... lived the dream

**... lived the dream** is the tenth episode in Season 3 of the Netflix series, *Never Have I Ever*. It is also the thirtieth episode overall.

## Synopsis

*The end of the school year has the Sherman Oaks crew up all up in their feels. Devi is torn between planning the future and enjoying the present.*

## Plot

Devi is about to end her junior year at Sherman Oaks. However, she gets some seemingly exciting, even potentially life-changing news. Each year, the school nominates the top academic junior to attend a prestigious academic school in Colorado called Shrubland.

She tells Ben, who makes fun of the school out of pettiness and slight jealousy. They insult each other. Ben says he would rather get into the Ivy League the old-fashioned way and not a school that uses hippie crystals. She retorts back, asking him if it's the old-fashioned way of having his dad use his connections to get Ben in. Her girls are excited for her, but do not want her to go. Devi says she wants to stay, especially after finding out not only Eleanor lost her virginity to Trent, but so did Fabiola with Addison.

At dinner, Nalini mentions that Devi has not told them about the school she got into. The only reason she found out was because the principal called her. She says it is not a big deal, but Manish speaks up and says it is important because no one can get in there — even when he applied for a teaching job. That is when Nirmala tells him he should be thankful he does not work there because he is too delicate to work at a high altitude.

Devi does not want to go, and neither does Nalini. Kamala approaches her later and urges her to at least take a visit. This reminds her of when she told her husband she wanted to return to India. He convinces her they came here for their daughter to get the best education possible. So, Nalini changes her mind, and they go on a visit together. The school has college-level courses and allows enough flexibility to treat its students as adults. Devi tells her mom she wants to go.

Devi then goes to graduation to watch Paxton speak, where he talks about that special someone who pushed him to success. However, her stomach is not in knots. It is for Ben when he tells her that he does not want her to go. Paxton then interrupts them, and they have a final moment before Paxton heads off to Arizona State. Paxton tells her he would not have gotten into college if it was not for her. Devi tells him that he got her through the death of her father. How, he asks? By being a dream.

Devi returns to her house and tells her mother she is not ready to leave her yet. Devi has realized how she is obsessed with the future but must be mindful of the present. Which, after what she has been through, she learns is a very precious thing. Devi then decides for good that she will not leave and is not ready to say goodbye to her mother, other family members, and friends at least just yet.

Later, Devi goes to Ben’s home and hands him the coupon he gave her—“One Free Boink.”

## Cast

### Starring

* Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi Vishwakumar
* Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar
* Richa Shukla as Kamala Nandiwadal
* Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross
* Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida
* Ramona Young as Eleanor Wong
* Lee Rodriguez as Fabiola Torres
* John McEnroe as The Narrator

### Guest-Starring

* Megan Suri as Aneesa Qureshi
* Niecy Nash as Dr. Jamie Ryan
* Benjamin Norris as Trent Harrison
* Lily D. Moore as Rebecca Hall-Yoshida
* Tohoru Masamune as Kevin Hall-Yoshida
* Kelly Sullivan as June Hall-Yoshida
* Fernando Rivera as Leo Ferris
* Victoria Moroles as Margot
* Cocoa Brown as Principal Grubbs
* Ranjita Chakravarty as Nirmala Vishwakumar
* Utkarsh Ambudkar as Manish Kulkarni
* Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohan Vishwakumar

### Co-Starring

* Hanna Stein as Shira Liedman
* Adriyah Marie Young as Carley
* Aitana Rinab as Zoe Maytag
* Kontravious Harrell as Darius Carter
* Gabe Liedman as Cyril
* Jamison McDermott as Brianne
* Cree Kawa as Aaron
* Eliza Blair as Erica

## Trivia

* Trent flunked his senior year and will be a senior again.