'Never Have I Ever': Does Devi End Up With Ben or Paxton? Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on Her Choice (Exclusive)
John Castro Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you have not watched the final season of Netflix's Never Have I Ever.
After four seasons of back and forth, Never Have I Ever answered one of its biggest questions: Who does Devi end up with -- Ben or Paxton?
The Netflix series ended with Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) getting into her dream college, Princeton, and with a new boyfriend in tow. But was it Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), her academic sparring partner at Sherman Oaks High, or Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), the swim hunk with abs of steel? Though Devi had a brief fling in the final season with bad boy Ethan (guest star Michael Cimino), Devi ended up with Ben, as the couple was seen enjoying college life together in the series' closing moments.
"I am Team Ben," Ramakrishnan told ET's Denny Directo, supporting Devi's ultimate romantic choice.
Early on in the show's run, co-creator/showrunner Lang Fisher acknowledged the writers' main goal with establishing the Devi-Ben-Paxton love triangle was to make it "50/50." "My dream was that we could sell those relationships so well that people would be confused with who they were rooting for, because I don't know who she should end up with at the end. Truly, I don't," Fisher told ET after the first season. "I am not on either team. I want to let the story organically unfold. But I did purposefully want to make either side plausible."
And there were crucial moments of inflection in the final season that could have made Devi go in either direction.
To argue Ben's case, there was their awkward "one free boink" to open the season, followed by a far less awkward, ahem, sleepover later in the season. And the similar life paths they were on as they both prepared to leave the familiarity of high school behind for college. To argue Paxton's case, there was their unexpected kiss in the boys' locker room closet that served as a reminder of how spicy they could be together. But the stars didn't align for Devi and Paxton to work out in the long run, as he dealt with his own identity crisis and figuring out his place and purpose after high school (and possibly even meeting a new love interest in fellow Sherman Oaks High teacher, Lindsay).
Ultimately, as Ramakrishnan explains it, Devi made the right choice.
"Team Ben because, remember when Paxton ditched Devi in season 2? I get it, he came back, that's great. But I know me. If you're embarrassed to be with me once, you're embarrassed to be with me later because I'm only gonna be more of a hot mess," the 21-year-old actress said. "Ben is also a hot mess, so it works. We know they push each other academically, but also I love banter. I'm a banter girl."
The Netflix star elaborated further, sharing that Ben is the guy who can keep up with Devi's antics and off-the-cuff thoughts. "You have to keep up with me and I like seeing," Ramakrishnan said, "[as] a fan, I need to see that banter. I need to see them go off against each other and they get that."
Barnet acknowledged that, at the end of the day, all that's important is that "people want to see Devi happy, and I think she does end up happy."
"There is a nice fade-out to the show," the actor said, referring to Devi and Ben closing out the series.
But Barnet was grateful that through it all, Devi and Paxton got closure to their topsy-turvy relationship over the past four seasons and even ended it with a friendly handshake.
"It was a nice little ending," he agreed.
"All good things come to an end," Ramakrishnan said.
"And it led Devi to the right person," Lewison noted.
Never Have I Ever is streaming now on Netflix.
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