WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of Never Have I Ever, now available on Netflix.
Funny or Die's Zack Morris Is Trash did a great job of highlighting just how terrible the titular Saved by the Bell really was. Zack was a lying, manipulating sociopath that used people as pawns to get with as many women as possible. He also gaslit Kelly Kapowski into thinking she was his true love. However, Season 2 of Netflix's Never Have I Ever proves Devi is a lot worse than Zack.
While Zack did have some redeeming moments and showed up for his friends, he was overall a scumbag. On some level, Zack knew this, which is why in the sequel series he was the governor of California and trying to rehabilitate his image. Devi, though, doesn't realize the havoc she's causing, as she selfishly tries to make a name for herself at her Los Angeles high-school.
Devi projects the nice girl aura, but she's a wolf in sheep's clothing, which Paxton and Ben find out when she juggles both of them early on in Season 2. While she likes both of them, she's still cheating. It's part of her self-absorbed attitude. And while cheating's something Zack has done, it's Devi's actions afterwards that are scarier. She barely apologizes to Ben after getting caught in public, and after distracting Paxton -- which causes him to get hit by a car -- Devi constantly ditches their study sessions. She literally ended Paxton's chances of a swimming scholarship, only to tell him to man up and study on his own to raise his chances of getting into college. It's disappointing, as she knows how badly behind he is, and she breaks her vow to help him.
As Never Have I Ever goes on, things get worse. Devi, jealous Ben is getting with Aneesa, throws hurdles their way at the all-night marathon, setting it up so they're never alone. She doesn't want Ben, but doesn't want Aneesa -- who's pretty cool and genuinely nice to everyone -- to have him either. That's why she claims Aneesa has anorexia after having seen her only eat a little food. However, when the rumor turns out to be true, Aneesa drops out. She had issues at her last school and thought this was a fresh start, but Devi crushed it. What makes it more disappointing is Devi lets two pretentious classmates take the fall for it, lying to Aneesa, her principal and the school. She even offers to investigate so she can frame the "mean girls."
It's hard to root for someone so unlikable. Even when she confesses, Devi offers superficial apologies and thinks grand gestures will do the trick without realizing how toxic she is. And to make matters worse, she throws a fit when her mom starts becoming romantic with Dr. Jackson, making clear she can't date until Devi says so. It's immature and compounds how much of a controlling brat Devi is. This is precisely why her besties abandoned her last season, as she constantly makes everything about herself.
Created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, Never Have I Ever Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.