"Never Have I Ever" by Mindy Kaling, contributed by Rania Jones (2025)
This image captures the closing scene of the last episode of the first season of the Netflix series Never Have I Ever, created by Mindy Kaling. This moment, featuring Devi, her mother Nalini, and cousin Kamala at the beach, is a poignant scene where Devi and her family spread her father’s ashes on his birthday.
The TV show Never Have I Ever is a coming-of-age comedy-drama about Devi Vishwakumar, an Indian-American teenager navigating high school, grief, friendships, and romance. The show captures the specific pain of losing a parent, particularly for a young teenage girl. Struggling with her identity and impulsive decisions, Devi juggles academics, crushes, and cultural expectations with bereavement and immense loss. Her messy, non-linear nature of mourning mirrors my own.
The show first aired in April 2020, becoming a ritual watch for me and my family during COVID lockdown. The final episode aired in June 2023, nine months after my mother passed away. I watched this season by myself.
Early on in the first episode, we learn that Devi lost her father to a heart attack during her orchestra recital. As she navigates high school experiences like parties or Model UN conferences, she is haunted by flashes of memory: ambulances, the concert, the trauma of that night.
In the almost three years since my mother passed away, similar flashes have pulled me out of my daily life, interrupting homework, sleepovers, or even just watching TV. Devi’s journey of grief unexpectedly ended up being familiar and relatable to me. My favorite moment occurs during the first season’s finale where her friends encourage her to spread her dad’s ashes, a South Asian tradition. The final scene of Devi, her cousin Kamala, and her mother Nalini at the beach, bring me back to my own experience with my father and brother spreading my mother’s ashes in Miami.
Never Have I Ever portrays loss in a way that is both raw and relatable. It doesn’t just focus on Devi’s grief as a singular event, but rather shows how grief can linger, resurface, and shape everyday life.