Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Never Have I Ever’ begins with Devi Vishawakumar approaching Paxton, the most popular boy in her school, with a proposal of sex. She’d had a crush on him for a very long time. But seeing that she might never have a chance to date him, she cuts to the chase and expresses her wish to him. To her surprise, he agrees, and this leads to a series of events where Devi and Paxton get to know one another on a personal level and end up liking each other. The third season opens with Devi and Paxton officially dating each other, which catches the attention of every person in school. Still, Devi and Paxton are different kinds of people. Will their relationship endure this and more challenges that Devi brings to the table? Let’s find out.
Devi and Paxton’s Relationship Fate
Devi was smart, but she was never popular in school. She had grades enough to get her into Princeton, but she never really succeeded in getting a boyfriend for herself. Despite this, she gives herself a chance and ends up with Paxton. They first get together in the second season, where Paxton likes to keep their relationship a secret because he is ashamed of acknowledging Devi as his girlfriend publicly. Meanwhile, Devi also dates Ben, because Paxton is not good enough for her intellectual tastes. This eventually ends when Paxton and Ben discover that Devi had been dating them at the same time.
Despite things ending bitterly between them, a shift occurs between Paxton and Devi where they help each other through a lot of things. Eventually, Paxton realizes that he still likes her and is ready to make their relationship public. With this, it looks like all that Devi wanted for herself has come true. She is the girlfriend of the most attractive boy in school and every girl is jealous of her for it. Things also seem to be going great between them, but then, Devi’s overthinking gets in the way.
When Devi discovers that Paxton had ghosted Haley after they had sex, she makes him apologize to her. This leads Paxton to reconnect with Haley, who has known him since they were children, and their familiarity becomes a cause for concern for Devi. Because she finds Haley much more attractive and very much in league with Paxton, she worries that the rekindling of their friendship might mean the end of her and Paxton’s relationship. She worries that one day, Paxton will realize that Haley is much better suited for him, and he’ll end things between them.
This jealousy leads Devi to act out, about which she is warned by her therapist. Reading too much into Paxton and Haley’s friendship leads her to ruin her dating life. Paxton discovers that Devi suffers from self-esteem issues, holding herself in low regard, which is why she is so invested in the comments of every mean girl and every troll about her and Paxton. While he is comfortable in what they have and isn’t bothered by what others think or say, Devi continuously evaluates their relationship through the lens of others.
In the end, Paxton realizes that no matter how much he tries, he’ll never be able to convince Devi that he likes her for who she is. She’ll always keep doubting their relationship and her jealousy will always get in the way, simply because she hasn’t fully embraced herself yet. She might like Paxton and he might like her back, but she doesn’t seem to like herself, and that’s the root of all the problems. So, he makes it clear that their relationship won’t work like this, and it’s better if they call quits on it.
Read More: Is Never Have I Ever Based on Mindy Kaling’s Life?
