The new Netflix series, Mindy Kaling, follows high schooler, Devi, trying to navigate her family, Indian American culture, and her school life after a few traumatic experiences. Kaling has again created an engaging and diverse cast of characters and Devi is right in the center of it all.
Devi is an enjoyable protagonist to follow, but she certainly has plenty of flaws. She goes back and forth between being a good friend to her best friends Fabiola and Eleanor and being the worst type of friend possible, throughout the first season of the series.
Good Friend: Forgiving Her Friends For Keeping Secrets
Although it's understandable why Fabiola and Eleanor are keeping secrets from Devi, it's nice that Devi immediately forgives them. Neither is a big secret, Eleanor has a boyfriend and Fabiola asks out a boy and later confronts her own sexuality. After the initial shock of their secrets, Devi is quick to forgive them for not telling her what was going on.
The Worst: Asking Her Friends To Change Their Personality
In the first episode, Devi has a plan for them to be popular in their sophomore year at high school. A lot of it is asking her and her friends to change their personalities, which Devi seems to be fine with but her friends are understandably concerned. Devi does seem to change throughout the show, but her friends refuse to and it causes a lot of tension within the group.
Good Friend: Befriending Ben Gross
Devi and Ben Gross have been academic rivals for years, but finally, they get over their feud. They still have a healthy academic competition, but they actually become friendly and Ben clearly has feelings for her, and Devi might have feelings for Ben. Ben was going through a difficult time and feels alone, and when Devi realizes this when her mom invites him over for dinner, she makes sure to befriend him.
The Worst: Choosing Paxton Over Her Friends
Eleanor has a crisis and Fabiola comes to get Devi so they can her and talk her through it. Devi says she'll be right there, but runs off when she gets a text from Paxton.
This is understandably the last straw as Fabiola and Eleanor break off their friendship with Devi until she learns to appreciate and prioritize them.
Good Friend: Realizing She's Been Ignoring Fabiola And Eleanor
Devi knows that she's being a bad friend and brings attention to it and apologizes for it. Although she continues to act terribly toward Eleanor and Fabiola, it was good of her to realize how she was acting and apologize for it. Eleanor and Fabiola are in the right to break off their friendship after she doesn't show that she is willing to change, but at least she is aware and hopefully will start working toward rebuilding the friendship.
The Worst: Too Focused On How Others Judge Her
Devi's friends Fabiola and Eleanor seem to be pretty comfortable with who they are and don't seem to care too much about how others view them. Once they start their new year of high school, Devi seemed to be very conscious of how everyone judges her and cares a lot about how others see her. It's most likely because of her past trauma of being temporarily paralyzed after her father's death, but it's still a flaw that constantly gets in the way of her and her friends.
Good Friend: Helping Paxton's Sister
Although she leaves Fabiola and Eleanor to do this, it's still a sign of being a good friend even though her timing is terrible. Paxton's sister Rebecca needs help taking photos of her clothing designs when her model doesn't show up. Paxton calls Devi to help and she comes running, although she's upset that it wasn't more of an emergency and should have prioritized Eleanor's actual emergency. It's still nice that she helps Rebecca in a pinch.
The Worst: Needing A Boyfriend
Devi tends to neglect her friends when a boy is involved. From the very beginning, she's obsessed with finding a boyfriend and wants her friends to be obsessed with it as well.
When Paxton calls, she runs to him, leaving her long-time best friends behind. And it seems at the end of the first season there might be a relationship with Ben Gross in her future, so hopefully, she can begin to balance her boyfriend and best friends better in Season 2.
Good Friend: Helping Kamala
When Devi learns that Kamala isn't perfect and has a secret boyfriend, she decides to help her. She likes that Kamala rebels against her parents, like she does, and helps her hide her boyfriend when he shows up during the first meeting between Kamala and the man she is supposed to marry for her arranged marriage.
The Worst: Focused On Herself
When Fabiola and Eleanor come to Devi with big news, she screams at them and says that only her issues are important. She doesn't even know what they're going through. Fabiola was trying to tell her that she is gay and Devi gets caught up in her own issues and doesn't even hear them. This is a constant personality trait for Devi and it is also a constant issue between her and her friends.