Never Have I Ever season 1 episode 9 recap: …had to be on my best behavior

Never Have I Ever episode 9 is one of it’s funniest and most tragic, revealing harsh truths about the protagonist and her family.

In Never Have I Ever episode 9, Devi finds herself confronting repressed memories, all while Kamala gears up to meet the man who will be her future husband.

We recap one of the funniest episodes of the show, which also turns into one of the darkest.

Arrivals

The arrival of Kamala’s intended, Prashant (Rushi Kota), has been heralded from the opening episode of Never Have I Ever. But he isn’t the man who Devi finds at her fridge after her unexpected kiss with Paxton—she sees her father.

Or so her brain tricks her into believing—in reality, it’s actually Devi’s uncle Aravind (Iqbal Theba), who will be chaperoning Prashant during his visit.

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Aravind owns a security firm and is a little too enthusiastic about pointing out the flaws in Nalini’s security system—with graphic descriptions of murders that could happen.

But this isn’t the time to worry about security—Prashant will be arriving for lunch the next day, and Nalini needs to ensure that everything is perfect. That means taking Devi’s phone away and insisting that they avoid any ‘Devi nonsense’ around Prashant.

When the doorbell rings the next day, the family readies themselves for Prashant—but nothing could have prepared them for the absolutely stunning, well-put-together young man who stands before them.

In Devi’s words, Prashant is ‘hot.’ Kamala’s brain is so fried that she barely even says anything.

Not only is Prashant gorgeous, but he seems like a lovely person. He notices the rented grandfather clock in Nalini’s living room. He presents Kamala with a Swarovski crystal beaver—because it’s the mascot for both Kamala’s and his university, and nature’s engineer.

Beautiful and thoughtful? We’ve got to ask: Steve, who?

Secret Boyfriends

Kamala may have forgotten about Steve, but he isn’t going to let Kamala go without a fight. Or at least, not without sneaking into the Vishwakumar home—which he happens to do regularly in Never Have I Ever—and hiding in Kamala’s room because he’s too afraid of Nalini.

Devi finds Steve when she’s putting the beaver away—not in a safe space, unfortunately—and makes an elaborate excuse to send Kamala upstairs.

Kamala isn’t pleased to see Steve—she’s stressed about the meeting as it is, and having met Prashant, she’s even more confused.

It doesn’t help that Steve — despite being a charming young man — isn’t really doing much to ease Kamala’s concerns about him. His mind is set on the fact that this arranged marriage is essentially a battle between him and Prashant—but that’s not it at all.

The problem isn’t that Kamala has to choose between Steve and Prashant—it’s that she doesn’t want to get married at all. At least, not yet.

Steve came here to save his relationship with Kamala, but he effectively ends it by proving that he isn’t up to the task.

Sneaking in may have been easy, but sneaking Steve out is another matter entirely, especially when Nalini discovers Steve in Kamala’s room.

It turns out she’s known about Steve for ages, and she completely understands. Devi is shocked, but Nalini seems pretty relaxed about the situation. She even helps sneak Steve out, with Devi distracting Aravind and Prashant with her harp.

No sooner has Steve left than another secret boyfriend arrives—Paxton couldn’t have chosen a worse day to return Devi’s dress. And, of course, Nalini notices the dress and puts two and two together to make seven.

Paxton, in his infinite wisdom, makes the situation worse than it already is by mentioning the party that Devi wasn’t supposed to go to, that she fell into the pool, that Devi’s dress was in his car, and that they kissed.

Devi might as well find a grave to lie in because she is dead. Devi tries to defend herself by telling Nalini how Kamala’s been doing way worse with her boyfriend—only to realize that Kamala, Prashant, and Aravind are standing right there listening to it all. What. A. Disaster.

The Fateful Night

Or perhaps not? Prashant and Kamala get a quiet moment to themselves where they confess that neither is ready for marriage. The ridiculous events of the lunch have made them both more interested in each other, though. They’re happy to take it slow.

Don’t be too relieved, though, dear viewer. This is Never Have I Ever, and you can’t predict what will happen next.

Aravind, who has proven that he doesn’t know the right time to say things, blurts out that Nalini is planning to move her and Devi to India. Nalini tries to explain how difficult it is without a support system—and without Mohan, her husband—to raise Devi.

But Devi—who has been having flashbacks to the night her beloved father passed away—reacts very badly to the news because the memories she had repressed about that fateful night are pouring back in.

She remembers how she lost her sheet music an hour before her concert—how her mother kept laying into her until Devi declared she hated Nalini.

Mohan had to step in to bring peace to the household, but not before Devi overheard things she should never have—how Nalini didn’t think of Devi as her daughter, and that she couldn’t handle her.

Devi tells her mother what she heard and that she refuses to go with Nalini to India—she doesn’t want her mother because she knows Nalini hates her. Every day Devi has to deal with the fact that the only person who loved her is gone.

And then Devi says something that will likely haunt their family forever—she wishes it was Nalini who had died that night and not Mohan.

Final Thoughts

Wow, this episode of Never Have I Ever ended on a drastically different tone than the rest of the episodes.

The friction between Nalini and Devi has been simmering under the surface since the start of the show, and it’s quite distressing to watch it boil over.

Granted, a lot of Devi’s anger and resentment lies in the fact that she isn’t confronting her grief head-on, but when you say things out loud, they really do hurt.

The humor that punctuated this episode made the final scenes feel more powerful. But how is everything going to be wrapped up in the finale? We can’t wait to find out.

If you can’t get enough of Never Have I Ever, read these 18 tweets from people who are going crazy over the adorable teen series!

Never Have I Ever is currently streaming on Netflix.