S04.E10: ...said goodbye

[dubbel zout]

Paxton is part Japanese, as is Barnet. Cimino isn't. The probably could have found a younger actor who is part Japanese, but I appreciate the attention to detail there.

[Scarlett45]

1 minute ago, dubbel zout said:

Paxton is part Japanese, as is Barnet. Cimino isn't. The probably could have found a younger actor who is part Japanese, but I appreciate the attention to detail there.

I assumed the character’s ethnicity could match the actor’s (not the other way around in this instance- as a love interest for Devi he could be any ethnicity). I did really appreciate the diversity in this show, and I would expect nothing less given the setting (a high school in southern Cali). 
 

For the record I think Barnet did a fine job, and I’m glad they didn’t white wash Paxton (the episode with his grandfather was great), but the optics were jarring this last season. 

[shoregirl]

 Paxton was part Japanese because Darren is. They added Yoshido to his last name after hearing him speak Japanese to a crew member. He talks about here:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/ehisosifo1/darren-barnet-part-japanese-paxton-hall-yoshida

[Scarlett45]

7 minutes ago, shoregirl said:

 Paxton was part Japanese because Darren is. They added Yoshido to his last name after hearing him speak Japanese to a crew member. He talks about here:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/ehisosifo1/darren-barnet-part-japanese-paxton-hall-yoshida

I thought so- thank you. 

[festivus]

Growing up watching 30+ playing teens in Grease I guess I'm immune to older people playing teens in these shows. Plus I have two sons who pretty much have looked the same from 16 to 30. My oldest is just now starting to show some age at 35. So I had no problem with Paxton, I thought the actor was really good at showing Paxton's sweet heart even with being a douchey teen at times. I really enjoyed the whole cast and I hope to see them all again. I had only known Ramona Young when it started.

ETA: Oops. I did know Sendhil and Niecy. I need to be accurate.

[SeanC]

On 6/12/2023 at 12:33 PM, shapeshifter said:

However, given the show's reminder of why Devi was set on Princeton in the first place (because as a little girl she wanted to go to "Princess College") there is no reason to think it's the best place for her (in contrast to Fabiola's decision-making process and her ultimate choice). 
But Fabiola's true love and mastery of a discipline like robotics is more the exception than the rule with regards to US students, who typically change their college majors more than once.

Maybe Devi will be able to transfer to UCLA or Stanford her sophomore year, but those top-tier schools would have been easier for her to get into straight from high school. So maybe Devi will transfer to another UC school. 

Princeton is consistently one of the top-ranked schools in the country, there's no real reason it wouldn't be the right place for her to go.

It sounded like her ultimate ambition is to be a lawyer (er, Supreme Court justice), in which case her undergrad is (outside some specialty tracks like IP law) mostly just launchpad for whatever law school she applies to.

On 6/15/2023 at 1:29 AM, Dani said:

Everything with Ethan and Margot ended up being mostly irrelevant and took up way too much screen time.

Ethan wasn't important in and of himself, but he played a notable role in Devi's storyline, e.g., her sexual maturation (which also, keeping in mind that the season is bookended by her relationship with Ben, avoids having her only have sex with one person).

Margo also might end up being Devi's step-sister in the future, for all we know.

Strong finale and a strong final season. This is one of the most complete shows Netflix has ever had, in my opinion.

[dubbel zout]

Margot was important to show that Devi could put her mother's happiness before her (Devi's) own, and that the worst of her grief was past.

[peachmangosteen]

4 hours ago, festivus said:

Growing up watching 30+ playing teens in Grease I guess I'm immune to older people playing teens in these shows.

Same but I prefer when all the actors playing teens are roughly the same age. One actor, especially part of a ship, being a teen and the other being 10 years older is just sort of off and frankly icky to me lol.

38 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Margot was important to show that Devi could put her mother's happiness before her (Devi's) own, and that the worst of her grief was past.

I still feel too much time was unnecessarily spent on her. Especially when Aneesa only got like 2 total scenes all season.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, SeanC said:

Ethan wasn't important in and of himself, but he played a notable role in Devi's storyline, e.g., her sexual maturation (which also, keeping in mind that the season is bookended by her relationship with Ben, avoids having her only have sex with one person).

Excellent points!👆
 

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

Margot was important to show that Devi could put her mother's happiness before her (Devi's) own, and that the worst of her grief was past.

Also great points!👆

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, SeanC said:

Ethan wasn't important in and of himself, but he played a notable role in Devi's storyline, e.g., her sexual maturation (which also, keeping in mind that the season is bookended by her relationship with Ben, avoids having her only have sex with one person).

I really meant that I found them irrelevant as a viewer. Mostly because I felt their plots were lacking in depth. The end of both their storylines with Devi coming full circle from the girl obsessing of the popular guy and Devi deciding to put her mothers happiness first were strong. But I thought Devi and Margot has individual characters didn’t matter. They could have been replaced with anyone and played out exactly the same. They felt like caricatures of the bad boy and the artsy girl. We found out next to nothing about who they were beyond Devi image of them.

Particularly compared to Paxton and Anessa who fit similar roles for Devi but were also given backstory and depth. I would have rather seen their screen time go to other characters who were underused. 

[tennisgurl]

This season had some real bumps, especially at the start, but I think it all came together at the end with a really good series finale. Davi really has come a long way from the angry hurt selfish kid she was at the start of the show. She still doesn't always make the best choices and her temper is still there, but she is so much more capable of empathy and maturity now. She used to look at everyone through the lens of what they meant to and for her, but by the end of the show was able to put other people first and really see her family and friends as more than extensions of her own life. We had lots of great moments with Devi's family, I especially loved when she told Kamala that she's like a big sister to her and they did their dance, Devi's family has always been the best part of the show so I'm glad they all got so much time together.

I'm alright with Ben and Davi being together, it seems like it was inevitable as they kept being pulled back towards each other but could never quite get it right. Whether or not they end up together long term or break up after their first semester at college, I'm glad that they're apparently going to try to finally be in a real relationship. I liked where everyone ended up and I am really happy that we got to see Manish one last time. I know he's busy with Ghosts, where he's utterly delightful, but I missed him this season.

I do sort of wish that Devi didn't get into Princeton and realized that going to this fancy school she associated with her dad wasn't the end all be all of her future, I its a good lesson to teach that Ivy leagues aren't the only path to success. I also wish that we got much more Aneesa this season, we only saw her about twice!

McEnroe really nailed that last voice over, he's been such a great part of the show. This show in general has had its ups and downs, but definitely more ups then downs. 

[shapeshifter]

22 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

do sort of wish that Devi didn't get into Princeton and realized that going to this fancy school she associated with her dad wasn't the end all be all of her future, I its a good lesson to teach that Ivy leagues aren't the only path to success.

Reading this👆 solidifies my fan-theory that Devi winds up transferring to a college closer to her Mom and other roots. 
I like that the series ended with Devi and Kamala both on the east coast, stretching their wings, but with the busy academic lives they are both pursuing, the 5 hours by car from Boston to Princeton might as well be a flight to California.
3 hours by car from Baltimore is more than half way by plane to California.

Edited June 23, 2023 by shapeshifter
Baltimore, not Boston

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I like that the series ended with Devi and Kamala both on the east coast, stretching their wings, but with the busy academic lives they are both pursuing, the 5 hours by car from Boston to Princeton might as well be a flight to California.

Kamala moved to Baltimore, MD, not Boston. Shorter commute. Not by much, but still shorter.

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Kamala moved to Baltimore, MD, not Boston. Shorter commute. Not by much, but still shorter.

Thanks. Fixed it.
I am still embarrassed to admit that when my oldest daughter was in college in Davis CA while I lived in Sacramento, I never saw her apartment, 30 minute away. I saw her boyfriend's apartment. And I saw her later apartment in Sacramento. But I kept thinking about never making it to her Davis apartment when Devi and Kamala were talking about a 3 hour drive being "close" to each other. Likewise with my other daughters away at college, and me too, back in the day. 
But my family is not as close-knit as Devi's, so maybe she and Kamala will spend more than a rare weekend together.

[slowpoked]

I'm going to miss this show. I enjoyed it for what it is, and overall I enjoyed all seasons, even if there were times it lagged a bit, and a little bit disappointing in some of the storylines they just dropped (Paxton's family, esp his sister and her relationship with Devi, Nalini's career, Aneesa being one of the close friends, etc.) It's an easy watch, and there were genuine LOL moments.

For me the best relationship of the show was Nalini-Devi. As much as the show was Devi's journey, it was also Nalini's. I can definitely understand Nalini being short-tempered, nagging, closed off in the first season - she was also dealing with her own grief, and coming to terms with the realization that she's suddenly a widow at such a young age. One of my favorite scenes of the show was when she took out Mohan's scooter and drove it around Malibu, finally, slowly coming to terms with him being gone, and her still being alive and a full life still ahead of her.

I thought they would have brought back Common to give her a happy ending too, but Andres is also fine, seems like a nice guy. It's just weird how they dropped her doctor storyline and just settled for some mentions here and there.

[atomic]

On 6/13/2023 at 11:46 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

No. Devi was wearing a sari. She had a waist chain to keep the part that was draped over her shoulder in place so it wouldn’t slip down/off her shoulder.

Kamala was wearing a lehenga. They come in different styles. Some have a long kurti and some have the short cholis /blouses that Kamala was wearing. And you can wear the dupatta in several ways as well.

Devi was wearing a half-sari, which is three pieces. Maitreyi has said it was very intentional that the show always put her in half-saris, since the show is portraying a Tamil family and it's very typical for teenage Tamil girls to wear half-saris to cultural events.

[atomic]

Apparently they filmed an alternate ending to this show, according to the actor who plays Devi's father. 👀

Spoiler

“They [Devi and Ben] both go on with their lives after high school and become lawyers,” he explained. “[They] haven’t seen each other [or] been in touch in a long while. Then they come up against each other in a court case and meet for the first time. Ben turns around and says, ‘Hey David’. Devi smiles with surprise/delight and we’re left to imagine what happens in the future.”

https://thetab.com/uk/2023/06/12/never-have-i-ever-season-four-alternate-ending-312148

 

[Irlandesa]

So in that alt finale

Spoiler

Devi is 30 and Ben ages to 60?  I like the idea but not the aging so I think it's the right choice. Plus, they can just do that series in 10 years.

 

[twoods]

Maybe he

Spoiler

went gray at a young age because he was so stressed out?

 I wouldn’t have minded that alternative ending.

Edited June 27, 2023 by twoods

[slowpoked]

The original ending didn't bother me that much. I've always thought Ben was the endgame, especially since she "conquered" the high school jock, and got that itch out of her. The heroine of the story always goes back to the "boy next door," which is pretty much what I expected.

Even though it's a "happy ending," I think that little speech by Ben the morning after is foreboding that things may not eventually work out and they'll grow apart and move on. In the heat of the moment, it seemed they were content in giving it a second go-around and do-over, and then they say their goodbyes. And then Ben realizes that he actually wanted to try to work it out with Devi, key word being try. John McEnroe's last words also refer that it may not last.  

[andromeda331]

This was a good finale. The wedding was beautiful and everyone looked great. I liked that they finally played the title game. I liked the grandmother talking to Nalini and her and Devi packing her suitcase. I love how far the family has come. They each have grown. Devi still matured a lot. I do wish they had kept her growth from last season but she's come along way. Whether Nalini ends up with Margot's father or not she's ready to move on. She's come far too from season one. I'm glad Len wasn't out to con Pati. 

I like Eleanor and Trent together. They really shouldn't work but they do. I hope Eleanor's career takes off. I think she's got talent. Not Julliard type. She loves it and has fun doing it.

I like Fabiola ending up at Howard. I wish we got to see more of her and Eve too. And more of her robot. 

I like Kamala ending up in Baltimore with Manish. I'm glad she didn't pass up that opportunity. 

I like Devi got in at Princeton. I like Davi and Paxton better as friends. I feel the same way about her and Ben. 

[aghst]

On 6/9/2023 at 10:45 AM, shapeshifter said:

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Devi) dolled up for prom made me think she could be the next Bridgerton lead, which is not too far off the mark, because her Wikipedia page says:

They had her a couple of times in lingerie and showed cleavage several times, a far cry from first season when she was like 15 or something?

The cleavage is understandable but lingerie for a 17 or 18 year old seems out of place.

 

Overall enjoyed the season and series.  Normally don't go for feel-good but it was expressive with joy throughout.

I don't know if it depicted the Indian-American experience well.  They suggested one of the reasons they moved to America was to give Devi a chance to go to some elite university.  In absolute numerical terms some Indian universities are harder to get into than American ones because there are millions taking these exams which they have to excel at to have a chance for admission.

But maybe opportunities for young women in the best institutions are not  there compared to in the US.

It's kind of The Mindy Project for teens with sardonic McEnroe as narrator.

[Garden Wafers]

12 hours ago, aghst said:

 In absolute numerical terms some Indian universities are harder to get into than American ones because there are millions taking these exams which they have to excel at to have a chance for admission.

Something that might be underappreciated about Nalini's backstory is just how impressive it is that she's a practicing dermatologist. Dermatology's already competitive for US medical graduates, and is only more so for international medical graduates. And it wouldn't matter if she'd completed her medical training abroad; to practice in the USA, IMGs would have to complete a residency program here before they could be licensed (I believe that changed this year when TN passed legislation waiving the post-graduate medical education requirement). Without knowing when exactly Nalini went through the Match, I went back to look at the 2005 NRMP data: that year, there were a total of 288 PGY-2 dermatology spots offered and only 7 of the 283 spots that matched went to IMGs. 

[dubbel zout]

In an earlier episode, Nalini mentioned having to start over with her medical studies when she moved to the US.

[EtheltoTillie]

I too was very surprised to see Jeff Garlin here.  He had been fired from The Goldbergs.  Apparently, he's still in Curb Your Enthusiasm, and that's no surprise.  Curb, which I cannot watch, as it's too cringey, is about people who say and do the wrong thing, and Larry David himself pushes boundaries.

I stopped watching this show at the start of season three.  It was starting to be annoying to me in the same way, what with Devi always doing incredibly dumb things, and there were too many melodramatic/absurd plot twists.  But a friend suggested I would enjoy the college admissions shenanigans, so I went back and binged the last two seasons.  I still did a lot of face palming, but overall I think Kaling did a good job with this project, and it was a good coming of age story and a story about immigrant families.  A very nice showcase for all the actors.