... had an Indian frenemy

**... had an Indian frenemy** is the fourth episode in Season 2 of the Netflix series, *Never Have I Ever*.

## Synopsis

*Devi instantly resents the new Indian girl at school, but is taken by surprise as they get acquainted. Kamala struggles to be respected at her lab.*

## Plot

Devi has patched things up with Paxton, so now she focuses on smoothing things over with Ben, but that's proving to be a test. And then it gets worse; there's a new transfer student who is also Indian - Aneesa. The teacher asks Aneesa to introduce herself, and the class is impressed. Devi is left feeling a little inferior to Aneesa who she views as being a cool version of herself. It doesn't help when Aneesa is referred to as "Devi 2.0." All of Devi's classmates and friends remark on how cool Aneesa is, which annoys Devi.

Principal Grubbs asks Devi to show Aneesa around as her tour guide. She's not happy about it. Aneesa is also a soccer player, so even the one cool teacher invites her to the team. And slowly but surely, Aneesa integrates into school with ease. At the end of the school day, Paxton tells Devi that Aneesa is "dope." When Devi goes home, Nalini is happy with Aneesa joining the school and wants her to be friends with her as she thinks it will be good for her to have an Indian friend. She wants Aneesa to come over for dinner despite Devi's protests.

Aneesa comes over for dinner with a gift, and her mother, Nalini, is pumped to have her around. She offers to help out with the mother-in-law. Eleanor then joins, and she’s the complete opposite friend. She just barges in. In the bedroom, Eleanor reveals how Devi had two boyfriends and made one of them get hit by a car. Malcolm texts Eleanor, and she's excited despite having a boyfriend, and asks Aneesa for advice. Feeling like she needs to competitive, she tells both girls they should sneak out and meet Malcolm.

So they meet Malcolm in the dead of night, and Ben is there, which is awkward. Ben tells Aneesa that she’s hanging out with Devi, a social grenade. In return, Aneesa disses Ben and has Devi's back. The night gets "cooler" when Malcom wants to go to a tattoo parlor. At the parlor, Devi gets a nose ring while Ben and Malcom get a tattoo. Afterward, Eleanor agrees to break up with her boyfriend for Malcom.

While on a date with Prashant, Kamala gets a message from her boss Evan at the lab; she wants her to come in and redo samples. Kamala is annoyed and has to go in. Prashant joins her at the lab at 2 am and brings her food. Kamala is annoyed at her colleagues who go out while she has to work late. Prashant tells her to play the game and pretend to like their nerdy activities.

The next day Kamala discussed her findings with Evan, but he isn't interested in talking. She brings up karaoke and says she's a fan of similar music, and Evan suddenly wants to talk and agrees to invite her next time. Evan tells Kamala to take the day off as she's worked so hard.

Ben reveals to Devi that he had a fake tattoo to make sure she went through with her nose ring. He's making a point about commitment and lying. Devi tells Ben that he wins and apologizes. But Ben is still upset and states how Devi followed Paxton after the party — he doesn't want to be friends.

The next morning, Nalini notices the nose ring, and she's furious. Aneesa says it's her fault because she and Devi recognized how difficult it is for South Asian girls in a country that only celebrates western beauty. The nose ring is a powerful symbol of Indian feminity. She claims she stupidly suggested that they surprise Devi's mother. This softens Nalini.

## Cast

### Starring

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

### Guest Starring

* Adam Shapiro as Lyle Shapiro
* Utkarsh Ambudkar as Manish Kulkarni
* Benjamin Norris as Trent Harrison
* Rushi Kota as Prashant
* Tyler Alvarez as Malcolm Stone
* Christina Kartchner as Eve Hjelm
* Cocoa Brown as Principal Grubbs
* Megan Suri as Aneesa Qureshi
* Ranjita Chakravarty as Nirmala Vishwakumar
* P.J. Byrne as Evan Safstrom
* Helen Hong as Sharon Wong

### Co-Starring

* Dino Petrera as Jonah Sharpe
* Martin Martinez as Oliver Martinez
* Gwyn LaRee as Pat
* Paul Krugman as Jerry

## Trivia

* There are now two Indian girls at Sherman Oaks High.
* Fabiola is away at a robotics competition.