WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Master of None Presents: Moments in Love, now streaming on Netflix.
Master of None Presents: Moments in Love shocked fans by switching POV from Dev (Aziz Ansari) to his bestie, Denise (Lena Waithe). Still, it felt like the right decision given Ansari's #MeToo allegations a couple of years back. However, Dev makes a few cameos that reveal his gloomy fate, and it's a far cry from the upbeat playboy galavanting around the New York dating scene.
Season 1 ended with Dev and Rachel pursuing different paths after living together. The follow-up dealt with him and Francesca rekindling feelings from Italy after a culinary stint. It ended with her leaving her fiancé, Pino, and the final shot showing her in Dev's bed. However, it was ambiguous as to whether the sequence was just Dev dreaming.
Season 3 reveals Dev's now with Reshmi (Aysha Kala), an Indian woman. They visit Denise and her wife, Alicia, at their cottage. It's never confirmed what happened to Francesca, but it seems they didn't get together as implied. That said, it's no happy ending for Dev as he constantly fights with Reshmi. At dinner, they take shots at each other, moving from playful to barbs filled with hate. She ridicules his thinning hair, how they've moved to Queens and are cooped up with his parents. Reshmi also spills the beans that his acting career is down the drain.
Dev reluctantly admits he's working finance in Hollywood, giving up on his dream. It's salt in the wounds, and he fires back, poking fun at Reshmi for being a rich, spoiled brat who just develops apps as an excuse to drink wine with her friends. Basically, they hate each other's families, careers and friends. There's no respect, which shocks Denise as Dev kept it all secret.
She can't believe they'd air their insecurities like this, with Dev admitting these insults are normal for them in their toxic relationship. He's hit rock bottom, and with Denise's writing career rising, there's internal resentment manifesting so that all he wants to do is lash out. He has no fallback like Reshmi, and it leaves Denise worried.
Some fans even think this fall from grace is a meta take on Ansari, the show's writer and director, clawing his way back after allegations of sexual misconduct which almost got him canceled. It seems to be penance. Dev's dragged through the mud, and later on, when Denise's marriage fails, he helps her out by admitting people make mistakes and it's all about how they bounce back.
Season 3 of Master of None, starring Lena Waithe and Naomi Ackie, is streaming on Netflix.