Overview
- Genre: Coming-of-age, Comedy, Drama, High School
- Rating: M18 (Singapore)
- Available on: Netflix
- Recommended for: People looking for a fun teenage comedy-drama with Asian influences
Review
I believe I watched Season 1 of this series last year but I couldn’t remember a single thing that happened. Thankfully there was a recap of the entire season done by Lee Rodriguez (who plays Fabiola Torres) and Ramona Young (who plays Eleanor Wong) up on Netflix’s YouTube Channel. You can click here to watch it.
The new season starts right where season 1 left off. We follow Devi Vishuakumar as she navigates life in high school alongside her friends. As an over-achiever, she doesn’t struggle academically, but may need tutoring in how to handle relationships. In season 1, she learned to value her friendship with her two best friends Fabiola and Eleanor. In season 2, she gets schooled on how to manage romantic relationships as she juggles her two romantic interests: athlete Paxton Hall-Yoshida and former nemesis Ben Gross. Mid-way through the season, a new, “cooler” Indian-Muslim girl transfers into her class. On top of all that, Devi also has to continue to manage her relationship with her Mother.
Season 1 touched on the issues of trauma and grief. While season 2 goes back to these, it also explores some new topics, including self-confidence and being a single parent. My favourite scenes were those with Devi’s mother, Nalini, because she’s such a firecracker. I’m happy that she gets a bit more screen time this season to explore her own issues.
I’m on the fence about recommending this because, to me, it’s just another teenage coming-of-age comedy drama. But if you’re looking for a show with interesting characters and an Asian perspective, you might want to check this out.
⚠️ Warning! Spoilers ahead ⚠️
Episode Breakdown
This section was just for me to record my scattered thoughts as I watched each episode. You can treat it like a secret film club with me! 😉
Episode 1: … Been a Playa
Ben seems like a nice guy and they sort of get along well with each other. Paxton seems like an absolute douche with no brains. I think Devi should definitely choose Ben over Paxton. I’m sad that Kamala is in a lab full of nerds who don’t seem nice. However, I like her new relationship that she is developing with her new arranged partner.
Episode 2: … Thrown a Rager
I’m kind of disappointed that Devi’s friends are not being more helpful or trying to help Devi make the right decisions. At least her therapist says some good stuff. I love the trip to India that her mum takes to visit her family.
Episode 3: … Opened a Textbook
The narrator changed to Gigi Hadid to talk more about Paxton. Previously, I found it a bit annoying because the series focused so much on Devi who is quite self-absorbed. So I’m happy that the series has expanded to show a bit more about the other characters and flesh them out as well. In season 2, we also get to see a few more settings such as the home where Paxton’s grandfather lives. I think that helps to round out everyone’s characters more.
Episode 4: … Had an Indian Frenemy
New Indian-Muslim character Aneesa! Wow Ben was HARDCORE in this episode. Love the development though? But the end of the show? BOOO!
Episode 5: … Ruined Somebody’s Life
Devi really messed up in this episode. I don’t really understand her much because I think she makes very immature choices. But I guess she’s human because she feels bad about it and she never really means for things to get as bad as they do. That aside, I think the idea of the relay school event was actually pretty interesting. I love how the conflict between Fabiola and Eve is resolved when Eve puts her foot down and Fabiola has the courage to try.
Episode 6: … Betrayed a Friend
I thought she came to her senses but I guess not. She really screwed up here and she can’t see past her own needs.
Episode 7: … Begged for Forgiveness
I’m glad that she finally came to her senses and decided that she would apologise for the right reasons and not be rude about it. I also love the relationship that is developing between Dr Jackson and Dr Vishuakumar. I love that everyone sort of stood up for themselves in this episode. I’m happy that Setseg bothered to notify Kamala about her being left off the research paper and choosing to help her out in his own way.
Episode 8: … Been Daisy Buchanan
I’m really happy for Devi and her trying to be mature about the relationship between Ben and Aneesa. I also liked how Kamala came in to help her out. But wait … Kamala is falling for Mr K??? Wow ok. Man I can’t believe I’m actually coming around on the Devi-Paxton thing. I can see how he’s a better option now because his laidback attitude balances out Devi’s ambition and he has the conscience to improve his attitude towards school. Still can’t accept all the drinking and drugs though.
Episode 9: … Stalked My Own Mother
I feel bad for Dr Jackson because he knows what it is like to have a child and be a single Dad so he still covered for Dr Vishuakumar when they found Devi in the hot tub. I’m actually really proud of Paxton for putting in a lot of effort for his history extra-credit project. Could see that he’s really trying and that while he isn’t great academically, he still excels in other areas. Great that they’re showing that people have different academic abilities and the important thing is to just keep trying.
Episode 10: … Been a Perfect Girl
It seems like there’s going to be a Season 3?? I feel like Devi has sort of improved in terms of her understanding of her anger, hurt, and grief. But it seems like there’s something unresolved with Aneesa’s performance on the moot trial project and Ben’s unresolved feelings for Devi. But actually, I feel like Paxton and Devi fit well together? Ok to be fair, I still think they might not have many things in common though, because when they’ve been together, they’re either studying or making out? There was a snippet of them chatting on the bed I guess, but eh… I remain unconvinced.
Hope you enjoyed the series. Thanks for reading!
💜 jy