In Netflix’s Never Have I Ever season two episode five, titled “…ruined someone’s life,” Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is starting to completely unravel. After the passing of her father in season one, she’s had a tough time keeping a firm control of her emotions. She’s easily driven by anger and jealousy, which is why she starts to lose it when her new bestie Aneesa Qureshi (Megan Suri, Atypical) and her ex-boyfriend Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison, Tag) seem romantically interested in each other.
To be able to pass gym class, Devi is tasked with forming a relay team for a 24-hour charity event. The problem? Ben and Aneesa are both on her team. To try and keep calm, Devi follows her therapist’s advice and listens to a calming voicemail from her father whenever she begins to get angry. However, Devi has a short temper that always gets the best of her. She comes up with a scheme to keep Ben and Aneesa separated by making them run the relay practically non-stop, ultimately tiring both of them out.
However, the two of them keep finding their way back to each other, and in a heat of rage, Devi accidentally starts a rumor calling Aneesa anorexic. She didn’t mean for this harsh comment to be taken literally, but this is high school so gossip spreads quicker than wildfire and often gets blown out of proportion. Eventually, the rumor makes it’s way to Aneesa, and she is devastated. To Devi’s surprise, the rumor was actually true and the reason Aneesa transferred to Sherman Oaks in the first place. Devi’s really done it this time.
Meanwhile, Devi’s best friend Fabiola Torres (Lee Rodriguez) deals with drama of her own. Her mother (Tembi Locke, Art of Revenge) is in charge of the relay and Fabiola’s girlfriend, Eve (Christina Kartchner), is also present. She doesn’t want either of them to meet because her mother has been an overbearing ally. She wants her daughter to feel as loved and supported as possible, but it’s becoming too much for Fabiola.
“She’s definitely going to say something weird to you,” warns Fabiola. “Like, she’s definitely going to tell you how much she liked the movie Carol.”
However, when the two finally meet, it’s a beautiful moment of acceptance and excitement. They get along great and Eve is happy to entertain Fabiola’s mother’s support.
This episode took a very dark turn at the end when Devi’s rumor about Aneesa turned out to be true. The show is known for taking unexpected heel turns into darkness, and this definitely added a new upsetting tone. Now, the ball is in Devi’s court to try and reckon with the mistake she’s made and fix this.
All ten episodes of season two are now streaming on Netflix.
Rating: 9/10