'Never Have I Ever' 3 Review: This Mindy Kaling Show Is At Its Cringey Best

Earlier this year, Taylor Swift addressed the graduates of New York University and asked them to “embrace cringe”. She said, “Learn to live alongside cringe.” Season 3 of Never Have I Ever is just that. It’s a cringey show complete with all the tropes that make a coming-of-age series addictive. Hilarious in parts and intermittently earnest, it deals with the struggles of growing up with enough sincerity to keep you hooked.

On top of which, it’s a Mindy Kaling show, and she has a signature style of comedy. Let’s take her more recent Sex Lives of College Girls, for instance, which had a combination of slapstick and situational comedy. But what Kaling also thrives in, when one considers her body of work, is cringe comedy. And both the shows in question, evidence that.

If one can recall the The Mindy Project, she had a peculiar way of creating female characters that are cringey, flawed and uber confident. And Devi in Never Have I Ever embodies a similar sensibility. She is deeply annoying, always daydreaming about her love life and consistently finding herself in awkward situations. All of which makes her very unlikeable at times. But that is what had worked for the show.

In season 3 though Devi is surprisingly more mature. Her character arc shows considerable growth, and she is never unlikeable. All the subplots are independent of Devi’s prior insistence that she is the centre of the universe. Both her friends, Fabiola and Eleanor, although secondary to the main plot, don’t seem like mere props to advance Devi’s love life. They have more to do this season.

However, what works this season is the relationship between Devi and her mother, Nalini. Her deadpan humour, as the strict disciplinarian attempting to school her daughter, is hilarious in most parts. And although most would assume it to be a caricaturish portrayal of Brown parents – it isn’t far from the truth.

Interestingly, the trajectory of the narrative doesn't only concentrate on her prospective partners but also proceeds to go beyond the idea of romantic love. And thankfully, she becomes more at peace with herself as the season progresses with or without a boyfriend.

There is nothing subtle about Never Have I Ever. It’s on-the-face, loud, boisterous and well, cringey. It’s a show that flourishes because of its vibrant nature. Just like its character Devi, who generally wears too many primary colours all at once, the show isn’t for everyone. But if you can embrace the cringe, you might just enjoy the ride.