... been the loneliest boy in the world is the sixth episode in Season 1 of Never Have I Ever.
Synopsis[]
With absentee parents, a shallow girlfriend and no one to hang out with, Ben Gross is lonelier than ever, until an unlikely invitation offers some hope.
Plot[]
Ben comes home just as his mom is leaving on yet another retreat. But Ben is used to this and he just lets her go because there’s nothing else he can do.
During the day, Ben’s only companion is his darling house manager, Patty, who treats Ben like a prince and is more caring than his parents have ever been.
To distract himself from his extreme loneliness, Ben plays basketball by himself, and video games by himself. He also spends his time on Rick and Morty subreddits, debating with super-fans.
Ben’s dad has courtside tickets to the Clippers’ game for himself, Ben, and Ben’s girlfriend, Shira. Ben is ecstatic, not only will he get to see an amazing game but he’ll have his dad for company.
Unfortunately for Ben, his joy is about to get cut short. First up, Shira refuses to go to the game because she will be eyebrow sculpting with her friends; even though Ben had informed her about this game months ago.
Ben now has one free ticket and he goes around the school asking anyone he can whether they’re interested.
He asks Trent and Marcus, even though he only has one ticket. Unsurprisingly, the conversation becomes extremely awkward within minutes that Ben never talks to these boys and they’re uncomfortable with him engaging with them out of the blue.
Ben then makes the colossal mistake of asking Paxton and comes away shamefaced because apparently nobody can act like a normal human being around Paxton.
Eventually, Ben gives up and decides to go along with his dad. Or not at all, apparently. Ben’s dad bails at the last minute; which is something he’s done far too many times before.
Rather than go alone, Ben decides to give the tickets to Patty and her sons. Initially, she insists on going with Ben, but finally acquiesces to go with her boys in the hopes of meeting Billy Crystal.
Alone and sad, Ben follows the game online and is buoyed by a video of Patty sharing snacks with Billy Crystal. She sounds delightful, and it’s a relief that Ben has at least one good person around him.
Seeing Patty being so happy leads to Ben putting his guard down, so he posts about Patty being his house manager and how excited he is for her. His post is seen by a fellow Rick and Morty subreddit user who asks to meet up.
Things might be looking up for Ben, as he’s about to meet a fellow desperately lonely teenager. At the meeting point, which is, fortunately, a busy restaurant that Ben finds a much older man. Apparently the ‘69’ in his screenname was the year he was born and not a suggestive joke.
Ben decides to humor the man for exactly 10 seconds before the man makes the encounter very creepy. Abandoned by his mother. Forgotten by his dad. Ignored by his girlfriend. A botched meeting with a fellow fan. To make matters worse, he now also has a huge zit.
The zit is so bad that Ben has to see a dermatologist, who is none other than Devi’s mother, Nalini.
After the nightmare of a day he has had, a few kind words from Nalini send Ben into a spiral of tears. So much so, that Nalini invites him to dinner at the Vishwakumar household.
Kamala has made gorgeous dosas, with coconut chutney, and sambar. It looks great, and a bit spicy. Which is exactly how Devi is feeling about her nemesis invading her home. She takes her mother to ask about it. Which is a conversation that comes through a bit too clearly via the freshly-cleaned vents in the house.
Despite Kamala’s valiant attempts at distracting Ben, he hears everything Nalini and Devi have to say. At least they’re not unkind, but they are extremely sympathetic which makes Ben feel uncomfortable.
But he stays for dinner, and despite the extremely spicy food, and Devi’s coldness, Ben enjoys his first family dinner in years.
While cleaning up, Ben and Devi have a heart-to-heart conversation, where he talks about how lonely he is and Devi clears up the air about her non-relationship with Paxton.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi Vishwakumar
- Richa Moorjani as Kamala Nandiwadal
- Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross
- Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida
- Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar
Guest Starring[]
- Andy Samberg as the voice of The Narrator
- Adam Shapiro as Lyle Shapiro
- Angela Kinsey as Vivian Gross
- David Theune as Rick/TheRealPickleRick69
- Michael Badalucco as Howard Gross
Co-Starring[]
- Benjamin Norris as Trent Harrison
- Dana G. Vaughns II as Marcus Jones
- Jack Seavor McDonald as Eric Perkins
- Hanna Stein as Shira Liedman
- Aitana Rinab as Zoe Maytag
- Rachel Zimmermann as Belgium
- Andrea Gabrielle Ramos as Rosalia
- Adriyah Marie Young as Carley
- Amy Tolsky as Mrs. Paloma
- Donna Pieroni as Patty Shevchenko
Absent[]
- John McEnroe as the voice of The Narrator.
Quotes[]
| “ | Can I go to the nurse's office? I think I drank some bad milk. When I smelled it, it smelled bad, and then when I was drinking it, it got way worse. I could barely finish my second glass. | ” |
| — Eric |
| “ | Oh, careful, buddy. That pizza is hot. You might want to blow on it first... slower... slower... Yeah, that's it. | ” |
| — TheRealPickleRick69 to Ben |
Trivia[]
- This episode is narrated by Andy Samberg instead of John McEnroe.
- This is the first episode where Devi is not in the main lead. Instead, Ben takes over as the main lead character.