[Movie] Never Have I Ever -Season 3 Episode 3 Recap & Review 

…had a valentine

It’s Devi’s first Valentine’s Day while being in a relationship in episode 3 of Never Have I Ever Season 3 and Paxton invites her out on a date later that night. She watches Paxton chat up Haley. Devi overhears Haley telling Paxton that he was her perfect match according to the student council’s compatibility quiz.

Jonah hands Devi her quiz results and she learns that Eric Perkins is her match. Devi talks to Fabiola and Eleanor about how she is pissed her match is Eric. Fabiola asks her if she is actually angry because Haley’s match is Paxton.

Devi explains that she is happy about Paxton and Haley being friends but states that she did not know they would be this close. Eleanor reassures Devi saying she has nothing to worry about but Devi cannot help but feel insecure.

Aneesa joins the trio and there is an awkward interaction between her and Fabiola following their kiss. Fabiola is shocked to learn her result whereas Eleanor states she got Trent and Aneesa got Ben. Fabiola seems uneasy after Aneesa’s revelation.

Eleanor tells them that she is breaking up with Trent because he does not seem very deep; she wants to date an artist. Ben joins the four and states that he got Aneesa. Ben jokes about the George Orwell novel 1984, but Aneesa confuses it with the Taylor Swift album 1989. He ends up making fun of her in front of her friends but Fabiola defends her.

At Nalini’s clinic, Rhyah visits the dermatologist for a skin issue. She asks Nalini about her plans for Valentine’s day. Nalini recalls when Mohan (Devi’s dad) was alive and he gifted her a bobblehead.

Nalini tells Rhyah that she had no plans for the day. Rhyah asks her to make some time for herself and plans a girl’s night.

At school, Mr. Shapiro informs the class that they are learning about the Women’s Rights Movement for the next four months. Ben is unhappy about major historical movements being completely missed and argues with the teacher over it.

He shuts Ben down and asks the class to divide themselves in groups for a new assignment. He tries to talk to Aneesa about it but she is furious at him for mocking her. Paxton and Devi chat about Valentine’s Day as she tells him she got Eric on the compatibility test.

Paxton reassures her showing his test result with her name on it. Devi is happy to know that she still is Paxton’s best match even if he was Haley’s match. Eleanor is about to break up with Trent when he invites her for dinner with his uncle who is famous.

He lures Eleanor in with the idea that she will stand a chance to feature in his TV commercials after the dinner and Eleanor agrees to go. Ben confronts Aneesa for calling him out in class and she calls him out on his comment.

She says that he is embarrassed by her but Aneesa is upset with him and asks for a rain check on their Valentine’s dinner. She runs into Fabiola in the restroom again and apologizes for kissing her. Fabiola accepts Aneesa’s apology leaving her thinking.

That night, Devi and Paxton are having a meal at Paxton’s garage. They have a wholesome conversation when he invites her to a paintball game. Devi declines the offer. Paxton moves away to grab some cheese when Devi notices the compatibility test in his bag.

Turns out the card was Eric’s test and that Devi was Eric’s best match in contrast to Paxton’s. Eleanor is having dinner with Paxton and his Uncle Joe, when he offers to cast her in one of his commercials. Nalini celebrates Valentine’s Day on her own when an upset Devi returns home.

Having nothing to do all by herself, Nalini hits Rhyah up on her dinner offer. In her room, Devi worries about who really is Paxton’s match if he lied to her. The next day, Devi confronts Eric about Paxton’s card and finds out that he got Haley as his match.

She turns around to see Paxton walking with Haley and a friend. Meanwhile, Eleanor is hiding from Trent when she tells Fabiola that she used Trent to bag a commercial film with his uncle. Eleanor is unhappy about her choices and decides to let both Trent and the commercial go.

At her therapy session, Devi tells Dr. Ryan that she is worried about Haley and Paxton matching with each other. Devi wonders why Paxton lied to her. Dr. Ryan asks Devi why she really cares about the test. Devi explains how she feels jealous when Paxton is with Haley.

Devi states how Haley is Paxton’s ideal type and realizes she is currently at the paintball match with him. She skips her session to rush to the paintball match. Nalini and Rhyah meet up for a meal when she recalls her time with her husband.

Nalini states how Mohan was her best friend and Rhyah mentions how now could be the time she gets a new one. They both decide to get hair blowouts to commemorate their new friendship. Devi joins Paxton and his friends at the paintball game. She ends up having to join Trent’s team with Paxton and Haley playing for the same team.

Trent mentions that both Paxton and Haley were exceptional players and makes up her mind to defeat Haley. Devi ends up cornering Haley by the end of the game but instead of shooting her, she tries to explain why she is Paxton’s true match. Just then, Paxton shoots Devi in order to win the match.

At school, Ben tries to talk to Aneesa but she breaks up with him. Watching Aneesa cry, Fabiola tries to reassure her that things were going to be okay.

Aneesa confesses that she did not have Ben as her match on the test. Meanwhile, Ben drops his test card and it is revealed that he matched with Devi. At the game, Devi is pissed at Paxton for shooting her instead of Haley and becomes further upset when he tries to reason with her.

She confronts him about lying that he got her on the test. Paxton explains that he did not want to set Devi off considering she was being weird ever since he started being friends with Haley.

Paxton tells Devi that he cannot have a relationship with her until she likes herself first. Eleanor meets up with Trent to confess.

Trent on the other hand, confesses that he knew she was going to break up with her. He somehow convinces Eleanor to stay with her and they reconcile. Devi returns home to Nalini, crying and her mother helps console her.

The Episode Review

It seems that Devi’s insecurities really are her worst enemy. While it is true that Paxton did get a little too close to Haley for someone who literally ghosted her for years, it feels like Devi really needs to spend some time and introspect her real issues.

Nalini is finally realizing that her family no longer needs her all the time and that she can let loose and make friends of her own. Finding a friend in Rhyah is exactly what she needs and I hope to see more of this friendship in the future episodes.

Eleanor and Trent are extremely quirky together and it is interesting seeing them interact. Fabiola clearly has feelings for Aneesa but she lets her explore her sexuality for now, which is what a supporting friend does. It will be cool to see them together.

Paxton is right in his argument that Devi needs to love herself in order to be satisfied with her relationship with him. However, he is not right to maintain an extremely close friendship with someone he ghosted for the last three years.

If Haley was this important to him all along, why did he not apologize and reconcile with her years ago? Guess Devi actually really deserves Ben after all because the guy really still has feelings for her. I wish there was more of Kamala and Pati in this episode as they are fun to watch.