If theres something that Devi Vishwakumar excels in (other than her APs and extensive list of extracurriculars), its conjuring chaos. Never Have I Ever, created by comedic masterminds Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as the impulsive protagonist with a penchant for cringey snap decisions that make us yell Why, Devi?! at the TV screen. As the series evolves, viewers get to know her character as fragmented: She is, all at once, shattered by the trauma of losing her father, mired in questionable decisions that uproot her relationships, and on a near-destructive quest to lose her virginity.

While these plot points still anchor the series newest and penultimate season, Devis approached rock bottom a little differently this time, by remixing the messy brown girl archetype with self love and respect. Youre never too much, and youre always enough, Devis mother, the stern matriarch Nalini Vishwakumar played by Poorna Jagannathan, reminds her. Its a mantra that underlies her coming-of-age in Season 3.

For Ramakrishnan, Devis fragmentation doesnt equate to brokenness; its more like a mosaic of mirrors. And in watching Devi grow this season, young South Asian women everywhere come to see pieces of ourselves reflected back.

As Devis therapist and voice-of-reason Dr. Ryan says in the seasons final episode that shes not the same girl she was freshman year. And not coincidentally, neither is Maitreyi. The actor told me about Devis transformation embracing the messy brown girl and how their self-love journeys arent that different from each other after all.

This season, we really see Devi own her mistakes, confront her trauma and grow emotionally. How have you mirrored Devis evolution?

Back in the first season, I had a good bit of imposter syndrome. It was a little daunting to know how many people auditioned for this role, knowing that you really havent taken a single acting class in your life. When I look back at Season 1 sometimes, Im like, Oh Maitreyi, you can do better than that! But now, after filming everything, I feel like Ive grown so much and I respect myself as an actor. Theres way less self-hate and more times where Im like, Wow! Im a funny son of a gun! So in that way, as Devis gone through her own journey of self-confidence, Ive gone through that journey, too.

This season showcases the diversity of the South Asian diasporas experiences. How does this season further affirm that we arent a monolith?

All of the South Asian characters are so different this season. For instance, Aneesas not Devi, Devis not Kamala, Kamalas not Nalini, or Prashant, Nirmala or Rhyah. We emphasize that were not one kind of personality, though we come from similar cultures. That, to me, is breaking the stereotype. We all have different interests and personalities.

My favorite thing about Season 2 was the addition of Aneesa as a character, because it was another young brown girl who people could see themselves in. Devi as a character also breaks stereotypes constantly, about how she lives her life. Shes not going to be the shy, on-the-side best friend. Shes going to be the loud, confident one whos seizing the day. And, in Season 3, Kamala gets a bit of that, too, when she decides that she needs to write her own destiny and do whats right by her.

For Devi, Season 3 is a journey in self-love. How was filming this season a lesson in loving yourself?

The reason why this seasons going to be more impactful than the last two seasons is because its on this topic of self-love, so many people can relate. Self-love as a journey is not exclusive to coming-of-age, YA, high school story its one that many people can understand. Its so hard to love yourself. Its not one and done; you can be on top of the world one month, then the next month, you might just feel like crap.

Ive been on this self-love journey for the entirety of the show. I got this role when I was 17, and now Im 20, and those are pretty hectic years in peoples lives. I realized yesterday at the red carpet, that had there been a Season 1 premiere, I would have worn something chill. Something a little less risqu, less high slit just because I wasnt the as-confident person I am today. So what was pretty fun was, for my first red carpet for Never Have I Ever, I got to wear this smokin hot, bombshell black dress, which was a dream. That was one of my favorite looks to this day. Season 1 Maitreyi would have been like, nah, Im probably going to flash something by accident.

Ive definitely gone through a bit of a self-love journey myself thats, yet again, had some ups and downs some days where Im top of the world, some days where Im not, and thats OK. We just keep trying to work on ourselves. I deserve that, as does everyone we all deserve to love ourselves. Were stuck with ourselves till the day we die, goddammit!