Never Have I Ever season 2, episode 1 recap – the opening chapter explained

This recap of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever season 2, episode 1, “… been a playa,” does not contain spoilers.

Read the recap of the finale of season 1.

Welcome back to Never Have I Ever — we are grateful Netflix did not cancel this gem, and let’s hope we can squeeze a few more seasons out of this story.

Episode 1 opens with Devi hooking up with Ben, but then her mother Nalini sees them in the car and breaks it up. She’s disgusted how she’s just got rid of her father’s ashes, and she’s immediately hooking up with a boy. Devi then realizes she has a voicemail left by Paxton. The narrator (McEnroe) tells Devi to give up on Paxton, but she’s clearly in a love triangle.

Two boys like her

And so the love triangle commences; Devi is in a situation she never thought she’d be in.

When Devi gets home, Paxton is waiting for her. He is nervous, and he tells her he felt bad for being a dick to her — he apologizes. Paxton then invites Devi over for dinner the next night, which surprises her. It hits Devi — she has two boys that like her. This is unprecedented for her. Musing over her situation, she listens to an old voicemail from her father and holds the phone close to her chest. At school, Devi greets both Paxton and Ben — she’s excited about her love triangle.

Selling patient roster

Nalini still wants the family to move back to India, and Devi seems to have accepted the idea as she’s grown close to her mother recently. The mother meets Dr. Jackson to try and sell her patient roster for a price, but he laughs it off, saying he doesn’t need them (he’s getting a Netflix deal). Kamala wants her patients to be cared for, so the doctor offers $10k for it.

I could feel a slight tension between the pair, and I could not tell if it was professional or attraction.

Listen to Streaming Dan’s review of Never Have I Ever season 2:

Pros and cons

Devi is struggling to choose within her love triangle, so she enquires with Fabiola and Eleanor. They do a pros and cons list, and her friends feel Paxton is in the lead (mostly because he’s hotter). Devi is worried about hurting Ben. Meanwhile, Fabiola is on a text chain with her girlfriend Eve; she’s struggling to fit in with Eve’s friends despite embracing her sexuality recently.

New lab

At work, at the new lab, Kamala wants to talk to Dr. Peters but ends up been stopped by Evan, the assistant, who says she needs to talk to him. She’s given basic tasks like washing out beakers.

Ben is all in

Devi visits Ben to let him down gently. She tries to do it with a gift. She lets him know that it’s not the right thing to do, and he agrees, but mainly because of Shira. Ben reveals he has broken up with Shira and that he feels his relationship with Devi is real. He asks her to be his girlfriend, which shocks her. Devi ends up kissing him again.

Devi is back in a world of confusion again at the start of season 2.

Devi’s “not so” date with Paxton

Devi still goes on her date with Paxton despite feeling bad. However, when she goes to his house, his friends are also there, chilling. Paxton wants to play Call of Duty. Devi is frustrated, and she tells Eleanor and Fabiola that she feels Paxton wants to be friends, so she will choose Ben.

Paxton wants to make most of the time with Devi

While volunteering, Paxton speaks to Devi after seeing her with Ben. He tells her he likes her, that his friends usually join his dates, and hook up when they leave. He offers to go on a real date with her, but she tells him it’s too late as she’s going to India. Paxton says they will have to make most of the time, so he kisses her. It’s getting more complicated, and she talks to her friends about it.

The ending of Never Have I Ever season 2, episode 1

Fabiola suggests she dates both guys until she moves to India — it is a way out of mature decision-making. Devi smiles and says – “I have two boyfriends.” We can already tell this is going to go badly wrong.