In the earlier season of Netflix’s sparkly teen comedy Never Have I Ever, Sherman Oaks High’s resident heartthrob, Paxton Hall-Yoshida (performed by Darren Barnet), gave a poignant speech at his commencement about persistence. “Push yourself out there,” he advised his classmates. “Defy other people’s expectations of you, and don’t ever let a label define you.”
However, at first of the present’s fourth and ultimate season (which started streaming this week), Paxton seems to have forgotten his personal recommendation. Two episodes in—and after solely two weeks spent attending faculty—he has dropped out and returned to his alma mater, the place he has instantly taken a job because the assistant swim coach. The improvement initially felt like a contrived system to maintain a personality who had graduated highschool within the combine. Paxton had been the thing of affection for the sequence’ protagonist, Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), because the pilot; I assumed that the present sought to retain him as a love curiosity.
But because it seems, Paxton’s return isn’t about forcing him to remain in Devi’s orbit. Instead, his arrested improvement yields a refreshing tackle a typical downside for coming-of-age exhibits. Series about youngsters are likely to battle with the faculty years; at a time when folks naturally develop aside, such applications twist narrative logic to maintain characters collectively. Somehow, Veronica Mars ended up at a college that additionally admitted most of her former classmates. Gossip Girl virtually forgot that its characters have been college students in any respect; regardless of the early seasons exhibiting the ensemble vying for spots at prestigious establishments, the present by no means adopted them into lecture rooms. The O.C., Dawson’s Creek, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer had college-age characters drop out and enter the workforce to maintain them within the storyline. Moves like these allowed plots—normally romantic ones—to advance, however they as a rule additionally bought in the best way of depicting characters’ emotional progress into maturity.
Never Have I Ever tackles the issue immediately, bringing Paxton again particularly to concentrate on his incapability to develop up. His return is very sudden: Throughout the earlier seasons, Paxton yearned to show to others that he was greater than only a champion swimmer with a reasonably face. When he bought accepted into Arizona State University with out an athletic scholarship, his coming-of-age arc appeared full; he’d labored exhausting and matured sufficient to earn the grades he wanted to get out of Sherman Oaks. Yet when he comes again, the present correctly retains him within the background for a lot of the season. Rather than that includes in Devi’s story, Paxton solely pops up in a handful of scenes. As the season goes on, seeing him round turns into unsettling. Clad in purple—the colour for coaches—Paxton appears to be like misplaced, telegraphing a discomfort that the character appears unable to voice.
When he lastly does, late within the season, his id disaster produces a very affecting episode. In it, he confesses his purpose for abandoning ASU. “No one there liked me,” he tells Devi. “Everyone just decided I was some huge loser, and I was just like, Maybe I don’t belong at college.” The assertion is illuminating for its immaturity: In the few scenes depicting Paxton in his dorm, he wasn’t really disliked by “everyone.” He simply did not click on with the opposite college students, unable to appeal these round him the best way he did so effortlessly at house. In his two weeks at ASU, the insecurities he thought he had labored via in highschool—these painful emotions of being underestimated and misunderstood—returned in full power. Believing you’re up for faculty, the present makes clear, shouldn’t be the identical as really having the emotional wherewithal to face up to the challenges that include a significant life transition. But merely backpedaling to the obvious security of highschool isn’t the reply both.
During a lot of its endearing ultimate season, Never Have I Ever concentrates on Devi and her mates as they prepare to go off to greater schooling: They compete for recruiters’ consideration, take a category discipline journey to go to their dream faculties, and meet recurrently with their steerage counselor. Throughout these episodes, Paxton’s position as a supporting character subtly turns into increasingly more pivotal. He’s now not Devi’s love curiosity—certainly, their solely kiss this season is performed as a facet impact of Paxton’s confusion—however strolling, speaking proof for Devi that it’s okay to want extra time to determine what to do subsequent. He helps the present attain a satisfying conclusion that feels considerate and true to life: High faculty, as acquainted as it could appear, can’t final ceaselessly, however faculty additionally doesn’t need to click on straight away.
In the top, Paxton chooses to attempt once more, this time enrolling in ASU’s Teachers College. He explains that after being a college member, he “wouldn’t mind doing that for a living”—not probably the most confident-sounding assertion, however one which’s truthful in its apprehension. Teenagers are anticipated to make so many essential selections about their future after they graduate: what to check, the place to reside, what sort of profession to pursue. But earlier than such calls may be made, they should look at who they’re within the current. It’s not the type of work that’ll result in a diploma, however it’s simply as very important.