A Definitive Ranking Of ‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 3’s Most Chaotic Pairings
"Can you please carry me in a less emasculating way?"
The third season of Never Have I Ever just aired on Netflix, and not to be dramatic, this may be the best season that we’ve seen yet.
Mindy Kaling’s popular teen series somehow manages to retain the magic of its first season without feeling stale: As Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) grows up, the show does too, moving beyond Devi’s initial desire to simply get the hottest guy in her school and instead dig deeper into her inner life, and those of the people around her.
But maybe one of the endearing parts of the season is the surprising connections that were made along the way — again and again, the show managed to create chemistry and frisson between characters that had barely spoken to each other in previous seasons, creating connection and newness that we didn’t know was there.
So without further ado, here are some of our most unexpectedly delightful pairings wrought from Season 3 of Never Have I Ever.
#6. Devi and Des
Who thought it possible that Devi could date someone other than Paxton or Ben? Yes, it took three seasons for Mindy Kaling to introduce what really is a revolutionary step forward when it comes to minorities on TV — a minority dating not only another minority, but a minority of the same ethnicity. Bloody hell, who would’ve thought it would be possible in our lifetimes?
des was so fine tho he needed me instead of devi #NeverHaveIEver pic.twitter.com/2NMz1uoNe6
— syra (@dimonekeating) August 13, 2022
#5. Nalini And Rhyah
I was wary that Poorna Jagannathan’s Nalini would get along with Rhyah, given Nalini’s conventional approach to medicine versus Rhyan’s hippy dippy breathing exercises and acupressure, but even though Rhyah ended up being a terrible person (referring to Devi’s grief as “hysterical” and demanding that her son Des and Devi break up), it was kind of nice to see these two hang out at first, was it not?
#4. Fabiola and Aneesa
Who saw this couple coming? Fabiola going in to bat for Aneesa when she argued that Taylor Swift’s 1989 has more literary relevance than George Orwell’s 1984 was simply a sight to behold. Aneesa did well to dump Ben for someone who actually respected her, and she and Fabiola had serious chemistry.
Our only complaint is that it was all over way too quickly.
FABIOLA AND ANEESA LET’S GOOOO #NeverHaveIEver pic.twitter.com/opznoEUhHf
— nes ⁶³ 🇫🇷 (@F0RMULAT0UM) August 12, 2022
#3. Ben and Fabiola
Another unexpectedly delightful duo, Ben and Fabiola also shared a good bit of screen time this season, particularly after breaking up with their respective girlfriends Aneesa (Megan Suri) and Eve (Christina Kartchner).
These are two of the shows most academically-driven characters (aside from Devi) so it would make sense that they would launch into some kind of academic drinking game and argue over the name of someone called General Custard — simply put, I would be very into watching a show devoted only to the antics of these lovely nerds.
Ben also drunkenly told Fabiola that Devi broke his heart, to which Fabiola said “I didn’t know it was that deep”. Damn.
Honestly wanted to see more of Fabiola and ben’s friendship! the look ben gave her and the way she understood by giving him a nod shows the growth of their relationship 🫶🏻💯#NeverHaveIEver3 #NeverHaveIEver pic.twitter.com/PnbZtaCNNE
— Fangirl (@fangirlingotps) August 13, 2022
#2. Ben and Paxton
It was the moment that Paxton (Darren Barnet) scooped up an overworked Ben (Jaren Lewison) in his arms that I realised this was a duo brimming with untapped potential. For two seasons these two had nothing much to do with each other, apart from them sitting at opposite corners of the Ben-Devi-Paxton love triangle and occasionally scowling at each other (or at least, Ben scowling at Paxton).
So we are grateful for Ben’s stomach event, for it finally allowed us to see these two exist as individuals who exist outside of Devi’s objectifying gaze.
This is my favorite scene this season without any context #NeverHaveIEver pic.twitter.com/6VhMcTSqOJ
— Sarah//Never Have I Ever s3 out now! (@marvelousblndr) August 12, 2022
#1. Paxton and Personal Growth
The most unexpected duo of all was Paxton and personal growth, the two of whom were inseparable bedfellows this season. The man who was essentially a jock for the vast majority of Season 1 and 2 ended up growing and developing all over the place this season: he stopped acting like he was above Devi’s friends, helped Ben get to a hospital, gave relationship advice to Fabiola, and dedicated his weird high school speech to Devi. What can we say, we’re suckers for character development!
im sorry but paxton actually my baby this season he was perfect, kept reassuring devi, tried to work on college and his future, helped fabiola and ben out, had a cute friendship with eleanor, was a support to devi, dedicated his speech to her i just love him 🫂🫶🏼 #NeverHaveIEver
— syra (@dimonekeating) August 12, 2022