Little Things season 4 review: Farewell to Mithila Palkar, Dhruv Sehgal and best show on modern love India's ever seen
Little Things season 4 review: Mithila Palkar and Dhruv Sehgal's tiny show with big ideas is ending.
There will be so much to miss as Netflix’s Little Things comes to an end with its fourth season. This ‘little’ show limited itself to the huge task of sensitively, authentically showing the everyday tiny things that made love so beautiful. We watched season one on YouTube after a college friend would just not shut up about it. Dhruv (Dhruv Sehgal) and Kavya (Mithila Palkar) argued over biryani and momos in the almost-perfect, honeymoon phase of their relationship. Even with the 10-minute mini-episodes, it was evident that Dhruv (who also wrote the series until season 3) had cracked the code on showing love more realistically than we had ever seen before on Indian screens, even YouTube.
Soon, Netflix grabbed the opportunity and gave Little Things a place on their ‘Netflix Originals’ carousel for a second season. Dhruv rose to the challenge, ending Kavya and Dhruv’s honeymoon period and exploring even the sides of a relationship that sometimes make it torture to live with someone. Season 3 had even bigger ideas on its mind, as it broadened its horizon to include more exceptionally well-written characters, such as the lonely parents or the sexist best friend.
With its final season, Little Things had the challenging task of wrapping it all up. But how do you wrap up a story so realistically told? There is no series finale after four seasons in real life. And yet, Little Things has managed to end things, albeit a little conventionally, but still with so much added care and realism.
We meet Kavya and Dhruv after a long time and so do they. After more than a year of long-distance, they are finally reunited on a vacation in Kerala. While they do seem a little distant in the beginning, it is nothing a clear chat and a trip to Munnar’s gorgeous tea gardens won’t solve. Kavya still has her doubts about them and Dhruv is still more than eager to sort out any creases before they prop up. In their heart though, they both want to be together. Dhruv even says in one of the final episodes of the series, that the reason they work is that they want to find solutions and reasons to be together.
The writers (not including Dhruv Sehgal this time) do not make the mistake of sorting out every issue for a happy ending to Kavya and Dhruv’s story. Dhruv still cannot avoid his random bursts of anger but rather than fixing it, he is shown to have a better handle on them now. He realises right afterwards that he has overreacted and Kavya doesn’t get offended anymore either. During one episode, in a fit of anger at crockery which broke in transit, Dhruv hits Kavya in her eye. She, however, doesn’t blame him but simply takes him along to the clinic.
And because the series is ending, it doesn’t mean new insecurities, new problems would not crop up. Kavya learns what turning 30 might also bring along with it. The uncertainty of life shows her the dreams that could not be fulfilled and why even your back will not always have your back. Finding and keeping a job and love might be the focus of your early 20s but the later ones show you a trailer of deteriorating health, distanced parents and acknowledging the peace that a mediocre life brings with it. Dhruv may have landed a dream job but it doesn't come tied with a bow. As a team lead, he has to also deliver to his team the bad news about their salaries getting delayed. Kavya and Dhruv are growing older, together and also individually.
In the fourth season, an episode focuses solely on Kavya and Dhruv's sole adventures into discovering what they really need. On her birthday, Kavya has to go sightseeing alone at Fort Kochi after Dhruv gets caught up at a work event. She lands at a more wholesome version of what appears to be an AA meeting where people tell each other important stories about their lives. Despite the silly introduction she gave about herself, Kavya could not have had a better day. Because this was when she realised how she could have a fulfilling day without depending on Dhruv or anyone for it. Dhruv, on the other hand, learns how a friend's underachieving dad was perhaps living the best life of them all. Both of them gain new perspectives on their lives and still come together to sit by each other's side for a beautiful sunset.
By the end of eight episodes, Kavya and Dhruv's story finds closure. Callbacks are made to the first season – chai, Yes Boss and midnight walks around Mumbai. At no point does it get cheesy or too filmy to remove one from the subtle realm of Little Things. Arguments over bais, beetroot papad, tinde and nerf gun wars keep all episodes grounded. The effect is 100 times better when the parents come in in the final episode. If Dhruv is nervous about speaking to his father, mentions of feeding millet to birds cut through the awkwardness. Dads talk about Mumbai's balcony problems and mums are still annoyed by dads not getting water from the fridge themselves. I could watch another season of Kavya and Dhruv's life and love but I could beg for an entire series dedicated just to Dhruv's mother. Maybe this could be our parting gift?
Little Things
Creator: Dhruv Sehgal
Cast: Dhruv Sehgal, Mithila Palkar
