Mock trial. I remember being in high school and having mock trial. I hated it. There were a lot of lawyers in my life and all of them had opinions, but I thought it was ridiculous to do because none of us understood the law.
But I got to be the judge, so I just kept banging the gavel and telling people how they needed to act. Also, I got to tell the guy who had dumped me that he was being sentenced to detention and that felt good.
It’s not the same way for Never Have I Ever.
For Devi and friends it’s a different kind of trial in this episode. Mr. Shapiro decides that the class is going to put Daisy Buchanan on trial for Gatsby’s death.
Now no one likes a group project, but for Devi this one is going to be extra painful. She’s on the same team as Ben and Aneesa, which is going to be a lot for Devi to handle. I understand that she wants to be this strong person and say that it’s okay to move on, but for her it’s not.
I am not sure that Devi doesn’t want Ben to be with someone else because she loves him or even likes him, but I think it’s because she doesn’t like the fact that she lost both Ben and Paxton. She doesn’t want to be the one always loosing everything. Yes, I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.
But lets get back to the assignment. Fabiola is on a team with Paxton and Malcolm. Paxton wants to do the work. Malcolm on the other hand doesn’t want to do anything. He’s a lazy fucker and if we’re being honest – he’s a dick. Fabiola reads some texts that pop up on Malcolm’s phone and she knows that she doesn’t know how to intepret things always, so she asks Paxton and he assures her that those aren’t platonic texts.
And as great friends, Eleanor and Devi tell her, but she doesn’t want to believe it. When confronting Malcolm, he tells her all sorts of shit. Let me be clear on this – I HATE MALCOLM.
Eleanor tells Fabiola and Devi that Malcolm was texting his 73-year old agent, but if you think that I believe that shit you are wrong. What my issue is with Malcolm is the way he talks to people. The way he talks to Eleanor is sooooo wrong. The fact that she puts up with it, I want to crawl in the screen and hug her and remind her that she deserves better. She needs to believe she deserves better.
It breaks my heart when Eleanor chooses Malcolm over her friends, but I also understand why she did. We’re all blinded by boys in high school. And so when he knows the words to convince her that what he is saying is real, of course she believes him. That being said, I also believe that part of the shit she puts up with is because she’s looking for someone to fill the space her mom left.
But that doesn’t mean that Eleanor choosing him isn’t going to hurt her friends. Because friendship in high school seems so final and harsh. It hurts.
Back in class, it’s time for the trial. It’s this whole weird thing, because everyone is awkward. But Fabiolas team wins and I was so proud of Paxton. I felt like that boy finally got that he’s not dumb. He’s smart. Only – I would be wrong there.
You see when he’s on his way home and Devi is walking crying. She’s so upset over the things that Eleanor said and she doesn’t know what to think. But when Paxton stops to pick her up and offer her a ride, I am so thankful that I am getting more of my favorites.
The thing I learned on this drive is that Devi and Paxton are to the point that they can give each other the harsh truths. But also you see that these two care about each other. You see they want the best for each other.
Sometimes we need people who aren’t the normal of who we’d be with to push us to do better. To be better.
Paxton is very emotional, and also takes shit to heart. He’s still upset over Devi yelling at him, but I really think it is because he cares so much about what she thinks of him. He asks her the same thing he asked his Grandpa – if he was dumb. He thinks he went above and beyond and still didn’t do an amazing job at the trial.
For Devi, this is hard to hear, but she also is honest with him. He didn’t go above and beyond, he did the bear minimum. And she gives him – as usual – a speech that that radiates with him and motivates him.
He wants to succeed and get into college and we’re loving this new motivated Paxton.
But guys, Never Have I Ever doesn’t tend to end on happy notes. Because for Devi, seeing her Mom with another man may be the thing that breaks everything for her.
Guys, that may be a good or a bad thing, but we will see.
