Never Have I Ever – Season 3 Episode 8 Recap & Review 

…hooked up with my boyfriend

Devi and Des are officially dating in episode 8 of Never Have I Ever, keeping it low-key in front of their moms who have no idea about their relationship. She’s been happier in this new relationship than she has in a while.

The next day at school, Devi tells Eleanor and Fabiola that she needs to hook up with Des. Fabiola suggests Devi invite him over when Nalini is out but Devi does not like the idea of her mom finding out after. Eleanor suggests Devi have a game night with her friends and his. This way she can sneak him up to her room and hook up.

At school, Devi gets four tickets to the Shen Yun Chinese dance show and plans out a way to send her mom away from home for a while. Ben is at Art Class with Margi and Trent.

Among the three of them, Ben gets the lowest grade because he does not take art seriously. He asks for a redo and the professor assigns Margot to be his tutor. That night, Devi tells Nalini and her family about the tickets to the Shen Yun and suggests they take Rhyah along. She also tells her mother that she’ll host a game night with friends which Des could come to.

Nalini knows Devi had a crush on Des but did not know that the feelings were reciprocated and that they were already dating. The next day at school, Devi discusses her plans with Fabiola when Aneesa comes to hand Fabiola her phone. Devi calls the couple cute after Aneesa has left but Fabiola opens up to Devi.

She mentions how they have not been able to be passionate enough with each other. Fabiola tries to reassure herself it’s  okay but figures out something needs to be done. That night, Devi, Eleanor, Aneesa, and Fabiola are ready to welcome Des and his private school friends.

Devi tells them how she has decorated her room to make it sensual. Fabiola suggests they play Brain Cranker but Aneesa is visibly upset as she is not particularly interested in playing. She suggests they play spin the bottle instead. When Des arrives with his friends, Fabiola is awestruck by his non-binary friend, Addison.

Fabiola stutters while she introduces herself to Addison but Aneesa notices. When Devi kickstarts the game night, Parker (Des’ friend) asks if they have alcohol. Eleanor states that she can ask Trent to pick some up as they start playing. Parker is pissed when it takes too long for the alcohol to arrive.

Eleanor mentions that Trent’s fake ID was confiscated at the store and Parker asks his friends to go to a party elsewhere. Just as they are about to leave, Des tells Devi that he is supposed to be with Parker because his parents are splitting up. Devi mentions that she wanted to spend some alone time with him but Des asks for a rain check.

Just as they are about to leave, Trent shows up with alcohol and Paxton. Devi calls Paxton her hero and Des seems upset. That evening, Ben is getting an art lesson from Margot who inspires him to look at the pear he is drawing from a different lens. He is able to give meaning to the pear with Margot’s help.

At game night, everyone is having fun when Paxton mentions that he and Phoebe broke up. Des hears them and tries to misdirect Paxton. Devi says she will go get a prop for the game when Eleanor tells her that she should go spend some time with Des. Eleanor mentions that Devi really is different this time in her relationship with Des.

Devi thinks it is because he goes to a different school and does not know her dorky side yet. The group is playing Celebrity when Fabiola and Addison are playing well. Aneesa is sad her tastes do not match Fabiola’s in the same way as Addison’s do. Devi asks Des to sneak out with her when they hear a noise from Devi’s garage. They check up on Parker and notice he is on a call with his dad. He breaks Devi’s dad’s racket in fury.

It is the same racket from John McEnroe that Mohan had purchased from eBay when he was alive. Back then, Mohan had stated it was his most prized possession. Devi is angry that Parker broke her dad’s racket. Parker accidentally hits Devi and she yells at him taking the racket away from him. Devi is back in her room when Paxton comes to check on her.

Devi explains why she is crying and Paxton tries to cheer her up. They joke about how she set up candles to impress Des. Paxton asks her to come downstairs but as she is about to leave, he wipes the tears from her face. Des notices them together, as he brought Parker to apologize to Devi. Parker does just that and Des leaves the party.

When it is just them, Addison and Fabiola talk about science-y stuff that further makes Aneesa feel left out. Aneesa notices Fabiola’s excitement from meeting Addison after they have left. She asks Fabiola to kiss her and realizes that they really are just friends. Aneesa tells Fabiola that they will be better off as friends and that she should pursue Addison instead.

They end things on a positive note. Aneesa jokes that she needs to get away from bookworms and find a hot jock to date. After everyone has left, Devi texts Des but he does not respond. Her family arrives from the dance show. Nalini asks if Devi won at Game Night and she says she was actually one of the losers.

The next day Ben hands over his redo art project and gets an A+ this time. Devi is at her therapy session when Mrs. Ryan asks about the game night. She asks if Devi is worried that Des misunderstood her and Paxton together.

Devi mentions she can fix that but her issue is the tennis racket. She forgot about her dad’s favorite racket. Devi is worried that she is having too much fun in her life and that she has forgotten to be sad about losing her dad. Dr. Ryan argues that Devi becoming happier again means that she is healing. She asks Devi to find a way to honour the racket her father left behind.

Devi places her Dad’s racket on her in her room in order to remember it often. She then visits Des at his house. He invites him over as Rhyah heads out. In his room, Devi explains how she and Paxton were just friends. Des clarifies that he was feeling insecure because Paxton is very handsome.

Devi tells him that she is a dork in school and very unpopular. They make up and eventually make out in his bed when Rhyah suddenly comes back and catches them mid-make-out.  

The Episode Review

Devi is more optimistic in this relationship with Des and I wonder why she doesn’t really tell her mother about it. Des on the other hand seems more understanding than I thought he would be. Maybe things really are different for Devi this time and it feels like Des is here for the long run if we can be optimistic at this point.

Paxton is good and all but I wonder why he thought touching Devi’s face when her boyfriend was under the same roof was a good idea. That came after he had publicly declared that he had broken up with Phoebe. Paxton’s actions are suspicious but they could also be totally harmless.

Ben seems to have hit it off with Margot and there seems to be a possible relationship in the future. Aneesa and Fabiola are really awkward with each other and are truly better off as friends. This season really is confusing every single character’s relationship status for fans with the constant back and forth.

Nalini seems to be clueless about Devi’s relationship now but I wonder how shocked she will be when she finds out Devi is seeing Des. Will she agree to them dating or will Devi have to break up with Des? I wonder what this will do to Nalini and Rhyah’s friendship. It felt like she was finally living her life for the first time after Mohan’s passing.