**note**: After editing this video, something I want to emphasize is that I do really want to love Bela, especially as a South Asian. I see a lot of potential in her as a character, but the writers do her SO dirty by having her say and do awful things. I've seen some people call her over hated, but I also personally want to see some redemption before believing that too. So I REALLY want them to pull a season 3 Devi on her.
I did love not Jack said he was annoying and he didn't even try to get to know what she loves it Makes sense why she broke up with him .. I would rather if she just got back with Nico or something
i've been really frustrated over mindy self-inserting again and making bela very hard to like after she did that with devi too. representation is so important and i wish she would write a variety of south asian characters. i also wish the relationships were given time to develop instead of just having people break up left and right. also i can't believe they made frat parties look fun; i almost got fomo
exactly!! we need a wider variety! also you're so right about the relationships- like why does every relationship last a few episodes MAX in this season?
And come on, it's so old to keep using the "I'm Indian and a loser" trope. I live in England and am Indian myself and the other Indian girls in my school are what we call "bomb-shells", meaning they are really gorgeous and confident - and intelligent, might I add.
Came here to say something similar. Bela was by far the worst character and I didn't understand why. She started off cool but she had the most unhinged, unrelatable, and frankly mean, storyline.
Bela made me feel so uncomfortable throughout the show. Her being in Leighton's underwear at the start of the season felt so gross and like she has no respect for boundaries or hygiene. The only storyline I felt sympathetic to her was the Ryan one in season one, I really liked the way it was handled it felt realistic and grounded. I think Amrit is a great actor but the material isn't there I hope there's a redemption arc for season 3 were she learns to be less selfish and deals with her internalised racism. I liked how the show handled Leighton's slow progression to be a better person and hope the same for Bela, also so sad that Renée is leaving but I get her wanting to focus on music.
Mindy loves white men so much she made sure EVERYONE had a white love interest, including Canaan lmaooo. Yeah that was forced. Would’ve made more sense if Zoe and Canaan dated after the break up, not Kimberly. She’s also foul for lying to Whitney’s face about it. Speaking of Whit…her folding to that condescending cloud colored was pathetic!!!! I 100% agree, Lila is what Bela STRIVES to be, but fails. I do hope Bela goes on a great redemption arc in season 3. I asked the same question about them eggs, was one surgery enough to make up for the scholarship?? I thought it was a yearly solution. Leighton’s character growth was immaculate and remains a top tier character.
I wish they focused on the Leighton and Whitney stories a little longer like introducing Tatum sooner so maybe the sweet moment with her dad didn't come right before the break up and showing Whitney struggle and have to work hard a little longer because like you said it wasn't just any class, it was known for being hard then like everyone else said Canan and Kimberly just came out of nowhere
When they decided to put Kimberly and Canan together, I was so confused. It came out of nowhere. They have zero chemistry. The writers probably felt that because they broke up one interracial couple (Whitney/Andrew), they IMMEDIATELY had to replace it with another.
thank you! sick and tired of the people say they saw it coming blah blah and say oh " i just feel sad for whitney" how about you state that kimblery was blatantly a bad friend and clearly values men over her friends or her education (season 1). ANDDD she's a lil microaggressive (that might be too strong) but she was stereotyping canan and somehow we got to them swapping spit *side eye.
I really thought Canan was always a friend to her, he called her out even in S1 when she was trying to cheat and he did infact see her as a teacher or a work friend or whatver. They just thought putting a slow dance will woo us in. They should have focused on their platonic supportive friendship only!
love this!! also did anyone notice the editing of the show was really bad this season ?? like there were random dialogues added in in post and the multiple exterior shot transitions were so jarring for some reason - especially in the first ep, where they kept using the same one. I don't normally notice this kinda stuff but it was just so BAD that I did. I'm really hoping for a better s3
I loved your review, i agree the portrayal of bela being a little to sexualised and problematic. Kimberly and cannan were like the least expected and kimberly being honest lied straight to whitney . Leighton relationship was tatum was quite rushed like in the morning they doing yoga and evening out of nowhere break up .
It’s true that this show has a female gaze. But man it’s hard to miss that who ever is writing this show (mindy et al) loves white men specifically. Lol it gets comical sometimes, especially when you don’t feel that way and are attracted to ALL races of men (ahem, me)
Yeah. I want to see more variety of couples in shows and movies like an Asian person(whether East Asian, South East Asian, South Asian, Central Asian, or Middle Eastern) ending up with a Black/African person or a Hispanic/Latino.
I loved your review, but at 13:48 I think Lila did end up crossing a line - in the (last or second to last?) episode of Season 2, she does say she left her unsolicited nudes for the Pepsi delivery man to see.
13:49 totally agree about the prioritization of the female gaze, and at the same time, the lack of diversity in the love interests (not just in race, but body type and aesthetic) makes it a kind of narrow and repetitive female gaze
I’m so done with Mindy Kahling making every South Asian female character she writes a self insert of herself. Not every South Asian girl needs to be like Mindy Kahling. It happened with Devi, it happened with Bela and she even seems to be doing it to Velma from Scooby Doo now.
@@IHARumor Yeah. That's why I like Kamala khan more than Devi Vishwakumar or Bela Malhotra.She is not a Mindy Kaling self insert. I may be a little bias because she is Pakistani like me.
Just watched the second season now and oh dear god I really dislike the way Bella developed. I felt icky about her from the start and the way she was sex positive (don’t have a problem with that in general, but the way she was SO open and in-your-face with it was rather weird), and it just got worse with every episode. I honestly wouldn’t really care if she comes back in season 3 or not. Also the fact that Kimberly didn’t think TWICE about Whitney’s feelings when it came to dating Canaan was very wild. That being said. I really enjoy the show, I stumbled across it accidentally a year ago and am happy I did! Can’t wait to see how the next season goes!
great review!! I totally agree with all your takes - some of the writing on season 2 just felt lazy and I feel like Mindy either accurately represents people or completely misses the mark... even on never have I ever she used jewish stereotypes for Ben that felt so unnecessary and dated
lol they shot season 2 exterior shots on my college campus, so watching this season was a meta experience. they were shooting in June a week before finals and graduation, making campus all the more hectic with the sets (e.g. fake snow and Christmas decor) and crew.
I like the way you approached the issues and asked questions. I have so much I'd like to respond to in real time😂 (just finished Season II). I had a few similar questions but as it played out it became abit more obvious who is writing & why. To keep it short, I don't expect Mindy Kaling to be able to speak for South-Asia or even another person. She obviously writes from herself and zones in on those experiences. That said, I personally think it's not necessarily "her fault" but due to her lack of exposure and growth. When you make your issues and identity *your* whole world you lose sight of *the real* world and Mindy writes shows about Mindy for young Mindy so at this point, a fresh story needs a fresh face. _Sidebar: I'd love to know what Amrit's _*_GENUINE_*_ perception of her character is..._ Again, really like the way you interrogated this and I'd definitely appreciate a season 3 update. Even a 30min vid where you deep dive on some of these points.
OKAY HOT TAKE- Does anyone think Nico will return in season 3 and he will be more considerate towards Kimberly since at the end s1 he was nice about her saving a spot on Essex and he has some charac to develop like Paxton and we can see him more from the whole frat guy spoiled thing. I just think him and Kim can connect on things like the French subject or Golden girls, parties or she can teach him to be better person :""")
"Don't date your friend's ex or s/o. Just don't" - Opinyon 2023 People who do that are literally kicking their friendship to the curb bc thats effed up
Finally someone who points this out! I mean, I know the characters are supposed to be messy but it makes me mad that they’re perpetuating a lot of shitty stuff, Bella and Leighton are the ones that get it worse because the show seems to be “woke” but then… it really isn’t. You’ve talked about Bella. With Leighton it’s the plot actively punishing her for not wanting to come out, even tho she has motives and stated that she “doesn’t want this label on her”. I’ve seen this over and over in shows that want to be inclusive, and even tho they had cute scenes about her coming out, I still think it sucks because people don’t ever need to come out if they don’t want to, they can just live and be with whoever they want to. I liked that in s1 we got to see how that affects her life and I hoped we’d get to see her opening up about it to her close friends but the plot just kept pushing and pushing like coming out to the world is something that gay people need to do, like that’s the ONLY WAY that she could be happy. And worst of all, because she doesn’t ever need to face any struggle while coming out, this undermines her fears and motives for not wanting to be labeled “the gay kappa girl” ou “the gay cousin”. Also the way the other queer people are represented is played out for laughs, and even the cool lez gf that seems to be the most welcoming is suuuuper condescending when she thinks Leighton is straight, again, the writing is punishing Leighton for not coming out… what I liked is that Leighton kinda confirmed that yeah the label gay is associated with the weird caricatures of the LGBT community they showed in the women centre, but she ended up warming up to them because in the end she understood why community is necessary. This is what they should’ve stuck to in her s2 plot, instead of forcing a character to come out and then undermining her fears.
Thank you for saying this.💯👏 As someone who was in the same situation as Leighton in S1, I hated what they did with her. I didn't want to come out because I didn't want to be labeled either. Whenever they use the "gay person too scared to come out" card in movies and TV shows, I know that they don't care about queer people and don't care to learn.
@@thandolwethum4 Thank you for sharing! I’ve been there too and honestly is just weird the amount of pressure to comeout that is put on people even inside the lgbt comunity. People should just live their lives and be with whomever and don’t need labels if they don’t want to.
Agree with everything and u got a new sub I've been making crack videos of this show and the fandom of it have been so wonderful to me so am Glad we got a new season and that it's actually has a huge viewership in HBO max now am gonna watch the rest of the videos p.s last I was afraid about this because of the fathobia in never have I have but seeing a couple of + sizes character's being actually good characters like Lila and I love and think she should be a series regular in s3
Shows always get a bad rep for having a character that never learns from their mistakes, but that's realistic. Drama is the point, it gets boring when every show is a social commentary, sometimes it's just a silly escape from all that. That said, Bella can be annoying😂
I'm glad someone spoke on the show. I love Kennan and Winston. To me they was just a good simple couple. Innocent and support one another. And the rich girl and her girlfriend
**note**:
After editing this video, something I want to emphasize is that I do really want to love Bela, especially as a South Asian. I see a lot of potential in her as a character, but the writers do her SO dirty by having her say and do awful things. I've seen some people call her over hated, but I also personally want to see some redemption before believing that too.
So I REALLY want them to pull a season 3 Devi on her.
Note. I wanna say I love your channel❤❤❤💋💋💋💋💋💋💘💘💘💘💘❤
I was PISSED when Kimberly broke up with Jackson to get with Canaan. It’s weird, they give sibling vibes to me. I loved Jackson.
I did love not Jack said he was annoying and he didn't even try to get to know what she loves it Makes sense why she broke up with him .. I would rather if she just got back with Nico or something
That's weird because I feel like they've been setting up her and Jackson from the first time they met.
i've been really frustrated over mindy self-inserting again and making bela very hard to like after she did that with devi too. representation is so important and i wish she would write a variety of south asian characters. i also wish the relationships were given time to develop instead of just having people break up left and right. also i can't believe they made frat parties look fun; i almost got fomo
exactly!! we need a wider variety! also you're so right about the relationships- like why does every relationship last a few episodes MAX in this season?
And come on, it's so old to keep using the "I'm Indian and a loser" trope. I live in England and am Indian myself and the other Indian girls in my school are what we call "bomb-shells", meaning they are really gorgeous and confident - and intelligent, might I add.
@@stargazer5829I want to see more Desi bombshells and Desi it girls in movies and TV shows and less Mindy Kaling self inserts please.
Came here to say something similar. Bela was by far the worst character and I didn't understand why. She started off cool but she had the most unhinged, unrelatable, and frankly mean, storyline.
@stargazer5829 when you have to say, "might I add," the pertaining qualities are a cap.
Bela made me feel so uncomfortable throughout the show. Her being in Leighton's underwear at the start of the season felt so gross and like she has no respect for boundaries or hygiene. The only storyline I felt sympathetic to her was the Ryan one in season one, I really liked the way it was handled it felt realistic and grounded. I think Amrit is a great actor but the material isn't there I hope there's a redemption arc for season 3 were she learns to be less selfish and deals with her internalised racism. I liked how the show handled Leighton's slow progression to be a better person and hope the same for Bela, also so sad that Renée is leaving but I get her wanting to focus on music.
Mindy loves white men so much she made sure EVERYONE had a white love interest, including Canaan lmaooo. Yeah that was forced. Would’ve made more sense if Zoe and Canaan dated after the break up, not Kimberly. She’s also foul for lying to Whitney’s face about it.
Speaking of Whit…her folding to that condescending cloud colored was pathetic!!!!
I 100% agree, Lila is what Bela STRIVES to be, but fails. I do hope Bela goes on a great redemption arc in season 3.
I asked the same question about them eggs, was one surgery enough to make up for the scholarship?? I thought it was a yearly solution.
Leighton’s character growth was immaculate and remains a top tier character.
ugh yeah a lot of the storylines felt like filler and it was hard to see how they all benefitted the arcs of the characters (except for Leighton)
I wish they focused on the Leighton and Whitney stories a little longer like introducing Tatum sooner so maybe the sweet moment with her dad didn't come right before the break up and showing Whitney struggle and have to work hard a little longer because like you said it wasn't just any class, it was known for being hard then like everyone else said Canan and Kimberly just came out of nowhere
When they decided to put Kimberly and Canan together, I was so confused. It came out of nowhere. They have zero chemistry. The writers probably felt that because they broke up one interracial couple (Whitney/Andrew), they IMMEDIATELY had to replace it with another.
thank you! sick and tired of the people say they saw it coming blah blah and say oh " i just feel sad for whitney" how about you state that kimblery was blatantly a bad friend and clearly values men over her friends or her education (season 1). ANDDD she's a lil microaggressive (that might be too strong) but she was stereotyping canan and somehow we got to them swapping spit *side eye.
I really thought Canan was always a friend to her, he called her out even in S1 when she was trying to cheat and he did infact see her as a teacher or a work friend or whatver. They just thought putting a slow dance will woo us in. They should have focused on their platonic supportive friendship only!
love this!! also did anyone notice the editing of the show was really bad this season ?? like there were random dialogues added in in post and the multiple exterior shot transitions were so jarring for some reason - especially in the first ep, where they kept using the same one. I don't normally notice this kinda stuff but it was just so BAD that I did. I'm really hoping for a better s3
omg wait i gotta go back and watch that now lol
yes i noticed that too like it was painfully obvious the words they were saying were layered over a completely different sentence
I loved your review, i agree the portrayal of bela being a little to sexualised and problematic. Kimberly and cannan were like the least expected and kimberly being honest lied straight to whitney . Leighton relationship was tatum was quite rushed like in the morning they doing yoga and evening out of nowhere break up .
It’s true that this show has a female gaze. But man it’s hard to miss that who ever is writing this show (mindy et al) loves white men specifically. Lol it gets comical sometimes, especially when you don’t feel that way and are attracted to ALL races of men (ahem, me)
Yeah. I want to see more variety of couples in shows and movies like an Asian person(whether East Asian, South East Asian, South Asian, Central Asian, or Middle Eastern) ending up with a Black/African person or a Hispanic/Latino.
I loved your review, but at 13:48 I think Lila did end up crossing a line - in the (last or second to last?) episode of Season 2, she does say she left her unsolicited nudes for the Pepsi delivery man to see.
OH YIKES thank you for pointing that out
13:49 totally agree about the prioritization of the female gaze, and at the same time, the lack of diversity in the love interests (not just in race, but body type and aesthetic) makes it a kind of narrow and repetitive female gaze
I’m so done with Mindy Kahling making every South Asian female character she writes a self insert of herself. Not every South Asian girl needs to be like Mindy Kahling. It happened with Devi, it happened with Bela and she even seems to be doing it to Velma from Scooby Doo now.
I want to see more Desi bombshells and Desi it girls and less Mindy Kaling self inserts please.
@@NisarKhan-jm1uh right?? Not every desi female lead needs to be a nerdy know it all. For example, Karen in the new Mean Girls is desi and I love it.
@@IHARumor Yeah. That's why I like Kamala khan more than Devi Vishwakumar or Bela Malhotra.She is not a Mindy Kaling self insert. I may be a little bias because she is Pakistani like me.
@@NisarKhan-jm1uh me too need the hot cool desi girls in movies/shows
Just watched the second season now and oh dear god I really dislike the way Bella developed. I felt icky about her from the start and the way she was sex positive (don’t have a problem with that in general, but the way she was SO open and in-your-face with it was rather weird), and it just got worse with every episode. I honestly wouldn’t really care if she comes back in season 3 or not. Also the fact that Kimberly didn’t think TWICE about Whitney’s feelings when it came to dating Canaan was very wild.
That being said. I really enjoy the show, I stumbled across it accidentally a year ago and am happy I did! Can’t wait to see how the next season goes!
FINALLY!!! Someone says what I’ve been thinking about Bela.
great review!! I totally agree with all your takes - some of the writing on season 2 just felt lazy and I feel like Mindy either accurately represents people or completely misses the mark... even on never have I ever she used jewish stereotypes for Ben that felt so unnecessary and dated
ugh yeah :( thank you for watching/commenting!!
lol they shot season 2 exterior shots on my college campus, so watching this season was a meta experience. they were shooting in June a week before finals and graduation, making campus all the more hectic with the sets (e.g. fake snow and Christmas decor) and crew.
lmao that’s sounds very chaotic, i hope your finals went well!!
@@opiniyon haha thank you, it all worked out. for sure made the end of the school year memorable :)
Loved the review! This show is defo underrated but wish it had way more episodes
One thought... Kimberly is funnier than Bella and Bella never recognized this. Kimberly is naturally funny whereas Bella forces it.
I like the way you approached the issues and asked questions.
I have so much I'd like to respond to in real time😂 (just finished Season II). I had a few similar questions but as it played out it became abit more obvious who is writing & why.
To keep it short, I don't expect Mindy Kaling to be able to speak for South-Asia or even another person. She obviously writes from herself and zones in on those experiences.
That said, I personally think it's not necessarily "her fault" but due to her lack of exposure and growth. When you make your issues and identity *your* whole world you lose sight of *the real* world and Mindy writes shows about Mindy for young Mindy so at this point, a fresh story needs a fresh face.
_Sidebar: I'd love to know what Amrit's _*_GENUINE_*_ perception of her character is..._
Again, really like the way you interrogated this and I'd definitely appreciate a season 3 update. Even a 30min vid where you deep dive on some of these points.
wow, really cool video! Just finished the second season and loved it. Great perspectives and well rounded opinions. Thank you so much for this
thanks for this recap! season 3 just came out I needed to remember all the lore lol 😂
OKAY HOT TAKE- Does anyone think Nico will return in season 3 and he will be more considerate towards Kimberly since at the end s1 he was nice about her saving a spot on Essex and he has some charac to develop like Paxton and we can see him more from the whole frat guy spoiled thing. I just think him and Kim can connect on things like the French subject or Golden girls, parties or she can teach him to be better person :""")
"Don't date your friend's ex or s/o. Just don't" - Opinyon 2023
People who do that are literally kicking their friendship to the curb bc thats effed up
Finally someone who points this out! I mean, I know the characters are supposed to be messy but it makes me mad that they’re perpetuating a lot of shitty stuff, Bella and Leighton are the ones that get it worse because the show seems to be “woke” but then… it really isn’t. You’ve talked about Bella. With Leighton it’s the plot actively punishing her for not wanting to come out, even tho she has motives and stated that she “doesn’t want this label on her”. I’ve seen this over and over in shows that want to be inclusive, and even tho they had cute scenes about her coming out, I still think it sucks because people don’t ever need to come out if they don’t want to, they can just live and be with whoever they want to. I liked that in s1 we got to see how that affects her life and I hoped we’d get to see her opening up about it to her close friends but the plot just kept pushing and pushing like coming out to the world is something that gay people need to do, like that’s the ONLY WAY that she could be happy. And worst of all, because she doesn’t ever need to face any struggle while coming out, this undermines her fears and motives for not wanting to be labeled “the gay kappa girl” ou “the gay cousin”. Also the way the other queer people are represented is played out for laughs, and even the cool lez gf that seems to be the most welcoming is suuuuper condescending when she thinks Leighton is straight, again, the writing is punishing Leighton for not coming out… what I liked is that Leighton kinda confirmed that yeah the label gay is associated with the weird caricatures of the LGBT community they showed in the women centre, but she ended up warming up to them because in the end she understood why community is necessary. This is what they should’ve stuck to in her s2 plot, instead of forcing a character to come out and then undermining her fears.
Thank you for saying this.💯👏 As someone who was in the same situation as Leighton in S1, I hated what they did with her. I didn't want to come out because I didn't want to be labeled either. Whenever they use the "gay person too scared to come out" card in movies and TV shows, I know that they don't care about queer people and don't care to learn.
Seriously, thank you so much for saying you are a real one.
@@thandolwethum4 Thank you for sharing! I’ve been there too and honestly is just weird the amount of pressure to comeout that is put on people even inside the lgbt comunity. People should just live their lives and be with whomever and don’t need labels if they don’t want to.
loved yout thake and yes i agree. kimberly and canan came out of NOWHERE
i'm gonna need some justice for Whitney next season
THANK YOU OH MY GOD
Bela was my favourite character, have never been let down so quickly😭 And nobody actually called her out on cheating once
I HATED THE ENDING
I love this show And I can't wait for season 3
Agree with everything and u got a new sub I've been making crack videos of this show and the fandom of it have been so wonderful to me so am Glad we got a new season and that it's actually has a huge viewership in HBO max now am gonna watch the rest of the videos p.s last I was afraid about this because of the fathobia in never have I have but seeing a couple of + sizes character's being actually good characters like Lila and I love and think she should be a series regular in s3
I’m here watching season 3 and waiting for your thoughts after :)
Shows always get a bad rep for having a character that never learns from their mistakes, but that's realistic. Drama is the point, it gets boring when every show is a social commentary, sometimes it's just a silly escape from all that. That said, Bella can be annoying😂
I'm glad someone spoke on the show. I love Kennan and Winston. To me they was just a good simple couple. Innocent and support one another. And the rich girl and her girlfriend
Love your review 🥰
Canaan and Kimberly made no sense and I HATE that they did this!! It’s disgusting honestly and makes me not want to watch season 3
Devi is way better done than Bela
I think you might enjoy watching love life they are only 2 seasons
girlll do you have letterboxd?
am I the only one thinking why they make Kimberly so skinny in season 2??? imho she become so basic. and she was so pretty and interesting in season 1
Maybe pauline just lost weight? I don't think she was told to get skinnier by the producers... :/
👎