society: 5 things we want to see in Season 2. dark

Never Have I Ever is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Never Have I Ever season 1 episode 1 recap: A pilot full of laughs

By Louis Skye | Apr 28, 2020

Never Have I Ever, the new teen comedy from Netflix opens with hilarity, pathos, and drama. We recap the pilot episode of the show.

Devi’s Year from Hell

High School Renaissance

Derailed Plans

Final Thoughts