Devi has had quite the whirlwind romantic journey throughout the Netflix series ‘Never Have I Ever.’ So, who does she end up with in the end? Paxton? Ben? Someone new? No one at all?
The fourth and final season of Never Have I Ever is here, and it’s time to bid farewell to our high-achieving, high-strung, boy-crazy adolescent Devi Vishwakumar. Over the course of four seasons, Devi has managed to make her dreams come true — all of her friends have gotten busy between the sheets, and each one has stepped out of their comfort zone (and the protection of their trifecta) to make new social circles. Yet, Devi’s romantic life has been pretty front and center since the start of the show.
Between the first boy of her dreams, Paxton, her frenemy-to-lover Ben, and some new love interests entering the fray, her romantic future remained largely up in the air entering season 4. Let’s trace what happens throughout the final season, and reveal who Devi gives her heart to at the end.
Note: While the final season features a lot of shenanigans between Devi, her friends, her family, and more, this article will specifically focus on the romantic side of Devi’s final foray.
Spoiler warning for Season 4 of Never Have I Ever
Devi and Ben start the season in bed together
The season opens with Devi and Ben sleeping together (making good on the “one free boink card” Ben gave Devi in season 3). When the deed is done — the two do not bask in the afterglow while sipping chardonnay. Rather, Ben awkwardly lets Devi know that he should hit the hay (and he can call her an Uber). Devi leaves, with this palpable awkward tension between them — both parties convinced they must have been “bad in bed.”
Their boinking happens right before summer break, and they go without talking for the majority of summer vacation. When school starts up again, Ben is dating someone new, Margot, leaving Devi at a loss. Eventually, the frenemies have a conversation about what went down — both admitting that they thought the other one was unsatisfied and thus proceeded to act strange. Yet, Ben and Devi decide to move forward as friends, until Ben determines that it’s easier to just avoid Devi altogether, as talking with her ends up complicating his new relationship. Considering Devi blames Margot for vandalizing her car with the words “stupid slut,” one can’t really blame Ben.
Devi ends up dating the bad boy who vandalized her car
Love, Victor star Michael Cimino enters the fray as bad-boy Ethan, who mistakes Devi’s car for a teacher’s and proceeds to vandalize it. Cut to the chase and Devi and Ethan are interacting in a flirtatious way, and Devi can feel her desire boiling. There’s only one catch: her best friend Eleanor has a major crush on him. Eleanor wants to open Ethan up and explore all his inner bad-boy impulses (she is an actor, so understanding human nature comes with the territory).
Devi tries to back off to safeguard her friendship, but she gives into temptation at Ethan’s party, and the two proceed to make out. She later finds out, via Eleanor, that he made out with Eleanor mere moments before his French sesh with Devi. What slime! What scum. How dare he swap spit with besties!
Eleanor and Devi commit to ending things with Ethan, for, as Fabiola says “besties before testes,” yet they catch each other hanging around places Ethan would be. After Devi explains why she needs this — following her Ben drama — Eleanor lets Devi date Ethan. They proceed to enter a whirlwind romance (in the high school sense). It’s fiery and fun. Simple and scandalous…until it’s not. Devi comes to realize that Ethan’s bad boy persona is not cute, but morally bankrupt. She ends it. (As we always knew our perfectionist would).
Devi and Paxton share one last kiss
Wait. Didn’t Paxton go to college? Yes, but he was a small fish in a big sea, and no one treated him well. So, he came back to his old high school to become the Assistant Swim Coach. And, in a serendipitous fashion, Devi becomes the swim team equipment manager. Why? To snag a varsity letter and convince the Princeton University admissions rep that she’s worthy of a spot following her deferral.
Devi and Paxton share a kiss when they wind up locked in the equipment room together (the handle’s been broken for ages). They open up to each other in a way Devi rarely opened up to Paxton before. She is, at last, comfortable in her own skin. She is proud of the woman she is (and we are so proud of her), and she’s able to see what she brings to the table.
The kiss is less of an “Oh my god, I’m still in love with Paxton moment” and more of a “Wow. I needed this for closure moment.” The two move on as friends — with a lot to bring to the table as confidantes — arguably more than they brought to the table as a couple, as Devi later admits to Paxton.
It’s always been Ben…
During a moment under the influence, Ben admits to Trent that the woman he dreams of — the woman he fantasizes about, who’s scantily clad in his bed at night — is Devi. He shows up to Devi’s house with flowers, and Margot is there. It’s important to note that he and Margot had recently broken up at this point, but the wound is still fresh.
Unfortunately, the drugs kick in making the whole interaction a mess. Devi asserts that they’re just friends to Margot, and the scene ends without the truth coming to the surface. Both Ben and Devi still have feelings for each other.
The show ends with Ben coming back from his summer internship in New York City to tell Devi how he feels. He shows up at Devi’s grandmother’s wedding and the two ride off into the night on an electric scooter. They have sex again, but this time wake up content, cuddly, and cutesy. They decide to give dating a shot. After all, Ben will be in New York at Columbia, and Devi will be in New Jersey at Princeton — just a quick drive or train ride away.
