‘Never Have I Ever’ Foreshadowed This Moment Long Before Season 4

Devi Vishwakumar’s (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) relationship dramas are a central part of Never Have I Ever, where over four seasons she goes from dating the hottest boy in school to realizing that getting a boyfriend isn’t actually the solution to all her problems. Over the course of this journey, there is one boy that has always been by her side. Devi’s friend, academic rival, personal enemy, and eventual love interest Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison) has been there from start to finish, starring in many of the show’s most memorable episodes. Never Have I Ever foreshadows that the pair are meant to be from Season 1, where their arguments and reconciliations show that the two are ultimately made for each other.

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Devi and Ben Go From Academic Rivals To Reluctant Friends

The pair is initially introduced as enemies in Season 1, where it is made clear that they have been academic competitors since the first grade. But from the show’s very first episode, it is obvious that their heated exchanges conceal a buried chemistry that neither are willing to acknowledge. They constantly refer to how repulsive they find each other, and yet they are always on each other’s minds.

Things start to change once Devi and Ben team up during their Model UN project in Season 1, Episode 5. They both realize that their combined intellects make for a formidable opposition, where this eventually leads Ben to realize that he might have some underlying feelings for his rival.

In the following episode, Devi’s mother ends up inviting Ben for dinner as she takes pity on his loneliness. The contrast between Devi’s overbearing mother and Ben’s absentee parents eventually brings them closer, where both start to consider the emotional burdens they both have to deal with on a daily basis. Once the two of them begin to understand what the other has been through, their friendship takes on a more considerate tone, allowing them to finally see each other as they really are, rather than as mere academic competition.

Persistent Chemistry Always Brings Devi & Ben Back Together

From here on, Devi and Ben experience a series of falling-outs and reconciliations, where their natural bond always brings them back together. Season 1 ends with a spur-of-the-moment kiss between the pair, a moment of spontaneity following an emotionally complex episode where Devi reconciles with her mother and spreads her father’s ashes. The kiss shows Devi’s appreciation for Ben’s kindness, and she suddenly views him in a new light.

This kiss disrupts Devi’s budding relationship with high school heartthrob Paxton (Darren Barnet), whose true feelings for her also become known at this point. In typical fashion, Devi fails to break things off with either boy and ends up losing them both, where she then must navigate having Ben as her obviously heartbroken ex.

But the trials of Season 2 allow them to rekindle a friendship, where their banter and academic similarities eventually bring them back together. But a series of miscommunications and badly timed revelations keep them apart until the end of Season 3, where in the finale episode Ben jokingly gifts Devi a “free boink” card, which she decides to redeem. From the start, the show’s primary premise has centered on Devi losing her virginity, where this key moment indicates the importance of Ben in her life.

Unfortunately for both parties, Season 4 opens with Devi and Ben realizing that their shared first time was disappointing, and a lack of communication once again drives them apart. Ben eventually concludes that Devi isn’t good for him, and they agree to remain just friends once more. But as both of their relationships with others fizzle out, they realize that they once again have a shared chemistry that can’t be ignored.

The show leaves us guessing throughout Season 4, where a surprise kiss between Devi and Paxton throws the ending into question. Paxton has grown significantly over the course of the show, becoming much more than the good-looking jock who Devi initially picked out to take her virginity. Over four seasons, Paxton is shown to have his own emotional trials with his pushy parents and doubts over his post-high school career. By the end of Season 4, Devi is able to finally remark that she feels she and Paxton are now equals.

But in the end, it makes sense that Devi doesn’t choose Paxton, where she has grown considerably since her initial crush on him. By the end of Season 4, she has shed the insecurities and self-criticism that plagued her at the start of the show, which allows her to see that the right boy was in front of her the whole time. Ben is everything that Paxton isn’t, but Devi is a different person by the show’s conclusion, where she can now allow herself to love who is really right for her.

The Undisputed Endgame of ‘Never Have I Ever’

Up until the final episode, the show keeps us wondering whether Ben and Devi will finally work things out. When Ben leaves town after graduation for a summer internship, it looks like poor timing and distance will keep them apart. But in true teen rom-com fashion, he makes a surprise return at Nirmala’s wedding, where the two finally and honestly admit their love for one another. The show’s closing scenes show the pair enjoying each other’s company after Devi’s move to Princeton, giving fans a well-earned happy ending.

Ultimately both characters have to undergo some serious character development for them to realize how perfect they are for each other. In the end, they choose someone to love who challenges them, where they both understand each other’s flaws and the difficulties that have sculpted them. As such, it is the only truly convincing way to end the show, where all four seasons have built up to their final love confessions. Devi and Ben both had to undertake separate journeys of self-discovery until they could truly appreciate their own strengths and fully see the good in each other.

From enemies to friends to lovers, Ben and Devi gave us the ultimate will-they-won’t-they romance, where they were clearly destined to be endgame all along.