... had a breakdown

**... had a breakdown** is the sixth episode in Season 3 of the Netflix series, *Never Have I Ever*. It is also the twenty-sixth episode overall and premiered on August 12, 2022.

## Synopsis

*Chasing Ivy League dreams and his dad's approval, Ben ignores the warning signs of a burnout until the stress of his jam-packed schedule builds-up — literally.*

## Plot

Ben is told to drop some classes because he is taking too many. He doesn't even have a lunch period anymore, and he has replaced that with Tasty Turkey meat sticks. He even reads his AP Latin book while in another class. His teacher thought he might be reading something that was not education-related, like a magazine or a *Fifty Shades of Grey* book.

Ben then partners with Devi and Trent in their AP Physics project. From there, Devi tells him how "bonkers" his schedule is, and she is taking eleven classes, but three are easy electives. It is better to see a couple of easy A's on your transcript than a couple of B's. Ben has never heard something so disgusting in his life because he would never get a B.

When the boys are about to leave Devi's home, her mom invites them to stay. Rhyah's over for dinner, and they have plenty of food. That’s when Devi spots Des in the kitchen, and she is dressed in a hoodie and pajama bottoms.

At dinner, Ben's jealousy grows, especially when he realizes that the reason is that Devi is looking at him and making pointed comments about his cell service. When he calms himself, thinking that Devi has been rejected by another pretty boy who is a "dummy", Rhyah announces that Des got into Stanford early. Ben gulps, and Devi's mother asks if the food is too spicy for him because she put milk in his dish.

To make things worse, he has not defecated in weeks. After a searing pain in his abdomen has him in pain at school the next day, Paxton picks him up and takes him to the hospital. Where Ben is diagnosed with impacted fecal matter in the colon, because he has not had any bowel movement in 16 days. As thank you, he ends up helping Paxton write his college essay. They now become somewhat friends, and Ben is getting the education on male bonding crucial to his social development.

Finally, Devi texts Des, and he stops ghosting her. This would typically cause some jealousy in Ben. However, Andy Samberg narrates that, if Ben learned anything from the night before, is that he has to start letting things go that cause him pain.

## Cast

### Starring

* Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi Vishwakumar
* Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross
* Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida
* Lee Rodriguez as Fabiola Torres (photo only)
* John McEnroe as The Narrator
* Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar

### Guest-Starring

* Benjamin Norris as Trent Harrison
* Andy Samberg as Himself/The Narrator
* Sarayu Blue as Rhyah
* Cocoa Brown as Principal Grubbs
* Anirudh Pisharody as Des
* Michael Badalucco as Howard Gross
* Brandon Firla as Mr. Brighton

### Co-Starring

* Donna Pieroni as Patty Shevchenko
* Dana G. Vaughns II as Marcus Jones
* Irene White as Unnamed AP Calculus Teacher
* Beth Appel as Unnamed ER Doctor

## Trivia

* This episode is narrated by Andy Samberg instead of John McEnroe, making it the second episode he does it, the first being ... been the loneliest boy in the world.
	+ However, John McEnroe does jump in to clarify who Des is when Andy Samberg doesn't know him.
* This is the second episode where Ben takes over as the main lead character instead of Devi. This is also the third episode where Devi is not in the main lead.
* Eleanor Wong and Fabiola do not appear physically in this episode. However, Fabiola does appear in a flashback via a picture.
* Trent is unaware that his friend group is referred to as "The Hot Pocket" by the whole school.